Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Meets weekly at 907 Hillsboro Boulevard, Manchester, TN, 37355. Currently, our church is without a pastor/elder and the members meet weekly for praise and worship in hymn, prayer, reading of Scripture, study of the word, and fellowship.
KENOSIS: A view asserting that the eternal Son of God by virtue of the Incarnation gave up some or all the divine attributes which were incommensurate with a fully human existence. This view is primarily based on Philippians 2:5-11, esp., v.7, which states that Christ “emptied himself (NASB).” The idea of self-emptying is taken from the Greek verb kenoo which means “make empty.”
Other scriptures used in support of this thesis are Mark 13:32 which shows Christ’s prima facie ignorance of the time of the end, and John 11:34 betraying again Jesus’ supposed lack of omniscience, as he knew not where Lazarus lay.
Although as originally construed, the kenosis view of Christ sought to do full justice to the real humanity of Jesus, in reality it appears as a serious assault on the true Deity of Jesus Christ. Most Evangelicals have resisted the kenotic view and by and large have replaced it with what may be termed a sub-kenotic view stating that what Christ laid aside in the Incarnation was not some, or all, of the Divine attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. Instead, what Christ “emptied Himself” of, was the independent use of these attributes in order to live a normal human life. His dependence on the Father for strength and wisdom is found in such passages as John 5:19, 30 and 6:57. Also, in Matthew 12:22-30 Jesus is seen casting out demons by the Holy Spirit, (See also Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12 and Luke 4:1). No doubt this is a valiant attempt to safeguard the full humanity of Jesus Christ, while also maintaining his full deity which scripture clearly affirms (John 1:1-14; 8:58; 1 John 5:20; Romans 9:5 etc.,). The problem remains, however, whether it is truly successful. In light of Paul’s crystal clear affirmation that in Christ all the fullness of the deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9), one must try to reconcile this very high (and early) Christology with the sub-kenotic theological understanding of Philippians 2:5-8. This appears impossible.
An alternative reading of the Philippians 2:5-8 passage affords a solution, which discounts all types of Kenotic doctrine concerning Christ. The real concern of Paul in his discussion of Philippians 2 is not a preincarnate Christ who “empties Himself” in the Incarnation thereby equating the Kenosis with his Incarnation. Rather the already Incarnate Christ (see Philippians 2:5) is referred to as doing something with the expression “emptied Himself” (eauton ekenose). Paul is thinking in scriptural categories as he has Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the servant of Yahweh in mind, as one can see by comparing Philippians 2:10, 11 with Isaiah 45:23. In the words “emptied Himself,” Paul is suggesting that the Incarnate Christ is to pour out (emphasis added) his life (having [already] taken a position of a servant and having [already] taken the likeness of humanity) in death. This is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s conceptual parallel in Isaiah 53:2, which states: the Servant of Yahweh “poured out his soul unto death” (KJV). To this Paul adds: “the death of a cross.” (Philippians 2:8).
A suggested translation/interpretation of the important section highlights this understanding, which, safeguards the full deity of Jesus Christ:
v. 5 . . . Christ Jesus (here in context the incarnate Christ) v. 6 Who (that is the Christ Jesus already referred to in v. 5). Did not regard His equality (full-deity) with God (the Father) a thing to be seized (used for self aggrandizement) v. 7 But poured himself out (in death [This is the true Kenosis], and that of a cross, cf.v. 8, obediently dying) (Already) having taken the form of a servant.
In this reading the Incarnation is the presupposition of the kenosis. A further comparison of Philippians 2:9 with Isaiah 52:13 shows this “servant” section has been Paul’s source material throughout this wonderful Christological passage. A high Christology can, therefore, be maintained in this passage. For Paul, the Incarnation was an addition not a subtraction. Human nature was added to the Person of the Son of God. Jesus Christ was not less than God; He was (and is) more! As the God-Man, Christ Jesus gave his life in obedience to the Father as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). There is no Kenosis but the Cross!
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