Philippians 2 and the Incarnation

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV) 

Philippians 2:5-11 is at once compact and majestic. It is profoundly theological, yet breathtakingly beautiful. It is a doxology that fuses theology, worship, and morality into one soaring hymn. Nowhere else in the New Testament do we find such a concentrated theology of the incarnation of Jesus. Many scholars believe this passage was originally an early hymn of the church woven into Paul’s letter to the Philippians. If so, this shows both the poetic richness and theological depth of early Christian worship. Even if not, its rhythm and exalted language sound like a hymn, and it presents to us important theological truths. 

Paul begins with this staggering statement: “He was in the form of God.” The word “form” here translates the Greek word “morphe.” While it could be translated as “shape” or “form,” it speaks of far more than outward look. It refers to the essential nature or essence — the defining qualities that make something what it truly is. H.A.A. Kennedy says that morphe speaks of that which “always signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it.” When Paul says that Jesus existed in the form of God, this means that He possessed all the attributes of God. The NIV translates this, “who being in the very nature of God.” In other words, to say Christ was “in the form of God” means He fully possessed every attribute of God. From the very beginning, the earliest followers of Jesus did not see Him as merely “like” God, but that He possessed all the form of God and all that is essential to being God. 

Paul then adds that Christ possessed equality with God. The word “equality” comes from the Greek word isos, from which we get our word isosceles, meaning “having equal sides.” The point is unmistakable: Jesus did not have less divinity in His humanity. Even in His incarnate state, He remained fully and eternally God.  Paul adds that Jesus “did not consider it robbery to be equal to God.” The Greek word for “grasped” or “robbery” can mean to “steal, take hold, or to clutch tightly.” Jesus’s divine nature and equality with the Father were not something that He had to steal, defend, cling to, or reach for. It was inherently His. And yes—in astonishing humility—He did not treat His divine rights and glory as privileges to exploit but willingly laid something aside for a greater purpose. 

There was a time when the eternal logos did not exist as a man, but there has never been a time when He did not exist as God. 

Paul then reaches for the heart of the passage, saying, “He emptied Himself.” The word “emptied” comes from the Greek word kenoo, which means to empty. It is from this that we refer to this passage as “the kenotic passage” or “kenosis.” The contrast here is profound: unlike those who seek vain glory (verse 3), Jesus chose to empty Himself. This passage does not teach that Jesus in the flesh was some lesser version of God or that He stopped being divine for any amount of time. Paul settled that issue in Colossians 2 when he said, “for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Furthermore, the book of Hebrews asserts something about Jesus’s unchanging nature. The Hebrew writer said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus never ceased to be God. His divine essence was untouched and unchangeable. 

This passage certainly teaches that Jesus laid something aside, but what exactly did Jesus empty Himself of? He did not relinquish any of His God nature or deity. He was always fully God even while He was fully man. He did not lay aside His equality with God or the form of God which He possessed. Jesus cannot ever stop being God, even in His incarnate state. He cannot empty Himself of His essence. 

We must recognize that Jesus claimed to be equal to the Father. He said, “I and My Father are one. ii” He also claimed to be eternal. He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” iii Furthermore, Jesus received worship as God. Jesus was crucified because He claimed to be God. When Paul declares that Jesus emptied Himself, we must understand that it was not His deity or equality that He emptied Himself of. As a result, He did not empty Himself of His God-character. 

Paul will describe exactly what this “emptying” means and what it looked like. The nature of this is described in that He emptied himself by “taking on the very form of a bondservant.” 

When Paul uses the word “form” in verse 7, it is the same word for “form” that was used in the previous verse to describe that Jesus possesses all the qualities of God. He did not take away from His form, but he added to His eternally, fully God form by taking the form of a bondservant. Jesus became subject to things such as hunger, thirst, pain, and even temptation. As a result of becoming fully human, He willingly limited Himself to time and space. He experienced the full human condition. He became hungry and thirsty (Matthew 4:2; 21:18; John 4:7; 19:28), became tired (Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:38; John 4:6), and experienced sorrow and sadness (Isaiah 53:3-4; Luke 19:41; 22:44; John 11:33-35; 12:27). Finally, He faced pain, suffering, and rejection. 

The phrase “made in human likeness” describes this even further. Jesus was in the full likeness of mankind. He was like us in every way except that He and only He was not ONLY human. We can see that there are some things which Jesus laid aside in His incarnation. Jack Cottrell says it this way: “He laid aside the prerogatives, privileges, and advantages of deity and chose instead to experience the limitations of human life.” 

The word that he uses for “appearance” comes from the Greek word schema, which speaks of an outer appearance. It is important for us to catch the difference here between form and appearance. 

Jesus always maintained the form (morphe) or the essential quality of God, but His outward form (schema) changed. Our appearance may change as we grow older, but our form or essence stays the same. Even as our appearance changes, we are still very much us. Jesus never stopped having the form of God, but He did eventually cease to have the appearance of man. While He was in the flesh, His appearance was clearly recognizable to all as that of a human. 

Paul is teaching that it was some of His functions as God that He emptied Himself of, not the quality of His deity. The one who was always fully God temporarily became fully man and willingly chose not to tap into all His divine powers while He was fully man, but rather, came as a servant seeking the ultimate glory of mankind. 

Ultimately, the message of Philippians 2 is not simply that God stepped into the world for a brief moment in history. It is that the eternal God became flesh, experienced the entire human condition, and humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. The Almighty, perfectly holy Creator God, “came to that which was His own and yet His own did not receive Him.” Yet, He willingly allowed Himself to become the sacrifice for man’s sin. But this story does not end with the cross. Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him. The One who came down is now exalted. He is risen, enthroned, and reigning at the right hand of the Father. 

When Paul says, “for this reason,” he means “as a result of His humility which led to obedience to the point of death.” God exalted Him to the highest place. He gave Him the name that is above every other name. Since God has exalted Jesus to the highest place, it is only appropriate that every knee bow and every tongue confess the lordship of Jesus.