"who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."
— Philippians 2:6-7
Quick Answer
Kenosis, from the Greek word for 'emptied' in Philippians 2:7, describes how the eternal Son, 'though he was in the form of God,' laid aside His heavenly glory and privileges to take on 'the form of a servant' and be born as a man. He did not stop being God; He added a genuine human nature and voluntarily set aside the outward display of divine glory that was rightly His.
A Hymn About the Strangest Descent in History
Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, breaks into what many scholars believe was an early Christian hymn to make a point about humility. He wants believers to imitate Christ's mindset (Philippians 2:5), and the example he chooses is staggering: the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father in every way, willingly descended from the glory of heaven to the humiliation of a servant's life and a criminal's death. The Greek word behind this descent, in verse 7, is ekenosen — 'he emptied himself.' From this word we get the theological term kenosis, and it has generated centuries of careful reflection about exactly what the Son gave up when He became a man. Getting this right matters, because pushing the idea too far in either direction — saying He gave up nothing, or saying He gave up too much — distorts the very gospel Paul is trying to illustrate.
Reading the Passage Slowly
The hymn moves in a clear arc. It begins with Christ's preexistent state: 'though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped' (Philippians 2:6). Then comes the descent: 'but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2:7-8). Then comes the reversal: 'Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name' (Philippians 2:9). The whole passage traces a path downward into humiliation and then upward into glory — and every step of the descent was voluntary.
What the Son Emptied Himself Of
This is where care matters most, because Scripture elsewhere is emphatic that Jesus remained fully God throughout His earthly life. Paul himself writes, of the same incarnate Christ, that 'in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily' (Colossians 2:9) — present tense, describing the man who walked the earth. So the kenosis cannot mean the Son subtracted His deity or any of His divine attributes; that would contradict the rest of Scripture and would mean God the Son stopped being God, which is impossible (Malachi 3:6). What He emptied Himself of was the 'form of God' — His outward glory, His rightful honor, the visible splendor and open exercise of divine privilege that was fully His. He exchanged the form of God for 'the form of a servant,' not by ceasing to be God, but by veiling His glory and taking on a genuine human nature with all its ordinary limitations: hunger, weariness, growth, and eventually death. Think of a king who lays aside his crown, robes, and throne room to live disguised among his own subjects — he does not stop being king by doing so, but he does set aside the outward trappings and privileges that would normally announce his rank at every turn.
Guarding Against a Common Overcorrection
In the nineteenth century, some theologians proposed a version of 'kenotic theology' claiming Jesus actually gave up divine attributes like omniscience or omnipotence altogether while on earth, becoming, in effect, God plus a temporary limitation on His own deity. This view goes further than the text allows and creates serious theological problems: if the Son were not fully God during His earthly ministry, His life and death could not accomplish an atonement of infinite worth, and the New Testament's repeated affirmations of His ongoing deity during His earthly life (John 1:14; Colossians 2:9; John 2:24-25, where He 'knew all people') would make no sense. The historic, careful reading is that Christ added a human nature and restrained the independent, unveiled display of His divine glory and prerogatives — He did not subtract His deity.
A Pattern for Humility, Not Just a Doctrine to Master
Paul does not offer this hymn to settle a theological debate for its own sake; he offers it as a pattern for how believers should treat one another. 'Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves' (Philippians 2:3), 'Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 2:5). If the eternal Son of God, who had every right to cling to His glory, willingly laid it aside for people who did not deserve it, then no Christian has grounds for pride, self-promotion, or clinging to their own status and comfort.
Why the Emptying Leads to Exaltation
The hymn does not end in humiliation; it ends in glory. Because Christ humbled Himself, 'God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord' (Philippians 2:9-11). The path down the mountain of humility became, in God's hands, the path up the mountain of glory. That is not only Christ's story; it is the pattern He invites every believer who follows Him into as well.