Yesterday we looked at a little bit of the broader context of Philippians 2:1-11, how Paul made a big deal of unity in the church through humility and used the incarnation as an example. Today, we are going to zoom in on a couple of the key words and themes in this passage.
Philippians 2:5–11 NIV
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Verses 6-7 get a little dicey and have been the subject of much theological discussion over the years. Without getting too deep into the weeds I hope to provide some clarity on these verses. First, Paul makes it abundantly clear at the beginning of verse 6 that Jesus is in nature God. Even the verb Paul uses for "being" is a stronger word than the more common Greek word for "be". Paul wants to be clear that Jesus is indeed God in nature.
The word at the end of verse 6 translated here "to be used to his own advantage" (harpagmos) is a difficult word to translate in this context. This is evident by the multiple words used in various translations ("grasped" - ESV, RSV, NASB; "considered it not robbery" - NKJV, KJV; "something to cling to" - NLT). This word only occurs here in the NT. The root word means to rob or steal, or take something away. Literally it refers to a seizure of property. Since Paul has already stated that Jesus is in very nature God he cannot mean taking something that isn't his here. Instead the meaning is to "pull rank" and take hold of something for your own advantage. The idea is that Jesus didn't use his equality with God, which was rightfully his, solely for his own selfish purposes.
There may be a subtle contrast here between Jesus and Adam, which Paul has drawn out this comparison at length in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 5:12-21). Adam fell when he grasped for the fruit that would make him like God. Jesus was willing to lay aside his rights and privileges as God to come to us.
Next, Paul says that "he made himself nothing". Again this is a difficult meaning to translate the word (ekenōsen) occurs only five times in the NT. It means "to empty" or "to render void". Paul uses it as well in 1 Cor. 9:15 when he says that he doesn't make use of any of his rights as an apostle.
So, what did he empty himself of? Some suggest that he emptied himself of his divine nature, but there is nothing in the text that says that directly and the rest of the apostolic witness seems to suggest that Jesus still thought of himself as God. So the idea that makes the most sense is that Jesus divested himself of his prestige and privilege due him as God. This makes sense of what we see in the rest of the NT plus the immediate context here.
Remember Paul is imploring the Philippian Christians to be humble like Jesus is humble. They are to use their position and status in society, not for their own self-interest and ambition, but to serve one another. This is what Jesus does. It's not that he becomes less God. No! He is still fully God and can rightfully live within all the privileges that come from that nature, but he chooses not to in the incarnate son, for the betterment of the world. This is the mentality that all Christ-followers have in Jesus. Now we must live in it.
Jesus' humility doesn't stop there however. He continues to descent lower on the ladder of social status. He gives himself over to death and not just any death, but death on a cross which was reserved for the worst characters in the Roman world and came with a great deal of disgrace and shame.
So this is our savior. This is the author and perfecter of our faith, as the author of Hebrews says. This is the central part of the book of Philippians. This humility, this willingness to give up our privileges and rights for others is something at the core of the Christian way of life.
Additional Content
Philippians 2:5–8 The Message
5 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. 6 He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. 7 Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! 8 Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Reflection
Reflect on your commitment to unity and giving up your privileges for the sake of others. This is a biblical value that seems to conflict with our American values of individualism and personal freedoms. Think of some situations where these two values have come into conflict in your life?