Day 4: The Christ Hymn -- Kenosis and Exaltation

Reading: Philippians 2

Listen to: Philippians chapter 2

Historical Context

Philippians 2 contains what is widely regarded as the most important Christological passage in the Pauline corpus and one of the most significant theological texts in the entire New Testament. The Christ Hymn of 2:5-11 (sometimes called the Carmen Christi) has generated more scholarly discussion than perhaps any other paragraph Paul wrote. Whether Paul composed it himself or is quoting an earlier Christian hymn that was already in liturgical use, the passage represents the earliest sustained reflection on the identity of Christ that has survived from the apostolic age. It predates all four Gospels in its written form, and it makes claims about Jesus that are breathtaking in their scope.

The hymn is introduced by a practical exhortation: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (2:5). Paul is addressing a real problem in the Philippian church. Despite the warmth of his relationship with this congregation, there are tensions – the names Euodia and Syntyche in 4:2 suggest a specific conflict – and Paul calls for unity, humility, and the willingness to count others more significant than oneself (2:3). The Christ Hymn is not offered as abstract theology but as the pattern for Christian community: the mindset that relinquishes privilege for the sake of others is the mindset of Christ himself.

The hymn moves in two great arcs: descent (2:6-8) and ascent (2:9-11). The first arc traces a downward trajectory from the highest conceivable height to the lowest conceivable depth. Christ Jesus, “though he was in the form of God” (en morphē theou hyparchōn), “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (2:6). The Greek word morphē is critical. In Greek philosophical usage, morphē did not mean outward shape or appearance (that would be schēma) but rather the essential nature or inner reality of a thing. To say that Christ existed “in the form of God” is to say that he possessed the essential nature of God – not merely that he looked divine or acted divine, but that he was divine. The word harpagmos (“a thing to be grasped” or “something to be exploited”) has been debated extensively. The most likely meaning is that Christ did not regard his equality with God as something to be used for his own advantage – not something to be clutched and hoarded but something to be expressed through self-giving love.

Instead, “he emptied himself” (heauton ekenōsen, 2:7). This is the word from which the theological term kenosis derives. What did Christ empty himself of? Not his divine nature – Paul has just affirmed that he possessed the morphē of God. Rather, he emptied himself of the prerogatives and privileges of divine glory. He took “the form of a servant” (morphēn doulou), where the same word morphē now indicates that Christ’s servanthood was as real and essential as his divinity. He was “born in the likeness of men” – genuinely entering human existence. And “being found in human form” (schēmati, now the word for outward appearance), “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). The addition of “even death on a cross” is emphatic and jarring. Crucifixion was not merely execution; it was the most degrading, humiliating, and agonizing form of death devised by the ancient world. Roman citizens could not legally be crucified. It was reserved for slaves, criminals, and conquered peoples. Cicero called it “the most cruel and disgusting penalty” (crudelissimum taeterrimumque supplicium). For a Roman colony like Philippi, where citizens prized their exemption from such punishment, the statement that the divine Son submitted to crucifixion was a scandal of incomprehensible proportions.

The second arc reverses the trajectory: “Therefore 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, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (2:9-11). The word hyperupsōsen (“highly exalted”) is a compound superlative – God did not merely exalt Christ but super-exalted him, raising him to the highest possible position. The “name above every name” is almost certainly the divine name itself – kyrios (Lord), the Greek translation of Yahweh in the Septuagint. Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:23, where Yahweh declares: “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” In Isaiah, this is a statement of strict monotheism – Yahweh alone is God, and every creature will acknowledge it. Paul takes this most monotheistic of texts and applies it to Jesus. This is not a departure from monotheism but its radical redefinition: the one God of Israel has revealed himself fully and finally in the crucified and risen Jesus.

Following the hymn, Paul draws out the practical implications: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:12-13). This is not salvation by works but the outworking of salvation already received – the believer’s active cooperation with God’s indwelling energy. Paul then calls the Philippians to “do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (2:14-15). The phrase “crooked and twisted generation” echoes Deuteronomy 32:5, Moses’s description of rebellious Israel. The Philippians are the new covenant community called to be what Israel was meant to be: luminaries (phōstēres) in the darkness.

The chapter concludes with Paul’s commendation of Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19-30). Timothy is praised as one who “genuinely cares” for the Philippians – the only co-worker Paul describes in such terms. Epaphroditus, the Philippians’ messenger who brought their financial gift to Paul, nearly died from illness during his mission and is to be received back “with all joy” and honored “because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me” (2:30). Both men embody the pattern of the Christ Hymn: self-emptying service for the sake of others.

Key Themes

• The kenosis pattern: descent and exaltation – Christ’s movement from divine glory through incarnation, servanthood, and cross-death to cosmic lordship establishes the fundamental pattern for all Christian existence: the way up is down
• Jesus as Yahweh – The application of Isaiah 45:23 to Jesus constitutes one of the most radical Christological claims in the New Testament, placing Jesus within the identity of the one God of Israel
• Humility as community ethic – The Christ Hymn is introduced not as a doctrinal treatise but as the basis for Christian unity; the same mind that emptied the Son of God must govern relationships within the church

Connections

• Old Testament Roots: Isaiah 45:23 (every knee will bow to Yahweh); Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (the Suffering Servant who is exalted after humiliation); Deuteronomy 32:5 (a crooked and twisted generation); Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man receives universal dominion)
• New Testament Echoes: John 1:1-14 (the Word who was God became flesh); Colossians 1:15-20 (the preeminence of Christ in creation and redemption); Hebrews 1:3-4 (the Son who sustains all things, then sat down at God’s right hand); Revelation 5:6-14 (every creature bowing to the Lamb)
• Parallel Passages: John 1:1-14, Colossians 1:15-20, Isaiah 45:23, Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Reflection Questions

1. What is the significance of Paul using the same Greek word morphē for both Christ’s divine nature (“form of God”) and his incarnate identity (“form of a servant”), and what does this tell us about the reality of both his deity and his humanity?
2. How does the structure of the Christ Hymn – descent followed by exaltation – serve as both a theological statement about who Jesus is and a practical model for how Christians should live in community?
3. Where in your life are you clinging to a privilege, status, or comfort that Christ is calling you to release for the sake of serving others? What would it look like to “have this mind” in that specific situation?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God did not grasp at equality but emptied yourself for our sake – we bow before the mystery of your descent. You who held the stars in your hands took the form of a slave. You who spoke the universe into being became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And therefore God has given you the name above every name. We confess with every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth: Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Give us your mind – the mind that relinquishes privilege, embraces humility, and trusts the Father to exalt in his own time. Amen.