Flagellation. Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Date: c. 1607.
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The Flagellation of Christ, Artist: Nicola Grassi, c. 1720, Oil on canvas, 105 x 159 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
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⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

1. to empty, make empty
   • of Christ, he laid aside equality with or the form of God
2. to make void
   • deprive of force, render vain, useless, of no effect
3. to make void
   • cause a thing to be seen to be empty, hollow, false

Kenosis in Christology

Jawaharlal Nehru sitting next to Gandhi
at the AICC General Session, 1942.

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Specifically, it refers to those attributes of God that are thought to be incompatible with becoming fully human: God's omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience as well as his aseity and eternity for example. Theologians who support this often appeal to a reading of Philippians 2:5-8. Critics of Kenosis theology argue that the context of Philippians 2:5-8 is referring to Jesus voluntarily taking the form of a servant to conceal his divine glory (revealed temporarily in the Transfiguration of Jesus), or to forsaking his place and position in heaven to dwell among men, as opposed to forsaking his divine attributes or nature (see syncatabasis).

Kenotic Christology focuses on certain passages in the Gospels where Jesus questions his being called "good:"

• And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18
• And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Luke 18:19
• And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." Matthew 19:17

Why?

Jesus explains the general lack of comprehension regarding his teaching.

³⁰"I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³¹If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. ³²There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ³³You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, ³⁸and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ³⁹You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ⁴¹I do not receive glory from people. ⁴²But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. ⁴⁷But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" John 5:30-47

The Jews supposed that eternal life was divulged to them in their Scriptures, and that it was theirs', because they held the holy book in their possession. But, Jesus recommended that they search that book with more attentiveness and diligence. They Searched those Scriptures, but only to achieve their own glory. One can have an acute intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures and yet absorb little in the mind of the heart. He is also telling today's Christian community to search the Scriptures; that we must have more than intellectual knowledge in them... to search them, to study them. We must search the Scriptures for our eternal purpose. We must search them for Christ as the way to this purpose. His deposition includes reference to their lack of belief and the evil residing in them and their indifference of him and his teachings. Also he scolds them for their impoverishment of the love of God. The love of God that lives in us is that which God will accept. (Jn 5:45-47)

⁸Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16

• "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mark 13:32
• "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Matthew 24:36

English: A homeless man in Paris.
Français: SDF (Sans domicile fixe) à Paris.

Own work by Eric Pouhier. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.
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"Of all the things I have read what remained with me forever was that Jesus came almost to give a new law - not an eye for an eye but to receive two blows when only one was given, and to go two miles when they were asked to go one. I came to see that the Sermon on the Mount was the whole of Christianity for him who wanted to live a Christian life. It is that sermon that has endeared Jesus to me."
-Mahatma Gandhi

• Introductory narrative (Matthew 5:1-2) - a large crowd assembles due to Jesus healing the sick, so he climbs a mountain and speaks;
• The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12);
• The metaphors of Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16), which forms an introduction to the following section;
• The Expounding of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48), a deconstruction and reinterpretation of Mosaic Law and in particular the Ten Commandments;
• The Discourse on ostentation (Matthew 6), condemning fasting, alms, and prayer, when they are only done for show, and not from the heart. The discourse goes on to condemn the superficiality of materialism;
• Within the discourse is the Lord's Prayer, which Matthew presents as an example of correct prayer, but Luke places in a different context;
• The Discourse on judgementalism (Matthew 7:1-6), condemning those who judge others before first judging themselves;
• The Discourse on holiness (Matthew 7:7-29), which forms the summary conclusion of the sermon, warning against False prophets, and giving emphasis to the difficulty of doing what is right.

Eastern Orthodox Mysticism

Kenosis is not only a Christological issue in Orthodox theology, it has moreover to do with Pneumatology, namely to do with the Holy Spirit. Kenosis, relative to the human nature, denotes the continual epiklesis and self-denial of one's own human will and desire. With regards to Christ, there is a kenosis of the Son of God, a condescension and self sacrifice for the redemption and salvation of all humanity. Humanity can also participate in God's saving work through theosis; becoming holy by grace.[1]

Therefore, in Eastern Orthodoxy, theosis never concerns becoming like God in nature or essence, which is pantheism; instead, it concerns becoming united to God by grace, through his Energies. Since God in the Eastern traditions is somewhat panenthestic, Orthodox theology distinguishes between divine Essence and Energies. Kenosis therefore is a paradox and a mystery since "emptying oneself" in fact fills the person with divine grace and results in union with God. Kenosis in Orthodox theology is the transcending or detaching of oneself from the world or the passions, it is a component of dispassionation. Much of the earliest debates between the Arian and Orthodox Christians were over kenosis. The need for clarification about the human and divine nature of the Christ (see the hypostatic union) where fought over the meaning and example that Christ set the example of kenosis or ekkenosis.[2]

Protestantism

Catholicism

There is another enemy of the faith of Chalcedon, widely diffused outside the fold of the Catholic religion. This is an opinion for which a rashly and falsely understood sentence of St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (ii, 7), supplies a basis and a shape. This is called the kenotic doctrine, and according to it, they imagine that the divinity was taken away from the Word in Christ. It is a wicked invention, equally to be condemned with the Docetism opposed to it. It reduces the whole mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption to empty the bloodless imaginations. 'With the entire and perfect nature of man'--thus grandly St. Leo the Great--'He Who was true God was born, complete in his own nature, complete in ours' (Ep. xxviii, 3. PL. Liv, 763. Cf. Serm. xxiii, 2. PL. lvi, 201). [3]

Gnosticism

The kenotic ethic

See also

• Christlike
  • We see Christ as one who not only carried out the will of God, but one who sought God's Will during times of solitude in prayer. Jesus sacrificed Himself to carry out the will of God. He could have stopped it at any time, but He allowed it to happen because it was God's Will and because He loves us that much.

    ³⁹ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39 ESV)

References

• "The oneness of Essence, the Equality of Divinity, and the Equality of Honor of God the Son with the God the Father." Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95
• "The oneness of Essence, the Equality of Divinity, and the Equality of Honor of God the Son with the God the Father." Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95

Biblical Cross-References

• Philippians 2:5-8
  1. Philippians 2:5 » Rom 15:3; Matt 11:29
  2. Philippians 2:6 » John 1:1
  3. Philippians 2:6 » 2 Cor 4:4
  4. Philippians 2:6 » John 5:18; 10:33; John 14:28
  5. Philippians 2:7 » 2 Cor 8:9; 13:4; Mark 9:12
  6. Philippians 2:7 » Isa 42:1; Matt 20:28
  7. Philippians 2:7 » Rom 8:3; Gal 4:4; John 1:14
  8. Philippians 2:8 » Heb 5:8; Matt 26:39; John 10:18; Rom 5:19
  9. Philippians 2:8 » Heb 12:2

References

1. «  "The oneness of Essence, the Equality of Divinity, and the Equality of Honor of God the Son with the God the Father." Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95
2. «  "The oneness of Essence, the Equality of Divinity, and the Equality of Honor of God the Son with the God the Father." Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95
3. «  Sempiternus Rex Christus
4. «  G. R. S. Mead (translator) : Pistis Sophia. (lib. 1, cap. 6) ) http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ps/ps010.htm (p. 6)
5. «  Yang Erzeng (translated by Philip Clart) : The Story of Han Xiangzi. University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2007. ISBN 0-295-98690-5. p. 223
6. «  ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 ESV)