What Philippians 2:7 Means

There is a great deal of debate about the phrase 'Jesus emptied himself'. What is it exactly that Jesus emptied himself of? Did he somehow become 'less God'? Many Christians are genuinely confused about this while others use it to build an argument against the deity of Christ. But what is the context of this passage? What is the point that Paul was making? How do other translations render this phrase? Answering these questions will help us to properly interpret the text.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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 emptied himself, by 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. (Philippians 2:3–8)

A Teaching About Humility

Paul was exhorting the Philippians to follow the example of Christ's humility and to count others better than themselves. That is the point of this passage. Paul presented to them the depth of Christ's humility in that, being God, being the Sovereign ruler and creator of everything, he did not use that to separate himself from us. On the contrary, he put on our human flesh, lived among us, served us to the point of laying down his own life for us. Paul was not trying to say that Christ somehow let go of some attributes of God. The phrase ‘emptied himself’ in the ESV version is translated as ‘made himself nothing’ in the NIV and as ‘made himself of no reputation’ in the KJV.

Within the body of Christ, some Christians have in fact higher statutes than others by human standards. Some have a higher socio-economic status, better athletic skills, intelligence, physical beauty, communication skills, artistic abilities, etc. — all things that the natural man boasts about; but it is not so in the economy of the Kingdom of God. Paul is exhorting Christians not to regard ourselves better than others because of these but to instead serve one another just like Jesus did.

Conclusion

Philippians 2:5–8 is not teaching that Jesus ceased to be God or became less God when he was on earth. Jesus was and is fully God and fully man. The point of the passage is that despite being God and having all the rights and authority to separate himself from us sinners, He did just the opposite, remaining sinless, in order to save us.