Did God become man? (Philippians 2:5-11)

Does Philippians 2:5-11 describe an eternal pre-incarnate God the Son humbling himself to become man?

 Short answer: No.

 These are notes for two episodes of the One God Report podcast, the first one here, and the second here, in which we explain some problems and contradictions with the "deity of Christ" interpretation of Philippians 2, and suggest a better way to understand this portion of Scripture:

1.      When Christ Jesus "emptied" and "humbled" himself, he was a human being, not a pre-human deity. The acts of emptying and humbling himself relate to his obedience to God as a human being on planet earth, to be a servant of God and to die on the cross, not "to become a human being".

 

2.      It is very, very, very unlikely that Paul would discuss what would be an essential feature of Christianity, “God becoming man”, in a by-the-way manner when he is describing the necessary unity through humility of the believers. Nowhere else does Paul describe the realities of a supposed God becoming a human. Should not such a stupendous, essential doctrine receive at least whole chapter, yea verily chapters in this book and in the book of Romans? Paul supposedly here took three verses (6-8) to tell us that “one member of a tri-personal godhead became man”. Essential doctrines should not be built from less clear passages. 

3.      The “god became man” theory ignores the rest of this letter and the rest of Paul’s letters in which Jesus Christ is distinguished from God. In Paul’s letters God is the God of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God is the Father (e.g., 1 Cor. 1:3, 8:6; Eph. 1:3, 17; 1 Tim. 2:5). Note how Paul differentiates between God (all of God, not just one member of a godhead) – Paul differentiates between God and Jesus Christ four times in Philippians 2:5-11, and consistently throughout the book of Philippians (some 13 times, e.g., 1:2, 11; 2:6, 9, 11; 3:3, 14; 4:19-20; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4-5). The context of the Letter to the Philippians shows that in these few verses in chapter 2 Paul is talking about the human being, Jesus Christ. To Paul, God is someone other than Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is someone other than God. Paul never describes Jesus Christ as God, in this book or in any other book. 

4.      No Trinity in these verses. The deity of Christ interpretation only becomes the non-biblical building block from which the mind of man constructs a three-person deity.

 

5.      The verses here contain some difficult, dense, perhaps even poetic language. Some people think vss. 5-11 were originally a poem or hymn. The way one translates and interprets many of the words in this section will depend on a person’s presuppositions. In other words, there are translation issues. There is no mention of a tri-partite god council or decision of an eternal god person or persons in this text in which one divine person is to become human. Such an idea is only presupposition and read into the text. 

 

Philippians 2:5, Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

 

6.      Paul is describing the mind of Christ Jesus. Again, the title (Christ/Messiah) and name (Jesus) of the human being, not of an assumed pre-incarnate "Second Person of the Godhead". In the Bible Christ is never a title for God. The title is applied to human beings who are anointed by God. And, even in "deity of Christ" theology the "pre-incarnate second person of the godhead" is not Jesus the Christ. Jesus is the name of the human person given to Jesus when he was eight days old, and Christ is the title of the human Jesus (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5). 

 

7.      It is unlikely and unreasonable to think that Paul would use as an example the mind, decision or attitude of an eternal God who transformed into a human being as something for us to emulate in order to preserve the unity of believers. Paul expects his readers to have the same mind as was in Christ Jesus. That would be impossible if Paul was referring to an eternally pre-existent God who became a man. That would be like encouraging us to become an ant. Actually, something even less than an ant since both ants and we are created beings. But deity of Christ proponents want to interpret Paul as declaring in these few verse that the uncreated creator became part of creation.

 

8.      Paul is calling for a humility of mind among believers to be humble like Christ Jesus in order to preserve unity among the body of believers.

 

Philippians 2:6: who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

 

9.      Verse 6 has some challenging Greek words. Being in "the form of God" means Jesus is not God. The word for "form" morphe, which is also in vs. 7 (“form of a servant”) does not have reference to the metaphysical nature of Jesus. Having the “form of a servant” has nothing to do with metaphysical nature. Paul is not stating that Jesus is the same metaphysical “substance” as God as the NIV translation biasly translates: “who, being in very nature God”!

 

10.  Other places in the Bible show that “form” has to do with what is seen, the outward appearance. ‘form of God’ is about God-representation or manifestation, and not incarnation. A form manifests or shows what the real - which is not the form - is like. A child’s hand pressed in wet concrete is the form, but is not the hand. A picture presents a form of a person, but is not the person. As the sent, obedient Son of God, the Messiah Jesus was a representative of God. We can see in God in Christ’s life, in Christs manner, demeanor and behavior. Jesus manifested the grace, truth and kindness of God. Another way Jesus was in the form of God is shown by the miracles that Jesus did, which God impowered Jesus to do. Jesus represents God. As Jesus said “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

 

11.  “equality” ἶσα is a neuter, plural, adjective, functioning as a substantive, “equal things”. Jesus had a certain functional equality with God in realms that Jesus declared were given to him by God (to judge, forgive sin, raise the dead, etc. See John 5:18, “equal with the Father”). These are the “equal things”, not a metaphysical one-to-one equality with God, that Jesus was ready to give up.

 

12.  The word “a thing to be grasped” ἁρπαγμὸν (masc. singular noun) is “one of the most analyzed words in the New Testament”. As a noun it is “plunder, loot” but can also be something like a “prerogative”. With a verbal sense, “robbery, seize, to be grasped”. Scholars debate whether Paul is talking about something Jesus had and was willing to let go, or about something he didn’t yet have but would not “seize”.  My understanding: Jesus knew and knows he does not have to seize or hold on to the God-given representational equalities he has with God. Jesus is confident and secure in his authorization by God in these areas. He knows he has authority to represent God because God has given the authority to him. He didn’t need to wrangle, manipulate and maneuver like other rulers of the earth to hold onto or keep these God-given authorities.

 

Philippians 2:7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in the likeness of a man

 

13.  The human Christ Jesus "emptied himself", taking on the form (morphe) of a servant. Paul does not say that Christ Jesus "emptied himself" of his deity to become a man, but that Jesus "emptied himself, taking/receiving on the form of a servant". Jesus had all the powers and privileges – the God given equalities, the “form of God” miracle worked - as the designated Messiah King of Israel, but he emptied himself and took the form (morphe), that is, presented himself, as a servant. The transformation is from something like divinely empowered king to servant, not God to man. See John 13:14 “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet”.

 

“taking the form of a slave” can be “receiving the form of a slave”.

 

Again, the use of form (morphe) for servant shows form (morphe) does not relate to essence or nature (as NIV translates in and many Trinitarians take vs. 6).  Being a servant has nothing to do with metaphysics, nature or essence. It deals with role, position, status and quite frankly, how one looks. So verse 6 is not talking about Jesus Christ’s nature, but about his position or status as a human being.

 

14.  Jesus "being/being made in the likeness of men, in the fashion of men" (2:7-8) means that Jesus is a human being. Jesus was a man “like” Adam. “Being born” is not a good translation of γενόμενος (aorist middle participle of γίνομαι) as a comparison with other translations shows. The verse does not relate to Jesus’ birth. NET “sharing in human nature” for “being in the likeness of men”.  Think that translation is biased?

 

This doesn’t mean that he was not a human, only “like a human”, but that he was “like men” in all respects. He was just like us (men, humans). He was a man like me. Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God…”

 

15.  Some translations (RSV) have “being born in the likeness of men”, as if Jesus wasn’t really a human, but was sort of “like” a human, or just looked like a human. Aside from the fact that such a concept is the spirit of anti-christ that denies that Jesus is a real human person, the verb is γίνομαι which is not the word to “be born”, but “to be, become, come”. To “be born” is an incorrect translation bias.

 

16.  The punctuation of the verse is important. Could there be a period after “servant”.  “…but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in the likeness of a man he humbled himself

 

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

 

17.  Jesus’ act of humbling himself was not as God to become man, but as a human in obedience to God to the point of death.  Again, Jesus Christ was a human being when he humbled himself. Jesus Christ was obedient to God to the extent of death on a cross.  This means that Jesus is not God - he is obedient to God, and God does not die. In the next verse the God of Jesus is mentioned. The God of Jesus exalted Jesus.

 

2:8 elaborates on what Paul said in 2:7.
emptied himself - humbled himself

taking the form of a servant - became obedient (unto death)

 

These are evidences that 2:7 is also about the human Jesus.

 

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name

 

18.  Verses 9-11 show that Jesus is not God. Jesus is differentiated clearly from God. God exalted Jesus Christ and gave him a name above all names. This means that Jesus is not God, since God exalted Jesus, and gave Jesus a name.

 

19.  Jesus Christ's exaltation and glory is never described as something he "gave up" and then "received back" again. Rather, his exaltation and glory is something he received only after his death.

 

20.  “bestowed on him the name that is above every name” As the New Testament says in many locations (e.g. Matt. 28:18, 1 Cor. 15:27, Eph. 1:19-23, Col. 1:18, Heb. 1:13) Jesus has been exalted by God (not just one member of a multi-person god) to God’s right hand and God has given to the man Jesus all authority in heaven and earth. The path to exaltation and glory was humility. This is the lesson we need to learn from Philippians 2. 

Philippians 2:10-11   

 

21.  Some deity of Christ believers think since this verse is applied to Yahweh in Isaiah 45:23 (cf. Rom. 14:11), Jesus is Yahweh. But they fail to realize that Jesus is the agent through or in whom praise goes to Yahweh, who is God the Father. We confess that Jesus is Lord Messiah (Acts 2:36) because God has made Jesus Lord, not LORD Yahweh. The ultimate goal of the confession that Jesus is Lord Messiah brings glory to the One God, the Father.

 

22.  To make the Messiah Jesus of Phil. 2:5-8 a pre-incarnate god person denies that the real human Messiah Jesus did anything. Interpreting passages like Philippians 2:5-9 (cf. also Colossians 1:15-19, Hebrews 1) as describing the “deity of Christ” has a certain sinister, even satanic motivation. The “deity of Christ” interpretations of these passages attempt to rob the human person Jesus the Messiah of who he is and what he did as a human being. In this way the "deity of Christ" interpretations are anti-Messiah, anti-Christ.

 

23.  “Deity of Christ” interpretations, when unmasked, are an expression of satanic jealousy. The “deity of Christ” interpretation of Philippians 2:5-8 ignores and attempts to deflect who the man Messiah Jesus is, and what he did, and attempts to give his glory to some non-existent pre-incarnate being. “The man Jesus Christ didn’t empty himself or humble himself in Philippians 2.”

 

24.  But Yawheh (God) says to the man Christ Jesus, “Sit at my right hand. Rule the Earth. Let all God’s angels worship him (Gen. 1:26, Psalm 2:6-8, Psalm 8:3-9, Psalm 110:1-2, Heb. 1:6, 1 Pet. 3:22). Will you and I bow the knee to God's designated human Messiah Jesus, or will we continue to insist that Jesus must be "pre-existent God who took on human flesh” before we bow the knee to him, refusing God's Messiah and God's will for us? 

When he was on earth, the human Messiah Jesus whom Paul described in Phil. 2:5-8 humbled himself, obeyed God to the point of death, was put to death, but was raised from the dead by his God, who exalted him and made him Lord. The same general principle is taught be 1 Peter 5:6 and James 4:10.

Philippians 2 and Gethsemane

The “deity of Christ” interpretation of Philippians 2:5-8 makes a mockery of the Gospels’ description of Jesus in Gethsemane.

Supposedly as God, Jesus had long ago (before creation?) decided (willed) and humbled himself to become a man. But here he is in Gethsemane forgetting that he made that decision and now he is hoping that there might be some way out, some reversal of his incarnation and impending death.