but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;
Phil 2:7
ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος
but himself emptied {the form} {of a slave} taking, in likeness {of men} becoming, and {in fashion} {being found} as {a man}
Philippians 2:7 in Various Versions
- (ASV) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;
- (BBE) But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men;
- (CEV) Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.
- (CJB) On the contrary, he emptied himself, in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when he appeared as a human being,
- (ERV) Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God. He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form. During his life as a man,
- (ESV) but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
- (GNB) Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.
- (GW) Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance.
- (ISV) Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant’s form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be,
- (JUB) but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, made in the likeness of men,
- (KJV) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
- (LITV) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, having become in the likeness of men
- (MSG) Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!
- (Murdock) yet divested himself, and assumed the likeness of a servant, and was in the likeness of men, and was found in fashion as a man;
- (NLT) Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
- (TLB) but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.
- (TLV) But He emptied Himself—taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man.
- (TPT) Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human!
Literally in Greek we have three words which in English are translated as “but emptied himself”. The theologians turn this into a technical term using the verb [ἐκένωσεν] which is made reflexive by adding the word [ἑαυτὸν]. Turning a verb into a reflexive verb means the subject of the verb did the action to themselves. To turn this concept into a technical term the theologians have used the noun derived from the verb [κένωσἰς] Kenōsis to describe the action. The fact remains we have three words telling us what happened. He emptied himself. The commentators and theologians have then gone to work over the centuries to work out what Paul meant by these three words.
The verb [ἐκένωσεν] ekenōsen which derives from the root [κένως] kenōs means to make empty, evacuate, vacate, deprive, divest, relinquish, set or lay aside.
Therefore I have given you the layout above which gives you the explanation of what “he emptied himself” means across the versions. The various translations of the Bible can be helpful in giving you other ways of expressing the same idea.
In addition to that I have brought back the Propositional Analysis to remind you that this whole verse is layered in segments, each one a relative clause expressing the depth of what Paul was meaning with these words inspired by the Spirit of God.
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being made in the likeness of men;
and being found in fashion as a man,
Our challenge is to work how Christ Jesus can be fully God and fully man, Son of God and Son of Man and yet empty Himself of His equality with God. What does that mean and by extending the thought . . . what was He left with?
I will leave you to ponder these deep theological concepts before the next Gem. The three Greek words are expressed across the versions by the segments highlighted in yellow. Yet those concepts are set in the complete verse found in Philippians 2:7. A verse which is then set in the context of the one Greek sentence translated by Philippians 2:6-8. Yes it’s complicated but you knew that before we started.
Stay calm and read your Bible.
Work on your understanding of these deep concepts piece by piece, word by word, line by line, concept by concept.
Ian Vail
To whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
Isaiah 28:9-10