Chapter 1: What Is “Emptying” (Kenosis)?

Chapter 1:

What Is “Emptying” (Kenosis)?

 

 

 

 

What Is the “Emptying” That Jesus Christ Demonstrated?

 

In Philippians 2, Paul presents to us the humility and self-emptying demonstrated by Christ.  Jesus humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, and obeyed the will of God to the very end.  What, then, is the “emptying” of which Scripture speaks?  To understand the answer, we must first look at Philippians 2:7: “Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.”  Contained within this single verse is an essential path that Christian discipleship is called to follow.

 

Emptying Begins with the Incarnation

 

We call the event in which Jesus Christ, who is God, took on a human body and came to this earth the Incarnation.  John 1:14 testifies: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”  The “Word” spoken of here is the One who was with God from the beginning and who is Himself God (v. 1).  All things were created through Him (v. 3), and in Him was life, and that life was the light of mankind (v. 4).  Yet that Word became flesh.  The Creator who made us descended to the place of the creatures He Himself had made.  The One who enjoyed the glory of heaven took on a human body, and the One who deserved to be exalted came to a lowly place.  The Incarnation is one of the most astonishing mysteries of the Christian faith.  The Creator came among His creatures, and the Lord descended to the place of a servant.  It is precisely here that the biblical meaning of “emptying” begins.

 

What Does “Kenosis” Mean?

 

The Greek verb translated “emptied himself” in Philippians 2:7 is kenoō (κενόω).  From this word comes the theological term Kenosis.  What, then, does it mean that Jesus emptied Himself?  The first thing that must be made absolutely clear is this: Jesus did not empty Himself of His divinity.  When Jesus became human, He did not cease to be God.  The incarnate Jesus was truly God and at the same time truly human.  To understand Jesus as having given up His divinity would distort the very heart of both the Incarnation and the gospel.  What, then, does it mean that He “emptied himself”?  The meaning becomes clearer when we look at the entire context of Philippians 2.  Although Jesus existed in the form of God, instead of clinging to His status and glory, He humbled Himself.  He took the form of a servant, became like human beings, and was obedient unto death—even death on a cross (vv. 6–8).  Therefore, Jesus’ self-emptying was not an emptying in which He gave up His divinity.  It was an emptying in which He humbled Himself and descended to the place of a servant.  Rather than insisting on His rights, the Lord served us.  Rather than displaying His glory, He humbled Himself.  Rather than putting His own will first, He obeyed the will of the Father.  Finally, on the cross, He gave Himself for us.  This is the Kenosis that Jesus demonstrated.

 

Emptying Is Not “Ceasing to Exist,” but “Offering Ourselves”

 

Here we discover an important principle concerning emptying.  To empty myself does not mean that I become a person of no value or significance.  Nor does it mean indiscriminately abandoning everything I possess.  Biblical emptying means emptying myself of the desire to be the master of my own life and offering myself to the will of God.  Jesus did not erase His own existence.  Rather, He offered Himself completely to God.  Therefore, emptying is not passive surrender but active obedience.  “Lord, I will choose Your will over what I want.”  “Rather than insisting on my rights, I will serve in love.”  This is biblical emptying.  This is biblical emptying.

 

Jesus’ Emptying Was Revealed in Service

 

In Philippians 2:7, Jesus’ self-emptying is immediately expressed in one particular form: “Taking the form of a servant.”  It is not enough simply to say that I have emptied myself in my heart.  If I have truly emptied myself, the result must be revealed in a life of serving others.  Jesus was the highest of all, yet He descended to the lowest place. The Lord deserved to be served, yet instead He served people.  In Mark 10:45, Jesus described His mission this way: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”  Therefore, Jesus’ emptying was not simply an event in which He “gave something up.” I t was an event in which He gave Himself so that others might live.  This raises an important question for us.  What must I empty?  But before asking that, we should ask: For whom must I empty myself in order to serve?  In this way, Christ’s emptying is always revealed through love and service.  Emptying always moves us toward love and service.

 

What Should Fill the Place That Has Been Emptied?

 

Yet there is another important truth we must remember.  Emptying itself is not the goal.  Simply creating an empty heart is not enough. What fills the emptied place is even more important.  Emptying itself is not the goal.  The emptied place must be filled with the mind of Christ.  Ultimately, the purpose of emptying is to have the mind of Christ.  That is why Philippians 2:5 begins: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”  This is precisely why Paul explains Jesus’ self-emptying.  He is not merely telling us to look at Jesus.  He is exhorting us to have the mind of Christ and to live in His likeness.  Therefore, Christian emptying is not an act of self-destruction.  Rather, it is offering ourselves so that Christ may live and work more fully within us.

 

Jesus’ Emptying Must Continue in Our Lives

 

Jesus’ self-emptying does not end merely as an event of the Incarnation that took place in the past.  Christ’s self-emptying must continue today in the lives of the disciples who follow Him.  Just as Jesus humbled Himself, obeyed the will of God, and served from the place of a servant, we too must empty ourselves of the desire to be our own masters and embrace the mind of Christ.  Therefore, “emptying” is not completed by a single decision.  It is an ongoing process of discipleship in which we follow Christ day by day.

 

At the End of Emptying Stands Christ

 

Jesus’ Kenosis was not a path of losing Himself.  It was the path of offering Himself completely for the will of God.  The Lord did not give up His divinity; He humbled Himself.  He did not insist on His rights; He served.  He did not seek to preserve Himself; He gave Himself for us.  Finally, He became obedient unto death—even death on a cross.  Therefore, the “emptying” of which we speak must follow this same path.  Emptying does not mean erasing myself; it means emptying myself of the desire to be my own master.  Emptying does not mean abandoning everything I possess; it means acknowledging that God is the Lord and Owner of everything I possess.  Emptying does not mean leaving nothing behind; it means making room to be filled with the mind of Christ.  And at the end of this emptying, we once again turn our eyes to Jesus: “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”  From this point forward, following Scripture, we will examine one by one what specifically must be emptied from our lives.  Following Christ’s self-emptying, we will stand before the Word and examine, one by one, what must be emptied from our own lives.  Every act of emptying must ultimately be an emptying that makes room for the mind of Christ.