Kenosis of Christ

Dr. Mike Jackson discusses the kenosis of Christ, which refers to the self-limitation or emptying of Christ. Jesus willingly emptied himself of his divinity to become a real human being. He had feelings, emotions, and physical needs like any other human. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man simultaneously. He fulfilled God's covenant with David by being a physical descendant of David, and his genealogies in Matthew and Luke establish his human lineage. The kenosis is explained in Philippians 2:5-11, which emphasizes Jesus' eternal deity, real humanity, servanthood mission, and eventual exaltation. Jesus willingly made himself nothing and humbled himself to fulfill God's will. The kenosis means that Jesus voluntarily gave up some divine prerogatives and added unglorified humanity to his deity. Welcome to the Bible Institute online podcast, the teaching minister, Dr. Mike Jackson. And now, with today's Bible teaching, here's Dr. Mike. Today we're going to look at the kenosis of Christ. When we talk about the kenosis of Christ, we're talking about the self-limitation or emptying of Christ. This is very important when we understand the humanity side of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ willfully limited himself and he willfully emptied himself of his divinity so he can walk the face of the earth as a man. Through the incarnation, Jesus as God became a real man of human flesh. He had feelings. He had emotions. He had all of the human needs that every human being had. But he willfully limited himself and willfully emptied himself of his divinity to become a real man. Talking about the humanity of Jesus Christ, he was a real human being. He had feelings. He had emotions. He had to sleep. He had to eat. He got tired. But he willfully did this. He put limitations on himself and emptied himself of his divinity so he can walk the face of the earth as a human. But the question is, but how could God take on humanity and still be God? And so in this lesson of the kenosis of Christ, we are going to look at three aspects of the kenosis of Christ, his human side. We look at his deity, his divine side. But Jesus Christ was 100% God and he was 100% man at the same time. He never ceased being God. What else this does is shows his link to the physical line of David and his real humanity. God made a covenant to David. He said that someone from his lineage will always sit on the throne of Israel. God is spirit. We cannot be talking about a spiritual entity. He was talking about a physical entity. So it had to be a human. It had to be a man of flesh and blood to physically sit on the throne of David. When we look at the genealogies in Matthew and genealogies in Luke, that's why they're there, to establish the human line of Jesus Christ to David. Simeon, when he prophesied in the temple, when Jesus was presented after his birth on the eighth day, indicates clearly that Jesus was promised Old Testament Messiah. Luke chapter 2, verses 21 through 32. The scripture that we're going to look at today that explains in its totality the kenosis of Christ is in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 11. In verse 5, it says, And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. What are we talking about? We're talking about the kenosis of Jesus Christ, the self-limitation or self-emptying of his deity to walk in his humanity. And being found in appearance of man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the cross. Therefore, verse 9, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the sun, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2, 5 through 11 is the kenosis of Jesus Christ. Look at Romans 8, 3. It says this, For what the law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh. We're talking about the humanity of Jesus Christ. And God sent Christ. God was manifested in Christ in the flesh to fulfill the law, which the average human being could not do. But God did by sending his own Son in the likeness, that's the key word there, the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Jesus Christ, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sin, but he could not be the perfect sacrifice for our sin as a spirit being. He had to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin as a human being. He had to deal with the same temptations, struggles, desires. If you recall in the Luke 4, Matthew 4, the devil tried to tempt him in his humanity side. He said, if you're the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. Spirits can't eat bread, but a human being needs bread to sustain his physical life. Remember, Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. So the first temptation that the devil used was on his humanity side. And with each temptation, Jesus was able to overcome the temptation because of the word. So let's look at Hebrews 2, verse 14. It says, since the children have flesh and blood, he being Christ, shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is the devil. But the key part here is he did it in his humanity, his kenosis, his self-emptying of himself. Every time the devil tried to tempt him, he tempted him in the flesh. But he was able to break the power of sin and the power over the one who had the power of death in his humanity as a human being. To give an example for you and I, the example for you and I is if we're in Christ and Christ is in us and his word dwells in us and we dwell in his word, we too have the power to break any temptation or anything that Satan might throw our way. But you have to do it in Christ's strength, in Christ's power. Why? Because only Christ had the power to break the strongholds of Satan over our lives. When we look at Philippians 2, 5 through 11, there's four basic truths about Christ. Point number one, the eternal deity of Christ. In verse 6 it says, and being in the very nature of God. Jesus Christ, even when he lived here on earth, he never ceased being God. He is the very nature of God. Number two, the real humanity of Christ. Verse 7 of Philippians 2, and being made in human likeness. He was God in the flesh. Number three, the servanthood mission of Christ. He was a doulos, he was a servant. He came to serve humanity through his example, through his teachings. Verse 8 says, as a man he became obedient, even to death on the cross. That means that he came to do the will of God and not the will of man. That means he came to do the will of God, not even the will of self. He walked in this humanity just like you and I. He had to be obedient. The kenosis, the self-limitation or emptying of himself. He was tempted in all ways like you and I, yet without sin. How did he do that? Through his obedience. Even to the cross. In the garden, before he went to the cross, he prayed to the Father. And he asked the Father, is there any way this cup can be passed from me? The cup was symbolic of death. But Jesus submitted himself and was obedient to the will of the Father. And he said, not my will, but your will be done. He went to the cross, and he died for you and I. That was his self-limitation and the emptying of his divinity. So he could accomplish what he was sent to do here on the earth as a man, as a human being. And because of that, number four, the exaltation of Christ. Every knee is going to bow. Every tongue is going to confess that Jesus is Lord. When you say that Jesus is your Lord, you're making him master, ruler over your life. You're taking on that same attributes of Jesus Christ when he walked the face of the earth. Not my will, but your will be done. But it says every knee is going to bow. Every knee of every God rejecter is going to bow. Every tongue of every person that cussed Jesus is going to confess that Jesus is Lord. Because God gave him that exalted position. And that's why every believer is going to stand before Christ because of the exalted position that God gave him. Every unbeliever, every God rejecter, everyone that cursed the name of Jesus is going to stand before him in judgment. Why? Because of the exalted position that God gave him. Everybody's going to acknowledge Jesus is Lord. It's just a matter of when. What does it mean to say Jesus made himself nothing? The kenosis, self-emptying, Philippians 2.7. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature form of a servant. And that word servant is doulos, which means a servant by his free will. Colossians 2.9 says, For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. Jesus Christ has always been God. There was never a time that he was not God. If he ceased to be God when he became a man, then he was not really God. He didn't cease to be God. He was always God, even in the flesh. So Jesus added humanity to his deity without subtracting from his deity in order to be the Savior. How did he do it? Willingly. How did he do it? Obediently. He added humanity to his deity without subtracting from his deity in order to be the Savior. So he was 100% God, 100% man. Some of y'all might be striking your head. How? We don't know how. The Bible don't tell us how. So we've got to take this by faith. This is what the Word says. This is what the Word means. We understand these theological concepts, the kenosis, the hypostatic union. We understand all these things. That's available for us to understand. What we need to know as believers and Bible students and Bible teachers is that Jesus willfully made himself nothing, the self-emptying of himself, of his deity to walk in and live, move, and have his being in his humanity without subtracting from his deity while here on the earth. What does the kenosis mean? Notice the phrases used in Philippians 6 and 8. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped or something to be held on to. That goes back to his willingness to do what he did. He did not consider equality with God something to be held on to or grasped. But he made himself nothing. He humbled himself in verse 8. He humbled himself to who? The will of the Father. He gave an example in the garden. Not my will, but your will be done. It's a willful act of Jesus Christ to do these things. The emphasis then of the kenosis is that Christ, number one, voluntarily gave up the right to use some of his divine prerogatives and his divine position for a time. He willfully did that. He condescended to add unglorified humanity to his deity. He became flesh. And no flesh can be glorified. But he took on the form of a man. He was willing to become flesh. He agreed to limit the use of some of his divine attributes while a man. So the emphasis then on the kenosis is that Jesus voluntarily depended on the Holy Spirit during his earthly ministry. Acts chapter 10 verse 38. Let's go here. It says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. And how he went around doing good, healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. In his humanity, God was with him. He voluntarily depended on the Holy Spirit during his earthly ministry. Guess what you and I have in us? The same Holy Spirit. If you read the writings of Paul, that's the emphasis that Paul put on our relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's for the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to willing to do of God's good pleasure. But you have to be dependent on the Holy Spirit leading. You have to be dependent on the Holy Spirit guiding his direction in order to live, move, and have our being as humans here in the earth. And especially when it comes to ministry. Jesus Christ was not trying to do ministry outside of the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit because he operated in his humanity. And just like Jesus Christ needed the Holy Spirit while he was on earth, you and I needed it too. He willfully sacrificed himself to become God's servant. Jesus Christ came to serve, not to be served. He came to teach what a servant leader is all about. He was our example. Jesus Christ willfully became a servant, sacrificially became a servant of God that led him to the cross instead of grasping, holding on to his glory, his divinity. Christ gained glory by giving up the right to his divine position and prerogatives for a season until he was ascended back up. So he gave up his divine position while on the earth and his prerogatives, what he wanted to do, for a season in order to accomplish the Father's redemptive plan. God had a plan for sending Jesus Christ to redeem lost mankind. He fulfilled it. He did it. Hebrews 1, 1 through 3, Hebrews 12 too. The main point of the kenosis is that Christ voluntarily limited his divinity, his deity, his divine nature, humbled himself and became a man to accomplish God's purpose in redemption. And yet he remained fully God.