In the form of God; Philippians 2:5-9

5 Let that disposition be in you which also [is] in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not deem the being like God as a robbery, 7 but emptied Himself, and took the form of a slave, and became like men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, yes, unto the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted Him and granted Him the name above every name…
Philippians 2:5-9 (NBG+)

Philippians 2 is not about the preexistence of Jesus before his birth, but about the preexistence of Christ Jesus before his exaltation. Paul speaks of the One who is now exalted and is in God’s form. Of Him he says that He did not rob that position, but received it from God.

His “emptying Himself” does not refer to laying aside a heavenly nature, but to his humiliation here on earth: He took the form of a slave and became obedient unto the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him.

The movement in Philippians 2 therefore runs from below to above, not from above to below. First the humiliation of Jesus, then the exaltation to Christ Jesus in God’s form. That is also why Paul says: “Therefore God also highly exalted Him.”

the incarnation an act of God

If the emptying in Philippians 2 referred to the becoming human (incarnation), then Christ made Himself human. But Scripture speaks differently. Jesus was begotten because the spirit of the Most High came over Mary (Luke 1:35). His becoming human is not an act of Himself, but of his God and Father. The emptying does not concern Jesus’ begetting or birth, but the moment He took the form of a slave and became obedient unto the death of the cross.

In summary: Paul does not describe a descent from a prior divine condition, but the way along which Christ came to his exaltation. He did not rob or seize it, but emptied Himself; He did not exalt Himself, but humbled Himself. Therefore God exalted Him. That is the line of the text — and whoever reads preexistence here reads more into the text than is explicitly said.

Delen: