GoedBericht.nl logo
English Blog

Philippians 2:6,7 – Being in the form of God

03-02-2023 - Posted by Hans

… Who being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God, nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave…

Last time we considered that “being in the  form of God” may refer to Christ Jesus’ current position. Because this honor came to Him from God (2:8.9), He does not regard it as robbery. His disposition is characterized precisely in the fact that He empties himself .

However, it could also be argued that “being in the form of God” refers to the glory of Christ as the Word made flesh, during His public ministry (John 1:14; 2:11). What was seen of Him was the “glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” He resembled His God and could truly say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

In any case, we can set aside the traditional explanation that “being in the form of God” refers to Christ’s existence before his begetting (his so-called pre-existence). It presupposes something that needs to be proven. Nowhere in Scripture do we read that the begetting of God’s Son would have been an act of Himself . God begat the Son, and thus the Word of God became flesh. God spoke His Word and Mary became pregnant.

Delen: