Kenosis
Philippians 2:5-11 contains what scholars call the "kenotic hymn," where Paul writes that Christ Jesus "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant"
Philippians 2:5-11 contains what scholars call the "kenotic hymn," where Paul writes that Christ Jesus "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7). The Greek word kenōsis means "emptying" or "pouring out"—and what's radical is that God does this to himself. Christ didn't cease being God; he voluntarily set aside the privileges of deity to embrace full humanity, including its limitations and ultimately death on a cross.
This self-emptying establishes the pattern for Christian life. Paul introduces the hymn with "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). The kenotic movement—downward, outward, toward the other—is meant to reproduce itself in believers. Jesus himself taught this: "whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (Mark 10:43-44). The kingdom operates by inverted physics where descending is ascending, losing is gaining, dying is living.
The incarnation itself is kenotic. The Word who existed "in the beginning with God" (John 1:2) became flesh, fully divine yet fully dependent—needing to be fed, taught, protected. Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus "had to be made like his brothers in every respect" (Hebrews 2:17), experiencing temptation, suffering, even the learning process (Hebrews 5:8). God didn't playact humanity; he genuinely emptied himself into its constraints, which is why Jesus could truly be tempted yet without sin.
The practical implications extend everywhere. Paul tells husbands to love their wives "as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25)—a kenotic model of marriage. He describes his own ministry as being "poured out as a drink offering" (Philippians 2:17), using language that echoes Christ's self-emptying. Every act of genuine service, every laying down of rights for another's good, participates in the kenotic pattern.
Modern leadership theory has rediscovered this through "servant leadership," a term coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1970. Companies training leaders in kenotic principles—emptying themselves of ego and status to serve their teams—consistently show higher employee retention and organizational performance. The data confirms what Scripture knew: power wielded through self-emptying paradoxically becomes more effective than power grasped and hoarded. The cross remains the world's most counterintuitive leadership manual.