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must be, He emptied Himself of that which He did not regard as a prize. He did not lay aside His essential
nature, He did lay aside the glory that was His own proper right. Let us now look at the words:
`... made Himself of no reputation' (A.V.).
`Emptied Himself' (R.V.).
The two words `Not ... but' leave no room for doubt as to what was `emptied'. The being on equality with God,
the ministry of thousands of angels, the glory, this He voluntarily laid aside. The two statements:
Himself He emptied.
Himself He humbled.
explained one another. Chrysostom in his commentary on Philippians says:
`What then should we say in answer to Arius, who said that the Son is of other substance (than the Father)? Tell
me what is the meaning of this - He took the form of a servant? He became man says Arius. Therefore also
subsisting in the form of God, He was God ... The form of a servant - man by nature; therefore the form of God -
God by nature'.
Bishop Pearson draws attention to the inexactness of the A.V. In the A.V. we read:
`... made Himself of no reputation,
took upon Him the form of a servant,
was made in the likeness of
AND
AND
men' (Phil. 2:7).
Here we have two copulative conjunctions `and', and three distinct propositions. The original is not so. The
words together give one expression of the condescension of Christ:
`But emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men'.
The humiliation thus commenced goes down to the death of the cross; then comes the glorious exaltation:
`Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a (the) name which is above every name: that at
(in) the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father' (Phil.
2:9-11).
We now reach the verse to which you drew attention. Your comment was, I believe, that every tongue is not
going to confess that Jesus Christ is God, but Lord, to the glory of God, Who is not Christ, but the Father.
A - Yes, that was my statement.
B - In the first place we have seen that the Saviour laid aside His glory, but not His Godhead. That glory we see
given back in the great exaltation. This exaltation answers John 17:5:
`And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the
world was'.
The structure of the passage may be helpful to us:
A1
EQUALITY.
The accompaniments of Deity.
B1 a1
He emptied Himself.
1
b
Servant. To obey.
1
c
Likeness of men. Kinsman redeemer.
d1
Found in fashion as man.
a1
He humbled Himself.
b1
Obedient. As servant.
c1
Death. Kinsman redeemer.