Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
From Greek kenoo (to empty), drawn from Philippians 2:7, where Christ made himself of no reputation (literally emptied himself, heauton ekenosen) in taking the form of a servant. The doctrine concerns the right interpretation of the Son's self-emptying in the incarnation, and the term must be carefully distinguished between its orthodox sense and the heterodox kenotic theory. The orthodox doctrine of the kenosis holds that the Son's self-emptying consisted not in the laying aside of His divine attributes or deity, but in the veiling of His glory and the taking on of the form of a servant — the addition of a true human nature, the assumption of the lowly condition of humanity, the voluntary submission to the humiliation of incarnate life and ultimately the cross. The Son did not cease to be God or divest Himself of any divine attribute; rather, the eternal Son, remaining fully God, took to Himself a full human nature and the lowly estate of a servant, veiling His divine glory and humbling Himself unto death (Philippians 2:6-8). The heterodox kenotic theory (developed in 19th-century German and British theology — Thomasius, Gess, and others) holds that the Son actually divested Himself of His divine attributes (or of the relative attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence) in becoming man, so that the incarnate Christ was not fully God during His earthly life. This is rejected by orthodox and Reformed theology as compromising the full deity of the incarnate Christ and the immutability of God (God cannot cease to be God or lay aside His essential attributes). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds the substantive orthodox doctrine of the kenosis: the Son emptied Himself not by subtraction (divesting deity or divine attributes) but by addition and humiliation (adding a true human nature, taking the form of a servant, veiling His glory, humbling Himself unto death); the incarnate Christ remained fully and unchangeably God while also becoming fully man, in the one Person, two natures, of the hypostatic union.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
From Greek kenoo (to empty); Philippians 2:7 (made himself of no reputation); the orthodox doctrine holds the Son emptied Himself by addition and humiliation (taking a human nature, the form of a servant, veiling His glory), not by divesting deity or divine attributes; rejects the heterodox kenotic theory.
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KENOSIS (DOCTRINE), n. (Christology; Greek kenoo, to empty; Philippians 2:7, heauton ekenosen, emptied himself) The orthodox doctrine: the Son's self-emptying consisted not in laying aside His deity or divine attributes, but in veiling His glory and taking the form of a servant — the addition of a true human nature, the assumption of the lowly condition of humanity, submission to humiliation and the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). The Son remained fully God. The heterodox kenotic theory (19th-c. Thomasius, Gess) holds the Son divested His divine attributes in becoming man, so the incarnate Christ was not fully God; rejected as compromising Christ's full deity and God's immutability. Emptying by addition and humiliation, not subtraction of deity.
📖 Key Scripture
Philippians 2:6-8 — "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
John 1:14 — "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Colossians 2:9 — "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Hebrews 1:3 — "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The heterodox kenotic theory (the Son divested His divine attributes in becoming man) compromises Christ's full deity and God's immutability; the orthodox doctrine holds the Son emptied Himself by addition and humiliation, not by subtraction of deity.
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The doctrine of the kenosis requires careful distinction between the orthodox sense and the heterodox kenotic theory. The heterodox kenotic theory (developed in 19th-century German theology by Thomasius, Gess, and others, and influential in some British theology) holds that the Son actually divested Himself of His divine attributes (or at least the relative attributes — omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence) in becoming man, so that during His earthly life the incarnate Christ was not fully God. This is rejected by orthodox and Reformed theology on substantive grounds: it compromises the full deity of the incarnate Christ (in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, Colossians 2:9); it contradicts the immutability of God (God cannot cease to be God or lay aside His essential attributes, for the divine attributes are not separable from the divine essence); and it undermines the hypostatic union (the incarnate Christ must be fully God and fully man in the one Person). The orthodox doctrine of the kenosis holds that the Son emptied Himself not by subtraction but by addition and humiliation: He did not lay aside His deity or divine attributes; rather, the eternal Son, remaining fully and unchangeably God, took to Himself a full human nature, assumed the form of a servant and the lowly estate of incarnate humanity, veiled His divine glory, and humbled Himself unto death (Philippians 2:6-8). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds the substantive orthodox doctrine: Christ emptied Himself by adding humanity and humbling Himself, not by divesting deity; the incarnate Christ remained fully God while becoming fully man.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek kenoo (to empty); Philippians 2:7; orthodox doctrine (emptying by addition and humiliation, not subtraction of deity); rejects the heterodox 19th-c. kenotic theory (divesting divine attributes).
Usage
"Kenosis: the Son's self-emptying in the incarnation (Philippians 2:7)."
"Orthodox doctrine: emptying by addition and humiliation, not by divesting deity or attributes."
"Rejects the heterodox kenotic theory (the Son divested His divine attributes in becoming man)."