WP 114: Kenosis and the Christology Debate

Kenosis and the Christology Debate: what would Jesus do? How do I follow Jesus’ example if He is God and I am just a human?

How do we reconcile the fact that Jesus was fully God with the fact that Jesus was fully human? How can we honestly follow Jesus’ example when he had infinite resources of deity at his disposal? Can we really say he was tempted just like us and was without sin?

It’s an issue that has been discussed in Christian circles throughout the church’s history. All Christians believe that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. This doctrinal belief was formalized with the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 and became one of the central beliefs of Christianity. It contrasts with the belief of a variety of heretical groups who hold that Jesus was the first and greatest creation of God. This view is called Arianism and is espoused today by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as other unorthodox groups. The Christian view also contrasts strongly with that of Muslims and other groups who believe that Jesus was simply a prophet of God. It contrasts as well with various New Age views that see Jesus merely as a man who fully actualized his inner divinity. And it sharply contrasts with views of liberal scholars today (e.g., the Jesus Seminar) who try to argue that the historical Jesus—the Jesus “behind” the mythologized New Testament documents—was merely a Cynic philosopher or a religious and social revolutionary.

The Bible, however, clearly teaches that Jesus was fully God as well as fully human (John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:11–13). Within evangelical circles, the debate can be broken down into two broad camps:

• The Classical View: Many defend the more traditional view that Jesus exercised both his divine and human attributes at the same time. For example, this view maintains that Jesus could be omniscient as God and non-omniscient as human at the same time.
  
  
• Kenotic Christology: Others, however, hold to what is called kenotic Christology. This group maintains that God had to “empty himself” (kenosis in Greek) to become a full human being. They argue that the Second Person of the Trinity laid aside his omniscience in order to become fully human, for a person cannot be fully human and omniscient at the same time.

The Big Question Most of the objections and fears I’ve heard expressed of this view amount to this question. Does this view mean Jesus was not divine while on earth?

Colossians 2:9 – For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

Hebrews 1:3-4 – The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Hebrews 2:9 – But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Books Referenced:

His Mighty Strength - Randy Frazee
The Mosaic of Christian Belief - Roger E Olson

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