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Did Jesus Stop Being God While On Earth? - Looking at the Incarnation, pt. 2

I'll confess that this particular misconception is one I believed for a while several years ago. The idea of God giving up his divinity while on Earth in the person of Jesus appealed to me. It made the Incarnation seem so much more like a sacrifice and learning experience on God's part. It also seemed to gel nicely with a certain Bible passage that we are going to talk about shortly. 

However, the idea that Jesus gave up being God while he was on Earth not only doesn't make sense it also completely devalues the Incarnation. It is, at its core, a way of simplifying the mystery. Before discussing why this view is errant we should examine the Bible passage it is based on; one of the central texts concerning the Incarnation, Philippians 2:5-11.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - ESV

The key phrase in this passage is that Christ "emptied himself." What does this mean? Emptied himself of what? One line of thinking is that the Son "emptied himself" of being God so that he may become human. This is the basis of our misconception, and it is quite prevalent today. It's easy to see why.

We know that God is omnipresent, existing everywhere at once, but Jesus was in one particular place. How does that work? If Jesus gave up, even in part and for a limited amount of time, his divinity then the mystery is solved! While on Earth Jesus had given up his omnipresence. The same holds true with all the other attributes of God that we have trouble imagining meshing with a human being. 

The problem with this interpretation, first and foremost, is that it contradicts other passages of Scripture. In Colossians 1:19 it states "In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell..." Not some emptied out version of God, but the fullness of God. It also calls into question many of Jesus' statement claiming to be God, because at the time he made them he wasn't really divine. 

So what does this idea that Christ "emptied himself" really mean? I think the answer is right there in the same passage. The Son "who was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped." He is God, but did not capitalize on that position. Rather, the Son "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant..." 

This serves in stark contrast to the story of Adam and Eve. The great temptation of the fruit was that they would "be like God." They grasped at the position and power, only to find themselves embroiled in sin and death. Jesus, who actually is God, did not. He was humble, willingly taking onto himself a human nature and living a life obedient to the Father. 

Far from this being a loss of divinity, this act of the Son is the exemplar to us of who God is. This humbling act is not in contrast to God's nature, it IS God's nature. It is a mystery most profound and a miracle most triumphant. 

The Infinite has been revealed perfectly through a finite man. The Eternal One shows himself most clearly through one bound by time. The Almighty's unlimited power is revealed in a man's weakness. Life itself is given because of one man's death. The Holy One dines with sinners. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords rules as a servant.

Jesus Christ is the fullness of God and the fullness of humanity. It is through man Jesus that God is perfectly and fully revealed. To take away the fullness of divinity from Jesus is to deprive the Incarnation of its very intent; to reveal the fullness of God to humanity through one who is fully human.

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