By David Webb

The fundamental premise stated throughout the Scriptures is that Jesus was God incarnate. Simply put, Jesus claimed nothing less than absolute equality with God even though He had taken upon Himself the form of man while on the earth. He was able to speak with impunity of God as "My Father," making Himself equal with God (John 5:16-18). He used the designation "I AM" (John 8:56-59) to claim deity for Himself; a claim which outraged the Pharisees because they perceived His words as asserting equality with God, the Great "I AM" of Exodus 3:14. Jesus also boldly proclaimed, "I and My Father are one;" an assertion for which the Jews immediately took up stones against Him for making Himself God (John 10:30-32).

Jesus later rebuked one of His own disciples who asked, "show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." Jesus replied, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?" (John 14:8-10). The gospel of John, perhaps more than any other, portrays Jesus as God in human form: the incarnate Christ who came down to the earth to live and die as a man while at the same time retaining His divinity as God the Son. But John's gospel isn't the only place where the divinity of Jesus is established. The theme of the deity of Christ runs throughout the New Testament.

Although the gospel of John is principally devoted to establishing this fact, the deity of Christ is well documented elsewhere. Two New Testament passages provide us with special insight that help us develop a deeper understanding of this mystery, Hebrews 1:3 and Philippians 2:5-8.

Hebrews 1:3
In the first chapter of Hebrews, the writer speaks of what God the Father ccomplished through Jesus Christ: God "has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" (Hebrews 1:2-4). But verse 3 hold a key that helps us unlock some of the mystery about the incarnate Christ. The writer describes Jesus as "the brightness of His (God's) glory and the express image of His (God's) person" (Hebrews 1:3).

The word "image" in this verse is from the Greek word "charakter," which was used to refer to a tool that was used to make an exact reproduction of an image, much like a signet ring leaves an exact reproduction of the design of the ring in the soft wax into which it has been pressed.

Therefore, Jesus is the exact reproduction of God's person. The word "person" in this passage is the Greek word "hupostasis," and is more accurately translated "substance." This means that while on earth, Jesus Christ was the very image of God's divine nature to the extent that He likewise possessed the same nature. He was of the same "substance" as God.

Since God is deity, so was Jesus Christ. He was the exact reproduction of the substance of God. Therefore, Jesus did not shed His divine nature as God the Son when He took upon Himself the form of man. He still possessed the exact substance of God.

Philippians 2:5-8
Paul wrote, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:5-8). The apostle Paul tells us although Jesus was in the "form" of God, He did not consider His equality with God something to be held onto. Therefore, He took the "form" of a bondservant and came in the "likeness" and "appearance" of a man. Two words are essential to our understanding here.

The word "form" is from the Greek "morphe," and means the nature or essence of something, not in an abstract sense, but actually subsisting in the individual. When Paul says Jesus was in the "form" of God, he is affirming that Jesus was truly the same nature and essence of God. But Jesus became in nature and essence the "form" of a bondservant when He came in the "likeness" and "appearance" of man.

The word "likeness" is from the Greek "homoioma," which denotes a resemblance, and says that while Jesus was in the true nature and essence (or "form") of God, He took upon Himself the resemblance of man. The expression "likeness of men" does not imply that Jesus took on the nature or essence of man, because His nature and essence was God. Nor does the expression exclude or diminish His deity. What it says is that when Jesus was seen in the eyes of men, He appeared as any other man outwardly: He was like other men in His form, bearing, language, actions, and life. But inwardly, Jesus was deity. He was divine and possessed the same qualities and characteristics of God, because His nature and essence were divine. He was God the Son wrapped in human flesh.

But in taking the form of a bondservant, Jesus gave up something. What was it that Jesus willingly surrendered to take upon Himself the form of a man? When contemplating the deity of Jesus Christ and His incarnation, there is a particular question that has puzzled many, and has led others to assume false conclusions. The question is simply, "What did God the Son surrender, if anything, when He took upon Himself the form of a man?"

In the letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7). The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translation of verses 6-7 read slightly different. It says of Jesus, "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." Does this verse suggest that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity? Did Jesus surrender His divine attributes when He took upon Himself the form of a bondservant? And if Jesus emptied Himself of His deity, was He simply a man while on earth, and not God wrapped in human flesh?

What Did Jesus Give Up?
The Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ was fully God while in the form of a man. The apostle Paul declared of Christ, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9). The New American Standard Bible translation (NASB) is even more emphatic: "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form." In other words, while Jesus was in bodily form the fullness of Deity dwelled in Him. This is another way of saying that in the bodily form of Jesus, all the qualities, characteristics, and attributes of God dwelled.

Jesus was truly God in human flesh or bodily form. Therefore, it would be contradictory for the same apostle Paul to say to the church at Philippi that Jesus surrendered the qualities, characteristics and attributes of God when He took upon Himself the form of a bondservant. Jesus had to have surrendered something else, for He certainly did not surrender or empty Himself of His deity. His divine nature remained in tact, and He was as much God in human form as He was before He assumed human form. What did Jesus give up? The apostle Paul provides us with the answer when he says, "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8).

When Jesus took "the form of a bond-servant" and was "made in the likeness of men," He also "humbled Himself." The word "humbled" is from the Greek word "tapeinoo," which, means "to bring low, abase, or to make oneself of low condition." The opposite of this word is "to exalt oneself, lift up, or to become haughty, proud, or elevated above others." In his Word Pictures In The New Testament, Robertson writes, "Of what did Christ empty Himself? Not of His divine nature. That was impossible. He continued to be the Son of God." We might say Jesus emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives; choosing to voluntarily humble Himself as a servant, and deny Himself by refraining from the use of His divine powers on certain occasions. But He did not
"empty Himself" of His divine nature.

What Jesus Did Not Give Up?  Returning to Philippians chapter two, we are told that Jesus, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:6-7). Prior to His incarnation, Jesus was in the "form of God;" meaning He not only possessed the divine attributes of God, but an essence and substance, or "form," that is exclusively peculiar to deity. Whatever Jesus laid aside when He took another "form," that of a bondservant, coming in the likeness or "form" of a man, one thing is clear. In laying aside the "form of God," Jesus did not lay aside or divest Himself of His divine nature. Even in the "form of a bondservant," the apostle Paul tells us that in Jesus "all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form." In emptying Himself, Jesus did not empty Himself of His divine qualities, characteristics or attributes. Whatever Jesus may have surrendered, He did not surrender His deity.

Clearly, these issues concern concepts of God's nature that are perhaps beyond our ability to fully grasp. But one thing is certain. Jesus left heaven as God the Son, humbled Himself by the restraint of His divine prerogatives, clothed Himself with a human "form," but still retained His deity and his divine attributes. Jesus was still God wrapped in human flesh. He was still "Immanuel, which is interpreted 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:23).