Kenosis

In Christian theology, kenosis (kénōsis) is the "self-emptying" of Jesus. The word ἐκένωσεν () is used in the Epistle to the Philippians: " made himself nothing" (NIV), or "[he] emptied himself" (NRSV) (Philippians 2:7), using the verb form κενόω (), meaning "to empty". The exact meaning varies among theologians. The less controversial meaning is that Jesus emptied his own desires, becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will, "obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross." Philippians encourages Christians to be similarly willing to submit to divine will, even if it comes at great personal cost. The phrase is also used to explain the human side of Jesus: that Jesus, to truly live as a mortal, had to have voluntarily bound use of his divine powers in some way, emptying himself. Philippians says that "though [Jesus] was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited," suggesting that Jesus was not "abusing" his divine status to avoid the implications of a mortal life. This interpretation is contested by others, who consider this to overly downplay the divine power of Jesus. The term kenosis comes from the Greek κενόω (), meaning "to empty out". The Liddell–Scott Greek–English Lexicon gives the following definition simplified for the noun: emptying, depletion, emptiness (of life) (Vettius Valens) depletion, low diet, as opposed to , fullness (Hippocrates) waning (of the moon) (Epicurus) The New Testament does not use the noun form , but the verb form occurs five times (Romans 4:14; 1 Corinthians 1:17, 9:15; 2 Corinthians 9:3; Philippians 2:7) and the future form once. Of these five times, Philippians 2:7 is generally considered the most significant for the Christian idea of kenosis: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself (ekenōsen heauton), taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.