Jamin Bradley

According to Paul’s famous Christ Hymn in Philippians 2:7-11, while Jesus was in the form of God, he emptied himself and took on human form, being obedient to death on the cross, which was an act that exalted him as Lord—a title that turned “ancient Jewish monotheism into a new christological monotheism.”¹ This emptying is known in theology as kenosis, an important concept we’ll address further here.

From a theopraxis standpoint, Michael J. Gorman recognizes that Jesus’ self-emptying teaches us that humans “are most like God when they act kenotically.”² From an emotional standpoint, David E. Fredrickson’s historical studies of kenosis “help us see that Christ’s story is about a lover longing for communion with a beloved.”³ And from a theological standpoint, Gregory A. Boyd explains that “Kenotic Christology holds that God the Son laid aside (kenosis) the use of certain divine attributes, such as his omniscience and omnipresence, precisely because these divine attributes would have precluded his ability to become a full human being.”⁴ Regardless of which view one might take, all three are theologically true and helpful to understanding the character and person of Christ. Though for the purposes of this paper, we’ll lean into the third standpoint.

Fully Man

In the gospels, Jesus is found to be just as human as any other human. He had friends, siblings, and parents he obeyed (Luke 2:51). He grew and learned (Luke 2:52), asked questions (Mark 9:21), and didn’t know things (Matt. 24:36). He fasted and was hungry (Mark 11:12). He was tempted (Matt. 4:1). He worked a job (Mark 6:3) and paid taxes (Matt. 17:24-27). He got angry (Mark 3:5), frustrated (Mark 9:19), cried (John 11:35), was sorrowful (Matt. 26:38), and was troubled in soul (John 12:27) and spirit (John 13:21). He was mocked (Mark 15:20), rejected (Luke 4:29), denied (Luke 22:34), betrayed (Luke 22:48), abandoned (Matt. 26:31), and even felt abandoned by God (Matt. 27:46). And like every human, he was born and he died. In the humanity of Jesus, we see the full scope of our own.

But this is not how many perceive Jesus, for they often focus on his miracleswhich make him appear more God than man. But if supernatural power makes Jesus God, then we have a significant theological problem since many of the things Jesus did were also done by others in the Old Testament. For example, Jesus was not the first to multiply food, heal the sick, or raise the dead, for Elijah and Elisha did these things (1 Kings 17:14-24; 2 Kings 5:1–14). Furthermore, in the New Testament and after, Jesus’ disciples have continued to do all of the supernatural works Jesus did and even “greater works than these” (John 14:12).

Therefore, we recognize that Jesus did not do supernatural works because he was God (lest all of his disciples be considered God as well), but because he carried the power of the Holy Spirit. God the Father had to baptize God the Son with God the Spirit in order for Jesus to have supernatural power. This is seen in the gospels, for Jesus’ miracles were performed only after the Holy Spirit came on him.

Having heard the stories of his supernatural works, the Jews would have recognized in Jesus the same Spirit that functioned within the prophets of old—for in the Old Testament, “God’s Spirit operates on behalf of his people by energizing them, … endowing (‘filling’) them with his Spirit, and giving them special gifts and power for sacred service.”⁵ The human Jesus operated just as his Spirit-infused human ancestors did, though Jesus carried a fuller anointing of the Spirit than any other human.

Fully God

Though Jesus was not the first human clothed in the power of the Spirit, the Bible is clear in its direct and indirect statements that Jesus was not just another human clothed in the power of the Spirit. Though he had a birthday like any other human, he had existed long before—a truth he preached to a crowd once when he insinuated that he had talked to Abraham long ago, causing the crowd to think he was suffering some kind of demonic psychosis. His response to their confusion was to connect himself to the divine name of Yahweh, saying, “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

Since this statement is found in the Gospel of John, and it’s John who teaches us that Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), we can see the connection that John is making back to Genesis 15 when the Word appeared to Abraham.⁶ The Word is only one manifestation of God in the Old Testament that the New Testament writers connect Jesus to. They also connect him to Woman Wisdom,⁷ and the Angel of the Lord.⁸ On top of this, demons often recognized him as the Son of God, a term of divinity in the Old Testament.⁹

Jesus’ divine identity shone through for a few of his disciples to witness when he was transfigured before them into the likeness of a heavenly being, which we can see when we compare Jesus’ shining face and extremely bright clothes with a combination of Bible passages and popular Jewish sources.¹⁰ Furthermore, we can draw some comparisons between Jesus’ transfiguration and angelophanies in the Old Testament.¹¹ While Jesus’ transfigured heavenly identity would be revealed to more of the world after the resurrection, causing people to worship him, he was worshipped sooner by his disciples when he called himself the “I Am” while walking on water (Matt. 14:27-33).

Conclusion

Having done a fair amount of exorcism, I have become acquainted with the metaphysics of the spirit. In a single person I will often meet several spirits, each with a different name, personality, and will. After I’ve gotten to know them, I can sometimes tell which one has manifested just by looking at their facial expression or listening to the tone of their voice. 

The spirit within is made visible by the earthly body it inhabits. This is the case for all humans, and it is no different for Jesus. What makes Jesus unique, however, is that he is God incarnate. That is to say that the identity of the spirit within Jesus’ body is God himself. For this reason, he is fully God, for his identity is nothing less than the “I Am.” But having humbly and lovingly subjected himself to an earthly body through kenosis, he cannot act in the fullness of his Godhood, for such things are incompatible with his human body.

But this incompatibility does not diminish Jesus’ Godhood, nor does it make him less human. Though his human flesh will cause the will of his Godly spirit to want to make ungodly decisions, he stands firm in his identity as God and escapes all sin. Though his capabilities as God are limited by his human body, the Holy Spirit empowers him and unites his mind and will even closer to God. And though the rest of humanity may have a different spirit within them, Jesus sets the precedent for what humanity can be like if they adapt their will and abilities to God via the Holy Spirit.

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¹ G. Walter Hansen, “Philippians 2:11,” The Letter to the Philippians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), Logos Bible Software.

² Michael J. Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul’s Narrative Soteriology, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 169, Logos Bible Software.

³ David E. Fredrickson, Eros and the Christ: Loving and Envy in Paul’s Christology, (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013), 77-78, Kindle Edition. 

⁴ Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), Kindle Locations 1654-1656, Kindle Edition. 

⁵ M. V. Van Pelt, W C. Kaiser and D. I. Block, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. W. A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), ‘f17 (#8120) 3:1075-1076. I’m taking this quote from where it’s been quoted: David G. Firth and Paul D. Wegner, “Introduction,” Presence, Power and Promise: The Role of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011), Kindle Locations 105-108, Kindle Edition. This book is full of scholarly resources about what the Holy Spirit was known to do in the Old Testament. Between all of the articles, I would especially highlight that the Holy Spirit was known as (1) a creator, (2) inspiration and power and (3) the presence of God among His people.

⁶ As Michael Heiser states, “when the New Testament has Jesus saying ‘that was me,’ he is claiming to be the Word of the Old Testament, who was the visible Yahweh.” Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, 1st ed. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2015), 130, Logos Bible Software.

⁷ St. Leo seems to make connections between Woman Wisdom and the Word of God being Jesus as well, stating, “For it was the Holy Ghost who gave fecundity to the Virgin, but it was from a body that a real body was derived; and ‘when Wisdom was building herself a house,’ the ‘Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,’ that is, in that flesh which he assumed from a human being, and which he animated with the spirit of rational life.” Philip Schaff, “The Tome of St. Leo,” Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 14, (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library), https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.vii.html. For more information on the connections between Jesus and Woman Wisdom, see Sally Douglas, Jesus Sophia: Returning to Woman Wisdom in the Bible, Practice and Prayer (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023).

⁸ For more information, see Michael S. Heiser, Angels: What the Bible Really Says about God’s Heavenly Host, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).

⁹ “Now in the mouth of the demons, the ‘Holy One of God’ appears to be a parallel title to that of the Son of God (1:24). In Ps 89:5–7, ‘Holy Ones’ and ‘Sons of God’ are parallel titles, designating the members of God’s council. In Zech 14:5 (= 1 Enoch 1:9; Jude 14) it is foretold that on the Day of the Lord, ‘God will come and all the Holy Ones with Him’. Obviously, at the turn of our era, both ‘Son(s) of God’ and ‘Holy One(s) of God’ were regarded as angelic names.” Fossum, J. “Son of God,” Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, 2nd extensively rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI; Eerdmans, 1999), 792, Logos Bible Software.

¹⁰ Though John Paul Heil does not conclude that Jesus’ identity as a heavenly being is being revealed in the transfiguration, I would use his research to build such a case. John Paul Heil, “Chapter 4: Jesus’ Transfiguration as an Epiphanic Motif,” The Transfiguration of Jesus: Narrative Meaning and Function of Mark 9:2–8, Matt 17:1–8 and Luke 9:28–36, Vol. 144. Analecta Biblica, (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 2000), Logos Bible Software.

¹¹ Again, John Paul Heil’s conclusion is not necessarily that Jesus is the Angel of the Lord, but I would use his research to build such a case. Ibid. “Chapter 2: The Epiphany Genre of the Transfiguration Narrative.”