KENOSIS (Radical Self-Denial)

What is the Word?

The Greek language has an ability to capture specific ideas in a more precise way than what we’re used to seeing in English. What may require a several-word description in English is sometimes captured in a single Greek word. A great example of this is in the Greek word Kenosis.

How does the Bible use this word?

Derived from the Greek verb κενόω (ken-a-o) which means “I empty,” Kenosis is a reference to the radical self-emptying that we find in the incarnation, ministry, and death of the Son of God in Christ Jesus. This “self-emptying” and “self-denial” will become the crux of the life of the Christian. We are encouraged to also pour out our own lives in following Jesus.

Where in the Bible?

The most prominent example in the New Testament of the idea of kenosis is found in the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians chapter 2 verses 5-11:

Let this mind be in you, as is also in Jesus Christ, Who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself (ἐκένωσεν), having taken the form of a slave, having been made in the likeness of men. And having been found as man in appearance, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him, and granted to him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and below the earth. and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Known as the Christ Hymn, this section of Philippians is thought by scholars to be one of the earliest Christian hymns. It contains one of the richest and highest expositions of early Christian thinking about the incarnation of Jesus. The passage addresses everything from Jesus’ divine nature to his humility to his death to his exaltation. The hymn packs such a potent Christology that it became one of the most cited and contended passages within the early Christian church, and was seen as a creedal proclamation for early Christians. Most strikingly, it gives us a glimpse into the incarnation of Jesus. It shows us that God selflessly sets aside his glory and power in order to take on flesh and become man. He sets aside all his due honor in his love for us.

Let Him Deny Himself

Jesus’ self-emptying does not end in his incarnation. All throughout the Gospels, we see that Jesus is continually emptying himself in order that he may fill others. His life is one of continual sacrifice, putting his own needs behind the needs of others. His self-emptying is taken all the way to the cross, where his own life is poured out for the sins of the world. And in his self- emptying he invites us to participate, that we too might pour out our own lives in the service of our neighbor and our God:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34

Written by Drew Matz