He Emptied Himself

The word translated nature (morphē) in verses 6 and 7 is a crucial term in this passage. This word (trans. “form” in the kjv, nasb and esv) stresses the inner essence or reality of that with which it is associated (cf. Mark 16:12). Christ Jesus, Paul said, is of the very essence (morphē) of God, and in His incarnation He embraced perfect humanity. His complete and absolute deity is here carefully stressed by the apostle. The Savior’s claim to deity infuriated the Jewish leaders (John 5:18) and caused them to accuse Him of blasphemy (John 10:33). Bible Knowledge Commentary

So, when we read that Jesus existed in the form of God, what Paul’s telling us here is that Jesus always was God. God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Before He became flesh, Jesus was already God the Son, in a glorified state with God the Father.

The fact that Christ in His human form showed us God presupposes His being God at all times. He never claimed to be something without really being that in His essence. If He had, He would have been making a false claim. Complete Word Study Dictionary

Before His incarnation, Jesus was in the form, the essence, the nature of God. After His incarnation, He was still in the form of God, the essence, the nature of God, despite the fact that He took on flesh, despite the fact that He condescended, voluntarily, of His own accord, to become like us.

Theologians call this the hypostatic union. It comes from the Greek word which indicates the true nature or essence of a being. It means Jesus was truly God from eternity, through His life on earth, and after his resurrection and ascension. There was a mystical union of the two natures – fully God and fully man. It means He never gave up any part of His divinity to become a real human being.

We’ll take a closer look at this idea when we explore what it means when it says “He emptied Himself.”

Though he retained true deity, Jesus also took upon Himself the true essence of a servant – the word there is actually slave – a form of the Greek word doulos. In order to be a slave, however, He had to become a man and appear in the likeness of men. And to do this, He had to empty Himself, or make himself nothing, or make Himself of no reputation.

At the end of verse 6, we see another aspect of this. Some who have power or wealth or authority want to hang onto it at all costs. Witness the many longtime Arab dictators, and the revolutions in their countries seeking to remove them from power. Moammar Gadhafi hung onto his power until he was caught and killed. We’ve seen this with people who have wealth or power throughout human history.

Yet, here we have Jesus, who didn’t just have wealth or power or authority over a puny country, or a vault full of gold, or millions of subjects. He was The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He had everything, because He created everything. Everything belongs to Him.

But He not only didn’t see this as something He needed to hang onto, but He voluntarily emptied Himself of these things. He could have remained on the throne at the right hand of the Father. Yes, we see at the end of this passage that’s where He ends up. But He emptied Himself during His time on earth.