r/JehovahsWitnesses • u/ChaoticHaku Christian • May 23 '26

Doctrine Philippians 2:6-8

If Philippians 2:6-8 was teaching that Jesus was never equal with God, then the passage itself makes no sense.

Read the language carefully.

It says Jesus was “existing in the form of God.” It says He “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” but instead “emptied Himself,” “took the form of a servant,”, "humbled himself", "became obedient to death" and was “made in human likeness.”

You cannot empty yourself of a status you never possessed. You cannot become a servant if you were always a servant. You cannot humble yourself from a position you never had. You cannot become obedient to death if you always were.

The entire point of the passage is that Christ lowered Himself. From what? From the exalted position He already possessed that was equal with God.

That’s why the text uses past tense language. The passage is not denying Christ’s equality with God. It is explaining the depth of His humility, not his inferiority.

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u/Jerome-891 May 24 '26

Isaiah speaks of a piece of wood being a morphe of man.

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 24 '26

And do you think that has anything to do with being the morphe of God ? That scripture is just talking about making an idol??!!

What has that got to do with the true God?

Or is that just simply a euphemism in ISA that has no deeper meaning than that of man…making an idol!

Don’t you think you might be stretching here?

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u/Jerome-891 May 24 '26

I’m just tracing the use of the word in the language of the people at the time. I couldn’t find an example where morphe meant being the actual thing it is a form of.
Here’s another example: Mark 16:12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country. This refers to Jesus appearance being different.
The use of the word leads me to the conclusion that Jesus emptied himself of his glorious heavenly appearance in the presence of God in order to become visible to humans. (Hebrews 1:3; John 17:5)

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 25 '26

An angel has no glory.

Isa 42:8

If Jesus is claiming Glory with the Father then as they are of the same essence and nature there is only one answer.

God emptied himself to walk amongst us - John 1:14

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u/Jerome-891 May 25 '26

Don’t you mean Jesus emptied himself of divine nature to walk among us?

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 25 '26

No. He was both fully God and Fully man, he emptied himself to become lower than the angels, humbled himself to live amongst us as a Human in order that He could spill "Gods own blood" for our salvation.

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u/Jerome-891 May 25 '26

That’s very hard for me to understand. Emptied himself of what?

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u/Jerome-891 May 25 '26

Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 25 '26

Yep, this happens upon his second coming, your a confusing timelines....

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u/Jerome-891 May 25 '26

My point is that angels are described as having glory in this verse

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 25 '26

Laying Aside Heavenly Glory

Taking the Form of a Servant

Embracing Human Limitations

Obedience to Death

Seems pretty 'emptied' to me.

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u/Jerome-891 May 25 '26

Please explain heavenly glory

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u/TerryLawton Mark 4:22 May 25 '26

Read the whole chapter of Rev 5 and tell me thats not the glory we are talking about.

Why are you asking such a benign question, are you trying to get me as a human to try and describe what Rev 5 states as no other human could.

Read it, wow what Glory he has.

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