Kenosis Theory: Biblical Teaching or Outright Heresy?

Some of you have never heard of the word “Kenosis”, let alone the “Kenosis Theory”. Before my research into this teaching, I had heard of it, but I didn’t have a complete idea as to what it was. Before we dare start comparing this theory to what scripture says and discerning whether this is Biblical, bad teaching, or heresy, we need to first understand where this teaching is rooted and what it teaches. It is actually rooted in 1 chunk of scripture. Let’s take a look at that core passage right here:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” Philippians 2:5-8 NASB

The word “Kenosis” is actually a Greek word that translates to the English words “emptied himself”. The question this specific theory attempts to answer is this: What does it mean when it is said that Christ “emptied himself”? What makes this theory interesting is that it comes in all shapes and forms. We’ll talk about the extreme form and minor form in just a moment, all forms of this theory have the same base: Christ did not possess all of His divine attributes.

The extreme form of this theory teaches that during Christ’s earthly ministry, he was merely a man who had a right relationship with God. That for 33 years, he ceased to be God and lived on this earth as just a man.

The minor form maintains that while He was still God in some sense while here on earth, there were some things that Jesus could not do on His own. The power of healing is a common example used here and teachers of this will typically say something along these lines: “Jesus was able to heal because of His submission to the Father.”

Now that we’ve gone over what this theory teaches, we must now line this teaching up to Scripture and let the Scriptures do the talking for themselves:

One of the things that must be understood about God is that He is eternal. He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13); the One who was, and is, and is to come. Simply put, if God is eternal, he cannot at any point begin or cease to be God. If God (who is eternal) at any point ceases to be God, God is then not God. Jesus is God (John 1:1, Phil. 2:5-6, 2 Peter 1:1). Nothing about Jesus’ being God has changed (Heb. 13:8). If any of the attributes of God (which are eternal) are absent from Jesus, He was then not God. So if Jesus was God, He possessed all attributes of God. If this theory were true (in light of the implications this theory creates potentially without intention), Jesus was then not God. However, Scripture is clear that He was God. So therefore, this interpretation of Phil. 2:5-8 is incorrect.

So what then did Jesus empty himself of? This is what would be known “subtraction by addition”. He accepted the limitations of human nature. He chose not to use his omniscience and other eternal attributes. He wasn’t omnipresent. There were some attributes that (due to Him accepting the human nature) He had to surrender. Omnipresence is one of them (if you want an explanation of this, I’d refer to my source in my bibliography from carm.org).

So what have we learned? Don’t base an entire theological point on 1 passage. In this case, in 1 word from 1 passage. With that aside, we have to make a verdict. If this is a false depiction of Christ, it would appear as though we have a false Christ on our hands. If you change who Christ is, you are then changing the Gospel. Because in teachings that involve Kenosis, the Gospel then turns into inspiration-based messages of “Because Jesus was a man in this way, we can then do anything and everything that He did and we need to live this exact lifestyle.” That’s what the Gospel becomes. So, I have reached my verdict.

VERDICT

So there we have it. This theory is heresy. If you have a false Christ, you will inevitably have a false gospel. I’m not saying absolute knowledge of every little detail as to who Christ was is required. However, if there is a twisting of who He is to this extent, I’m left with little choice but to say this isn’t the Jesus of the Bible. I will list below teachers who either are confirmed to have taught this doctrine along with those who might teach this doctrine.

Teachers Who Teach This: Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin

Teachers Who MIGHT Teach This (use your discernment): Bill Johnson, Todd White

Reasons why they might: they have some concerning quotes that have them saying things that would appear to be teaching this “Kenosis Theory”. I haven’t done enough research to make final conclusions. This is why I say they might teach it rather than declaring they do. I’ll do articles on what they teach at some point in the future. However, I advise caution and lifting up a discerning ear when you hear their teachings about who Jesus was and determine for yourselves whether or not they teach this.

Note: I might not agree with ALL perspectives of the authors of these sources. However, I read the articles and agree with what they have said in these specific articles.

For my sources, click HERE

Thank you for your time in reading this article! Leave a comment as to what your thoughts are!