Pentecostal Kenotic Christology Part 2
This is the second post of the Series on Pentecostal Kenotic Christology
Jesus surrendered His glory in order to be human; consequently, this important concept needs to have other scriptural backing. First, 2 Corinthians 8:9 states, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (ESV).” For the sake of those who would be saved, Christ became poor, so that redemption through His sacrifice would take place. Second, in Jesus in own words He states in John 17:5 that, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (ESV).” Clearly, this loss of glory was something that had happened to Jesus, but through His own admission it was something that he longed to be restored. Finally, an omniscient would not have not have a problem discerning who touched him for healing in the midst of a crowd, but in Mark 5:30 it reads, “And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments (ESV)?” One of these verses by itself does not make the case for a Kenotic Christology; on the other hand, when juxtaposed with their counterparts, one begins to see a clearer picture of Kenosis.
So, in sum, Jesus Christ the Second Person in the Trinity, Son of God, abandoned His divine attributes. This does not mean that He ceased to be the God-Man, but with great restraint prevented the use of such powers while He was human. For His divine attributes, “Are set to one side during the entire period from the birth of Christ to his resurrection.”[1]
[1]McGrath, Christian, 303.
Jesus surrendered His glory in order to be human; consequently, this important concept needs to have other scriptural backing. First, 2 Corinthians 8:9 states, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (ESV).” For the sake of those who would be saved, Christ became poor, so that redemption through His sacrifice would take place. Second, in Jesus in own words He states in John 17:5 that, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (ESV).” Clearly, this loss of glory was something that had happened to Jesus, but through His own admission it was something that he longed to be restored. Finally, an omniscient would not have not have a problem discerning who touched him for healing in the midst of a crowd, but in Mark 5:30 it reads, “And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments (ESV)?” One of these verses by itself does not make the case for a Kenotic Christology; on the other hand, when juxtaposed with their counterparts, one begins to see a clearer picture of Kenosis.
So, in sum, Jesus Christ the Second Person in the Trinity, Son of God, abandoned His divine attributes. This does not mean that He ceased to be the God-Man, but with great restraint prevented the use of such powers while He was human. For His divine attributes, “Are set to one side during the entire period from the birth of Christ to his resurrection.”[1]
[1]McGrath, Christian, 303.
