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tonyhabibi

posted on Nov 09, 2007 - 04:14 PM

Okay depends on the translation, but as i hear most agree the word is Emptied - what does the verse mean when it says Emptied? ...

but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;

Any contemplations ?

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minasoliman

posted on Nov 09, 2007 - 04:40 PM

Dear Tony,

Perhaps an example is good. When a rich man empties himself to live among the poor, he pretty much lives as a poor man, where others don't realize he is truly rich. When Christ emptied Himself, that doesn't mean He lost His divinity, but St. Paul is teaching us that Christ was fully human, that there was nothing in Christ's humanity that was not real, and He did this most of the time without a heavy interference with the divine power. For example, He felt pain on the Cross, but He could have used the power of His divinity to not feel pain. He could have destroyed Satan, but He decided to allow Satan to tempt Him.

At the same time, this doesn't separate the divinity from the humanity. In fact, they are united in an incomprehensible unity, just as metal and heat are united, where each nature shares in the properties of the other.

I tried to be simplistic in my explanation. I hope I haven't confused you.

God bless.

Joined: May 22, 2003 | Posts: 1748

Epideacon

posted on Nov 09, 2007 - 04:48 PM

He emptied Himself of His pride. Recall, the reason why Adam was kicked out of Paradise was because sin entered the world. And it is impossible for God and sin/evil to coexist together in the same place. So, once Adam sinned , he became a bondservant of sin, thus removing God (Holy Spirit) from his spirit. And so, for God himself to come down and live amongst us had to have taken a huge amount of humility on His part.

Of course, if he did not conceal his divinity, then he wouldn't have been able to talk to Him and He wouldn't have gotten his message out and there would be no Christianity and it would have been a big cosa. And, people all around the world would witness to the fact that God is real and He is certainly glorious. They just wouldn't know what He wants from us, i.e., his message or his word (Bible and its teachings).

Joined: Apr 26, 2006 | Posts: 95