# G2758 - kenoo **Strong's:** [G2758](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2758/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** ken-o'-o **Part of speech:** verb **Root:** from *G2756 - kenos* (pending, κενός, "empty, vain") + the *-oō* causative suffix **NT occurrences:** 5 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **To make empty, to empty out**, literal emptying. 2. **To make void / render ineffective / make of no effect**, figurative; depriving of force or validity. 3. **(Reflexively, of Christ) to empty oneself**, the unique Pauline-Christological use in [Philippians 2:7](/codex/philippians-2-7/). 4. **To expose as hollow / reduce to nothing**, depreciating effect. The verb is rare and theologically loaded. Its 5 NT occurrences are all theologically deliberate; *kenoō* is not casual vocabulary in NT usage. ## Theological force, *kenosis* in [Philippians 2:7](/codex/philippians-2-7/) The word's most theologically critical use is in the **Carmen Christi** ([Philippians 2.5-6](/codex/philippians-2-5-6/)): > v. 6: *hos en morphē theou hyparchōn ouch harpagmon hēgēsato to einai isa theō* > v. 7: *all' **heauton ekenōsen** morphēn doulou labōn, en homoiōmati anthrōpōn genomenos* > 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 slave, being made in the likeness of men The verb *ekenōsen* (aorist of *kenoō*), "He emptied Himself", generates the technical theological term **kenōsis** (the doctrine of Christ's self-emptying at the incarnation). **The interpretive question: of *what* did Christ empty Himself?** Three classical readings: **Reading 1: Strict-kenoticism / liberal-Lutheran.** Christ literally "emptied" Himself of divine attributes, became less than fully divine during the incarnation. Some 19th-century German Lutherans (Thomasius, Frank) and contemporary process / open theists hold this. **Refuted on three grounds:** - **Christ's divine activity during the incarnation.** [John 1:18](/codex/john-1-18/), [5](/codex/john-1-5/):17, 11:43, etc., Christ knows hidden things ([John 4:18](/codex/john-4-18/); [Mark 2:8](/codex/mark-2-8/)), forgives sins ([Mark 2:5-11](/codex/mark-2-5-11/)), creates / sustains ([Hebrews 1:3](/codex/hebrews-1-3/)), accepts worship ([John 9:38](/codex/john-9-38/), [Matthew 14:33](/codex/matthew-14-33/)). These are divine acts performed *by Jesus during the incarnation*, refuting Christ's having "emptied" His divinity. - **[Colossians 2:9](/codex/colossians-2-9/).** "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells *bodily*", present indicative; even *now* (post-resurrection but as one identical with the incarnate Christ) the fullness of deity dwells in Christ. There was no period of less-than-full deity. - **[Hebrews 13:8](/codex/hebrews-13-8/).** "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever", divine immutability of Christ. **Reading 2: Functional-kenosis / orthodox.** Christ emptied Himself not of divine *attributes* but of the *independent exercise* of certain divine prerogatives during the incarnation. He retained full deity but voluntarily *did not exercise* certain divine privileges (e.g., omniscience-without-limit, omnipresence) during His earthly mission. The orthodox-Reformed position. Defended by Calvin's *extra Calvinisticum* (the Word's incarnation does not exhaust His divine being); the Son's hypostatic union preserves both natures while operating through the human nature on earth. **Reading 3: Subjective / experiential kenosis.** Christ emptied Himself in the sense of *self-humbling*, *self-renunciation*, the verb is metaphorical for radical humility. The participle *labōn* (taking) explains the *manner* of the kenosis: the emptying *consists in* taking the form of a slave. Christ added humanity-and-servitude to His divinity rather than subtracting deity. This reading is favored by many recent commentators (Gordon Fee, Markus Bockmuehl) and is largely compatible with Reading 2. The dominant evangelical / Reformed reading combines (2) and (3): Christ retained full deity but voluntarily took on the *morphē of slave*, humbling Himself by addition of humanity-and-servitude, with voluntary non-use of some divine prerogatives during the earthly mission. ## The chiastic structure of [Philippians 2:6-11](/codex/philippians-2-6-11/) The hymn forms a downward-then-upward arc: **Downward (kenosis):** - v. 6, Existed in *morphē theou* - v. 7, Emptied Himself; took *morphē doulou*; in likeness of men - v. 8, Found in *schēma* as a man; humbled Himself; obedient to death; even death of cross **Upward (exaltation):** - v. 9, God highly exalted Him; gave Him the name above every name - v. 10, every knee will bow - v. 11, every tongue confess Jesus Christ is *kyrios* The verb *kenoō* names the bottom of the descent, the lowest point of self-emptying, from which the exaltation begins. The *kenoō* in v. 7 is paired structurally with *hyperupsōsen* (highly exalted) in v. 9. ## Notable verses ### The Christological *kenoō* - **[Philippians 2.5-6](/codex/philippians-2-5-6/)** v. 7, *heauton ekenōsen*, Christ emptied Himself ### Other NT uses (all "make void / render ineffective" senses) - **[Romans 4:14](/codex/romans-4-14/)**, "if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is *made void* (*kekenōtai*)" - **[1 Corinthians 1:17](/codex/1-corinthians-1-17/)**, "lest the cross of Christ be *made void* (*kenōthē*)" - **[1 Corinthians 9:15](/codex/1-corinthians-9-15/)**, "no one shall *make my boasting void* (*kenōsei*)" - **[2 Corinthians 9:3](/codex/2-corinthians-9-3/)**, "lest our boasting about you should *be made empty* (*kenōthē*) in this case" The non-Philippians uses all carry the "render-ineffective" sense; only [Philippians 2:7](/codex/philippians-2-7/) uses the verb in the unique reflexive Christological sense. ## Patristic / scholarly note Patristic Christology developed *kenosis* as a foundational doctrine. The Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) implicitly preserved the orthodox reading: Christ's two natures unite "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation", the *kenosis* did not change the divine nature, only added the human. [Cyril of Alexandria](/codex/cyril-of-alexandria/) (*On the Unity of Christ*, c. AD 438) and Athanasius (*Discourses Against the Arians* III.34) explicitly argue against any reading of *kenoō* that diminishes Christ's deity. The 19th-century German strict-kenotic theologians (Thomasius, Gess, Frank) revived the deity-diminishing reading; their position has been almost universally rejected by orthodox theology. Modern conservative: Stephen Wellum (*God the Son Incarnate*, 2016); Gordon Fee (*Pauline Christology*, 2007); Markus Bockmuehl (*Philippians* BNTC, 1998); Peter O'Brien (*Philippians* NIGTC, 1991); D. A. Carson and Doug Moo (*Introduction to the New Testament*); J. I. Packer (*Knowing God*, ch. 5, "God Incarnate"). The non-strict, functional-kenosis reading is the evangelical-Reformed consensus. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - [G3444 - morphe](/codex/g3444-morphe/), *morphē* (form), paired in *kenoō* + *morphēn doulou labōn* - *G2756 - kenos*, root adjective "empty, vain" - G5011 - tapeinos, *tapeinos* (humble), paired in v. 8 *etapeinōsen heauton* - [G2316 - theos](/codex/g2316-theos/), *theos* (God), the equality not grasped at - [G2962 - kyrios](/codex/g2962-kyrios/), confessed in v. 11 as the exaltation's outcome - [Philippians 2.5-6](/codex/philippians-2-5-6/), locus classicus - [Colossians 2.9](/codex/colossians-2-9/), *theotēs* fullness preserved through incarnation