5 - The Self-Humiliating God in Paul’s Theology (and in Hebrews)

Summary

Both this chapter and the next try to find a biblically funded picture of the self-humiliating God in an effort to repair Chalcedon. This chapter focuses on Paul’s theology of kenosis, particularly found in the “Christ hymn” of Philippians 2:6–11. In assessing the dogmatic uses authorized by scripture, this chapter asks, first, what are we required to say as dogmatic theologians? Second, does it rule anything out? And, third, what does it permit us to say? In addition to the “Christ hymn,” this chapter makes use of material found in Paul’s wider corpus of writings. It also examines the relevance of the Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews for elaborating a dogmatic construction of divine kenosis.