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.

Comparing the letters to the Philippians and to Philemon brings to light important aspects of Paul’s thought and practice – in particular, how certain key theological commitments are practically enacted when they encounter situational differences. Capturing a sense of what Paul is doing in these letters is best done by grasping what the problems were that he was addressing and considering how the letters deploy a set of rhetorical strategies to resolve those problems. The specific contextualized instantiation of Jesus-like relationships in Colossae is clearly different from its instantiation in Philippi; but the underlying strategy of mobilizing a story of Jesus (both conceptually by letter, as well as directly and personally through a disciple or envoy) remains the same. Paul clearly believes that Jesus, rightly understood and rightly followed, makes a difference to the basic issue that tends to concern all communities, namely, how people relate to one another.