Kenosis

Kenosis
Kenosis
A term derived from the discussion as to the real meaning of Phil. 2:6

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Kenosis
    Kenosis
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Kenosis
    A term derived from the discussion as to the real meaning of Phil. 2:6 sqq.: "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied [ekenosen] himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as man."
    Protestant opinions
    The early Reformers, not satisfied with the teaching of Catholic theology on this point, professed to a deeper meaning in St. Paul's words, but Luther and a Melanchton failed in their speculations. John Brenz (d. 10 September, 1570), of Tübingen, maintained that as the Word assumed Christ's human nature, so His human nature not only possessed the Divinity, but also had the power to make use of the Divinity, though it freely abstained from such a use. Chemnitz differed from this view. He denied that Jesus Christ possessed the Divinity in such a way as to have a right to its use. The kenosis, or the exinanition, of His Divine attributes was, therefore, a free act of Christ, according to Brenz; it was the connatural consequence of the Incarnation, according to Chemnitz.
    Among modern Protestants (Protestantism) the following opinons have been the most prevalent:
    ♦ Thomasius, Delitzcsh, and Kahnis regard the Incarnation as a self-emptying of the Divine manner of existence, as a self-limitation of the Word's omniscience, omnipresence, etc.
    ♦ Gess, Reuss, and Godet contend that the Incarnation implies a real depotentation of the Word; the Word became, rather than assumed, the human soul of Christ.
    ♦ Ebrard holds that the Divine properties in Christ appeared under the Kantian time-form appropriate to man; his kenosis consists in an exchange of the eternal for a time-form of existence.
    ♦ Martensen and perhaps Hutton distingusih a double life of the Word: In the Man-Christ they see a kenosis and a real depotentiation of the Word; in the world the purely Divine Word carries the work of mediator and revealer. According to Godet, and probably also Gore, the Word in His kenosis strips Himself even of His immutable holiness, His infinite love, and His personal consciousness, so as to enter into a human development similar to ours.
    Catholic teaching
    According to Catholic theology, the abasement of the Word consists in the assumption of humanity and the simultaneous occultation of the Divinity. Christ's abasement is seen first in His subjecting Himself to the laws of human birth and growth and to the lowliness of fallen human nature. His likeness, in His abasement, to the fallen nature does not compromise the actual loss of justice and sanctity, but only the pains and penalties attached to the loss. These fall partly on the body, partly on the soul, and consist in liability to suffering from internal and external causes.
    As to the body, Christ's dignity excludes some bodily pains and states. God's all-preserving power inhabiting the body of Jesus did not allow any corruption; it also prevented disease or the beginning of corruption. Christ's holiness was not compatible with decomposition after death, which is the image of the destroying power of sin. In fact, Christ had the right to be free from all bodily pain, and His human will had the power to remove or suspend the action of the causes of pain. But He freely subjected Himself to most of the pains resulting from bodily exertion and adverse external influences, e.g. fatigue, hunger, wounds, etc. As these pains had their sufficient reason in the nature of Christ's body, they were natural to Him.
    Christ retained in Him also the weaknesses of the soul, the passions of His rational and sensitive appetites, but with the following restrictions: (a) Inordinate and sinful motions are incompatible with Christ's holiness. Only morally blameless passions and affections, e.g. fear, sadness, the share of the soul in the sufferings of the body, were compatible with His Divinity and His spiritual perfection. (b) The origin, intensity, and duration of even these emotions were subject to Christ's free choice. Besides, He could prevent their disturbing the actions of His soul and His peace of mind.
    To complete His abasement, Christ was subject to His Mother and St. Joseph, to the laws of the State and the positive laws of God; He shared the hardships and privations of the poor and the lowly. (See COMMUNICATO IDIOMATUM.)
    Lombard, lib. III, dist. XV-XVI, and Bonav., Scot., Biel on these chapters; St. Thomas, III, Q XIV-XV, and Salm., Suar., IV, xi-xii; Scheeben, Dogmatick, III, 266-74; Bruce, Humiliations of Christ, 113 sqq.; Gobe, Bampton Lectures (1891), 147; Hanna in The New York Review, I, 303 sqq.; the commentators on Phil., ii, 6, sqq.
    A.J. MAAS
    Transcribed by Richard R. Pettys, Jr.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Kenosis — is a Greek word for emptiness, which is used as a theological term. The ancient Greek word κένωσις kénōsis means an emptying , from κενός kenós empty . The word is mainly used, however, in a Christian theological context, for example Philippians… …   Wikipedia

  • Kenosis — (κένωσις, griechisch: „Leerwerden“, „Entäußerung“) ist das Substantiv zu dem von Paulus im Brief an die Philipper gebrauchten Verb ἐκένωσεν (ekenosen), „er entäußerte sich“ (Phil. 2, 7). Über Jesus Christus ausgesagt, bedeutet der Begriff den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • kenosis — (n.) from Gk. kenosis an emptying, from kenoein to empty, from PIE *ken empty. From Phil. ii:7. Related: Kenotic …   Etymology dictionary

  • kenosis — [kə nō′sis] n. [Gr kenōsis, an emptying < kenos, empty] Christian Theol. the voluntary self abasement of the second person of the Trinity in becoming human kenotic [kinät′ik] adj …   English World dictionary

  • kenosis — noun Etymology: Late Greek kenōsis, from Greek, action of emptying, from kenoun to purge, empty, from kenos empty Date: 1873 the relinquishment of divine attributes by Jesus Christ in becoming human • kenotic adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • kenosis — kenotic /ki not ik/, adj. /ki noh sis/, n. Theol. the doctrine that Christ relinquished His divine attributes so as to experience human suffering. [1835 45; < Gk kénosis an emptying (keno , var. s. of kenoûn to empty out, drain + sis SIS)] * * * …   Universalium

  • Kenosis — Ke|no|sis 〈f.; ; unz.; Theol.〉 = Kenose * * * Ke|no|sis [auch: kɛn...], die; [griech. kénōsis = Entleerung, zu: keneĩn = entleeren, zu: kenós = leer]: theologische Auffassung, dass Christus bei der Menschwerdung auf die Ausübung seiner göttlichen …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Kenosis — Ke|no|sis [auch kɛ...] die; <aus gr. kénōsis »Entleerung«> theologische Auffassung, dass Christus bei der Menschwerdung auf die Ausübung seiner göttlichen Eigenschaften verzichtet habe (Philipper 2,6 ff.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • kenosis — [kɪ nəʊsɪs] noun (in Christian theology) the full or partial renunciation of his divine nature by Christ in the Incarnation. Derivatives kenotic adjective Origin C19: from Gk kenōsis an emptying , from kenoein to empty , with biblical allusion… …   English new terms dictionary

  • kenosis — ke•no•sis [[t]kɪˈnoʊ sɪs[/t]] n. rel the doctrine that Christ relinquished His divine attributes so as to experience human suffering • Etymology: 1835–45; < Gk kénōsis an emptying, =kenō , var. s. of kenoûn to empty out, drain, der. of kenós… …   From formal English to slang

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