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Philippians 2:6 hos en morphee theou huparchwn ouch harpagmon WHO IN FORM OF GOD EXISTING NOT SNATCHING 3739 1722 3444 2316 5224 5225 3756 0725 heegeesato to einai isa thew HE CONSIDERED THE TO BE EQUAL (THINGS) TO GOD, 2233 3588 1511 2470 2316 Philippians 2:7 alla heauton ekenwsen morpheen doulou labwn en BUT HIMSELF HE EMPTIED FORM OF SLAVE HAVING TAKEN, IN 0235 1438 2758 3444 1401 2983 1722 homoiwmati anthrwpwn genomenos LIKENESS OF MEN HAVING BECOME; 3667 0444 1096 Westcott & Hort Interlinear http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/phi2.pdf Philippians 2:6 - who, though he was in the form [morphee, external appearance*] of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. -- Revised Standard Version. Philippians 2:7 - but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form [morpheen, external appearance*] of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. -- New King James Version *========================== Strong's Number: 3444 morfhv perhaps from the base of (3313) (through the idea of adjustment of parts) Transliterated Word Morphe Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech mor-fay' Noun Feminine Definition the form by which a person or thing strikes the vision external appearance ---Thayer and Smith. "Greek Lexicon entry for Morphe". "The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon". http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=3444. ========================== This scripture is not saying, as many would like to read into it, that Jesus was his God before he came to the earth. Nor does it say that he was equal to his God, but rather that equality with his God was something that he was not grasping for. Nor was it that Jesus did not grasp for equality with his God because he already had that equality, for why should such a consideration even be mentioned if Jesus was God Almighty? For Paul's words to make any sense, he has to be understood as saying that Jesus was not equal to his God, and that he did not seek to grasp such equality (unlike the one spoken of in Isaiah 14:14). Jesus was in the form [external appearance] of God before he came into the world of mankind, in that he had the glory of a heavenly body, a body in likeness of, a body similar to, the only true God who sent him into the world. (John 17:1,3,5; 1 Corinthians 15:40) But this does not mean that Jesus was his God. Nor does this scripture say that Jesus *became* a slave of his God when he became a man, as some have read into the scripture, for Paul did not say that Jesus took on being a slave, but rather that he took on the *form* [external appearance] of a bond-slave. In what way was Jesus externally in appearance as a bond-slave? We can see by comparing spiritual revealment with spiritual revealment. Jesus did not actually become a slave as other men, in bondage to corruption (Romans 8:21); he was never in submission to the corruption that is in the world. (2 Peter 1:4) He was, nevertheless, in the form [morpheen, external appearance] of such a bondage, since he suffered the consequences of sin, in the likeness of men (likeness of sinful flesh - Romans 8:3), so that he could redeem mankind from sin. Thus, externally, he appeared as though he were actually as other men, in bondage to the corruption and in slavery to sin, and he suffered and died as though as sinner, but this was only external appearance, for actually, he had no sin, nor was he ever a bond servant to sin. (Romans 6:16-20; Galatians 2:17) Thus we read, that "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:2, World English Bible translation. The angels, of course, do indeed have the quality of mightiness, and that quality could be expressed by forms of the word "THEOS," corresponding to forms of the Hebrew words EL and ELOHIM. (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:7,9; Psalm 82:1,6,7; John 10:34,35) However, since the word "morphee" is used in Philippians 2:6 in relation to "theou," then the word "theou" here is probably referring to the God and Father of Jesus, and not just to an attribute of mightiness. Jesus, therefore, before he became a human being, was indeed in the external appearance/likeness of his God and Father, in a similar manner that he was, as a human, in the external appearance/likeness of sinful man, although Jesus was not a sinful man. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TrinityQuestion/message/10433 http://godandson.reslight.net/phil-2-5.html In service of Jesus and his God, Ronald Updated: June 3, 2008

Related Books Please note that I do not necessarily agree with all that is stated in these books. -- Ronald The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound -- Presents unitarian viewpoint; denies the prehuman existence of Jesus, but otherwise, the book contains a lot of good information. When Jesus Became God -- Gives a lot of historical background. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture - The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament Concepts of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - A Classification and Description of the Trinitarian and Non-Trinitarian Theologies Existent Within Christendom One God & One Lord : Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament The Father and the Son: Is Jesus God? Divine Truth or Human Tradition A Reconsideration of the Roman Catholic-Protestant Doctrine of the Trinity in Light of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian The Trinity's Weak Links Revealed A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.