Standard Literal Version (SVV): who, being in the form of God, thought that it was not something that had to be grasped to be equal to God, but emptied himself, having taken the form of a servant, had been created in the form of man, As the eternal Creator, God cannot be seen by His creation in His essence. For God to be seen or known, He must reveal Himself to creation. God reveals Himself as His Word; God, the Word, is the God who is known or seen. Jesus, as the form of God, is the essence of God revealed to us in the language that people understand best—as a human being perceptible to the physical senses. People are a form of expression. In fact, in the next verse, we are told that Jesus, the form of God, took upon Himself the form of man (Philippians 4:7), who is flesh (John 1:14). Bullinger summarizes this idea in his biblical commentary on Phil. 2:6 and says that the form of God is « the essential form, including all the qualities that can be made visible to the eye. » Paul knew very well what to remind the woman at the well; Namely, that when examining this diagram, it should be noted that μορφῇ, (morphē) translates « form » means external appearance, while σχήματι (schēma) translates « form » refers to what something is, including the functional aspect of something. Since these two different Greek words are translated as « form » in the ESV, the distinction is lost in Greek. Other uses of morphē in the Bible support the position that morphē refers to outward appearance. Mark`s Gospel briefly refers to the well-known story in Luke 24:13-33 about Jesus appearing to the two men on the road to Emmaus. Mark tells us that Jesus appeared to these two men « in a different form (morphē) » so that they did not recognize Him (Mark 16:12).

Although this passage from Mark is probably not original, it shows that people of the time used the word morphē to refer to the outward appearance of a person. It is clear that Jesus had no other « essential nature » when He appeared to the two disciples, He simply had a different outward appearance. The Jews who translated the Septuagint used morphē several times, and he always referred to outward appearance. The word Î1/4οÏÏá¿ is also used in Mark 16 to show that the image of Jesus had changed after the resurrection. So, simple answer: The form of God means « to express the image » (Hebrews 1:3) of the Father, or in other words, God in human form. No wonder, then, that the Jews on the whole rejected Him as their Messiah and Savior. Not that their rejection of Jesus was excusable, but the Jesus they saw did not fit their cliché of what a Messiah should look like and act. There are many ways to study/approach the Bible. I hope you and I have been able to discover what John 1:1, 14; 17:5; Micah 5:2; 2 Peter 1:16–17; (Mt 17:1-2;) Philip 2:5–8; in fact, all Scripture refers and says. I hope you will ask questions if you do not see the connections between these scriptures. It`s not complicated. As beautiful and true as most answers are in maintaining the divinity of Christ, « form of God » here does not mean « reality, » « character, » « essence, » « visibility, » or embodied « representation. » Although God did indeed manifest Himself in human form before Jesus was born, as He did for a brief period with Abraham in Genesis 18, the body that Jesus inhabited during His time on earth will live forever.

He will always be « God made visible. » As the author of the hymn expressed this thought, the ESV Bible notes indicate that the term « form » here means « the true and exact nature of something that possesses all the qualities and qualities of something. » Therefore, God`s form is God in the totality of His essence, in all His attributes, His essence. By saying that Jesus was in the form of God, Paul was simply saying that Jesus was truly God. If God`s form is essentially God, why not use God directly instead of using the « form of God »? There is a reason for that; In addition to essence, the term form also carries the connotation of expression. So what was Christ like in God`s form? Jesus truly had the appearance and behavior of the Father. His character was the expression of the person of his father (Hebrews 1:3). Specifically, Jesus Christ embodied the Word of God. (John 3:34, John 14:10) The Word of God was spoken by the voice, conduct, and actions of Jesus. The above translation in the ESV gives a strong indication of the depth of this passage, emphasizing the message of humility and obedience – with the same meaning as Christ. The problem is that in this passage is a traditional distortion of Scripture to advance the doctrine of the Incarnation. The main issue is Philippians 2:6-7, which is misleadingly translated to conclude that Jesus was first in God`s form and then became man. This is not at all what the Greek says. « After that, Jesus appeared in a different form than two of them as they walked across the land. » (Mark 16:12) (VIN) Did Jesus Christ set aside His divinity when He became man? William Barclay recklessly wrote that Christ « emptied himself of his divinity to take upon himself his humanity » (Daily Study Bible, XI, 45).

One might even get a false impression of some of the modern English translations of the Bible. For example, the normally reliable New American Standard Bible renders Philippians 2:6 like this: « . which, although it existed in the form of God. « The ASV has it like this: « . which exists in the form of God. « `To exist` is a present participle. This means that Jesus is « in the form of God, » that is, He possesses the very nature of the Godhead—before His incarnation, during this phase of His existence, and after. He was, is and always will be God, that is, divinity in nature. So emphasize « existing » in your Bible (or make the correction if your text gives the word a past tense) and in your side note: Christ eternally divine. Î1/4οÏÏá¿ is the root of our verb « to transform » (to change into another form). Just as Jesus was truly a servant,1 since He had « the form of a servant, »2 Jesus was truly God, since He was « in the form of God, »3 Jesus became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of Yahweh was upon him » (Luke 2:40).