How Do Oneness Pentecostals Explain Philippians 2:5-11?
by David K. Bernard
Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11, Isaiah 45, Isaiah 46:5, Isaiah 46:9, John 14:9-11, Colossians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Hebrews 1, Isaiah 53:12, Colossians 2:9, Isaiah 45:22-23

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--how-do-oneness-pentecostals-explain-philippians-2-5-11
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
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This is a great question, a great passage. This is perhaps you might say from any perspective, oneness or trinitarian somewhat challenging to fully understand. And I found many times those key passages, while a little difficult, once you work through them, they actually give you greater insight and revelation.

So that seems to be obvious why the Lord inspired it as he did. If you want a full explanation of this passage as well as a number of other key passages of a similar nature, I would refer you to my book, The Oneness View of Jesus Christ. So, I wrote uh the oneness of God to cover comprehensively the doctrine of God in scripture, the identity of Jesus Christ, but then I followed up with a sequel, the oneness view of Jesus Christ, so I could give greater attention to passages such as this that require a lot of intense discussion. And so let's break it down.

Um, let this mind be in you. So right there, the his the the reason why the apostle Paul is using this um concept is to apply it to us. So right there we see we're talking about the true humanity of Jesus Christ because obviously we're not second people in the Godhead. We're not equal to God. And that's so that's not the context. It's talking about Jesus as a genuine human. What was he like? And how can we be like him? So although he was in the form of God, so in every way he was exactly like God. Now for a student of scripture, that should let you know because from the book of Isaiah chapter 45 uh and 46, you find uh no one is God's equal and no one is like him in every way.

So you and I might be thinking well this person's equal to God we say oh must be a second God but to someone trained in the human scriptures if you say this person's equal with God that means he is God because nobody is God's equal that's as I said that it's Isaiah 46:5 and verse 9 so when it says Christ did not in he was in the form of God so he was in very nature God one translation says he was the visible image of the invisible God. So we cannot see God's invisible spirit. But when you see Jesus, you see God in the only way that God can be seen with human eyes.

So uh John 14:9 through11, if you've seen me, you've seen the father, the father dwells in me. Colossians 1:15, uh he Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Uh 2 Corinthians 4:4, the image of God. So he's in the former of God. So he's the So that Jesus who is a man remember the context is his humanity. When you see that man Jesus you might think he's just an ordinary Jewish male of the first century rather humble not extraordinary looking not you know when you see him doesn't look like Superman doesn't have a holy glow doesn't have a halo he just looks like a typical man but he is in the form of God.

So he's the visible image of the invisible God. You could also go to Hebrews 1, the express image of the invisible God. Okay? So he did not think it robbery to be equal with God. So that man Jesus is in the form of God, but he did not think it robbery. Uh one translation says he did not think equality was with God something to be grasp. So in other words, he was humble. Even though he was God manifest in the flesh, he didn't walk around saying, "Hey, I'm God. bow down to me. Hey, do this. Hey, do that. He would do miracles on occasion, but it was always for a purpose to minister to real needs, to demonstrate um his purpose and God's plan.

So although he was God, he did not try to grasp his prerogatives of God, but he made himself of no reputation. Uh another translation, he emptied himself. Now, interestingly, some trinitarians say the second person of the godhead actually devested himself of things like omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience. But that's impossible because then he would cease to be God. He didn't stop being God, but he gave up his privileges. So, this is the conundrum for like a trinitarian. If you say this second person, so while Jesus was on earth, was his st spirit still omnipresent? So they they tend to think, well, God's in heaven, the father, Jesus on earth the son.

But that's too simplistic. God is God. God is omnipresent. So the spirit that was in Jesus would still be omnipresent. And when would he have emptied himself? Well, many trinitarians say, "Well, the second person of the Trinity, you know, emptied himself of his attributes of God so he could be a man or he uh but but I think the emptying is actually uh found, you can see it in Isaiah uh chapter 53 when it talks about he emptied his soul in death." I think that's Isaiah 53:12. Uh he hath poured out his soul unto death. So the the emptying is the incarnation culminating in the sacrifice of atonement, the human death.

So notice in every way this is describing the human experience even though so I would paraphrase it. God before the incarnation or God in the incarnation is the same as God before the incarnation. So God incarnate is equal in power and deity in prerogatives and privileges in glory as God pre-incarnate. But he did not go around iminating glory. He did not go around demanding prerogatives. He had still had the power but he did not go around showing off. But he humbled himself. He devested himself of his rightful prerogatives, not his attributes. And even he was obedient as a human even to death. Now notice that's the human experience.

That's what we can be like. So if we're proud and arrogant and boasting of great things trying to achieve great power, well Jesus, the only human being who could legitimately claim I am God, he refused to do that. So if he refused to do that in his earthly life in not denying his deity but in other words not live according to those privileges how much more should we be willing to humble ourselves. So this has nothing to do with the second person. It has to do with saying God in the incarnation gave an example for us. Now wherefore because of this attitude God has highly exalted him given the name which is above every name that the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

Now this is a powerful oneness statement because it's specifically the name of Jesus that's the highest name. So so in trinitarian theology the second person's name is son. His divine name is son. Jesus is just the human name that he adopted. But that's not what this text indicates. This text indicates the name of Jesus is the name of a very name even above the name Yahweh, Jehovah. And some have tried to say it's referring to that name Yahweh. But while it could, you know, the the name Lord, Jesus has been given the name Yahweh or Lord. But it's still at the name of Jesus. Every knee is going to bow of things in heaven, earth, under the earth.

And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So side note, when we confess Jesus, we're not denying the Father. You know, if they were two different persons, you might say, "Well, you got to confess both." But when you confess Jesus, you're glorifying the father because the father has chosen to reveal himself to this world in Jesus Christ. But notice it's at the name of Jesus. the u most respected uh one volume lexicon of the new testament that is the Greek English dictionary bower ar gingrich and danker it says at the mention of the name of Jesus so or when the name of Jesus is mentioned that's the connotation so this fits very strongly with one's theology because the name of Jesus is the highest name higher than Jehovah it doesn't deny Jehovah because the name of Jesus literally means Jehovah of a savior or Yahweh saves.

So it incorporates God's name from the Old Testament but adds to it the highest revelation. So that Jesus is the highest revelation of God. It fits very well with Colossians 2:9. In him Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And so Jesus has been given the high highest name. So again looking at him as a human he did not try to exalt himself go around saying hey I'm God everybody bow down to me everybody worship me although he did accept worship but my point is he did not he did not radiate glory he did not he did not you know there was the mount of transfiguration there was the time he was arrested and all all the officers all the soldiers fell down uh they were overwhelmed by his glory so there were occasions he would give a glimpse but in his daily life he didn't go around demanding, you know, I'm the king, so so everybody, you know, catered to me.

He just lived a humble life and ministered and died. He didn't, you know, there was no reason from a, you know, obviously he died for our sins, but you could argue if he was just trying to exalt himself, he he would have never submitted to death. But if he was willing to humble himself, how much more should we be willing to humble ourselves? And so because Jesus as a genuine authentic human being took that attitude and was obedient, the spirit of God who was in him whose plan it was all the time, he exalted him to the place of high highest honor. So one day we'll see that visible man Jesus, but we'll see him in all of his glory as truly God manifest in the flesh.

So if you're talking about two persons, there's a problem here. So the second person lowers himself and the first person exalts him back up. That indicates the first person is more God than the second person. That indicates that there's a subordination of the second person which of course would be contrary to the whole scripture but also contrary to even classical trinitarian theology. So it doesn't fit very well with trinitarians because they say that these persons are supposed to be co-equal and plus there's no role of the third person holy trinity here. So it doesn't really fit trinitarian dogma. And then for Jesus to be the highest name higher than father, son, and holy spirit, that doesn't fit the trinitarian theology.

But it does fit very well with oneness theology. Okay. Now, there's an interesting note here. There was a Presbyterian minister named John Miller back in 1876 wrote um a book on the Trinity. And he makes a technical point. He says um when it says he they thought it not robbery to be equal with God. That pronoun equal or that that phrase the it's it's not in the masculine as as a person but it's in the plural neuter form in the Greek. So he says there's a significance. I'll read it. A simple singular masculine might at once be expected. and he paraphrases what it would be or he translates what it would mean.

Thought it not robbery to be equal person with God. So you know if if that's what it was saying you would think it would be equal person uh equal the noun there being um if it was singular masculine be equal person but it's not. Instead of that is neuter and instead of the singular is plural. He was truly God but his humanity was not truly God and therefore there were certain definitions to be made. Hence the beauty of the language. So now he translates the significance that there should be equal respects with God to Issa and then he he comes to the conclusion this is no fixing of a second person.

It is the portrait of a man. Of a man claiming to be divine, of a man actually God in the incarnation of the whole of deity, but a man not ceasing to be man. And therefore, when stating his equality with God, exqui exquisite in his speech and carefully reserving respects in which he still has still humanity. And so that would be he's explaining uh and then finally when it says at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that is a quote from Isaiah 45 which says Jehovah is the only savior. Yahweh is the only savior and there is no other savior.

Look unto me and be saved all the ends of those. So if you want to be saved you have to look to Yahweh. He's the only savior. the God of the Old Testament. And then Yahweh says, "Unto me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear." So the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, when he writes Philippians 2, is very deliberately quoting from Isaiah, he's saying Jesus is the one God of Isaiah. And of course, if you study Isaiah over and over, he says, "There's no one else." You know, Yahweh says, "There's no one like me, no one beside me, no one before me, no one after me, no one like me, no one my equal.

Uh, I'm the first, I'm the last." You know, that some of the strongest monotheistic statements in the whole of scripture are embedded throughout Isaiah. And so, in that strongly monotheistic book and that strongly monotheistic section of the book, Isaiah 45, Yahweh is the only savior. And one day everybody is going to bow to Yahweh. Everyone is confessed to Yahweh. And Paul says that's Jesus. The way that's going to be fulfilled. When is everybody going to bow to Yahweh? When is everybody going to confess Jesus or or confess Yahweh? When they confess Jesus. So if a Trinitarian thinks, well, the God of the Old Testament is the father.

Well, actually all that fulfillment is going to be in the Son. So that shows you that Jesus is not seen as one of three persons in Philippians 2. He's seen as a real human being that we should emulate. But in reality, as a human, he's equal to God in every way. God in the incarnation is just as much God as he was before the incarnation. But the difference is Jesus as a man did not insist on his prerogatives, but he humbled himself. even underwent the experience of death in order to redeem us. As a result, the spirit of God came back in that lifeless body, raised him from the dead.

God has raised up that same man, Jesus, and he is the Lord and the Messiah. And every knee is going to bow to him. Every tongue is going to confess to him. And when they do that, they're going to be confessing Yahweh. They're going to be acknowledged the one true God the Father. So when you follow it all through uh you find the distinction is in reference to his genuine authentic human identity. He was a real man, real human person. But the bottom line is that human person was the revelation incarnation of the one true God of the Old Testament.