Jesus Is God Because He Existed In The Form Of God

Formal Equivalence (Word-For-Word)

  • Received Text (Textus Receptus)

    Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 KJV (48.83% / 66.58%)

    Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [a]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV (60.32% / 65.21%)

  • Majority Text

    Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 WEB (World English Bible)

  • Critical Text

    Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)

    Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 ESV (62.36% / 68.74%)

Dynamic Equivalence (Thought-For-Thought)

  • Critical Text

    You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God,[a] he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b]; he took the humble position of a slave[c] and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,[d] 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 NLT (70.08% / 39.90%)

    In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!— Philippians 2:5-8 NIV (67.20% / 53.10%)

    You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,[a] 6 [b] who though he existed in the form of God[c] did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave,[d] by looking like other men,[e] and by sharing in human nature.[f] 8 He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! — Philippians 2:5-8 NET (66.28% / 53.94%)

  • NET Bible Translator Notes

    c. Philippians 2:6 NET sn The Greek term translated form indicates a correspondence with reality. Thus the meaning of this phrase is that Christ was truly God.

    f. Philippians 2:7 NET tn Grk “and by being found in form as a man.” The versification of vv. 7 and 8 (so also NRSV) is according to the versification in the NA28 and UBS5 editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the verses in front of this phrase (NKJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.sn By sharing in human nature. This last line of v. 7 (line d) stands in tension with the previous line, line c (“by looking like other men”). Both lines have a word indicating form or likeness. Line c, as noted above, implies that Christ only appeared to be like other people. Line d, however, uses a different term that implies a correspondence between form and reality. Further, line c uses the plural “men” while line d uses the singular “man.” The theological point being made is that Christ looked just like other men, but he was not like other men (in that he was not sinful), though he was fully human.

Messianic Bible translations

  • Critical Text

    Have this attitude in yourselves, which also was in Messiah Yeshua,6 Who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. 7 But He emptied Himself—taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. 8 He humbled Himself—becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. — Philippians 2:5-8 TLV (Tree of Life Version, Formal Equivalent)

    Let your attitude toward one another be governed by your being in union with the Messiah Yeshua: 6 Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. 7 On the contrary, he emptied himself, in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when he appeared as a human being, 8 he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death — death on a stake as a criminal! — Philippians 2:5-8 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible, Dynamic Equivalent)

    Let this mind be in you which was also in Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, 6 Who, though existing in the demut of the mode of being of Elohim [His etzem or essential nature, Yn 1:1-2; 17:5], nevertheless Moshiach did not regard being equal with G-d as a thing to be seized [BERESHIS 3:5], 7 But poured out and emptied himself [2C 8:9], taking the demut of the mode of being of an eved [YESHAYAH 52:13- 53:12 [T.N. see the AVDI TZADDIK TZEMACH DOVID MOSHIACH YIRMEYAH 23:5; ZECHARIAH 3:8], and was born in the likeness of Bnei Adam [Yn 1:14; Ro 8:3; MJ 2:14-17], and having been found in appearance as an Adam, 8 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach humbled himself and took the path of shiflut (lowliness), unto mishma’at (obedience 2:12) [cf. BERESHIS 3:17] even unto death [Yn 10:17; MJ 5:8; 12:2], and that, a death on HaEtz [the Tree, DEVARIM 21:23; 27:26; Ga 3:13; Pp 3:18]. — Kehillah in Philippi 2:5-8 OJB (Orthodox Jewish Bible)

Highly Idiomatic Translation / Paraphrase

  • Critical Text

    5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. — Philippians 2:5-8 MSG (The Message)

Conclusion

After stating that Jesus “existed in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6) before His incarnation on earth, Paul identifies Jesus specifically as Yahweh (Philippians 2:10-11) by applying Isaiah 45:22-23 to Jesus.

Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

23 I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. — Isaiah 45:21-24 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)

✔️ Jesus existed in the form of God, as the Word, just like Jn 1:1-3,14 describes. Jesus IS God made manifest in the flesh!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. … 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:1-3,14 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)