While we agree that Calvinism is false, I believe your interpretation on Philippians 2:7 KJV here is incorrect, brother.
Modern Bibles such as the ESV and NLT falsely teach that Jesus emptied Himself or gave up His divine privileges in Philippians 2:7 KJV.
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The KJV correctly teaches that Christ humbled Himself (“made himself of no reputation”),
not that He relinquished His deity or divine nature.
Although Jesus appeared to suppress His omniscience, becoming a figurative second Adam in that He grew in wisdom and knowledge (Luke 2:52), Scripture also shows that He possessed divine power and authority of His own throughout His earthly ministry.
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#1. Jesus said He has power to raise the dead to life just as the Father had power to raise the dead (John 5:21). Please take note that this was said in context after Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus was also saying this when the Pharisees were upset that he did this healing on the Sabbath. So when Jesus says He can raise the dead, like the Father can, He is laying claim to ownership to this miracle He just did. Yes, Jesus did not bring this man at the pool back from the dead. But he did make his legs that were dead to come back alive and He also no doubt had led this man to trust in Him (Which is spiritual life). So this is an example of Jesus acting on behalf of his own power. Jesus does nothing of Himself alone without the Father. Yet, Jesus said that what He sees the Father do (like healing miracles), He also can do likewise (See: John 5:19).
#2. Jesus had the power to forgive sins and give eternal life (Mark 2:7) (Luke 7:44-50) (John 14:6). This is clearly an act of God here. Only God can truly absolve sin in regard to our salvation and give us eternal life. No man could ever do this. So clearly Jesus is exercising His divine power as God on Earth. There are several examples in Scripture of Jesus forgiving others their sins (Which is clearly a divine act or power of God alone). Jesus also extended eternal life to others by pointing to Himself. Only God can truly have this power.
#3. Jesus had power to take on our sins & Jesus had power to take away the sins of the entire world (John 1:29).Jesus took away the sins of the world by His death. Only God could do this. Jesus took on our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane in His body. He sweat great drops of blood in this process. No human could do this. Only God could. God is our Savior and not some mere man. Yes, Jesus had a flesh and blood body. No doubt about it. But no mere man has any power for such a task. Only God could truly have the power and strength to carry and take away our sin. In other words, man cannot resist all of his own sin of his own power, and yet for a man to take on the whole sins of the world? Not possible by the strength or power of some mere man alone. Truly the divine power of the eternal Word was at work here.
#4. Jesus Christ said wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them (Matthew 18:20). This was said to the people he was around and not to just us today. Meaning, Jesus can be in His spirit among other believers who went away to some other location. Remember, God is Omnipresent. Jesus can be anywhere in His spirit as He desires because He is God. No man has such a power or ability. Only God has this ability.
#5. Jesus can make His home or abode inside of us if we keep His commandments (John 14:15). This is a part of His divine power and or abilities as God. Humans born to two parents cannot make their homes inside other people. Jesus did not say he would only do this after His resurrection, either. He said it to those around Him and therefore Jesus would have exercised this power because some follower of His would have strived to keep His commands.
#6. “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” (John 2:11). This was a direct statement. Meaning, Christ’s miracle at the wedding of Cana manifested His glory. This was his first miracle done by Jesus, and it was a part of His showing forth His deity as God. The apostle John did not say that the Lord Jesus manifested the Holy Spirit’s glory, but His own glory. So when Jesus turned water into wine (unfermented wine), it was an act that manifested His own power as the Son of God.
#7. ”And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14). This was said by Jesus before the cross, and answering prayers is definitely a divine act of God. Please pay close attention to what Jesus said. He said, “I will do it“ in reference to answering prayer. So if a person prays for a healing in His name, he will do it. He will be the One who will heal them and do it.
#8. Hebrews 1:3 talks about how Christ held all things together by the word of His power when He purged us of our sins.
#9. Jesus said, He would raise up this Temple (His body) three days later (John 2:19). This aligns with the words of Jesus elsewhere when He said, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:17-18). This commandment have I received of my Father." These statements by our Lord highlights His divine authority over His own life and death.
Side Note 1:
It's important to remember that God the Father also performed miracles through Jesus (John 14:8-12). Additionally, Jesus cast out demons and healed people through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32). However, this does not conflict with the fact that Jesus possessed His own divine power as God and actively used it. While the theological doctrine of the Kenosis suggests that Jesus had power but chose not to use it, I believe the verses above clearly demonstrate that He did indeed exercise His own divine authority as the Son of God during his Earthly ministry.
Side Note 2:
While the Greek word
ἐκένωσεν (
ekenōsen) does carry the literal meaning “to empty,” it is used figuratively in Philippians 2:7 KJV to describe Christ’s voluntary self-humbling. In light of the New Testament record of His ministry, this cannot mean that He ceased to be divine (as shown in the verses above). It is also important to note that the Greek text underlying the King James Bible primarily follows Beza’s 1598 edition of the Textus Receptus, and the difference here is not textual but translational. The translators of the KJV faithfully captured the figurative intent of
ἐκένωσεν with the phrase “made Himself of no reputation,” while the translators of Modern Bibles, influenced by the interpretive tendencies of modern scholarship and the Critical Text tradition (NA-28) built upon Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, rendered it as “emptied Himself.” This choice shifts the meaning from humility to the false implication that Christ divested Himself of His divine nature.
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