However, we still arrive at the conclusion
that Christ is somehow identified with, or as, God in verse 6a when we pay
careful attention to the lexical data for GK and the word’s likely meaning in
this Jewish and scripturally-grounded passage. Philippians 2:6-11 describes the
actions of the one God and his Messiah (the “Christ”—v. 11). In the case of a divine
being, especially the one God of scriptural revelation, the expression μορφη θεου
“form of God” must refer, then,
to a divine identity. That is so because, given the usual meaning of μορφη, the expression evokes the external appearance
of the one God that scriptural texts often call his Glory (Heb. כבוד,
Gk. δοξα). Crucially, in Israel’s scriptures, the one
God does not have an external character or appearance (a “form”) that is not
also truly a manifestation of himself. On the contrary, the glory of God is “the
outward form of God’s inner unknowable essence, the vehicle by which he
chooses to reveal himself to his creatures.” The appearance of God’s glory, as
such, is a phenomenon in passages in the Pentateuch (e.g., Exod 24:10, 16;
33:18; 40:34; Lev 9:6), in the Prophets (esp. Isa 6:1-3; Ezek 1:26-28; 43:2),
in historical books (1 Kgs 8:110, and in the Psalms (e.g., Pss 26:8; 63:2;
72:19). The apocalypses and later mystical texts also exhibit a keen interest
in the possibility that visionaries might encounter God’s glory as the goal of
an ascent to heaven (e.g., 1 En. 14:8-24; 2 En. 22:1-3; Test. Levi 5:1).
Furthermore, the expression “who being
in (ος εν . . . υπαρων) the form”
has been compared to a similar expression for royal courtiers in Luke 7:25: οι εν
ιματισμω ενδοξω . . . θπαρχοντες “those
who are dressed in spending clothing.” If the language of “being in the
form of God” is analogous to “being dressed in splendid clothing” then
the word GK probably has in view the sign of the pre-incarnate Christ in the garments
of glory in which God is typically clothed in his theophany (Isa 6:1; Dan 7:9;
1 En. 14:20; cf. Ps 104:3).
In any case, these observations mean
that, although on its own the Greek word μορφη does not refer
to a (divine) essence, nature, or identity, in a Jewish text like this one the
expression εν μορφη θεου
υπαρχων implies
an existence in the very identity of God. For Paul himself, and for biblically
literate readers, verse 6a most likely has in view the (sometimes bodily) glory
of God (the Glory) seen by Israel’s visionaries and heroes of old (esp.
Isa 6:1-3; Ezek 1:26-28; Dan 7:9; cf. 1 En. 14:19-24). Indeed, reference specifically
to the glory of God in visionary texts in Phil 2:6 is fitting because the
passage begins by describing Christ in his pre-incarnate state in heaven,
before he comes to earth, and the glory of God is usually located in heaven, or
comes from heaven, where it appears around or above the angelic throne-contact,
beyond ordinary earthly time and space, and perception.
So, with good reason, most now
conclude that verse 6a describes “the visible divine beauty and appearance
which Christ had in his pre-incarnate state.” In view of the contrast with “taking
the form of a slave” in verse 7b, verse 6a seems to refer to “the splendor of
the divine glory in heaven contrasted with the human form on earth.” The phrase
recalls other NT phrases that express a similar Christology: Christ is the
eternal “image of God” (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15) and the eternal Son (Rom 8:29),
who is the radiance of God’s glory (Heb 1:2-3). On this view, Phil 2:6a anticipates
3:21 where Christ has a “body of glory” to which believers, being transformed,
will be conformed (συμμορφον).
Echoes of scriptural theophanies also
mean that the opening words of the passage are meant to call to mind not just a
transcendent, divine identity, but also one that already before the taking up of
an individual human life (vv. 7-8), has a recognizably human-like appearance or
form. When God appears in such theophanies he typically has a human-like form
(Ezek 1:26-27: “upon the likeness of the throne a likeness in the appearance
of a man [דמות כמראה אדם, ομοιωμα
ως ειδος
ανθρωπου] . . . from the appearance of his waist,” cf.
Isa 6:1; 1 En. 14:20-25; 2 En. 22:1-2). Perhaps, then, when it says Christ was “in
the form of God,” verse 6a has in mind the human-like form of God’s glory. In
any case, although the expression “form of God” is not found in Israel’s
scriptures, verse 6 strongly identifies Christ with the one God of Israel’s
scriptures. It is not necessarily a statement about divine “nature”—with all
the philosophical connotations that implied in late patristic interpretation,
but it seems to be one that somehow ascribes to Christ a divine identity.
(Crispin Fletcher-Louis, The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ
Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick
Publications, 2023], 16-18)
