“In the “Christ-hymn” of Philippians 2, the apostle Paul makes a startling claim: that Jesus “emptied himself” in order to fulfill God’s will by dying on the cross. The self-emptying of Christ—theologically explored in the doctrine of kenosis—is a locus within Christology and factors significantly into understandings of the Trinity, anthropology, creation, providence, the church, and even ethics. As such, it has been debated and reflected upon for centuries.

The present volume draws together some of the finest contemporary scholars from across the ecumenical spectrum to expound the doctrine of kenosis—its biblical roots, its historical elaborations, and its contemporary implications.”

Table of Contents:

1. Kenosis and the Drama of Salvation in Philippians 2 (John Barclay)
2. Power and Kenosis in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Beverly Roberts Gaventa)
3. The Vocation of the Son in Colossians and Hebrews (Grant Macaskill)
4. The Divine Name as a Form of Kenosis in Both Biblical Testaments (Rinse Reeling Brouwer)
5. Origen of Alexandria on the Kenosis of the Lord (John McGuckin)
6. Augustine, Kenosis, and the Person of Christ (Han-luen Kantzer Komline)
7. Cyril of Alexandria and the Sacrifice of Gethsemane (Katherine Sonderegger)
8. Divine Perfection and the Kenosis of the Son (Thomas Joseph White, OP)
9. Kenosis as Condescension in the Theology of Martin Luther (Matthew Bruce)
10. The Revisioning of Kenosis after the Critique of Schleiermacher (Paul Nimmo)
11. Kenosis and the Humility of God (David Fergusson)
12. Is There a Kenotic Ethics in the Work of Karl Barth? (Georg Pfleiderer)
13. Kenosis and the Mutuality of God (Cambria Kaltwasser)
14. Kenosis and Divine Continuity (Keith L. Johnson)
15. The Generosity of the Triune God and the Humility of the Son (Christoph Schwöbel)
16. The End of Humanity and the Beginning of Kenosis (Hanna Reichel)
17. Kenosis as a Spiritual Practice (Kevin W. Hector)