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NASB | Philippians 2:6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Philippians 2:6 who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes--the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]; |
Bible Question: Someone who is a Jehovah witness gave my husband a bible. I lost my own bible for some time, so I read that one until I bought another bible. As I read on to Philippians 2, I noticed that the title in Spanish was something like "Jesus is not equal to God". I looked up the greek translation of verse 6 in order to better understand the text and have enough basis to believe. I still am very confused with the meaning of the verse...please help. |
Bible Answer: Greetings Abeck! Welcome to the forum! First of all, never trust the bible given out by the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is not an actual translation, but a perversion of the text designed to promote their false doctrines. Secondly, Phil. 2:6 certainly does teach that Jesus is equal to God. Here is the NASB translation of this verse: "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped," Two essential statements are made about Christ in this verse. First of all, He already existed in the form of God. Here is what the Bible Knowledge Commentary says about this verse. *********** 2:6-8. The word translated nature (morpheµ) in verses 6 and 7 is a crucial term in this passage. This word (trans. “form” in the kjv and nasb) stresses the inner essence or reality of that with which it is associated (cf. Mark 16:12). Christ Jesus, Paul said, is of the very essence (morpheµ) of God, and in His incarnation He embraced perfect humanity. His complete and absolute deity is here carefully stressed by the apostle. The Savior’s claim to deity infuriated the Jewish leaders (John 5:18) and caused them to accuse Him of blasphemy (John 10:33). ************* Someone cannot be 'in the form of God' unless He is God. as 'form' refers to His essential nature, not just His appearance. The second essential statement concerns His attitude toward His equality with God. Again, quoting from the Bible Knowledge Commentary: ********** "Though possessing full deity (John 1:14; Col. 2:9), Christ did not consider His equality with God (Phil. 2:6) as something to be grasped or held onto. In other words Christ did not hesitate to set aside His self-willed use of deity when He became a man. As God He had all the rights of deity, and yet during His incarnate state He surrendered His right to manifest Himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory." ***************** So, contrary to the 'heading' that the Watchtower Organization includes in their 'bible', Phil 2:6 says that Jesus is equal to God and gave that equality up: "but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:7) I hope this helps! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |