Kadosh: The Pouring of Oneself (kenosis)

Holiness (kadosh) is the highway where Heaven becomes a reality and God’s Kingdom of righteousness an justice accelerates on the Earth.  Where kadosh governs, God is made visible through His Body.  As the Body of Christ progress in maturity and sanctification the image of the Father is revealed with more clarity.  Christ is the fullest and purest embodiment of kadosh — holiness made visible (John 1:14, 18; Col 1:15).  

God is kadosh not because He is distant, but because He separates Himself for another.  Though complete and needing nothing, He pours Himself into creation, choosing self-giving presence so that His glory may be revealed through what is not Himself (Gen 1:26–27; Acts 17:24–25; Isa 57:15).  This is the true meaning of kenosis—not the loss of divine fullness, but the holy act of self-giving, where fullness is expressed through pouring into another. 

Many theological streams have misrepresented kenosis as divine “emptying” in a way that implies diminishment or loss of God’s fullness. This perspective suggests that Christ somehow set aside His divinity or power to relate to humanity—a notion Scripture never supports. Kenosis, in fact, describes the opposite: it is not the loss of divine nature or authority, but the holy discipline of representation—the posture of One who is sent. When Scripture declares that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation” (kenōō, Phil 2:7), it does not mean that He emptied Himself of deity, but that He willingly laid aside the kabowd–manifested heavenly glory (John 17:5), refused to cling to equality with the Father (Phil 2:6), and surrendered the nobility and privileges of kingship to take the form of a servant (Phil 2:7; Matt 20:28). He selflessly exchanged the opulence of Heaven for human limitation (2 Cor 8:9; Matt 8:20). While remaining fully divine, He chose not to exercise supernatural power independently, declaring, “The Son can do nothing of Himself” (John 5:19), and submitted His will entirely to the Father—“not as I will, but as You will” (Matt 26:39; John 5:30). He did not exempt Himself from suffering, but learned obedience through what He endured (Heb 5:8), embracing hunger, weariness, and weakness (Matt 4:2; John 4:6). This is not weakness but perfect kadosh, for holiness is not withdrawal from engagement but being set apart for another (Isa 57:15).

Kenosis is therefore an apostolic reality—the pouring out of oneself in obedience to the One sending—where ‘self’ is laid aside so that another’s will may be done (John 6:38; John 14:9). Far from resulting in depletion, this pouring produces replenishment and exaltation, for the Father loves the Son because He lays down His life (John 10:17), and therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the Name above every name (Phil 2:9). Kenosis, then, is not self-erasure but holiness—the fullness of God expressed through faithful representation, where glory is revealed not by self-preservation but by being poured out for another (Gen 1:26; Col 1:15).

Kenosis is not limited to the Son; it is the consistent mode of divine operation within the Godhead.  The Father pours Himself into creation, speaking His image into what is not Himself (Gen 1:26; Ps 33:6).  The Son is sent and pours Himself out in faithful representation of the Father (John 6:38; Phil 2:7).  In the same way, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to continue this holy outpouring, not to speak from Himself, but to reveal Another.  Jesus declared, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name… He will not speak on His own authority” (John 14:26; John 16:13).  This is why He is called the Holy Spirit—not because He withdraws from the world, but because He is entirely set apart for another.  His holiness is expressed through self-effacing representation, pouring Himself into believers so that the life of Christ may be formed within them (Rom 8:10–11; Gal 4:19).  As with the Father and the Son, the Spirit’s kenosis is not depletion but divine multiplication—He is poured out so that Heaven may dwell within humanity and God’s image may be fully revealed on the Earth (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17).

Holiness (kadosh) is the realm from which sending originates.  In Isaiah’s vision, the cry of “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa 6:3) immediately gives rise to a divine commission—“Whom shall I send?”—revealing that kadosh is not passive separation but the environment that produces representation (Isa 6:8).  The same pattern appears when Moses encounters holy ground (kadosh) at the burning bush; God reveals His holiness and then sends Moses as His representative to deliver Israel (Exod 3:5–10).  Likewise, the Levites were declared holy (kadosh) not for isolation, but for functional service, standing set apart to minister on behalf of the LORD (2 Chron 23:6).  This pattern reaches its fullness in Christ, who defines His own sanctification in terms of being sent: “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself” (John 17:18–19).  After His resurrection, Jesus makes this transfer explicit, declaring, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you,” and then breathing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles (John 20:21–22), showing that holiness is imparted through commissioning, not withdrawal.  Scripture therefore identifies Jesus Himself as “the Apostle” — the Sent One (Heb 3:1) — establishing that holiness is inherently apostolic, a consecration unto representation, where those who are set apart are poured out so that God’s will, image, and authority may be made visible on the Earth.

Paul understood kenosis not as self-erasure, but as apostolic outpouring.  When he declares, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering” (Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6), he is not describing exhaustion or depletion, but the fulfillment of being sent.  A drink offering in Scripture was never poured out in isolation; it was poured out before the LORD and for the benefit of others (Num 15:5–10), signifying a life wholly yielded in representation.  Paul’s life was poured out because he had been sent—“an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Eph 1:1)—and his pouring was the means by which Christ was formed in others (Gal 4:19).  Far from diminishing him, this outpouring produced continual renewal, for the life of Jesus was manifested through his mortal body (2 Cor 4:10–12).  Paul’s kenosis was therefore holy (kadosh): set apart not for preservation, but for transmission, where the sent one becomes the vessel through which Christ’s life, authority, and image are multiplied in the Earth.

Apostolic believers are sent into the world to represent Christ, pouring Him into others so that only He is seen.  Kenosis does not mean making ourselves nothing, punishing ourselves, or stripping away who God has made us to be. Scripture never teaches that holiness requires the loss of our gifts, personality, calling, or strength. Rather, kenosis means we do not live for ourselves. We are not emptied of what we carry; we freely share the grace resident in us. As Paul declares, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). The life we now live is lived for Him and through Him. Kenosis is therefore not depletion, but devotion—Christ being poured into others through a life fully submitted to His will (John 6:38; 2 Cor 4:10–11).

Philippians 2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.