Christ Did Not Put Off His Deity but He Did Restrain Himself

(Based solely on the King James Bible and Pauline doctrine)

When Christ became a man, He did not cease to be God. He remained fully divine while taking on genuine humanity. The Scriptures clearly teach that the eternal Son of God added human nature to His deity without surrendering or diminishing any part of who He is as God. He restrained Himself, choosing to live in obedience and humility, but He never laid aside His divine essence or power. This great act of self-restraint was not the loss of deity but the voluntary limitation of divine privilege for the purpose of redemption.

1. The Word Was God and Remained God

John 1 verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 continues, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The same eternal Word who was God became flesh. There is no indication that He ever stopped being God. He did not exchange deity for humanity; He took humanity into His deity. In the incarnation, God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3 verse 16). The invisible God became visible without ceasing to be who He eternally is.

2. Christ Emptied Himself by Humility, Not by Loss of Deity

Philippians 2 verses 6 through 8 provides the clearest explanation. Paul writes that Christ Jesus, “being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation.” The phrase “made himself of no reputation” describes the voluntary humiliation of the Son, not the loss of His divine nature. He did not empty Himself of deity; He emptied Himself of outward display. He restrained His rights and privileges as God to live as a servant and to accomplish the Father’s will.

This restraint was a deliberate act of humility. He who could command angels chose to serve. He who spoke the universe into existence chose to hunger, thirst, and suffer as a man. He who had power to destroy His enemies with a word chose instead to submit to their hands and die. None of these choices involved laying aside His deity; they displayed perfect obedience and self-control.

3. The Miracles of Christ Show His Retained Deity

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated divine authority. He forgave sins (Mark 2 verse 5), commanded nature (Mark 4 verse 39), created food (John 6 verse 11), and raised the dead (John 11 verse 43). These acts were not performed by borrowed power but by His own divine authority. Yet He did them in complete submission to the Father’s will. John 5 verse 19 records, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” This statement does not mean He lacked power; it reveals His willing restraint and dependence as the perfect Servant. He acted only in harmony with the Father’s purpose.

4. His Humanity Was Genuine, Yet His Deity Was Unchanged

Hebrews 2 verse 14 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.” He truly became man, yet without sin. He hungered, wept, and felt pain. Still, Colossians 2 verse 9 affirms, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The fullness of the Godhead was not set aside during His earthly life. He did not divide Himself between deity and humanity. The divine and human natures were united perfectly in one person.

5. Christ’s Restraint Was the Model of Perfect Obedience

The Son of God showed perfect submission to the Father’s will. Though He had all divine power, He restrained Himself to fulfill redemption as the suffering Servant. Philippians 2 verse 8 says, “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” He who created life chose to taste death for every man. His restraint was not weakness but deliberate obedience. By humbling Himself, He revealed the heart of God’s grace and the true measure of divine strength.

6. The Purpose of His Restraint Was Our Redemption

The Son did not restrain Himself to hide His power but to accomplish salvation. Only by becoming man and living under the law could He die as our substitute. Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5 say, “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” His humility and restraint were essential to His role as Redeemer. At any moment He could have called legions of angels, yet He endured the cross for the joy set before Him. This voluntary submission satisfied the righteousness of God and made peace through the blood of His cross.

7. The Resurrected and Exalted Christ Remains Fully God and Man

After His resurrection, Christ declared, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28 verse 18). His exaltation did not restore something He had lost; it publicly displayed the divine authority He always possessed. He is now glorified in the same body that was humbled for our sake. The man Christ Jesus remains the eternal Son of God, seated in heavenly places far above all principality and power.

8. The Mystery Reveals His Power Now Working in the Body

Paul’s revelation of the mystery shows that the same power which raised Christ from the dead now works in us who believe (Ephesians 1 verses 19 and 20). The restrained Son is now the exalted Head of the Body of Christ. His humility accomplished redemption; His power now works through His members by grace. The One who chose to restrain Himself in weakness now strengthens believers by His Spirit according to the riches of His glory.

Conclusion

Christ never set aside His deity when He became man. He remained the eternal Son, the Creator of all things, and the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. Yet He willingly restrained Himself, taking the form of a servant and obeying the Father unto death. His restraint was not the loss of divine power but the perfect expression of divine humility. Through His voluntary limitation, He revealed the love and grace of God and accomplished eternal redemption. The believer now serves the risen Lord who once humbled Himself for our sake, knowing that the same Christ who restrained Himself in flesh now reigns in full glory as Head of the Body, complete in power and majesty forever.