A kenotic ecclesiology

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“For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” When Paul appeals to the self-emptying nature of Christ as one of the central Christian impulses for generosity, he is ringing a familiar chord. Generosity for the Corinthians is grounded in self-emptying in much the same way that joy and worship are grounded in self-emptying for the Philippians.

Paul is eager for all of the churches to know the character of Christ, and to reflect that character into the world. This is the life that Christ has called us into and invites us to take up and share. We are, in every way, a people gathered and formed by a self-emptying God.