Verses used by Arians against the divinity of Christ Part 3

the explanation of Paul’s letter in Philippians (chapter 2:5–11), especially the phrase “God gave him a name above every name” and the response to the Arians’ interpretation of it.
Preserving the divinity of Christ
The speaker clarifies that this phrase does not mean that the divinity changed or that the Son became lesser before the incarnation and then rose by obedience; rather he affirms the eternality of the Word’s divinity and that the Son had glory from eternity.
Responses of saints and commentators
He reviews the words of the Fathers — Saint Basil, Saint Athanasius, Saint Gregory Nazianzen, and Saint Ambrose — to show that “giving” here is understood as a natural disclosure or revelation, not as a temporal grant that makes the divinity newly existing.
The meaning of kenosis (emptying)
He explains that the emptying of self (taking the form of a servant) is a unionary and divine act: God became man without losing his divine nature. The humility and obedience are his union with humanity, not a negation of his eternal nature.
The name above every name in the eyes of people
The Pope interprets that God revealed to people his name and glory through the incarnation and redemption, so that people, angels and creation bow in the name of Jesus, but this revelation did not create or change his divinity.
The difference between natural giving and temporal grant
He gives examples (mind and its thought, the sun and its ray) to show that “giving” can mean an eternal natural relation and not a temporal addition to a previously absent existence.
Spiritual and liturgical result
The discourse calls believers to understand that Christ’s coming in incarnation and redemption reveals God’s love and summons true worship — rejoicing in his return to glory not as a “promotion” but as the manifestation of his eternal state.
Theological practical conclusion
The incarnation did not make God a lesser being that later rose; rather he is the eternal God who became man willingly to reveal himself and accomplish redemption, thus his unity with the Father in essence remains, and believers are called to worship, love, and rejoice in the work of redemption.
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