One of the most repeated claims in modern New Testament scholarship is that the early church gradually elevated Jesus to divine status. The argument often follows a literary timeline: Jesus starts out as a humble, misunderstood teacher in the Gospel of Mark (dated around AD 70) and ends up boldly identified as divine in the Gospel of John (around AD 90). That evolution, we’re told, reveals how Jesus went from man to God in the minds of believers.
But that narrative collapses when we examine the earliest Christian writings.
What’s the Real Timeline?
Even if we follow the timeline laid out by non-Christian scholars, the literary progression of early Christianity looks like this:
- Early creeds, hymns, and poems — AD 30–45
- Paul’s seven undisputed letters — AD 48–61
- The Gospels — AD 70–100
If you want to know what the first Christians believed about Jesus, you don’t start with the Gospels. And you don’t even start with Paul’s theological reflections. You start with the traditions he inherited, many of which he quotes within his letters.
One of the clearest examples is a passage in Philippians 2:6–11, widely regarded as a pre-Pauline hymn.
Philippians 2:6–11 (ESV)
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Why This Passage Matters
The structure and elevated language of Philippians 2:6–11 mark it as distinct from Paul’s usual prose. Nearly all scholars agree—this is not original to Paul, but a hymn he quotes from early Christian worship.
Even Bart Ehrman, a leading atheist scholar, wrote:
“This passage appears to embody an early Christian hymn… possibly dating to the 40s CE, and so within a decade or so of Jesus’ death.”
— How Jesus Became God (2014)
The late Gerd Lüdemann, also an atheist and a critical historian, wrote:
“The passage is a pre-Pauline hymn which was composed within a few years of Jesus’ death.”
— The Resurrection of Jesus (1994)
This means that before Paul ever penned his letters, Christians were already worshiping Jesus as preexistent, divine, and exalted by God.
A Chiastic Structure Reveals Its Heart
This passage follows a literary form known as a chiasm—a mirror-like pattern often used in ancient literature to center the most important idea.
Chiastic Structure:
- A – Divine Lord
“Being in the form of God… equality with God” - B – Loss of all recognition
“Did not consider equality with God something to exploit… emptied himself” - C – Common name
“Taking the form of a servant… born in human likeness” - D – Obedient to death
“He humbled himself… even death on a cross” - C′ – Highest name
“God gave him the name that is above every name” - B′ – Universal recognition
“Every knee will bow… every tongue confess” - A′ – Divine Lord
“Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
The centerpiece is Jesus’ obedient death, which leads to a universal recognition of his lordship—a direct quotation of Isaiah 45:23, where Yahweh declares:
“To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”
Paul deliberately applies this to Jesus, affirming that the early Christians saw him as sharing in Yahweh’s divine identity.
Jesus Didn’t Cling to Divinity—He Chose Humility
The hymn says Jesus was in the form of God (morphē theou) and had equality with God. Greek philosopher Aristotle explained the word morphē like this:
“The form (morphē) means the essence or reality of a thing—what it truly is.”
— Metaphysics 1032b1–2
So Jesus didn’t become divine—he was divine and chose to let go of that divine privilege.
Paul uses the word harpagmos, meaning “something to be seized or held onto.” Jesus didn’t need to seize equality with God—he already had it. And rather than cling to it, he let it go.
The Greek verbs “emptied himself” (ekenōsen) and “humbled himself” (etapeinōsen) are paired with the reflexive pronoun heauton (“himself”), showing that these were deliberate acts—Jesus chose to give himself.
Crucifixion: The Lowest Shame
Paul doesn’t merely say Jesus died—he highlights that it was “even death on a cross.” Crucifixion wasn’t just painful—it was socially degrading.
Seneca wrote:
“Can anyone be found willing to be fastened to the accursed tree… in long-drawn-out agony?”
— Dialogues 6.20.3
Cicero called crucifixion:
“A most cruel and disgusting punishment.”
— Against Verres 2.5.66
And again:
“The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears.”
— Pro Rabirio 16
That Jesus willingly chose such a death, according to the hymn, is the very reason he is exalted above all.
Jewish Parallels to Exalted Figures
Though the Christ Hymn is unique, early Jewish literature gives us conceptual background:
- 1 Enoch 48:2–5
“The Son of Man… was chosen and hidden… all who dwell on earth shall worship before him.” - 1 Enoch 69:26–29
“The Son of Man… all the kings shall fall down and worship him.” - 4Q246 (Dead Sea Scrolls)
“He shall be called the Son of God… all nations shall serve him.” - Philo
“The Logos is the image of God, by which the whole world was created.”
— On Dreams 1.239
“God made man according to the image of his own Logos.”
— Questions on Genesis 2.62
These aren’t Christian writings. They show that Jewish thinkers had already envisioned preexistent, divine-like agents who could be exalted and worshipped—yet none describe such a figure choosing to suffer like Philippians 2 does.
Final Thought: Not a Gradual Climb—A Bold Declaration
Even if we accept the consensus of non-Christian scholars, the Christ Hymn brings us closest to the earliest Christian beliefs.
Long before the Gospels were written, Christians believed Jesus:
- Preexisted in divine form
- Humbled himself in obedience
- Was crucified in shame
- And was exalted and worshipped as Lord
That’s not a slow myth in the making.
That’s the foundation of the faith—fully formed, right from the start.
Living the Bible 