Before I response to your substitutions in John 1:1-14, I need to respond to a few things that you said:

1. “In the Philippian passage we see that it was the Son of God who emptied himself”
The context says the one who emptied Himself was made in the likeness of men. It appears clear to me that the only one in this passage who was “in the likeness of men” was “Jesus the man”.
2. “God remained the eternal God, the creator of all things while the human nature, Jesus of Nazareth remained perfectly human.”
When Jesus asked his disciple who do you say that I am. Peter, looking at Jesus the man said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. From here it is reasonable to conclude that Jesus the man was also the Son of God “at the same time”. In other words, being human did not stop him from being God. (More on this later.)
3. I do not have any reason to disagree with your explanation of the Covenant of Redemption.
4. “according to the divine testimony, the Lamb was already considered as “slain from the foundation of the world”.
Important point! If he was consider “slain before the foundation of the world” he should be consider to be “Jesus before the foundation of the world”.
5. “How could a man who was born into this world in space and time have created all things?” Being man and God at one time in history does not require he be in the form of a man at the beginning of time.
6. To state that Jesus was the "Word" (Jh 1:1-3) vs. the Son of God was the "Word, is to deny the incarnation (Jh 1:14). For Jesus of Nazareth having been CONCEIVED by the Holy Spirit was BORN of the virgin Mary, and thus cannot be eternal.
I do not believe the human body of Jesus was eternal or that the human body of Jesus was involved in creation. I do not see where anything I said denies the incarnation. See 4 above regarding your statement related to divine testimony. It supports my view.
7. “The divine nature of Jesus Christ did not 'die', but rather the human nature died.”
You need to define “nature” for me to understand what you are saying. I believe the Bible is clear regarding what died. The human body of Jesus died.


Now about those substitutions, in the gospel of John,
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. NASU
John uses “the Word” to emphasis the role of Jesus as “God’s communicator to man” and as “the one who spoke man into existence” (Gen 1:26). In general, I believe you need to understand that different names given to Jesus has more to do with his role at a particular time then it does with compartmentalizing His internal nature. When I start compartmentalizing his internal nature I begin to walk on thin ice and a branch that may or may not be connected to the vine. I also create new revelation that can be disagreed with which can cause division and leads to claims of heresy here, there and everywhere! Man has been complicating simple things since the fall. The first commandment was simple, “you shall not eat” but man (being man), decided to explore another option and life began to be complicated (Gem 2:16-17)...





Gen 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let Us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. NASU
John 20:28-29 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." NASU
[/color]What is it about me that is made in the image of God? Isn’t it my spirit? If my spirit is in me throughout my life here on earth could the spirit of the Son be in Jesus during his earthly ministry? Notice in John 20, Thomas is looking at the body of Jesus while calling him God. Isn’t he addressing the body and spirit of the Son here?








Mark 7:1-8 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." NASU
Man seems to have a need to add definition and detail to things that God has said. Take for example the Jews at the time of Jesus. They added so much to God’s word that it got hard for them to see the simple things of God that was in the Word. Jesus called these additions the “traditions of the elders” in the passage above. These traditions were know historically as the Mishna which were sometimes called “repetition" or "to study and review". It was the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". The original intent of the Mishnah was to cover all aspects of human living, serve as an example for future judgments, and, most important, demonstrate pragmatic exercise of the Biblical laws. The additional detail would act like a buffer zone around the Law preventing common people from coming close to violating the Law. At the time of Jesus, the Mishnah added over 2000 rules to the 613 commandments in the Mosaic Law! Jesus opposed the approach of adding to the commandments. He went in the opposite direction when he said all the Law and the Prophets hang on just two commandments. I need to be very careful when someone presents “additions to the Bible” as “something as important as the Bible”. What are your thoughts here?




Rom 13:8-10 owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. NASU
Col 3:14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. NASU
Clearly, Paul is agreeing with Jesus in the passage above regarding Mosaic Law when he said the commandment to love fulfilled the Mosaic Law. Here it is easy to see why love is better that a multitude of rules/commandments. It is better because it is the root cause of true obedience and brings about the perfect bond of unity (thanks goldenodie). It is the “more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31)
What are your thoughts here?













Phil 2:5-11 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASU

In Phil 2, it is clear that the one who was in the form of God (i.e. the Son of God) emptied himself. The word emptied is the Greek word kenoo (ken-o'-o); which means to make empty, i.e. (figuratively) to abase, neutralize, falsify. It appears clear that the use of the word “kenoo” was chosen in Phil 2 by God to communicate a significant change related to the one who was in “the form of God” (i.e the Son of God). There is very little written describing this change. Therefore, I need to be careful in my acceptance of theories on the details of this change. One theory that makes sense to me is to understand the word “emptied” in Phil 2 to imply that the Son of God operated with severe restrictions during the early ministry of Jesus. This does not mean He was less Divine. It just means that when he came into the world, he subjected Himself to established authorities in the world without subjecting himself to the sin of the world. This would have allowed him to accomplish at least three missions on earth:
1. Properly fulfill the Law as a man
2. Properly execute His role as Savior
3. Properly execute his role as our primary example to follow.
What are your thoughts here?

BTY, The word “keno” is used in only four other places in the new testament. Note the consistent way it is used below:
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: KJV
1 Cor 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.KJV
1 Cor 9:15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. KJV
2 Cor 9:3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready: KJV



O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!
“He humbled Himself that I might be raised” (Matt 11:29 & 1 Cor 15:52))
“He died in my place that I might have saved” (1 Jn 5:12 & Jn 3:16)
“He emptied Himself that I might be filled” (Phil 2:7 & Mat 5:6))
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!