in short, in exchanging the divine mode of existence (μορφη θεου) for the human (μορφη δουλου). And the moment this had taken place, his humiliation (ταπεινωσις) began and consisted in being and remaining obedient to God until death. Christ’s whole life from his conception to his death, accordingly, was a humiliation resulting from his obedience, an ever-deeper entering into the communion of our sin and an ever-advancing self-removal from the joys of heaven. His circumcision (Luke 2:21) served as