Bible Dictionary
EQUALITY
The condition of having equal standing, privileges, or proportion. In Philippians 2:6 it relates to Christ’s possession of the form and prerogatives of God.
Definition
Equality is equal proportion or the possession of equal privileges and prerogatives. It may refer to a social result or to the relation of one person to another.
Biblical Usage
In 2 Corinthians 8:14 it means equal proportion. In Philippians 2:6 it describes Christ’s possession of equal prerogatives and privileges with God, understood in connection with His having the form of God.
Historical Background
The passage in Philippians distinguishes personal equality from equality of attributes and expresses the latter as belonging to the incarnate Son in His historical manifestation.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>e-kwol'-i-ti (isotes):</p><p>In 2Co 8:14, literally,. "out of equality," i.e. "in equal proportion" or "that there may be equality." In Php 2:6, it occurs in a paraphrase of Greek to einai isa theo, "the being on an equality with God." In this much-discussed passage, isa, according to a not unusual Attic idiom, is construed adverbially (see Meyer on passage), meaning, therefore, not `the being equal' (the King James Version), which would require ison, but "the having equal prerogatives and privileges." The personal equality is one thing; the equality of attributes is another, and it is the latter which is here expressed (Lightfoot). The "being on an equality" and the "having equal prerogatives" are both deductions from the possession of "the form of God." The thought is that if He who had "the form of God" had under all circumstances exercised His Divine attributes, He would have been employing only what belonged to Him, and would in no way have derogated from what belongs only to God. We regard this as referring to the incarnate Son in His historical manifestation.</p><p>H. E. Jacobs</p>