Christ Exalted ~ Philippians
2:5-11 ~ 20080323 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~
Today we celebrate
the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead after he was crucified
by the hands of sinful men and sealed in a tomb to decay. This morning we are
going to be looking at Jesus. This morning is all about Jesus. Actually,
whenever we meet, it is all about Jesus; we have been watching Jesus at work in
the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, and realizing how in so many ways they are
just like us, and God is the same yesterday and today and forever; but today we
want to turn our attention directly to Jesus – we want to look at Jesus
resurrected and Jesus exalted. We want to see who he is and the greatness of
his character. But in order to fully appreciate the glory of Christ exalted in
the resurrection, we must go back to see Jesus in his humiliation and we must
go back even further to see Christ before he was born in the stable in
Bethlehem. So this morning we are going to look at:
-who Jesus was from
all eternity
-Jesus in humility
-Jesus resurrected
and exalted to the right hand of the Father
We will look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2.
He writes:
Philippians 2:1-11 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort
from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by
being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one
mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant
than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was
in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, 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.
First, we see that Jesus was from all
eternity God – equal with the Father. Paul says:
Philippians
2:5-6 Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped,
It says that Jesus
existed in the form of God. Jesus’ being was the very being of God. Equality
with God would be something any created being could only grasp at, but Jesus
possessed it by nature and right. That this is the proper understanding is
clear from many other passages, for instance, let’s
look at some in the Gospel of John:
John 1:1-4 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 were made
through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light
of men.
John affirms that
the Word was with God in the beginning. He is eternal. And he identifies the
Word with God – the Word was God. He identifies the Word as the Creator –
everything was made through him. And he identifies the Word as the
self-existent one or YHWH; the one who is, the one who has life in himself.
Then, in verse 14, he makes it expressly clear who he is referring to:
John
Jesus is the Word,
the self-existent creator God YHWH, the all-glorious only Son from the Father.
Look at John 8:
John 8:56-59 Your father
Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews
said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So
they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of
the temple.
Jesus claimed to be
a contemporary of Abraham – in fact to predate Abraham. But he changes the
normal grammar – he doesn’t say ‘I was before Abraham; he says ‘I am’ – and the
Jews understood what he was claiming – he was claiming to be the God of Abraham
– the one who spoke to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 –tell the
people ‘I AM’ has sent you – the self-existent one. Then in
John 10 Jesus said:
John
The Jews take great
pains to make sure we get our theology straight. If Jesus’ words weren’t clear
enough on their own, the Jews reaction shows exactly how Jesus was to be
understood.
.John 10:31-33 The Jews picked up
stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good
works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good
work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a
man, make yourself God.”
They accused him of
blasphemy because he was claiming equality with God. Now look at Jesus prayer
in John 17:
John 17:5 And now, Father,
glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the
world existed.
Jesus in his prayer
to the Father is claiming that he was with the Father before the world existed,
and he is claiming that he had God’s glory – the magnificent display of his
nature and character. Let’s look at Isaiah 42:8 so we don’t miss the
significance of what Jesus is saying:
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD;
that is my name;
my glory I give to
no other,
nor my praise to
carved idols.
YHWH is a jealous
God who does not share his glory with another. Jesus is asking the Father to
again put his nature and character as God on display so that he will be honored
and worshipped as God. This is an audacious request unless his statement that
he is one with the Father is also true.
So Jesus is the
self-existent YHWH, the all-glorious Creator-God who breathed the universe into
existence, equal to and one with the Father.
Next we see Jesus in humility; Paul
says:
Philippians 2:7-8 but made himself nothing, 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.
Jesus took the humble form of a human
servant. The Creator became part of his creation. The potter became a clay pot.
God, who is spirit, took on a mortal body of flesh. Let’s look for a moment at
his humiliation.
First, he was
conceived in the womb of a poor unmarried girl:
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be called holy––the Son of God.
Then he was born in
a barn and placed in a feed box:
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn
son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.
He was homeless:
Luke
He was misunderstood by his own family and by
his hometown:
Matthew
He was rejected by
his nation:
John
He took the place
of a slave with his followers:
John 13:3-5 Jesus, knowing that the Father had
given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going
back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a
towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to
wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped
around him.
He was betrayed by
a friend, and captured by a mob instigated by the religious leaders:
Matthew 26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas
came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from
the chief priests and the elders of the people.
He was abandoned by
his closest friends:
John 16:32
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be
scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone,
for the Father is with me.
He was arrested on
false charges and then handed over to a foreign government to be executed:
John 19:6 When the chief priests and the
officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to
them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
He was humiliated,
mocked and mistreated:
Matthew 27:28-30 And they stripped him and put a
scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on
his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked
him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed
and struck him on the head.
He was ruthlessly
beaten:
Mark
He was executed
like a common criminal, and his executioners gambled for his clothing:
Mark
Mark
He paid the penalty
for sins not his own:
1 Peter
He was holy and sinless, but became sin for
us:
2 Corinthians
He was abandoned by
his Father:
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”
The Author and
Sustainer of life died:
John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from
me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I
have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my
Father.”
Luke
He was buried in a
borrowed tomb:
Matthew 27:59-60 And Joseph took the body and wrapped
it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in
the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went
away.
Finally Jesus Raised and Exalted; Paul
says:
Philippians 2:9-11
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.
The Father answered
Jesus’ prayer:
John 17:5 And now, Father,
glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the
world existed.
The Father exalted
Jesus by making him King and Savior; the only one whose right it is to grant
repentance and forgiveness:
Acts
The Father exalted
Jesus by granting salvation through him alone:
Acts
John 14:6 Jesus said to
him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one
God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The Father exalted
Jesus by making his glory the illuminating message of good news:
2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the
god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from
seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who
said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The Father exalted
Jesus by making him the means of our sanctification:
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of
peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the
sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good
that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Father exalted
Jesus by committing all judgment to him alone so that he receives the same
honor that the Father receives:
John 5:21-23 For as the Father
raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he
will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all
may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the
Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
The Father exalted
Jesus by raising him from the dead and seating him at his own right hand, above
every power and authority:
Ephesians 1:
20-22 that he worked in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that
is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave
him as head over all things to the church,
God glorified Jesus
to receive worship as the Lamb who was sacrificed:
Revelation
5:11-14 Then I looked, and I heard
around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many
angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb
who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing!” And I heard every
creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all
that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be
blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures
said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
God glorified Jesus
by highly exalting him – giving him a name above every name. a
name to which every man, every angel, every demon – every created thing must
bow. The tongues of men and angels and demons must all confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord.
Philippians 2:9-11
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.
Every knee will bow
either as sons or captives. All will submit to him as Lord or as Judge.
‘Let us exalt
Christ in our hearts; believe, adore and love him. We cannot lift him up higher
in heaven, but we may in our hearts. Let us exalt him in our lips; let us
praise him. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit,
our tongues must be the organs in these temples. By praising and commending
Christ, we exalt him in the esteem of others.
Let us exalt him in
our lives, by living holy lives: … Not all the doxologies and prayers in the
world so exalt Christ as a holy life. It makes Christ renowned, and lifts him
up indeed, when his followers walk worthy of him.
Let us exalt
Christ’s truths; maintain the truths of Christ against error; maintain the
doctrine of free grace against merit; the Deity of Christ against those who
would dishonor him. Let us contend for the truth, as one would for a great treasure.
Christ takes it to be exalting him when we exalt his truths, wherein his glory
is concerned.’
[adapted from Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, Christ’s Exaltation]