ES/PHIL/12 Philippians 2:9-11
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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Last week we looked verses 5 to 8. This week we are looking at verses 9 to 11 and it has a therefore. So, we ask again what it is there for and the answer is what we read last week and what we found was that:
Jesus is God
Jesus became a slave.
He made Himself nothing.
He was born into obscurity rather than fame,
to poor parents rather than rich,
In a stable’s feeding trough rather than a palace.
He had no rights or privileges.
He identified with us in becoming like us.
He died because He loved us.
He demonstrated His love by self-sacrifice for the sake of those He loves.
He allowed Himself to be humbled and crucified by those He made and for whom He came.
Therefore. Therefore God has highly exalted Him. Jesus is given exceptional honour and great status and raised up and exalted exceedingly.
Jesus Himself declared several times that anyone who actually humbles themselves; who does not claim for themselves their rights; who gives themselves for others will eventually be exalted. One example is:
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
And Peter also joins in the chorus:
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus is highly exalted to as high a place as possible because He has shown the greatest humility – no one could have humbled themselves as much as Jesus. He came from glory and was going back to glory: Jesus prayed:
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
But it wasn’t to stop there for it is now our privilege to have the opportunity of an audience with Jesus to see His glory:
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Can Jesus be even more exalted than He was before? Can He be even more glorious than He was before? God is God after all and you cannot get higher and more glorious than that. But there is another sense that He is more exalted. He is now exalted in the eyes of people. His role is now as our Judge. He is head over the Church. All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to Him.
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
Before Jesus came to earth little had been revealed about Him. Jesus had a fairly hidden role in the Old Testament which, with our New Testament glasses on, we can see where He appears when we now look back. But for His death and resurrection we would still be blind.
Jesus exaltation was for what He had done – though Jesus is already glorious in every way – this exaltation was a demonstration of the victory won by Jesus by His life, death, resurrection and ascension.
This exaltation has been made very clear not only before our eyes but before all of creation, seen and unseen. After all it looked like He had been defeated by the power of the devil and by earthly powers but instead He triumphed over death in His rising from the dead, and now everything is beneath His feet, under His Kingship, His Lordship.
And, our passage continues; He has been given the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus…
Three times it says ‘name’. When we recall someone’s name, hopefully we do recall because many of us are useless with names – but our name is is precious to us. Someone forgets our name and we are put out. Why? Because it is what denotes us. We are that name. If we were to talk about Billy Graham what do we think about? When he died we thought about the many crusades and evangelism that he did. If you were to think of King David what do we think about? A man whose heart was after God AND the adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and resulting murder. If we are to think of Gordon Ramsey we think of a man who is a supposed cooking genius who swears a lot. If we think of Emily Pankhurst we think of the suffragettes. And so on. People’s names illicit different memories about that person. A person’s name is not just the title that everyone has but with it comes all their personality, good and bad, their reputation, what they’ve achieved and so on.
So, when we think of Jesus we think of all He is, all He has done and all He has promised He will do. As I’ve said before, when we pray and tag on the end ‘in Jesus’ name’ it is not a magic formula but what we are saying is that we are praying in line with His wishes and personality and all that He is.
When my grandfather was dying I arrived at the hospital just as my parents were leaving on some errand and so I took the opportunity to share the Gospel with him though by this time he was in a coma. Every time I mentioned Jesus His body would react and shudder. I don’t know if he actually understood anything I said though it did seem an opportune time for, just as I was leaving, my parents returned. I don’t think it would have been appropriate to share the Gospel if they had been present especially as I was quite forthright knowing how little time he had. It did seem like a Spirit-led event. Less than an hour later he died. Who knows – talking about Jesus with him may have saved him. Amazingly, the name of Jesus caused a reaction even in a comatose person.
The name of Jesus is powerful because it is not just about the name of Jesus but it is who the name of Jesus represents. When I mentioned the name of Jesus to a man who was affected by an evil spirit – it made him afraid. The name of Jesus gets other responses too such as found in:
1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
And in giving an explanation Peter said:
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Jesus’ name is mighty, mighty to save – to save from hell, to save from evil situations and Jesus’ name means that all the powers of Heaven are on your side if you are on the side of Heaven. And then one of the most crucial verses in Scripture is:
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Only through Jesus can one be saved. Actually one of the nuns down the road from my previous Church misquoted this to me and said: Jesus is the name by which we can be saved. This leaves the option for getting saved in some other way. So I said to her that the Greek word δει is used here which means ‘Jesus is the only name given among men by which it is necessary to be saved’ – not can be but must be. We must be saved through Jesus or there is no salvation. We cannot be saved by saints or Mary or anyone else. God the Father will not receive anyone without Jesus. It is through Jesus and Him alone.
To prove it further today’s passage goes on to say that at the name of Jesus ever knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
It says in:
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
Clearly it is Jesus speaking in these verses attributed to God. Jesus is the only way and to Him alone will every knee bow and tongue confess that He is Lord. For us who know Jesus this is a privilege to do – for we have in effect already done it. And it is found in this week’s readings:
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
We are only too willing to bow the knee to our King and confess with our mouths He is Lord.
But there will be others who have rejected Jesus throughout their lives and are on the broad road to destruction. Even those who thought they had given their lives for God but didn’t come through Jesus alone. When standing before the great white throne, some of whom would have been malicious in their anger against God and Jesus will realise how terribly wrong they were and will have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. How terrifying it will be for those who have acknowledged Jesus’ lordship in this life.
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Who will bow? Those in Heaven - The spiritual realm, angles and demons, those on earth – those who are here when Jesus returns, and those under the earth – probably referring to the dead – all shall be raised to declare that Jesus is Lord; that He is Sovereign over all.
Galatians–Colossians (King James Version) B. Humbling Oneself, 2:5–11
God has given Christ supreme worship. God is going to see to it that every creature confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father:
⇒ every nation, tongue, and language
⇒ every person, mind, and body
⇒ every race, color, and shape
⇒ every belief, creed, and religion
⇒ every man, woman, and child
⇒ every king, leader, and authority
⇒ every professional worker and laborer
All this will be declared to God the Father in all His glorious splendour.
This is the same glory that Moses asked to see in:
18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Contrast that with Moses in the next story:
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
How glorious and magnificent and wonderful and brilliant and beautiful and exalted and praiseworthy and admiral is His glory.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
There is no equivalent to Jesus. He is the beginning and end and everything in-between. He is worthy of all praise, all honour, all glory, and in bowing our knees in homage to the One who is all and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father for this is the least we can do.
Communion
Communion
The verses we read in Philippians give context to coming to the Lord’s table. We are to remember all these things that Jesus has done not just during special seasons of the year like this one but all the time. It gives us context to the kind of lives we should be living. Living in adoration of the One who loved us so much that, though He is our creator, He humbled Himself to the death of the cross enduring such terrible physical, mental and spiritual anguish the like of which no one else has ever experienced. The story does not end there, thank God, but He rose again to triumph over His foes and He ascended into Heaven still working on our behalf, still interceding and one day, as it says in our communion passage He will come again to judge the living and the dead. But we have passed over from judgement into life, eternal life and so we shall be with the Lord forevermore.
So, let us come with thankful hearts examining our ways before Him and partake of the bread and wine symbols of His body and blood freely given to us.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Thank You Father that You have promised to hear the prayers and petitions of Your servants and to nourish us with the body and blood of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. Help me to prepare my heart as I partake of the bread and wine, which are the two beautiful symbols of Christ body – broken for me and His precious blood – shed for me. I am not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table and yet You stooped down to save a wretch like me – and so I kneel in homage before You, in grateful remembrance of Your body broken and Your blood shed, in Jesus name I pray, Amen
Benediction
Benediction
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
Bibliography
Bibliography
https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Communion#1436
Hughes, R. K. (2007). Philippians: the fellowship of the gospel. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Galatians–Colossians. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
Runge, S. E. (2011). High Definition Commentary: Philippians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 08:21 01 April 2018.