Exaltation of Christ because of the Joy of Unity

The Humiliation of Christ

Philippians 2:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

How does God respond to Humility?

Philippians 2:9–11 (KJV 1900)

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Remember, the subject and context of this passage is Unity.

Philippians 2:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Unity is a product of Humility.

Philippians 2:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Last week we saw the Humility of Christ as an Example for our Humility.

This week we see the Exaltation of Christ as an Example for our Humility.

Jesus taught this in

Matthew 23:12 (KJV 1900)

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Luke 14:11 KJV 1900

11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

James 4:10 KJV 1900

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6 KJV 1900

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Self sacrifice and humility are rewarded by God.

The Source of Exaltation

Philippians 2:9 (KJV 1900)

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

God raised Him from the dead. God lifted Him to glory. God crowned Him and sat Him at His right hand. And God gave to Him the ministry of intercession as the high priest of His people.

The Title of Exaltation

Philippians 2:9 (KJV 1900)

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

The word “given” means graciously to give, or perhaps better in this connotation, whole heartedly. In other words, Christ so totally and utterly satisfied God’s desire for the work of His incarnation, He so fully and completely accomplished redemption that God wholeheartedly and generously and graciously and beneficently poured out on Him gifts, the gifts of exaltation.

What is the Title given to Jesus?

The name of Jesus stands out as a name above all other names. In the Bible, Jesus is given many names and titles. He is called:

He is Adam, Anointed, Apostle, Author, Amen, Alpha and Ancient of Days.

He is Beginning, Begotten, Beloved, Branch, Bread, Bridegroom, Bright and Morning Star, Bishop of our souls, Brightness of the Father’s glory.

He is Captain, Consolation, Chief Cornerstone, Counselor, Covenant, Chosen of God, Christ.

He is Daysman, Deliverer, Dayspring, Daystar, Door, Desire of all nations.

He is Elect, Ensign, Everlasting Father, Emmanuel.

He is Finisher of the faith, Forerunner, Friend, First Fruits, Faithful Witness, Fountain of life issuing from the cave of death.

He is God, the Gift of God, Governor, Guide, Glorious Lord.

He is Help, Hope, Husband, Horn of Salvation, Hearer, Head of the Church, Heir of all things, High Priest, Hell’s dread, Heaven’s wonder, the holy One.

He is I AM, Inheritance, Image of God’s Person, Immortal, Invisible.

He is Judah, Just, the Judge, Jesus.

He is King—King of Israel, King of Kings, King of glory, King everlasting.

He is the Life, the Light, Love, Lily, Love, Lion, Lamb, Lawgiver, The Living Stone, the Lord of glory.

He is Messenger, Messiah, Mediator, Master, Mighty God, Mercy’s Paradox.

He is a Nazarene.

He is the Offspring of David, Omega, Only Begotten of God, Offering, and Offerer.

He is Priest, Passover, Potentate, Prophet, Propitiation, Prince of life, Prince of peace, Physician.

He is Righteous, Rabbi, Ransom, Rest, Root of Jesse, Root of David, Refiner, Refuge, Resurrection, the Rose of Sharon blooming in the shades of Hell, Ruler, Redeemer, Rock of Ages.

He is Stone, Shepherd, Son of God, Son of man, Shield, Servant, Seed of the woman, Surety, Sufferer, Savior, Sinless Sacrifice, the Same yesterday, today and forever.

He is Teacher, Truth, Tabernacle, Testator, Treasurer, Tree of Life.

He is Witness, the Word, the Way, the Wisdom of God, the Wonderful.

In the words of the Bible He is the Fairest among ten thousand. He is the Altogether Lovely One.

Of all the names given to this man, none is as precious, as sweet or as majestic as the name Jesus.

It can’t be Jesus that was His name at His birth.

That is His name as Savior, Sufferer and Sacrificier.

Now God gives Him a name of Exaltation.

There can be only one name that rises above every name that is powerful enough to cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess.

Philippians 2:11 (KJV 1900)

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Lord is in charge. He is supreme.

Lord is a New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament Yahweh, the name of God, Jehovah, which indicates sovereign ruler. It signifies rulership based on power and authority.

And out of His humiliation He becomes ruler. He becomes Lord. Listen, He had already given hints that this was going to be His name.

Pilate looked at Him and wondered if He was a king, wondered if He was really a master and He acknowledged that He was Lord.

Thomas looked at Him and said, “My Lord and my God.” It was evident all along that He was the living Lord but here in His exaltation He is formally and officially given the name Lord. He now has it as the God/Man. He was Son of Man on earth. Sometimes, a few times, Son of God. He was Jesus, a common name. He was Christ Messiah, now the Father says from here on out you must confess Jesus Christ as … what?… Lord. That’s the name which is above every name.

Philippians 2:10 (KJV 1900)

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

It is not the name Jesus but rather it is Lord, the name of Jesus.

The name Jesus doesn’t make people bow, that’s the name of His incarnation. The name Lord makes people bow. And it is the name Lord that men must confess to be saved.

Now listen to me carefully.

Is Jesus Christ Lord? Yes.

Who declared Him to be Lord? The Father

… the Father exalted Him and gave Him a name and the name He gave Him was the name Lord. And Lord is above every other name. If you are Lord, you’re above every other name. It implies deity, yes. But it carries the power of sovereignty. It is not just to say that you are God, it is to say that you as God rule. It has to mean that.

The Response to His Exaltation

Philippians 2:10 (KJV 1900)

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

The response is Worship.

That is a purpose clause, hina with a subjunctive verb indicates purpose or result.

So it would read this way, He is given the name which is above every name in order that or with the result that at the name of Jesus every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus Christ is Lord. The purpose of Him being given that name was to put Him in authority and cause everyone to bow to that authority.

Remember, “the name of Jesus” which is Lord vs. 11.

This is what salvation is all about.

Confessing Jesus, as Savior, LORD!

You see, that’s why He came, to die in order that in dying He might accomplish our salvation, be resurrected, ascended, coronated, and intercede for us and we see Him now not in His humiliation but in His exaltation.

We see Him now not as a humbled person, as an exalted person.

We see Him as Lord. And salvation is for those who confess Jesus as Lord.

To back into that from a negative viewpoint, Matthew 7 says that the false people who falsely claim salvation say, “Lord, Lord,” and He says, “I do not know you.”

Matthew 7:21–22 (KJV 1900)

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

It is essential to salvation that you acknowledge Jesus as Lord, that’s who He is. Even those who superficially do it and aren’t saved as indicated in Matthew 7 at least understand that acknowledging Jesus as Lord is the issue, even though they’re doing it is not genuine.

It is the purpose then, it is the response to His exaltation that we are to worship. We’re to worship Him and first of all that means that at the name of Jesus which is the name Lord we are to bow our knees. Every knee should bow. That’s a subjunctive but it takes on the force of a future indicative which means every knee will bow, every knee must bow is implied. They must to His lordship … they must, they will … either by choice or by force, every knee will bow.

Philippians 2:10 (KJV 1900)

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

The entire universe is called to Worship the Lord.

“things” if you notice in the KJV is italicized. That means that it is supplies. It should be those. “Things” do not worship God, People worship God.

Everyone will bow.

Everyone will confess.

Who is in Heaven? Angels and the Spirits of those who have died in Jesus Christ.

Who is in earth? All of us and everyone living.

Who is under the earth? Those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord. Demons, fallen angels, and men and women awaiting judgment.

When you talk about Jesus Christ, beloved, you’re talking about the Lord and master and sovereign of the universe. And He will rule. And He is Lord. And every tongue, I love that, shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. What does confess mean? Exomologeo means to acknowledge, to affirm, to agree. Everyone will agree He’s Lord. The damned demons will say He’s Lord. There’s no question about it. Damned souls of men, He’s Lord. The holy angels, He’s Lord. The resurrected, glorified saints, He’s Lord. Everyone will say He’s Lord. And when it says every tongue it doesn’t mean every physical tongue in every mouth, it means every glossa, every language, every human language, every angelic language … all languages. Or a better way to say it, all peoples, all beings, all rational beings will acknowledge His lordship.

The Source of Exaltation: God

The Title of Exaltation: Lord

The Response of Exaltation: Worship

The Purpose of Exaltation

Philippians 2:11 (KJV 1900)

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Purpose of Exaltation is Glory.

When the Son is glorified the Father is glorified. Perfect glory to the Son is perfect glory given to the Father. He who honors the Son honors the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, John 5:23.

John 5:23 KJV 1900

23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

When we glorify Christ for what He did, we also glorify God who did it in Him? Sure … sure. When you say Jesus Christ is Lord, you’re not displacing God. You’re not dishonoring God. You’re not rivaling God. You’re not blaspheming God. You’re not ridiculing God. You’re not embarrassing God. You’re not pulling God down, you’re exalting, glorifying God. That’s the gospel. It’s the gospel of humiliation and exaltation. Jesus Christ is Lord.

You must call people to that. Do you understand that, beloved? When you present the gospel you must call people to bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That’s the gospel.

Do you remember where we started all this? Do you know that this is all an object lesson really, an illustration? What is the issue of Philippians 2:1–11? Well if you go back for a moment, brief moment, to the early part of the chapter you will notice in verse 2 that Paul’s message here is that we should be of the same mind. He’s calling for unity, do you remember that? But he says the path to unity, verses 3 and 4, is through what? Humility, do you remember that? Doing nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind. So he’s calling for unity and he says the path to unity is humility. And he says, “Now if you need an illustration of humility, here’s Christ who humbled Himself,” verses 5–8. And then he throws this in, “And was exalted by God.”

Jesus Christ’s humiliation and exaltation not only be the greatest truth in Christian history, but may it be for you a constant reminder of the fact that if you humble yourself in seeking unity in the church, God will lift you up.

Are you humbling yourself for the unity of the Church?

Have you exalted Christ to Lord of your Life?