Christ’s Exaltation

Baptism:

Today we are excited to celebrate baptism, as Waylon Romine has made a decision to follow Jesus. As Waylon and Nathan make their way up, I wanted to read a passage of scripture that reminds us that we are baptized in Christ’s death and raised to walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3–5 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

It’s also exciting to have Nathan come up with Waylon and get the privilege of baptizing his son. It points to the value we place on discipleship not just here at church but in the home. I think about the critical role parents play in teaching the gospel to their children. I’m also reminded about all the people in this church that came along side Waylon in some form or fashion. The teachers on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights that poured into him by faithfully teaching God’s word. Today’s a celebration, but as we talked about with Waylon it’s not the finish line rather the starting line of what we pray is a long and deep walk with Jesus. So Waylon…

Say to the candidate, “Waylon, are you being baptized today because you have trusted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? (YES)

-Raising your right-hand says, “Because of your public profession of faith, We baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.”

-As they go under say, “WE are buried with Christ in baptism (as they come up out of the water) raised to walk in newness of life.”

Intro:

In last week’s sermon I mentioned how much I love listening to Andrew Peterson songs and perhaps his most famous song poses the question repeatedly “Is He worthy? Is He worthy of all honor and blessing and honor? Is He worthy of this?… And then the response, of course, He is.” You might have wondered this at times as well. Is Jesus truly worthy to be praised, is he worthy to lay down my desires and follow him? Well today we will study our passage in Philippians that I believe answers this question.

Last week we focused on Christ’s humility, coming down to live among us and willingly go to the cross for our sins…and today we will focus on how God raised him from the dead and exalted him….his self-humiliation would lead to his super-exaltation.

In an article for Lionier Ministry Southern Seminary president Al Mohler wrote this about Christ’s exaltation, that mentions the hope we have in life and death, which I found helpful for us as we study it today:

“The doctrine of Christ's exaltation is not merely a matter of interest to academic theologians—it is the ground of our hope. In a very real sense, the exaltation of Christ explains why Christians can face both life and death with full confidence. This alone is the kind of faith that would lead the apostle Paul to declare: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Dare we believe less?”

Scripture Passage: Philippians 2:9-11

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

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.

1. Whoever Humbles Himself will be Exalted

This phrase is an overarching theme in scripture and our ultimate example is Jesus who humbled himself like no one else could and was exalted like no one else can. Here are a few examples of this theme:

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”

Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Proverbs 29:23 “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”

Proverbs 15:33 “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”

It’s clear that God values humility and one of the main reasons we know this is He humbled himself in the form of Jesus to live among us. So let’s dive deeper into the text...

In v. 9 we see the use of the word therefore, which indicates to us that what Paul is about to write is because of the previous verses that spoke to Christ’s humility. That is Christ was exalted as a consequence of his work for the Father.

God’s timing is sometimes so beautiful. I’m working through a set of daily devotional from various authors from Crossway Publishing and this Monday John Nielsen’s devotional was on the incarnation of Christ. It was a great affirmation for what was the heart of my sermon last week. Here is how he summarized Christ’s incarnation:

“Jesus—born to save. Ultimately, for John, the message of the incarnation is that sinners can now be fully forgiven and eternally saved by God. All who believe in the “name” of Jesus can become “children of God” (John 1:12)—people who are “born again” (3:3) through faith in him. Why is this the case? Because someone who is fully human lived a human life and represented all of humanity. But also because someone who is fully God paid the ultimate price that human sin deserves. Jesus, in his wonderful incarnation, finally provided the way for God’s people to be fully forgiven and eternally saved. All who repent of sins and trust in the finished work of the God-man on the cross will be forever made right with God.”

Today we are going to build on that focusing on Philippians 2:9-11 that centers on Christ’s Exaltation and I wanted to return to the New City Catechisms from Timothy Keller with two more questions and responses.

Question 23

Why must the Redeemer be truly God?

That because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death.

Question 51

Of what advantage to us is Christ’s ascension?

Christ physically ascended on our behalf, just as he came down to earth physically on our account, and he is now advocating for us in the presence of his Father, preparing a place for us, and also sends us his Spirit.

-Hansen, Collin; Keller, Timothy. The New City Catechism Devotional: God's Truth for Our Hearts and Minds

The fact that Jesus came to take on the form of man and willingly went to the cross to take on the penalty of sin for all of mankind, is only possible because of his divine nature. Jesus fulfilled what God had sent him to earth to accomplish, and once he died for our sins God raised him from the dead and exalted him. Scholars point out that he is lifted higher than any other…he’s in a class by himself. I love how Tony Merida capture his exaltation “Jesus is in an exalted class by Himself. He reentered the glory that He enjoyed with the Father before the world existed (John 17:5). And for all eternity, we will join the millions in giving Him praise”

A key element of these verses is God bestowing the “name of above all names” (v. 9) which scholars debate…some say Jesus fits better as he goes on to talk about “so that the name of Jesus” and think the name of Jesus was elevated taking on a higher status based on his exaltation…however most scholars believe its the term Lord (or Yahweh). A few reasons to go with this is that it appears to be a new name and he was born as Jesus and that being called Lord fits the upward trajectory in this passage. The main reason would be the connection between this passage and Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

Many believe that the Philippians 2:11 “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” is intertextually connected as the Greek translation of the Old Testament is “Lord”.

There also seems to be a connection to Philippians 2:10-11 and Isaiah 45:23 “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”

John Piper sums it up much better than I can when he says:

Exalting Jesus in Philippians “For This Reason God Highly Exalted Him and Gave Him the Name that Is above Every Name” (v. 9)

What name did Jesus receive after his resurrection that he did not have before? Not “Jesus.” Jesus is precisely the name of the humble Servant who went to Calvary. In Acts 2:36 Peter says, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” It was his lordship and Messiahship—his messianic lordship—that was bestowed on him at his exaltation. Not that he wasn’t Messiah and Lord before his resurrection. He was. But he had not fulfilled the mission of Messiah until he had died for our sin and risen again. And therefore, before his death and resurrection, the lordship of Christ over the world had not been brought to full actuality. The rebel forces were yet undefeated, and the power of darkness held the world in its grip. In order to be acclaimed Messiah and Lord, the Son of God had to come, defeat the enemy, and lead his people out of bondage in triumph over sin and Satan and death. And that he did on Good Friday and Easter.… The name that is above every name, therefore, is Lord—the Lord victorious over all his enemies; the Lord who has purchased a people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

Also keep in mind the audience to whom Paul was writing. The title of Lord would have been especially impactful as claiming someone other than Ceaser as Lord was shocking. Regardless of wether the name given is Jesus or Lord the reality is that he was exalted the same either way. He humbled himself as lowly as possible and then was brought up the highest of highs, ruling over the whole world in Heaven. Here are two verses from scripture that give clarity to Jesus’ exaltation:

Acts 2:33 ESV

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

As we reflect on Jesus going from being crucified on the cross and buried in the grave to reigning eternally at the right hand of the father makes all the difference for us as followers of Christ. He is our savior and Lord!

Benjamin L. Merkle ESV Expository Commentary helps us understand the importance of the connection between Old and New Testament and the authority that Jesus has as Lord:

“Paul takes something from the OT that can be true only of Yahweh and breathtakingly applies it directly to Jesus. The context of Isaiah 45:23 makes this transfer all the more stunning because it emphatically declares that there is no other god besides the one true God.”

Transition: So based on the fact that Jesus was exalted and given the name Lord we see that…

2. Jesus Being Lord Changes Everything

The reality of Christ humbling himself to come to earth, live a perfect live, willingly submitting himself to the humiliation of dying on the cross for our sins, and then being raised from the dead and ultimately exalted as Lord, is the essence of the gospel and the hope that we have in this life.

Not only do we know that Christ died for our sins, but that he is reigning in heaven and has prepared there a place for us and one day will come back to earth, much different than he did when he came as a baby to Bethlehem, instead as a conquering king ready to make all things right.

Additionally when he returns scripture teaches us that all will bow down and worship him. It’s really amazing and should change everything about how we live.

The timing of this sermon is interesting as we about to have the elections here in the US. I’m reminded that one day everyone including Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will bow down before Jesus. Beyond our country I think about the world and places where terrible things are happening. One day Vladimir Putin will bow down and acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and so will the gang leaders in Haiti who have overtaken the country. The scripture we studied today says “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I don’t know if you’ve thought about that, but that means that the wealthy Hollywood star living in a mansion in Beverly Hills, to the seemingly forgotten person living in the slums of Mumbai all will one day bow down to Jesus.

In fact Paul is more descriptive when he mentions all realms, angels in heaven, people on earth, and demons of the underworld….all will bow before Christ when he returns. Philippians 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”

Paul closes out these verses by exclaiming that all of this if for the Glory of God…Philippians 2:11 “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This of course has far reaching consequences. It’s why we worship and proclaim the goodness of Christ when we gather for worship. We are agreeing with all other believers on earth and who have gone before us. The confession of Jesus is Lord is short for the full gospel of what Jesus did on the cross and defeating death through his resurrection.

One aspect that perhaps we don’t talk enough about is that he has saved us from hell. The verses speak to his victory over all realms and this includes hell a real place where people who haven’t trusted Jesus will spend in eternity separated from God. Again because he defeated death he made a way for us to be with God in heaven instead of hell, and it’s all to the glory of God!

One of area that Jesus exaltation impacts is missions which is the task Jesus has given his followers.

“If you love the glory of God, you cannot be indifferent to missions.” ― John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions

The fact that Jesus is Lord and all will bow to him one day for God’s glory reminds us we are to share that good news with others. If we truly believe Jesus is Lord we will trust him with our lives and willingly follow Him with our lives, just as Waylon did today by following through in believers baptism following him trusting Jesus as his saviour and Lord.

We are so underserving of this great love from the Lord. He is worthy of all praise and our chief goal on earth is to see all of mankind come to know Jesus and worship God. John Piper continues with the thought of God’s glory being central to missions when he says:

Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” ― John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!

Today’s passage is a powerful reminder that one day we will all stand before God judgement. Romans14:10-11

Romans 14:10–11 ESV

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

Even now, Christ is preparing a place for His people (John 14:2-3) and preparing the creation for His appearing—a return in glory, power, and might. This return will be very different from His humble birth in Bethlehem. Though His arrival in Bethlehem was known only to a few, His return will be known to all—and announced to all creation. This (fourth) aspect of Christ's exaltation, His return, reminds us that history is indeed headed toward a defined goal. Thus, Christ's coming assures us that history will have a definite end with a comprehensive display of God's righteousness, justice, and redeeming love.

Al Mohler for Ligonier Ministries

Closing:

Christ’s exaltation is everything to the believe. We witnessed that today as Waylon confessed Jesus not just as his savior, but as Lord. So many people want to just add Jesus on to their lives as an afterthough, but Jesus is Lord and can’t take a backseat to anyone or anything. We can’t approach Jesus as a genie when we need something …. Our faith can’t just be a Bible verse post on social media and showing up at church on Sundays…Jesus came to give us life and give it abundantly as a John 10:10 reminds us, but we have to treat Him as Lord of our lives….he's worthy…think of all he did for you and me.

I love the modern hymns written by folks like the Gettys, Matt Papa, and Matt Boswell, and others. The song Christ Our Hope In Life And Death by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Matt Papa I think is a great way to close out our time together. We started with a quote from Al Mohler that testified why we as Christians have hope in life and death, so let’s conclude our time together by reminding ourselves of the hope we have in Christ’s humiliation and exaltation:

Unto the grave, what will we sing? "Christ, He lives, Christ, He lives!" And what reward will Heaven bring? Everlasting life with Him

There we will rise to meet the Lord Then sin and death will be destroyed And we will feast in endless joy When Christ is ours forevermore (forevermore)

Oh, sing hallelujah Our hope springs eternal Oh, sing hallelujah Now and ever we confess Christ, our hope in life and death (oh, sing)