God Rescues Us from Evil - Philippians 2:5-11
Main Point: God in the person of Jesus stepped into our world and rescued us and proved he can be absolutely trusted.
Detailed Notes
March 29, 2026
Cliff Higgins
God Rescues Us from Evil
Philippians 2:5-11
Today’s text is written in legal language. It was also a hymn sung by the early church. It is a legal brief which outlines the legal case for why Jesus alone is worthy to rule the universe. The story behind our text for today starts in the realm of eternity, a place where there is no time. Eternity is not a quantity of time or number of years instead it is about a quality of life. It is life of the highest possible quality. For instance, in eternal life, some it’s qualities are there is no such thing as sickness, decay, or death. At some point in eternity God created angels and 1/3 of them rebelled against Him. The rebels were drawn away by An Accuser telling a lie. Now, a lie is saying or thinking anything that’s not consistent with the integrity and character of God. The lie that was told, the accusation that was made that drew way angels was this; that God cannot be trusted, and that they would be better off exalting themselves rather than submitting to Him. They wanted to redefine their place in God’s order.
The garden of Eden was more unique than we think. It was an entire world where you had total freedom to do absolutely anything good, It was a paradise that functioned without effort, a place without pain, a place where nothing dies, and nothing hurts. The Accuser of God replicated the same tactic on Adam and Eve that he used with the angels. The accuser of God said to them the same thing. In short Satan told them that God cannot be trusted and they would be better off exalting themselves rather than submitting to Him and that they could redefine their place in God’s order. He caused them to break the one single prohibition God gave them which we read in Gen 2:16-17 He said “You may freely eat of every tree… but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.”
This law was God’s very first covenant with mankind. It was a command. It was the legal boundary of human obedience. It was the condition of humanity’s co‑regency. It was the basis of humanity’s relationship with God. This law carried a legal penalty for breaking it: The penalty was Death. This was not just a simple law about eating. Breaking it would mean going against God and doing so revealed that you were a being in rejection of God’s authority and breaking it made a declaration that you were in active rebellion against him. Breaking it brought about the same conclusion the fallen angels came to and that was, they did not trust God. Instead, they trusted in themselves. It is interesting that that causes all the trouble and it’s interesting that all Christians are being trained to have faith which is the exact opposite of lack of trust.
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So How Did Satan Use God’s Law to Condemn Humanity? Well, Satan did not invent the penalty — God did. Satan simply exploited it. He used the legal mechanism of God’s law: “If you eat, you will die.” Humanity sinned. The penalty was activated. Satan, who was first he accuser of God, now became the accuser of mankind as well - He accused. He said in so many words, mankind broke your law. He’s guilty. God, you said doing so they were under the penalty of death so If you are JUST and one who that can be trusted keep your word. They must die! I own them now as well as everything you gave them and now, they are my slaves until the sentence of death and destruction is carried out.
Now the angels both good and bad were looking on. Satan’s words to Adam and Eve were a continuation of his prior accusations against God AND Scripture tells us angels are intently looking into these things, looking into the church and looking into our journey so we will learn more about why they were looking on so intently a little later on in our sermon.
Now back to humanity. In Genesis 1:26–28 God had given Adam and Eve dominion — a royal stewardship. Humanity was given authority, rulership, dominion, and the right to govern creation. This is what theologians call co‑regency or vice‑regency. This stewardship equaled the “title deed” of the earth — not ownership (God owns it), but legal stewardship is managing the earth on God’s behalf. Humanity was God’s vice‑regent, ruling under His authority. Humanity ruled under God, with God, and for God, as vice regents of the earth.
Romans 6:16. By obeying Satan instead of God, humanity transferred allegiance, forfeited authority, came under Satan’s dominion and Satan gained control and title deed of the earth. Not by force — but by legal transfer. Luke records — Satan tempted Jesus by offering him the whole world. He said to Jesus … “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to …
Jesus does NOT dispute this. Why? Because Adam’s disobedience handed over the authority God gave him. Sin entered the world through one man — and death through sin. Satan held the power of death — the legal penalty of the law. Humanity’s sin gave Satan: legal grounds to accuse, legal grounds to enslave, legal grounds to rule. This is why Scripture calls him: “the god of this world”, “the ruler of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air”. Satan became the evil landlord and wrested from Humanity the “Title Deed” of the Earth. The “title deed” is symbolic language for “dominion authority”. Biblically: God owns the earth, Humanity was given stewardship, Humanity forfeited stewardship through sin, Satan became the usurper ruler - that is until the second coming of Christ, (and that is why evil is everywhere except in the Church).
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No matter how deceptive Satan was, God was way ahead of him. His actions were seen long beforehand and pre-figured in God plan: It is written “Jesus the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world”, so God simply engaged His plan to right all these wrongs that had been readied before they took place. God would come and save mankind, and he would address the chief false accusation: that he could not be trusted as well.
Phil 2:5-8 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[ God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross
Hebrews 2:14 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil … So, because legally only a representative of all humanity could pay the penalty of death, Christ took on human flesh, took on human nature, and took humanities place as the one accused. Christ then obeyed perfectly, humbled Himself, died under the law’s penalty, satisfied the law’s demands, broke Satan’s legal authority, and was exalted as Lord of all
Colossians 2:14–15 says 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Christ removed the legal charge. Satan lost his legal case. Christ legally: removed the charge, paid the penalty, broke the curse, reclaimed authority and restored humanity’s destiny of eternal life with God.
God’s law in Eden established death as the penalty for sin; Satan used that law to condemn humanity, seize dominion, and enslave mankind — but Christ fulfilled the law (of condemnation to death), paid the penalty, and legally stripped Satan of all authority, restoring humanity’s rightful place under God. The Cross shows the horror of what sin does to another and it also showed God’s tremendous love and mercy in rescuing us from it .
Christ Fulfilled the Law by Taking the Penalty the Law Demanded Jesus did not come to erase the law. He came to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17 How? By stepping into humanity’s place and taking the exact penalty the law required. He showed He could be trusted.
Philippians 2:9-11 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
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Revelation 5 shows the Lamb taking the scroll — the legal document of authority — because He alone is worthy. This is also legal language that indicates only someone with legal standing can open it, In the Bible redemption required legal transfer of right. Revelation 5:9 says, “You are worthy… because You were slain. ” His death is the legal basis for opening the scroll. This is the heart of the legal argument
Revelation 5:9 gives the legal reason: Christ is worthy because: He fulfilled the law, He satisfied justice, He defeated death, He broke Satan’s legal claim, He redeemed humanity, He restored dominion, This is why He alone can open the scroll.
Peter in 1 Peter 1:12 — Says Angels Long to Look Into These Things. Why do angels long to look into the things of Christ and the Church, and what can they learn about God through watching His work of the redemption of mankind? Bringing mankind back from the death penalty. What do the angels actually learn from observing the gospel and the people of God?
Paul in Ephesians 3:10-12 says — The Church Reveals God’s Wisdom to Angels 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 (that In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. So, Paul says Angels (holy and fallen) learn about God’s wisdom by watching the Church.
The angels witnessed the incarnation, resurrection, and ascension and Revelation 5:11–12 — says Angels Worship the Lamb - Millions of angels’ worship Christ because of His redeeming work. Angels watched the eternal Son become human. This reveals, God’s humility, God’s love, God’s willingness to suffer This is something angels never experience.
They never conceived of God dying. This proved his love and that he could be trusted. His integrity was revealed as absolutely unquestionable.
Angels are not omniscient, they don’t know everything. They learned by watching God’s redemptive plan unfold. They learn the depth of God’s mercy. —They observe God forgiving rebels, restoring sinners, adopting enemies as sons and daughters, all this amazes them.
They learn the wisdom of God’s plan
Ephesians 3:10 says the Church displays God’s manifold wisdom. Angels see: Jews and Gentiles and all tribes, nations and peoples united in the church, They see enemies reconciled, the weak shaming the strong, the cross defeating evil. This is divine wisdom beyond anything they formerly knew.
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They learn about the justice and righteousness of God. At the cross, angels see: God punishing sin, God upholding holiness, God satisfying justice, God extending mercy
The cross teaches angels what perfect justice looks like.
They learn the power of God in salvation. They see: Hearts transformed. Lives redeemed, Demons defeated, Death conquered. They witness resurrection power at work in the Church.
In One Sentence. Angels long to look into the things of Christ and the Church because through the gospel they witness God’s mercy, wisdom, justice, power, and love in ways they never knew — and they learn who God truly is by watching His redemption unfold in us.
We learn these things too. But also, by our becoming a servant we learn about and desire to have the mind of Christ, We learn and pursue His self‑emptying love, His obedience, His servant heart,
After the resurrection, we and the angels see: Christ enthroned, Christ worshiped, Christ ruling, Christ judging. They see the full revelation of His lordship.
Angels watch Christ intercede for believers. They see: His compassion, His advocacy, His ongoing ministry - God Rescued Us from Evil the Son of God stepped into our world, into real time and real history. He changed everything for us and will change things for the better every day of our lives. By dying for us He proved he loves us completely, that we can trust him completely and absolutely, because he gave his life to save us to spend all of eternity with Him.
In every circumstance have in this life we walk by faith in the Son of God. God can always be absolutely trusted no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. Ordinary Believers witness and experience these things, sinners become saints, the miracle of grace, the unity of the body, They see brethren, people of every background united in Christ. We witness and experience the power of the Spirit! Our minds are transformed to be loving, holy and righteous like Christ is and we learn and apply ourselves to pray like Christ did, we forgive, we endure suffering and point people to God in the midst of our suffering, we love our enemies and proclaim the gospel like Christ did, we see the Church push back the kingdom of darkness. We rejoice and worship God in everything we think say and do.
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With Christ’s mind we learn faith which is the opposite of lack of trust in God. We learn that our downward journey into humility and valuing others greater than ourselves ends in future glory with Christ. Our journey ends up like Christs did - which is the going down and serving and loving others, to then go up changed people and practicing it in glory - This amazes us, it amazes angels, God is amazing.
Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
“Morning Star” in Revelation is legal language. It is not just a poetic title — it is a legal declaration of authority, a courtroom reversal, and a public verdict demonstrating Christ’s triumph over Satan. The “Morning Star” title in Revelation is the legal declaration that Christ—not Satan—is the rightful heir, ruler, and light‑bearer of creation, proving His total triumph over Satan’s attempted throne‑seizure and establishing His eternal authority over all things.
Isaiah 14:12 Shows Satan Tried to Seize This Title Illegally. Isaiah 14 calls the fallen being: “Helel ben Shachar” — “Shining One, Son of the Dawn” (often translated “Lucifer, morning star”). This is royal language describing a being who tried to: ascend, exalt his throne, take God’s place, seize authority, claim the “morning star” role. Satan attempted a hostile takeover of heaven’s throne.
He wanted the title — but he had no legal right to it. Christians receive and participate in the Morning Star by sharing in Christ’s victory, authority, and destiny through union with Him — not by becoming “morning stars” themselves, but by inheriting what the true Morning Star gives.
Jesus Is the Morning Star — Believers Receive Him, Revelation 22:16, Revelation 2:28. Jesus does not give a title — He gives Himself. To receive the Morning Star is to receive: His presence, His glory, His authority, His inheritance, His destiny, This is union with Christ.
Praise be to God that he died for us. We can absolutely trust Him!
