Sermon Tone Analysis

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

*Text: /Philippians 2:5-11/*

*I.  **Welcome*

*II.

Introduction*

Last Sunday A.M. Gail & I worshiped with the Glendale Road church in Murray, KY & the sermon was entitled “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”.

&, although my lesson is different from the one we heard, I certainly owe John Dale for many of his thoughts.

Our text this A.M. contains some very deep, theological concepts subject to some very differing views.

However, I think we can understand enough of it to serve as the basis for exalting the name of Jesus the Christ.

This letter to the church at Philippi was written by Paul while imprisoned at Rome.

It is a very personal letter to this church which was begun on Paul’s 2nd missionary journey as recorded in /Acts 16. /This is a joyful letter in response to a gift sent by the church at Philippi by the hand of Epaphroditus to Paul.

There are no sharp rebukes for problems within the church but cautions of a preventative nature that all congregations need to hear.

Perhaps this is best illustrated by Paul’s words in /Phil.

1:27 /– *“**Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”**

*This is very similar to his exhortation to the church at Ephesus in /Eph.

4:1-3/ – *“**I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,** **with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,** **endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”**

*This is timeless, practical advice all Christians need to follow.

But Paul continues in /Phil.

2:1-4 /– *“**Therefore if /there is/ any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,** **fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, /being/ of one accord, of one mind.**

**/Let/** nothing /be done/ through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.**

**Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

*This plea for Christians to be united in love, thought & humility provides the context for our text from /Phil.

2:5-11/.

With this introduction, Paul then cites Christ as the paradigm to follow.

*III.

**Lesson*

After urging the Philippians to be like-minded & of one mind, the inspired Paul says, *“**Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

*The NASB reads, “*Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

*Being Christ-like begins with a Christ-like attitude.

We control our attitudes so Paul instructs us to have the same attitude that Christ had.

Since our attitude is largely determined by what we focus on, Paul gives some very practical advice in /Phil.

4:8 /– *“**Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things /are/ noble, whatever things /are/ just, whatever things /are/ pure, whatever things /are/ lovely, whatever things /are/ of good report, if /there is/ any virtue & if /there is/ anything praise-worthy – meditate on these things.”*

As we choose an attitude like Christ’s, Paul defines it in terms of His humility – who, being in the form of God.

The Greek word /morphe´ /translated “form” appears only here in vs. 6-7 in the NT & means that which truly characterizes a given reality.

The pre-existent Christ was, as the NIV states in v.6, in very nature God.

Only Jesus could make the statement in /Jn.

14:9/ – *“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

*But Jesus didn’t take advantage of His deity.

Rather He emptied Himself of all significance by coming to earth as a man & taking the form of a slave.

The Greek word for slave is /doulos/ & is used only here with reference to Jesus in the NT.

He entered history not as Lord but as a slave.

We know about Jesus as the suffering servant from the prophet Isaiah but the example of Jesus in /Jn.13/ washing His disciples’ feet as if He were a slave sets the standard for Christian service.

But the crowning act of His humility was His obedience to death on a cross.

In /Jn.

6:38/, Jesus said, *“**For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”*

If we are going to have the same attitude as Jesus, we must not only be humble but also obedient.

We must learn to pray as Jesus taught His disciples that the Father’s will be done.

Obedience is something we must learn as we read in /Heb.

5:8 /– *“**Though He was a Son, /yet/ He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”

*Finally we come to God’s reaction to what Jesus did in vs. 9-11: *Therefore God also has highly exalted Him & given Him the name which is above every name,** **that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, & of those on earth, & of those under the earth,** &** /that/ every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ /is/ Lord, to the glory of God the Father.*

Because Jesus humbled Himself & became obedient to the will of the Father to die on the cross, God raised Him from the dead & then exalted Him above everyone & gave Him a name above every name – that being Lord.

We won’t take time to read /Isa.

45 /this A.M. but Paul quotes from the LXX of /Isa.

45:23 /when he says every knee will bow & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The prophecy of Isaiah is transferred from /Yahweh /to the risen Christ.

In /Rev.

5, /we have the scene of the 4 beasts & 24 elders falling down before the Lamb* *& singing a new song.

But notice v.13: *& every creature which is in heaven & on the earth & under the earth & such as are in the sea, & all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing & honor & glory & power /Be/ to Him who sits on the throne, & to the Lamb, forever & ever!” *There is a time coming when every heavenly creature & every human who ever existed will bend their knee & confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Everyone will make this confession either in this life or the one to come.

There will be no atheists in hell! /Rom.

10:9 /makes this confession very plain: *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.

*Jesus gives us the opportunity to make this good confession now – /Matt.

10:32 /– *“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.**”

*With this wonderful passage from /Phil.

2:5-11 /as our backdrop, I want us to spend the remainder of our time looking at the name of Jesus.

As we sang earlier, there’s just something about that name!

Let us do all that is within our power to keep it reverent.

The principle of the 3rd commandment is still binding - *“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold /him/ guiltless who takes His name in vain.**”

*Let us never degrade the name of Jesus like Hollywood & much of society does.

Over 700 years before our Savior’s birth, the prophet Isaiah wrote, *“**For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.**”

*The Son of God was given many names but an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph with a message about his bride Mary – /Matt.

1:21 /– *“**And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

*The name Jesus was the Greek form of the name Joshua which in Hebrew meant “The Lord is salvation.”

What an appropriate name for our Redeemer!

The name of Jesus is a special name for His disciples as revealed in /Jn.

14:14 /where our Lord says, *“**If you ask anything in My name, I will do /it./**”

*You & I have the assurance that, when we pray in the name of Jesus according to the Father’s will, our prayer will be heard & answered.

Oh that we as a church could learn to harness the power of prayer to the glory of His name.

Thirdly, the name of Jesus is a most powerful name.

This is beautifully illustrated in /Acts 3, 4 /& /5 /where reference is made some 12 times to the name of Jesus.

You’ll remember how Peter & John were going up to the temple to pray at 3:00 in the afternoon when they encountered a certain man lame from birth.

He asked for alms but Peter healed him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Peter then used the occasion to preach to the people & stated that faith in the name of Jesus had made this man strong.

Peter & John were then arrested & brought before the Sanhedrin the next day.

The council asked them in /Acts 4:7/, *“By what power or by what name have you done this?” *Peter told them it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom they had crucified & whom God had raised from the dead that this man stood before them whole.

Peter then concluded with the statement *“there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

*The council then* *commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

In /Acts 5,/ after the deaths of Ananias & Sapphira, the apostles were thrown into prison only to be set free during the night by an angel.

The next day they were found teaching in the temple & brought before the council.

This time they were beaten & again commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus.

The chapter then closes with these words in vs. 41-42: *So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.**

**And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus /as/ the Christ.

*In these 3 chapters we see great things accomplished in the name of or by the authority & power of Jesus.

Not only was the miraculous done in His name but it gave His followers renewed confidence in the face of persecution.

Finally we come to the daily application & motivation for every Christian as found in /Col.

3:17 /– *& /whatever/ you do in word or deed, /do/ all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.*

*IV.

**Application~/Invitation*

When we choose an attitude like Christ’s in humility & obedience to God, we’ll live our lives in complete surrender to the Father’s will.

It is only in submission that we can truly call Jesus Lord.