Philippians 2:9-13 (Exalting Christ)

Intro

Good morning!

I get the honor of speaking to all again.

Anyway, this is my first time preaching back to back, and I am very excited.

We get to continue looking at chapter 2 in Philippians.

So, will you turn there with me this morning. Last week the goal was to show us that humility comes from the place of recognizing our Identity. We got to take a look at the passage, known as the Christ Hymn. This week we’re going to continue in this hymn and move from looking at Christ’s lowest place, to looking at how God raised Him up and exalted Him and then how we need to exalt Christ in our own walk with Jesus as we “work out our salvation”

Let’s read starting in verse 5

Philippians 2:5–18 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus 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. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Before we continue, would you join me in prayer.

Christ’s Exaltation

Alright, I don’t know about you, but I am ecstatic to continue this chapter in Philippians. Paul is painting an incredible picture for us.

Verse 9 starts by stating that because of Jesus’ humility and His willingness to obey the will of the Father, God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is like no other.

“Therefore” reveals that this exaltation is a result of the mindset of Christ.

And there are two responses from Jesus humility.

1. The first is that He “highly exalted” His son

The greek word used for exalted means to give exceptional honor, to exalt beyond measure, and exalt exceedingly.

This wasn’t just a pat on the back, “Good job Jesus”

This was like a Lion King moment

(In case you need these names Rafiki, Simba is the young one, Nala, Mufasa)

SImba was raised over all the Kingdom.

And Jesus was raised above all His Kingdom too

So, out of the lowest place, out of this place of being a servant, taking the form of a man, and dying with the weight of our sin upon Him, Jesus is raised to the highest place

His exaltation wasn’t so much a pay raise.

Jesus was already equal with God before descending to earth. (He didn’t count that as something to be grasped)

Instead, the term exalted is better understood referring to God’s exaltation of Jesus to a position of recognizable superiority over all creation.

Although He was acting in His divine status when he humbled himself, Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand make his superiority more fully evident to the creation over which he rules.

So, the Father’s first response to Jesus humility was to exalt him

2. The second response is that He is given a name above all names

Many people have speculated exactly which name Paul might be referring to here.

Some have claimed that it was simply “Son of God”, others think it was “God” or even “Jesus”

However, others believe that this name Paul is referring to is “Lord”

This seems to be most accurate because this title is used with Jesus. Jesus is Lord

To be honest, it doesn’t really matter which name Paul might be referring to. I believe there is a reason he might have left it so vague.

Paul wants the reader to focus not so much on the name, but on the status of the name as “above every name.”

This is God’s second response

One thing I want us to recognize as we’re talking about Christ’s exaltation is that God is the one who initiated this exaltation.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him”

Jesus did not expect or demand any of this as payment for what he did.

God freely gave this to his son as a gift for all that He did in not only obeying His will, but also for how he chose to humble himself and serve and love his creation

Verse 10-11

continuing to verse 10 and 11,

Paul reveals that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

Philippians 2:10–11 ESV

10 so that at the name of Jesus 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.

What an amazing time this will be, well, at least for believers!

Every single knee and every single tongue will proclaim Christ as Lord.

In heaven and on earth and under the earth

Paul literally covers every single realm that could possibly bend their knee and confess

In heaven, Paul refers to the realm of God and the angels, the realm of humanity by saying on earth, and the realm of the Devil and demons, (under the earth)

Some will joyfully bow, but others will not so joyfully to bow

And all of this is to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was exalted, so that all would worship, so that the Father would be glorified.

Begin Kids Sermon

Can I have the kids come up?

Alright, are you ready for a fun word?

Priorities!

Can anybody tell me what it means to have a priority

Yeah!

Imagine you have a list of things to do

At the top of the list is the thing that you need to get done first, and the second is what you have to do next and so on.

So maybe you guys have a list of chores to do.

Is there are chore that your parents want you to do first?

Like, do you need to take out the trash before you pick up your legos?

A priority is something that is more important than the other things

Today we’re going to have a fun activity to help us learn what our priorities are and what we spend all our time focusing on.

(Pass out paper)

Alright, so on this piece of paper you’re going to see three circles

In this first circle, I want you to either write or draw the thing that you focus on the most. The thing that you might consider your top priority

So, for example…if the thing you spend all your time thinking about is recess. Then put that in the middle. If it is doing enough chores to earn ice cream, then do that.

Then in the next circle, put things that you still think are important, but not as important as what is in your center circle. And, in there you can put multiple things.

Finally, in the last circle, put the things that are still significant to you. Maybe its playing games or going to the park, but they aren’t as important as the other things

Does that make sense?

Cool, work on this for a little bit, then I’ll have you come back up with your papers.

Alright, you can head on back and grab a little something while you work.

End Kids Sermon

Just like the kids, we’re going to take some time to start looking at our own priorities.

Are we exalting Christ to the place that He deserves in our own life?

There’s a reason I gave them a paper with three circles.

This one thing that goes in the middle is what the rest of our life tends to move around.

The middle circle, or the center of our life, should be filled with Christ. Everything else should surround Jesus.

When we exalt him to the center of our lives, we gain a healthy perspective of how everything around us should be working.

If instead, we place him in the second circle, and lets say our job is at the center, then we will work Jesus in around our Job.

Christ deserves to be exalted in our life to the center, to the highest place in our own lives.

Work Out Your Salvation

So, as we keep moving along in the passage, we’re going to transition from Christ’s example of humility to how Paul is exhorting the church to respond.

Before we fully dive into verses 12-13, which is where we’re going to spend the rest of the morning, let’s take a second to look at verses 12-18 as a whole

I believe it is important to do this so that we can have a better grasp on exactly what Paul is trying to communicate, and the ways in which he is doing so

From the beginning of this new passage Paul begins to compare and contrast the Old Covenant People and the New Covenant People.

Old Covenant People referring to those before Christ established the new covenant, and then New Covenant People referring to those living in the new covenant.

I’m going to show you a table up on the screen, and what you’re going to see is a comparison of the language found in the Old Testament describing the Israelites to the language Paul is using when talking to the Philippians.

Let’s take a look

Old Covenant People

Exodus “salvation” Ex. 14:13; 15:2) results in “trebling and fear” of the peoples surrounding Israel (Ex. 15:16).

The salvation, or the deliverance, of the Israelites was reason for nations around them to fear and tremble. Yet, the Israelites did not fear and tremble enough in their own relationship with God

NC People

Gospel “salvation (Phil. 2:12) must be worked out with “fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)

This salvation from Christ requires an inward fear and trembling that the Israelites did not have

OC People

“I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious agains the LORD. How much more after my death! (Deut. 31:27)

The Israelites were not obedient to the Lord even when Moses was with them. They continuously rebelled. Think of when Moses went up to Mt. Sinai. This wasn’t even that long after the Exodus and they already were rebelling by making golden calves

NC People

“as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence...” (Phil. 2:12)

Paul contrasts those under the Old Covenant by encouraging the Philippian church in their obedience. Their walk with God is consistent with and without Paul physically present there.

OC People

grumbling (Ex. 16:7, 8, 9, 12; Num. 17:5, 10)

The Israelites are characterized by their grumbling and complaining

NC People

“Do all things without grumbling” (Phil. 2:14)

Paul encourages the Philippians to be different

OC People

“They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation” (Deut. 32:5)

NC People

“That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” (Phil. 2:15)

Paul declares the Philippians children of God and does this that they may shine against the darkness that is the “crooked and twisted generation”

I don’t know about you, but I find all of this really fascinating.

The Philippians would have likely picked up on Paul’s allusions to the Old Testament.

I think the one of the reasons Paul did this was to point out an example of how not to live. The Israelites are a great example of that. Their constant disobedience, rebellion, and complaining should be a good reminder to walk in obedience without grumbling.

He also does a good job at contrasting the salvation of the Israelites vs those in the New Covenant.

Paul starts this whole passage off by taking what he just shared about Christ’s humility and exaltation and gives them a command based off of all this.

He says,

Philippians 2:12 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

First of all, “Therefore”

What is the question we always ask when we see this word?

“What is the therefore there for?”

Taking this mindset of humility, this mindset of Christ, and of unity, Paul is now telling the Philippians what to do with it.

Paul then addresses the church as his beloved. One important thing to note is that he is still addressing the the church as a whole. This word “you” is communal. and not specific to just a single person. Keep in mind though, as part of the body of Christ, part of the communal aspect is each one of us living in this manner

This is a theme that has been running through the whole letter. Be united. Be of one mind, one love, one accord.

Now, continue to walk in obedience as one.

His next phrase, as we’ve already taken a look at, reveals that the Philippians model a life that is consistent in obedience when Paul is both present and absent.

He says yes, you have always obeyed, so continue to obey even while I am still not with you. This is the preface to the command that his is about to give.

Out of this consistent obedience,

“Work out your salvation in fear and trembling”

I want to clarify first that “work out your salvation” does not mean that it is by our works that we are saved.

Turn with me to Ephesians 2

Starting in verse 8,

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

It is by grace through faith that we have recieved salvation, we have been delivered.

It cannot be earned by anything we do, or anything we’ve done in the past.

No amount of charitable work or giving will get us to the point where we will spend eternity with Jesus. It is only through Jesus that we get to the Father (John 14:6)

So, Paul is not saying, work out your own salvation so that you will be saved.

He is saying that we should conduct ourselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27)

Once we receive salvation, we are not called to stay at home and lie around.

We are not called to be the Pirates who don’t do anything.

That’s a Veggie Tales reference just in case you didn’t catch that

But seriously, I think this is where too many people get stuck.

We think that we are good after we receive Salvation

We become too satisfied with where we are at. Either in our walk with God, or with how we are serving others.

Too often, complacency follows Salvation.

Why is this?

It’s because, we in the church have not done a good enough job of teaching what Paul is trying to get across here.

Salvation is just the beginning.

Once we receive salvation, it invites further growth, not an excuse to stay where we are at.

That is the point that Paul wants us to grasp.

In fact, it is the command that he is giving.

Specifically though, what is Paul saying it means to work out your salvation?

It is important to keep the large picture in mind.

Flip back a page or two to Philippians 1.

Paul states that it is his desire that the Philippians would be able to “approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God”

Jumping to verse 27, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

Then he gives a detailed example of Christ’s humility and exaltation

And SPOILER ALERT

he also desires that we would shine as lights in the world amid a crooked and twisted generation

So, when Paul is wanting the church to work out your salvation he is desiring for us to make Christ the center of everything

This doesn’t happen by going through the motions, by relying on a single person for your relationship with Jesus

To work out your salvation requires intentionality

It requires humility

And it requires exalting Christ to the center of our lives

It is through this that we will become a unified church that will allow the world to see Jesus

Paul then continues by giving the manner in which we are to work out our salvation

“With fear and trembling”

Remember that as we compared the Israelites with the Philippians, the difference is that with the deliverance of Israel, those around them feared and trembled, but did not fear and tremble in their own relationship with God like the Philippians did.

What does it mean to fear and tremble in our relationship with God?

Well, fear can be translated into reverence, or respect. And to tremble can suggest having an understanding of the weight of our sin to help keep us walking in a manner that we may be holy and blameless.

So to work out your salvation with fear and trembling means that we are to continue to grow in our spiritual journey by revering God and wanting to honor Him in all we do.

This continues to bring us back to the question, is Jesus at the center of our lives?

Am I placing God in the center so that everything else in my life circles around HIm?

Or if I recognize that He isn’t in the center, am I working towards making that happen with fear and trembling?

Can I have the kids back up?

Alright I want to see what you put in your circles

What means the most to you. What are your priorities?

(Give them time to share)

I love that.

So, we’re going continue to dive into Paul’s message of pointing us back to Jesus so that we can best love and serve those around us.

God Works in You

Philippians 2:13 ESV

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This call to “work out” our salvation must be informed by the fact that it is God who “works in us.”

So the “working out” happens because of God’s “working in”

We are able to work out our salvation, to be able to love and to serve because of God working in each of us. This is made clear because of the conjunction “for” that Paul uses

This understanding of the work God does helps to us to recognize more what the phrase “fear and trembling” means

Paul’s preaching among the Corinthians was in “fear and trembling.” This was because he knew that his work of preaching was dependent on God working through Him.

In the same way, our obedience is a dependent work carried out with fear and trembling because God’s work is what causes us to be obedient.

All of our work comes from and is dependent upon God’s power

In addition, God gives us both the will, or the desire to obey and allow Him to work through us. We still need to respond.

Take a look at the screen

Here are three images that I hope will help us to recognize different places we can find ourselves in our walk with Jesus

The first image shows a car with its brake light on, indicating a parked car

There are some of us whose lives are like a “parked car”—if God wants us to move down the road He will have to push us Himself. In case you are wondering, we don’t want to be like a parked car. Those are the times that God tends to hit us over the head a little harder

The second image shows that others live the Christian life by keeping a car washed and polished—however sometimes we fail to give proper attention to the engine that supplies the power or forget to even give it gas

And finally, this picture shows that there are others who live the Christian life by holding the steering wheel and patiently waiting for instructions on where and when to go. The car has been gassed up by the presence of the Holy Spirit who freely gives His power and counsel for the journey ahead: A lifetime of adventure in the Spirit!

So, we need to ask ourselves which one we are?

Am I like that parked car? Waiting for a push?

Or can my life be described as one that looks good on the outside but lacks power on the inside?

Or, am I ready for the work that God has for us?

Am I ready to allow God to work through me, whatever that may look like?

He has given me the desire and the power, but am I going to obey that desire and rely on his power/

If your finger is still there, flip back with me to Ephesians 2

We are created in the image of God and part of that identity is to shine the light of Christ in everything we do, in everything we say, and in everything we are

We are his workmanship

Finally, this is all for “his good pleasure”

God delights in us.

He delights in the work that he does through us.

Our obedience is to bring God glory, to bring Him pleasure

In fact, our very identity is to bring God glory

To bring God glory, we need to keep Him in the middle so that we can walk in obedience and all him to do the works He desires to do through us

Romans 8:7–8 ESV

7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Conclusion

If we want to walk in obedience, if we want to live a life that pleases God through the works he does through us, then we need to make sure that Christ is in the center of our lives.

Christ has been exalted by the Father and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

And it is because of that, because of Jesus’ humility and exaltation that we are called to work out our salvation. We are able to do that because it is God who works in us

This morning, we’re going to close by reflecting on a few questions.

These questions are meant to be a conversation starter. I hope that even after we leave this morning, we will continue to pray and reflect about these things. Because, without Jesus in the center, unity will not be possible. Anything but Jesus in the middle allows us to get in the way of what He wants to do

So,

Question 1: Who/what is at the center of my life?

Just like the exercise I had the kids do, where are my priorities. What fills my inner, middle, and outer circles?

Question 2: In what ways to I need to exalt Christ higher in my life?

Where am I not giving Christ the exaltation that he deserves?

Question 3: How can I better work out my salvation with fear and trembling?

Am I too complacent?

Am I too satisfied with my relationship with God because I received salvation and that is all I need?

Do I understand the weight and responsibility working out my salvation requires?

Question 4: Are my hands on the steering wheel? Am I willing and relying on God to work through me?

Am I obeying the will of God to allow Him to work through me?

Am I relying on the power of Holy Spirit as I work, or am I dependent on my own strength?

Let’s take the next few minutes to pray and reflect on these questions.

I’ll come back up and close us in prayer and then we’ll finish this morning with one more song.