“All
Hail King Jesus!”
Philippians 2:9-11
Introduction: The most important
question we must all answer is “What will you do with Jesus?” Psalm 2 begins
with a question that has echoed throughout the course of human history:
“Why are the nations in an uproar and
the peoples devising a vain thing? 2
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed…”
Resistance against the
rule of God and His Anointed is the essence of sin. Contrast the scene that is pictured in
Isaiah’s vision, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-4…
Seraphim covering their
faces and feet in humility, worshipping the exalted Lord! Where are we on
the continuum this morning as we come together? Are our hearts set on
worship? Our text today stands almost as
a doxology at this point in the letter.
There is no more important subject than that which it addresses: the
worship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus himself rebuked the superficial worship of many of the religious
leaders of his day when he said in Matt 15:7-9,
"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of
you: 8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME
WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"
He told the Samaritan
woman at the well, in John 4:23, "But an hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for
such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” The word “worship” in both Greek and Hebrew
has the idea of prostrating oneself before another in reverence… We are at a worship service, right? Did you
come here to worship the exalted Christ?
John had a vision of the exalted Lord, we have it described in Revelation
1:12-17…
12 Then I turned to see
the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden
lampstands, 13 and in the
midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and
with a golden sash around his chest. 14
The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were
like a flame of fire, 15 his
feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like
the roar of many waters. 16
In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged
sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his
feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not,
I am the first and the last, 18
and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the
keys of Death and Hades.
The Maine* Idea: Because of
Jesus’ obedience in carrying out the Father’s plan He has been exalted to the
Father’s right hand. As we worship the
Son, which is our only fitting response to Him, the Father is glorified. One day all will bow, either in worship or
in defeat. Is Jesus your Lord? Then
worship Him today, and every day!
I. WHY Jesus was exalted by the Father and
deserves our worship: "Therefore God has highly exalted
him…."
When
you see a “therefore” ask what its “there for.” The NASB translates: “For
this reason also, God highly exalted Him….”
Why has God highly exalted Jesus?
Because, as we read in Philippians 2:6-8,
"…though
he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross…”
The Son of God, God the Son, became a man,
the Holy One came to die as our substitute, bearing our sins in His body on the
Cross… “Therefore [because he did that, carrying out the plan
conceived in the Godhead in eternity past] God has highly exalted him..."
He exalted Jesus because of who He truly is, and because of what he freely
did. The Father loves the Son, the
Father has an infinite delight in the Son, because the Son esteemed the Father
so highly that he chose to die the worst of deaths to carry out the eternal
plan of the Godhead to redeem humans.
The
Father loves to exalt the humble. "For though the Lord is high, he
regards the lowly" (Psalm 138:6). "Thus says the high and
lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in a high and
holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit'"
(Isaiah 57:15).
This is a divine principle which Jesus repeatedly
taught His disciples: "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:11). And it is
fitting that the one who humbled himself most deeply, the one whose obedience
cost the most, the one who was without sin, being made sin for us, that He should
be most highly exalted. The word “highly-exalted” is a compound word that
appears only here in the New Testament – “super-exalted” or “raised to the
loftiest degree.” He humbled himself in the incarnation, taking the form of a servant,
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross… He became “…a
man of sorrows, acquainted with grief…”
Therefore, God has highly exalted him… Have this mind
in you… there is a mandate for us to follow the Master, to take up our
cross and follow Jesus. For most of us, that will mean taking the attitude of
Christ, and serving others in His name right where we are. Do you think it is
just by chance that you are where you are right now? Your home, your family,
your workplace or school? The sovereign Lord of the universe has strategically
placed you exactly where he intended you to be. For a few, he may redeploy you
in ministry or in missions. The pioneer missionaries invested their lives for
the sake of the nations, that those who had not heard might hear the glorious
truth of the gospel. Imagine Hudson Taylor saying, after a lifetime of toil and
suffering in China, "I never made a sacrifice"! Because he understood
the "therefore" of Philippians 2:9. Or as Paul said in Romans 8:17, "If
we suffer with him, we shall be glorified with him"! All of us have a
part in His plan.
Whether
there or here, the word “therefore…” in this text evokes the power to serve
quietly behind the scenes, avoiding the limelight, often seemingly unnoticed or
unappreciated, but consistently serving because you do it for Him. What a privilege to be called a child of God,
a servant of the King! After all, its
not about us, He is Lord! And know this: One day all will bow, either in
worship or in defeat. Is He your Lord? He
alone is worthy of our worship!
II. HOW Jesus was exalted by the Father: "Therefore God
has highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name…" This statement describes how Jesus has been exalted by
the Father in the past.
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 yet 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 not yet defeated, 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 into human history, defeat the enemy, and lead his
people out of bondage in triumph over sin and Satan and death. And that he did
on the Cross, and in His resurrection. Writers point out at least four
aspects of the exaltation of Jesus:
1. The resurrection – Paul spoke of
the exaltation of Christ when in the opening of Romans he said of Him, “…who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from
the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord…” (Rom
1:4).
2. The ascension In John 20:17, after the resurrection Jesus
said, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended
to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My
God and your God.'"
3. His honored position as High Priest,
interceding for believers (Rom 8:34, cf. v.26; Heb 7:25,26). The
writer to Hebrews said it clearly,
25 Consequently, he is
able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he
always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high
priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above
the heavens…
(Heb 7:25-26).
4. His coronation, seated at the
Father’s right hand Jesus himself said “All
authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth…” (Matt 28:18); I think
that is an allusion back to Psalm 2 when Yahweh says to his Anointed, “Ask
of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the
earth for you possession…” Paul also wrote in Ephesians:
“He
raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, 21 far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in
subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church…” (Eph 1:21,22);
The writer of Hebrews said in 1:3 of that epistle,
“And
He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and
upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification
of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
Peter said in Acts 5:30,31, "The God
of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a
cross. 31 "He is the one
whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus took the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He
became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Did Satan
actually think he had the upper hand? When Jesus died on the cross, making
atonement by his blood for our sins, Satan was defeated. Christ disarmed the
principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over
them in the cross (Colossians 2:15). The sting of death was removed, the
power of sin was broken, and the triumph of the Church was secured. We know how
this story ends: Jesus wins! And so, His is the Name above all names, worthy of
all worship and praise. One day all will bow, either in worship or in defeat
before the Super-exalted Son of God. Is Jesus your Lord? Do you trust,
and obey? Then worship Him today!
III. The Response to the exaltation of Jesus by
the Father: The name that is
above every name, The Lord Jesus Christ—the Lord victorious over
all his enemies; the Lord who has purchased a people from every tribe and
tongue and nation.
“Every
knee will bow…” At the end of the age, when the mission of the Church
reaches its glorious conclusion, the name of Jesus will be sounded around the
world, and at that name every knee will bow, whether of angels in heaven, or of
the living on the earth, or of the dead under the earth—every knee will bow,
and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. Please don’t be mistaken about what this is saying. It does not
mean that all will ultimately be saved. The Bible clearly says “Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (Jn 3:36). Jesus said, “The
way is narrow that leads to life, and few there are that find it. The way is
broad that leads to destruction…”Both believers and unbelievers will
acknowledge in that day that Jesus is Lord—believers, to their everlasting joy,
and unbelievers, in the terror of judgment.
So,
every knee will bow, and “…every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” Not simply “master” , or even
“king,”. In the context of the New Testament,
quoting from the Septuagint, “Lord” often substitutes the divine name, “Yahweh”
in citations from the Old Testament. Jesus is Lord, He is God. The word “confess” here is an intensive form,
refers to an open, public confession.
This is not a confession of faith, at this moment people are either
saved or are not. All however will bow
the knee and publicly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.
At Jesus’ birth, the angel announced to the
shepherds that : “…today in the city of David there has been born for you a
Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11).
Jesus told his disciples “You call me teacher and Lord; and you
are right, for so I am” (John 13:13), and after the resurrection Thomas
confessed Him as “My Lord and My God”.
At Pentecost Peter proclaimed, “Therefore let all the house of Israel
know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ-this Jesus whom you
crucified” (Acts 2:36). Paul told
the Romans “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9).
“…to the
glory of God the Father…” Here we
see a hint of the intimate fellowship within the Godhead: To proclaim the
sovereign Lordship of the Son is the greatest glory that can be given to God
the Father. As Jesus is recognized as
Messiah and King, as he is worshipped as our Savior and our God, the Father is
glorified as well.
What is God saying to me in this passage? Because of Jesus’ obedience in carrying out
the Father’s plan He has been exalted to the Father’s right hand. As we worship the Son, which is our only
fitting response to Him, the Father is glorified. One day all will bow, either in worship or
in defeat. Is He your Lord? Then worship
Him today, and every day!
How then should we live? What is our response?
We came
here today to worship, right? That is a
good thing. But know that…
1. Worship isn’t only for Sunday! Our proper attitude about ourselves
will come out of our proper attitude toward God. Father, Son, and Spirit, three
persons, eternally existent as one God. There is mystery in that, we can’t know
God exhaustively, but we can know Him truly, we can take Him at His Word.
And if we know Him, we will love Him, we express that in our worship.
2. When we gather, we need to come expectantly, coming to meet with Him,
to hear from Him, to worship the super-exalted Lord, Jesus Christ.
3. Remember the scene we read about in Isa 6, the Seraphim worshipping
the exalted Lord? How did Isaiah respond? He said “Woe unto me, I am undone”!
He saw himself in the light of the holiness of God, he knew he was a guilty
sinner. The closer we get to God, the more clearly we see Him through his Word,
the more clearly we’ll see ourselves, and understand our desperate need for
grace. The Bible is like a mirror, is it not? Our sins had separated us from
God. Now get this: He bore our sins, yours and mine, in his own body
on the Cross. Humans rebelled against God and brought death. The God-Man,
Jesus Christ, who was without sin, who shared the glory of the Godhead with the
Father and the Spirit, brought life and light, restoration, through the Gospel.
How should we respond? Remember the context, Have this attitude in
yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…
AMEN.
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