Jesus: Humbled and Exalted
Philippians 2:8-11
Let’s turn to Philippians 2. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Philippians 2 is on page 980 in the Bibles we are passing out.
In this chapter Paul describes an event which all of us will experience. He says the day is coming at the end of history when you will stand before Jesus Christ. You will see him before you as fully God and fully man. You will know that he is fully God – having always existed with no beginning, having infinite power, and complete sovereignty.
And you will know that he is fully man. That even though he was fully God, he loved us so much that to save us from our sins he became a man -- so he could be punished for our sin in our place on the cross.
And you will see that God the Father has exalted him by raising him from the dead, and by giving him the name which is above every name in the universe -- the name “Lord.” And whether you have submitted to him as Lord or not, you will see that he is, in fact, the Lord over all.
And at that moment those of you who have trusted Christ, and submitted to him as Lord, will be filled with joy. Because when you see his glory, his majesty, and his goodness, all your trials, your battles against sin, and the suffering you endured for being a bold witness will all be worth it.
But those of you who have not trusted Christ, who have not submitted to him as Lord, will not be filled with joy. Jesus said you would be filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth, because you will know that you have not trusted him, that you have not submitted your life to him, and that you face eternal punishment.
But God had Paul write these things so we could know this ahead of time. If you are not trusting Christ, God wants to warn you ahead of time with the fact that one day you will stand before Jesus as Lord. And if you are trusting Christ, God wants to encourage you ahead of time with the fact that one day you will stand before Jesus as Lord.
So let’s look at what Paul says, in Philippians 2: 5-11 –
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 made himself nothing, 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.
Two weeks ago we covered verses 5-7. So today we will study versus 8-11. And at the beginning of verse 8 Paul says that Jesus was “found in human form.” So what did it mean for Jesus to be found in human form?
In verse 6, Paul says that before Jesus was in human form, he was in the form of God. But Jesus did not count that equality with God as something to be grasped. So before Jesus took on human form, he was equal with God, fully God in every way.
So just like God the Father, Jesus had always been from eternity past, Jesus was sovereign over everything in the universe, and Jesus had infinite power.
But there was a problem. We have all sinned against a God of infinite glory, and we deserve infinite punishment. And the only way we could be forgiven was if a sinless being suffered infinite punishment in our place. And the only way that could happen was if Jesus became a man so he could die in our place on the Cross.
And Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to do that. So he laid aside the powers and privileges he had as God, and became a man. So, as we read in verse 7, he made himself nothing by taking on human flesh with all of its limitations. That’s what it means in verse 8 that Jesus was found in human form.
Think of how humbling it would be for you to lay aside your human powers and abilities and to become an ant, limited to ant powers and abilities. But the humbling that you as a human would experience in becoming an ant is nothing compared to the humbling that Jesus as God experienced in becoming a man.
But that’s not all Jesus did. What else did Jesus do? Read all of verse 8 --
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Not only did Jesus humble himself by becoming a man. He humbled himself even more by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.
And notice how Paul emphasizes that Jesus died on the cross. All of Paul’s readers knew about death on a cross, because crucifixion was a Roman invention, and Paul’s readers lived in a Roman colony, and they would have seen people put to death on a cross.
But we are not familiar with death on a cross. And so to get the impact of what Paul is saying, let me spell out what this meant for Jesus. And as I explain this understand that at any moment in this process Jesus could have called a halt to the whole thing. But because he loves us so much, at every moment he chose to continue suffering until sin was completely paid for.
So first Jesus was scourged -- tied up to a pole, whipped with a leather whip which had balls of lead and glass embedded in the strands so it would tear open your back and side. But he loved us, and chose to continue. Then the soldiers blindfolded him, and beat him. But he loved us, and chose to continue. Then they took him to a public hilltop, and nailed his wrists and his feet to the cross, and then lifted up the cross to stand upright. But he loved us, and let this continue.
But the worst was still to come. The only way he could breathe was by pushing down on the nails in his feet and pulling himself up on the nails in his wrists -- causing unspeakable pain. Think of five minutes of this. 30 minutes. Three hours of this. But he loved us, and was going to suffer until your sin was all paid for. And finally, after six hours, he cried out “it is finished!” And he died.
But the story does not end there. What did God the Father do? Look at verse 9 –
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
God has highly exalted him. Jesus was a dead corpse in the tomb. But God raised him from the dead, showing that he had fully paid the penalty of sin, and that he had fully conquered the power of sin, which is death.
And then God bestowed on him the name that is above every name. And we can see what that name is in verse 11. Since every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, that means the name God gave him was the name “Lord.”
It’s not that at this point Jesus became God. He had always been fully God from eternity past. But all through the Old Testament, his glory was hidden. And throughout the Gospels, his glory was veiled. But now, after his death, the veil is lifted. Now God the Father gives him the name “Lord” and calls all of humanity to gladly submit to our Savior Jesus Christ as Lord.
So what does this mean for us?
Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the rightful authority over you, and me, and all of us. He is the Lord of the universe. But not everyone owns up to this, because of our sin.
And yet the day is coming when everyone will admit that Jesus Christ is Lord. That’s what Paul says in verses 10-11. Start reading in verse 9 –
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.
So every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Does that mean everyone will be saved? No. Paul describes this same setting in Romans 14. We don’t have time to turn there now. But in Romans 14 some of those who bow their knees and confess Jesus as Lord are not saved and face eternal judgment. So this group includes both saved and unsaved people.
So everyone will admit that Jesus Christ is Lord, but not everyone will do this gladly. Those of you who have lived in disobedience to Christ, without trusting and submitting to Christ, will bend your knee with wailing and gnashing of teeth – and will be cast into hell.
But those of you who by God’s grace have had your hearts changed so you trust Jesus Christ, and love Jesus’ Lordship, and gladly submit to Jesus’ sovereignty – your joy will be to kneel before Jesus’ Lordship and confess Jesus’ Lordship -- and you will be welcomed into heaven.
So -- which group will you be in?
Look at who Jesus Christ is. Look at his love for us. Look at his willingness to lay aside all the powers and privileges that belong to him as God, and to humble himself to become a man. Look at his willingness to humble himself to the point of death, even death on the cross, so all our sins could be punished and paid for.
Isn’t it right that he is Lord? You have every reason to trust him, and submit to him.
So love his Lordship. Trust his Lordship. Submit to his Lordship. He loves you, he will forgive you, he will help you.
And this morning we are going to give some of our church family members an opportunity to declare their submission to Jesus’ Lordship by being baptized.