Philippians 2:9-11
Imagine two lines stretching endlessly into the distance.
In one line stand kings, presidents, billionaires,
celebrities, military commanders, scholars, and powerful
people from every century of history.
In the other line stand ordinary people. Farmers.
Teachers. Factory workers. Mothers. Children. People
whose names never appeared in history books.
At first, the two lines seem completely different.
One is filled with people the world called important.
The other is filled with people the world barely noticed.
But as those lines move forward, they eventually merge
into one.
Every title disappears.
Every award loses significance.
Every bank account becomes irrelevant.
Every earthly achievement is left behind.
And every person stands before the same throne.
The billionaire and the beggar.
The emperor and the servant.
The famous and the forgotten.
And in that moment, only one question matters:
What did you do with Jesus Christ?
Because on that day every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Today we are going to see how God exalts Jesus after He
empties Himself and humbles Himself.
Philippians 2:9-11
Verse 9 starts with therefore or for this reason which
refers back to what we talked about last week.
Jesus emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant.
Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death.
God decided to exalt Jesus after He emptied Himself and
Humbled Himself.
God Exalted Him
Notice the action is God’s not Jesus’.
He didn’t exalt Himself; He let the Father do that.
Jesus told the crowds and His disciples
“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever
exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles
himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12
God didn’t simply exalt Jesus, He highly exalted Him.
Some people translate it “super exalted”.
The Greek is something like exalted with all exaltation
The point is because of Jesus’ humility and obedience to
the Father, God raised Jesus to the loftiest height.
And seated Him at His right hand, the place of honor.
This stands in stark contrast to how people on earth
treated Jesus doesn’t it?
Men spit on Him.
Men Jeered Him.
Men Called Him names.
Peter wrote in
I Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the
mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may
exalt you.”
That’s exactly what Jesus did and God exalted Him.
But that’s not all. Next,
God Bestowed on Him the Name Above all Names
The word bestowed comes from the Greek Charis – or
grace.
It means God freely gave Him the name above all names.
It speaks to God’s grace in giving Him this name.
What is the name above all names?
In the Greek Old Testament the word Kyrios is used to
describe God. We translate it Lord.
The Hebrew is YHWH which the Jews would not dare
speak out loud, out of reverence to God.
So they substituted LORD for YHWH.
So God gave Jesus His own name.
This proves that the Father and the Son are one.
Jesus Christ is LORD.
Listen to what the Bible says about the name of Jesus.
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved.”
Jesus is where salvation is found.
John 12:13 “So they took branches of palm trees and
went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of
Israel!’”
Jesus is worthy of worship.
John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I
will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you
ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
There is power in the name of Jesus.
Paul continues on by describing God’s purpose in exalting
Jesus and giving Him the name above every name.
God’s Purpose in Exalting Jesus
Every knee should bow – bowing the knee is a sign of
obedience and submission.
Paul mentions every knee in heaven – that means every
angel will bow in honor and reverence to Jesus.
We see that in Revelation 4:4-8. John describes the 24
elders seated on their 24 thrones, and the 4 creatures.
And they were all saying
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and
is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8
Paul also mentions every knee on earth – that means
every person on earth will confess Jesus as Lord.
That doesn’t mean that all of them are saved, just that
everyone will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
Warren Wiersbe writes, “to bow before Him now means
salvation; to bow before Him at the judgment means
condemnation.”
Paul also mentions every knee under the earth – this
means every person that has passed away.
Literally every person and every created being in heaven
and on earth will confess Jesus is Lord.
Isaiah spoke of this 700 years before Christ came to
earth.
Isaiah 45:22-23 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends
of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By
myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in
righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every
knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”
The second purpose of Jesus’ exaltation is that
Every tongue confess Jesus is Lord – confessing Jesus is
Lord is giving testimony to God’s grace, mercy and love.
Remember there are two groups of people here.
Some rejected God’s grace and forgiveness: those are
the ones who will be facing Him at the white throne
Judgement. They will be told “depart from me I never
knew you.”
Some received God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
These will be welcomed into heaven and told “well done
good and faithful servant, enter into my rest.”
Both will confess Jesus is Lord, one group was too late.
It’s a great reminder of Paul’s words to the Roman
church.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes and is justified, and with the mouth one
confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:9-10
The exaltation of Christ was for the glory of God the
Father.
Jesus obeyed the Father and the Father exalted the Son.
Paul wanted the Philippians to understand the great
example of Jesus’ humility and servanthood.
He encouraged them to put the needs of others and to
have the mind of Christ.
APPLICATION
For our application this morning I would like you to
consider this one question.
Is Jesus the Lord of your life?
Do you:
Trust Him in every area of your life
Obey Him and take Him at His word
Worship Him and give Him reverence
Serve Him by using your gifts and building others up