God’s Exaltation of the Humble One

this morning we're going to talk about the exaltation of the Sun the exaltation of the Sun open your Bible to Philippians chapter 2 we have really been doing a series on unity in the church which is of grave concern to our Lord Jesus said to his disciples in the upper room the night of his betrayal that if you have love for one another men will know that you belong to me by this shall all men know that you are my disciples that you have love for one another we've been talking about the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ does not always demonstrate that kind of love that gives glory to our Lord in fact we're seemingly living in a time when there is more hostility in the church more rank or more dispute more efforts to isolate people more concern about rights and privileges and power and status and even turns to hatred and vengeance and demanding reparations and doing things that are divisive and so we've been endeavoring to get back to what the Word of God says about unity in the church and that is the desire of our Lord obviously Paul writes in Ephesians about one Lord one faith one baptism one hope of your calling one God and Father of us also do everything you can as Paul says to the Colossians to maintain unity in the bond of peace we are one in Christ we are in Christ Christ is in us we are to manifest our loving unity so the world can know that he has transformed us it puts his glory on display when there is division in the church he is dishonored and particularly in the world because it confuses them about the truth of the gospel and what it actually accomplishes so we have been called to unity and I've been saying to you over the last three weeks that unity is basically a result of something else it's it's a result of love and love is basically a result of human only humble people love and only loving people will do what it takes to maintain unity and that is the message of the Apostle Paul in Philippians in fact in Chapter 1 and verse 27 he says only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ what would that be that would be worthy of the gospel of Christ he says so that whether I come and see you or remain absent I will hear of you that you are and here's what causes us to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel to be worthy of bearing the name of Christ we must be in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel there must be unity in the church Paul then expands on that in Chapter two so let's come down to chapter two and I want to read the first eleven verses before we look at the last part of this section and I'll translate it as we have indicated it should be translated for us to understand because there is encouragement in Christ because there is consolation of love because there is fellowship of the Spirit because there is affection and compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind maintaining the same love united in spirit intent on one purpose that's the unity he's calling for how does that happen verse 3 and following do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind regard one another is more important than yourself do not merely look on out for your own personal interests but also for the interests of others then here the model to follow for humiliation have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who although he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a slave and being made in the likeness of men being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross there is the model of humility the son of God who was and always will be God did not regard that equality with God that eternal equality with God something to hold on to but divested himself of the privileges of that identity became a slave became a man came all the way down humbling himself to death and even the most ignominious death dying on a cross that's the model of humility never was one so high who s descended so low this is the attitude we need to have and unless you're something more than Christ you ought to be willing to humble yourself he starts from eternal deity we start from a sinful position we need to humble ourselves and he's our example he was willing to step down from heaven all the way to death on a cross for us for our salvation are we willing to humble ourselves to love each other to manifest the unity that will bring honor to him that's the point and there's one final motivation here for this kind of humility verse 9 for this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father there is the exaltation of the son an incredibly rich portion of Scripture one to be studied one to be meditated upon it speaks of the fact that the one who humbled himself before God was exalted by God to a place that was higher even than he had been before there were new honors new privileges that were his even though he was the eternal God even though he was all that God is by his humiliation he was then honored to a place with even more honor than he had had before this is the model of humiliation follow Christ have this attitude in you which is to say humble yourself and let God exalt you if you're spending all your time trying to exalt yourself and make sure you get what you want making sure that your life is full of rights and privileges and demands on the people around you if you're concerned with exalting yourself you're putting yourself in a very very dangerous position let me tell you why this is what our Lord said then he said it three times as recorded in the New Testament once in the book of Matthew twice in the Book of Luke it is recorded that he said this whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted so take a choice you can work very hard to exalt yourself and God will humble you or you can humble yourself and the Lord will exalt you in Matthew chapter five as our Lord was speaking in the familiar Sermon on the Mount he said this blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great hmm so you're being insulted you're being persecuted evil things are being sent that against you falsely rejoice and be glad because as you're being humbled God is increasing your eternal reward you want to embrace the things that humble you listen to what Peter said first Peter 5 God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time what does it mean humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God understand this that God is sovereign and whatever difficulties you are going through whatever issues you face in life they are within the framework of the mighty hand of God and they are better for you if they humble you then they would be if they exalted you God is opposed to the proud people demanding their rights gives grace to the humble so humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God it's not as if you're humbling yourself under the hand of men or even the hand of Satan you're humbling yourself under the sovereign mighty providential hand of God knowing that whatever you may suffer will be turned to eternal joy and gladness and reward listen to the Apostle James chapter 4 God is opposed to the proud same thing but gives grace to the humble humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you again not under the mighty hand of God this time but in the presence of the Lord realizing that anything that comes into your life that humbles you the diminishes you happens in the presence of the Lord nothing is outside his plan outside his purpose out side his purview and he will exalt you he will exalt you this truth is expressed even in the Old Testament in one particular portion of psalm 119 the psalmist says in verse 161 Prince's persecute me without cause but my heart stands in awe of your words princes persecute me without cause life's not been fair to me I've been falsely accused unjustly treated but my heart stands in awe of your words I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil or great treasure so here is the psalmist saying I'm being unjustly treated and injustice is a reality in life persecution is a reality in life but in the midst of it all he says I stand in awe of your word and I trust in your promise to lift me up job had something of that in mind when he said the worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see and not another though my reins be consumed within me the worst that can happen to you here turns to the best that can happen to you that is the very presence of God himself the Apostle Paul says I have learned to be content to suffer 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 it's in my weakness that God's strength becomes pronounced James says count it all joy when you fall into various trials so even in the midst of the trial there is benefit spiritual benefit in the midst of the trial we are going through we are being perfected James says it has a perfecting work Paul says it has an empowering work even in the midst of the trial and the suffering and the injustice and the things that are unfair the Lord is shaping us humbling us shape us the Lord is also in the same very difficult circumstances adding up our eternal reward for those who suffer for him will be glorified with him and nothing can change that because nothing can ever separate us from his love so the message of the Apostle Paul is a powerful powerful message the humiliation of Jesus in itself is a glorious theological reality but Paul is using it here as an illustration of the kind of conduct he wants from believers you need to humble yourself and however much you think you deserve you don't deserve what Christ rightly deserved and willingly yielded up you're far less than he is and if he humbled himself from a place so high infinitely beyond where you are to a place so low far beyond where you're asked to go who are you to be unwilling as a sinner to humble yourself so that God can exalt you that's the message now we went through verses 5 through 8 the humiliation of Christ last time let's look at verses 9 to 11 the exaltation of Christ and this is really the capstone on Paul's entire presentation here he wants you to see how high Christ was exalted so that you will be motivated to lower yourself to humble yourself and let God exalt you now remember the principle we read it in several places God hates the proud God resists the proud but God gives grace to the humble so humble yourselves humble yourselves and God will exalt you that is the message of Scripture in the case of what saying here he's saying humble yourself to the place described in verse three where you do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind you regard one another is more important than yourselves and the interests of others more important than your own that is the attitude of Christ he was willing to empty himself of all that he possessed as the eternal son for the sake of others who were undeserving this is the model we are to go low and then God will lift us up verses 9 to 11 are so rich that you could literally go from this portion to many many other scriptures throughout the New Testament to see how this is affirmed I'm going to resist doing that for the sake of time but I want you to catch something of what these verses are saying about Christ's exaltation and keep in mind this is to motivate you to say it's more important for me to be exalted by God therefore I humble myself than it is for me to exalt myself and be humbled by God when God exalts someone he exalts him to the highest place and we see this in the case of Christ for this reason also God highly exalted him first we come to the source of his exaltation it is God God highly exalted him for this reason God highly exalted him what reason because he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on the cross he humbled himself to die on the cross to die as God's chosen lamb a sacrifice for sin because he came all the way down to the cross God lifts him all the way up to the highest exaltation in the heavens God is the source of his exaltation God is the one who exalts his son because of what he did in his suffering and humiliation God highly exalted him it's a Greek word super exalted him there wouldn't be enough prefixes or adjectives to describe the elevation he exalted him in a way that even was beyond the exaltation that he had had before God raised him from the dead God drew him into heaven God seated him at his right hand God crowned him with honor and glory God exalted him this became the message of the Apostles Peter on the day of Pentecost back in Acts chapter 2 verse 31 is speaking about the death of Christ that Christ had died and was raised from the dead he was neither abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay this Jesus God raised up again to which we are all witnesses and then verse 33 this is Peter's sermon on Pentecost therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God verse 34 quotes from the Old Testament Psalm 110 the Lord said to my lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified all the way down to the cross and because he humbled himself to the cross God exalted him - the highest throne in heaven again Peter and the Apostles in chapter 5 of the book of Acts defending the fact that they must obey God rather than men Acts 5:30 the God of Our Fathers raised up Jesus whom you had put to death by hanging him on a cross he is the one whom God exalted to his right hand as a prince and a saviour to go right to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins God exalted him because he had accomplished his work on the cross the Apostle Paul says in chapter one of Ephesians that when God exalted him he seated him first when T at his right hand in the heavenlies 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 ones to come God exalted him God highly exalted him placed him at his right hand far above not just above far above all rule Authority power and Dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but the age to come again God exalts Christ because Christ humbled himself God exalted him perhaps the most wonderful of all revelations of this exaltation is found in Hebrews chapter one he want to look at Hebrews 1 and just follow the marvelous truth of this chapter God after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world 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 the son had made purification of sins that is died on the cross he sat down the right hand of the Majesty on high having become as much better than the Angels as he has inherited a more exalted or excellent name than they in other words God exalted him to a place far above the Angels for to which of the Angels did he ever say you are my son today I have begotten you or I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me never said that to angels and when he again brings the pro Tata cost the premier one into the world he says and let all the angels of God worship Him and that the Angels he says who makes his angels wins and his ministers a flame of fire but of the Sun he says your throne O God is for ever and ever and the righteous scepter is the scepter of his kingdom you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions above the Angels and you Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands they will perish but you remain and they will all become old like a garment and like a mantle you will roll them up like a garment they will also be changed but you are the same and your years will not come to an end the eternal reign of Christ to which that the angel says he ever said sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet they're just ministering spirits so not to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation Christ is exalted says Hebrews chapter 1 far above the angels of course Jesus says God is incapable of being more than God he didn't become more of who he was it's just that there were more honors that belong to him when he came into the world he was the son of the Most High says mark chapter 5 verse 7 you can't be any higher than the Son of God but by the end of his redemptive work on earth and his ascension back into heaven and his coronation he had won the final victory he had ratified the covenant of salvation he had accomplished redemption and the father had then raised him from the dead exalted him to his right hand and so he is now exalted as a prince and a saviour who has accomplished redemption around the throne are Myriad's and Myriad's of angels ten thousand times ten thousand angels and they all worship Him his exaltation is not some alteration in his nature it is simply that he receives more honor for the accomplishment of the Cross more honor he becomes the king who has crushed the Serpent's head he becomes the prophet who has spoken the truth provided the gospel work that becomes the heart of the truth to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth for salvation he always was the priest but now he enters into a level of priesthood in which he always Hebrew seven intercedes he ever lives to intercede for his people to bring them to glory he is more honored than he's ever been because he has accomplished God's redemptive purpose in Romans 14 verse nine for to this end Christ died and lived again that he might be Lord both of the Dead and of the living he died and rose that he might be Lord Lord of the Dead and Lord of the living the many portions of Scripture that speak about that that his is returned to heaven signaled a new place of authority listen to Colossians 1:18 he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead so that he himself will come to have 1st place in everything that was the father's good pleasure 2nd Peter 1:17 one more scripture for when he received honor and glory from God the Father and there's the point he didn't become more than he was he was already the god man from his incarnation but when he went back to heaven he received honor and glory from God the Father but it had tasted that before when an utterance was made about him by the majestic glory on the Mount of Transfiguration this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased [Music] the father was well pleased with him and the father declared that he would be exalted and honored and given glory for His redemptive work even before he had gone to the cross so first thing to understand about the exaltation of Christ is that God is the source God is the one who exalted Christ many other scriptures speak to that the second how are we to understand this new position the title of his exaltation answers that the title so we saw the source of the exaltation as God the title and what is the title back to verse 9 and that bestowed on him gave him granted him the name which is above every name Hebrews 1:4 I just read a name more excellent than the Angels fees is chapter one a name higher than all rule authority power and Dominion and every name that is named this is the ultimate name above every other name a name a name a title this is the title what is this name what is this title it is not Jesus that was already his name it is a name that speaks of absolute sovereignty it was common to signal the new stage in someone's life by giving him a new name Abram became Abraham and Jacob became Israel and Saul became Paul and Simon became Peter Jesus was given a new name as well what is that name it's given in verse 11 Jesus Christ is Lord that's the new name it is the name that is above every name the name Jesus is not the name above every name that's just the reference to the Old Testament named Joshua a lot of people had that name a lot of people still have that name Jehovah saves but this is a name that is above every name it is the name Lord no other name than Lord or if you will an Old Testament equivalent Yahweh can be the name above all other names the whole context flows to that confession down in verse 11 Jesus Christ is Lord Jesus was a very common name Jesus was the name given to him in his humiliation but he has given a name above every name this name causes every knee to bow jesus had many names titles Messiah Emanuel son of God son of man Christ the word butt Lord is the name above every name curiosity means absolute ruler he is Lord by his father's doing we don't make him Lord no one does he is Lord the great Christian cry Jesus is Lord that is our confession he is Lord it indicates power absolute power absolute authority dignity honor dominion worthiness rule if you want to be a Christian Romans 10 says confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead it was his resurrection by which God honored him and established him as Lord he raised him from the dead drew him to his throne and crowned him Lord book of Revelation says king of kings and Lord of lords so the title of the exaltation of Christ is the Lord Lord of lords Lord above all power all authority all Dominion every name that is named in this age or the age to come now what is the response the third thing that Paul points to is a response to his exaltation verse 10 so that this is the purpose of his exaltation so that at the name of Jesus not the name Jesus but the name of Jesus which is Lord every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord so what is the response worship this is the only appropriate response to Christ and ultimately will be the response of everyone did you hear that everyone will one day bow the knee to Christ those of us who confess Jesus is Lord now we have bowed the knee those who reject Christ and go into eternity without him end up in eternal punishment in hell will every moment of their tenure in Hell every everlasting moment be recognizing that in fact Jesus is Lord and they failed to acknowledge it he is Lord the idea that he is lord over those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth is not intended to make three distinctions between beings in locations but simply say that's everywhere you're either in heaven or on earth or in the earth or under the earth covers the ground every knee will bow that's a very interesting statement by the way because that's borrowed from isaiah 45 and for the word of god to say that God is going to exalt Jesus Christ give him the name Lord and make every being in the universe bow the knee to him is an amazing statement that would be very offensive to people who don't think Jesus is God but go back to Isaiah 45 in Isaiah 45 where this statement is originally made God is declaring himself as the true and living God in the 44th chapter of Isaiah God shows the folly of idols how ridiculous to make a God out of wood or stone when there's only one god only one true God he says that toward the end of chapter 44 thus says the Lord your Redeemer the one who formed you from the womb I the Lord and the maker of all things stretching out the heavens by myself and spreading out the earth all alone it is I it is I repeats again and again it is I it is I in chapter 45 verse 21 declare and set forth your case indeed let them consult together who has announced this from of old who has long since declared it is it not I the Lord there is no other God besides me a righteous God and a saviour there is none except me turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other strong words in chapter 46 look at verse 5 this this whole surrounding context focuses on the one true and living God to whom would you likin me and make me equal and compare me that we would be alike those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh silver on the scale hire a goldsmith and make it into a god they bow down indeed they worship it they lift it upon the shoulder and carry it they set it in its place and it stands there it doesn't move from its place no one may cry to it it cannot answer it cannot deliver him from his distress remember this and be assured recall it to mind you transgressors remember the former things long past for I am God and there is no other I am God and there is no one like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure at the end of verse 11 truly I have spoken truly I will bring it to pass I have planned it surely I will do it God is the only god but look at verse 23 in chapter 45 I have sworn by myself the word has gone out from my mouth and righteousness and will not turn back that to me every knee will bow every tongue will confess allegiance that's that's exactly what is said in Philippians but here it belongs only to God only to me every knee will bow every tongue will confess only to me so back to the Philippians when you read there that God declares that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow that is a declaration of the deity of Christ that is an affirmation of what we read back in chapter 2 verse 6 that he existed in the morphe of God that he was equal to God every knee will bow to him there's only one true God but one true God is Father Son and Holy Spirit so the one true God the son came into the world humbled himself the father then exalted him gave him the title lord over everyone and now commands that the entire universe of conscious beings bow their knee to him whether they are angels or men and women they all bow whether they're holy angels or Damned angels whether they are saints or sinners whether they are in heaven or hell they all bow the knee and they all ultimately confess Jesus is Lord every tongue will confess that every tongue meaning will acknowledge it every tongue whether in hell or heaven will say yes Jesus is Lord we rejected him we refused him but he is Lord this God will do for him exalt him to this level so that everyone boughs the need to him what an astonishing exaltation but what is the reason what's the motive the source is God the title is Lord the response is worship of what's the purpose back to verse 11 to the glory of God the Father because the father ultimately gets glory to the glory of the Father the father is honored when the son is worshiped the father is honored when the son is worship the father said this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased listen to him the father is honored when the son is worshiped God is exalted by what Christ has accomplished God is glorified when you honor his son and in the end the entire conscious universe of beings in heaven or hell will all confess Jesus is Lord and that will affirm what God has declared and God will be glorified he will be glorified in judgment as well as in eternal blessing ultimately everything resolves itself in God's final glory the gospel then is the story of humiliation and exaltation the one who is God Stoops all the way down to become man takes the role of a servant willing to die died on a cross and because he accomplished our redemption the Father exalts him back to where he was with new honours and new glory for having accomplished redemption gives him a name above every name the name Lord declares that anybody who comes to him must say Jesus is Lord and this in itself is the glory of the redemptive work of Christ but in this passage this is an illustration to you and me that you would be a whole lot better off to humble yourself and let God glorify you than to glorify yourself and caused him to Humble you because when God glorifies you he takes you to places that are unimaginable Bible says he seats you on the throne with his son he makes you an heir of all things I hasn't seen nor ear heard nor resonator the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him that's why Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4:4 momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison so life hasn't given you everything you want embrace that be humbled by that be unconcerned about your own issues give yourself in love to others be a part of the unity of the church and wait until the Lord exalts you with an eternal weight of glory the next verse in 2nd Corinthians 4 says we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things that are seen are temporal things that are not seen are eternal don't try to squeeze everything you think you deserve out of this life humble yourself and wait for the unimaginable things that God has for you in your eternal inheritance which is imperishable undefiled unfading and reserved in heaven again the message here is primarily a message of Christian conduct the glory of the Incarnation the glory of the exaltation of the Son of God are designed by God to demonstrate to us what it means to humble yourself and what it means to be exalted by God you start and I start from a place far lower than Christ's right to humble ourselves and yet we will be lifted up and exalted to the very place where Christ is this is the kindness and grace of God don't spend your life trying to demand your rights trying to get what you think you deserve being angry at people or vengeful be humble don't be conceited don't be self-centered be concerned about others be loving do everything you can to create unity and leave the future exaltation to the Lord because when he does it it's going to be so far beyond anything you can even imagine that's what you see when you understand that we will be exalted with Christ in his throne in his glory father we thank you for your word we thank you for the power that it has to speak to our hearts we thank you for the glories of it it has a glory all its own as you do it has a power that sometimes overwhelms us it convicts us and yet at the same time it encourages us may we be a people who are of one mind in one spirit with the same love humbling ourselves in loving ways to serve one another so that we can put on display the glory of the gospel in a transformed church we pray this not only for our own church but we pray it for all other places where Christ is named and dishonored by discord and disunity and pride and demands humble your people so that they can be exalted in your proper time that's our prayer and we include our own selves in that for your glory amen

Channel: Grace to You

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Keywords: John MacArthur, Bible, Preaching, Christianity, Expository, Exposition, Sermon, Jesus, Christ, Grace to You, Christmas

Id: QpetcqQHtmU

Length: 47min 14sec (2834 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 27 2020