PM Philipians 1:12-2:11 Why is Jesus crowned as King?

[0:00] Philippians 1 verse 12 right through to chapter 2 verse 11. Philippians 1 and verse 12, that's page 1179 of the Church Bible.

[0:26] Paul writing from prison. Listen, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. Don't you love the way he sees that?

[0:40] So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

[0:59] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

[1:11] The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

[1:22] What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that I rejoice.

[1:33] Yes, and I will rejoice.

[2:03] To live is Christ. To live is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

[2:16] I am hard pressed between the two. My desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary in your account.

[2:30] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. So that in me, you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

[2:48] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

[3:11] And not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation.

[3:22] And that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake.

[3:34] Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

[4:03] Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

[4:20] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[4:54] Therefore, God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[5:22] Amen. May the Lord bless to us that reading of his own holy inspired word. Before we turn to the word, let's bow in a moment of prayer.

[5:39] Let's turn back now to Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53, and the passage we were looking at this morning.

[5:50] Isaiah 53, that's page 743. Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53, reading at verse 10. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

[6:06] He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

[6:20] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see, and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

[6:36] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong. Because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

[6:50] Yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Especially verse 12 there. We were looking at verses 10 and 11 this morning, asking why the cross had to take place.

[7:07] And this evening we're asking, why is Jesus crowned as king? Why is Jesus crowned as king? If you had a selection of nouns or adjectives, which would you allocate to Jesus?

[7:32] Which do you think people in your neighbourhood, think of your neighbours, I'm sure they know something about Jesus? Which of these would you allocate to him?

[7:45] Weak or strong? Baby or sovereign? Under pressure or in control?

[8:00] Undervalued or highly honoured? Even for Christians, they somehow sink down to the point where their Jesus, in reality is weak, is somehow under pressure and beleaguered by all that is going on in the world.

[8:27] and is destined to be undervalued by pretty much everyone you're likely to meet in the week to come.

[8:40] If you were to ask God the same question about Jesus, is he weak or strong? Is he a baby or sovereign?

[8:52] Is he under pressure or in control? Is he undervalued or highly honoured? What would God say in response to these questions concerning Jesus?

[9:10] See, we read Isaiah 53 this morning from 52, 12 right through 53 and many people think of Jesus especially the section in the middle of chapter 53 He was despised, rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

[9:36] Then he has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. We esteemed him streaking, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities and so on.

[9:48] We think of Jesus very rightly in terms of these precious, precious words. But it's a reality, you know, that our Jesus is the crucified Jesus.

[10:04] But he is no longer only the crucified Jesus. He will forever be the crucified Jesus. He will always be the lamb that is slain.

[10:17] He will always be the lamb in the midst of the throne with the marks of death. He will always be the crucified Christ. There was a time when he wasn't the crucified Christ.

[10:33] He was a Christ who was promised to come. A Christ who would one day come and who would one day suffer. But now he has suffered.

[10:45] He is the crucified Christ. But he is never, never, never, only the crucified Christ. He is very much the exalted Christ.

[11:00] And this is where Satan gets in, you see. As we said this morning, he tries to stop the cross happening. He tries to stop Jesus' suffering.

[11:11] He couldn't do it. He couldn't stop the resurrection happening. He couldn't stop the ascension of Jesus into heaven happening.

[11:23] He couldn't stop Jesus from being seated at the right hand of God, ruling over the whole universe. Satan couldn't stop any of it happening.

[11:34] But what he can attempt to do, and may be rather successful at doing, is working in your mind and in your heart, so that the Christ that you think you have and hold is not really the Christ of exaltation following the cross.

[12:00] But little baby, weak Jesus, one who can't really change the world, one who can't really cope with all that is happening.

[12:14] Satan is at work as a false angel, working in your mind as much as he can, and little by little, just breaking away the edges, getting into the core, happy for you to think about Jesus, he says.

[12:37] But don't think of him as this exalted Jesus. Happy even for you to think of him on a cross, but not as one who has brought blessing and power and transformation into the world's history.

[12:55] God knew that Satan would try to infect every Christian mind on earth with low views of Jesus.

[13:13] He knew, God knew that that would happen. And that's why so much of scripture, when it discusses and refers to Jesus, exalts him.

[13:26] So you set up a meeting, for example. You want to plant a church. How are you going to get people coming to the church? And if they come to the church, how are you going to keep them in the church?

[13:40] How are you going to see these people changed for the better? How are you going to see them being saved? Get the right seating. Get the right lighting.

[13:52] Get the right technology. Get the right buzz up on the wall. Get the right music. Get the right band. Get the right people with the right gifts so they're able to address the people.

[14:07] There, we managed to get a whole set of sentences out without mentioning the name Jesus. Who can change the people?

[14:19] It's the Lord. Who can draw them in? It is the Lord. He's the one who poured out the Spirit upon the church.

[14:29] He's the one who is gathering people to himself. God the Father is the one who put Jesus Christ on the throne.

[14:41] And that's what I want to look at tonight. Therefore, I will divide him, says the Father. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many.

[14:53] He shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.

[15:09] Why is Jesus crowned as king? Well, the first thing is this. To receive divine honour. Why is Jesus exalted to the throne of the universe?

[15:25] To receive divine honour. This fourth servant's song begins in chapter 52, 13.

[15:36] My servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up. He shall be exalted. That's how it starts.

[15:47] And then it explains that prior to his exaltation, he was brought down into humiliation, brought down into the suffering of the cross.

[15:58] And then it closes again. He is exalted. exalted. Therefore, I will divide him. This is the father speaking.

[16:10] And he wants the servant whom we know of as Jesus Christ to be honoured for all that he did. Notice the therefore.

[16:23] Therefore, because of all that he did, I, I will do something. Jesus, was he crushed by God on the cross?

[16:37] Yes, he was. We saw that this morning. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. And it's the same Lord who now wills to exalt him, to honour him.

[16:52] There's one person who will never forget how much Jesus should duly be honoured. And that's the father.

[17:04] God has honoured to bestow upon Jesus. He has many to save given by God to Jesus.

[17:16] He has a heritage to give to Jesus. He is an heir of God. And we are to be joined heirs with Christ but supremely Jesus is honoured by God the father.

[17:34] Now you could rightly say well surely God the father always honoured God the son. Of course he did. Of course he did.

[17:45] But this is new. God the son had never before become incarnate. He had never before walked among men.

[17:57] He had never before been baptized in the waters of baptism. Even at that time when he was baptized the father spoke and said with him I am well pleased.

[18:15] Well pleased. I am delighted with what you are doing. He is honouring him already. Then when he comes into the garden of Gethsemane Jesus is sweating with horror at the thought of what is lying ahead of him and he prays and what does God the father do?

[18:39] He sends an angel to help. He honours him even in that. And then when he comes to the depths of the cross itself and God hides his face from him at that moment he is not honouring him.

[19:01] At that moment he is treating him as the one who is bearing our guilt and Jesus cries out my God my God why have you forsaken me?

[19:16] He does not experience at that moment the sense of being honoured by God. Jesus before his death which he effected himself he is the one who separated his soul from his body laid down his life regally as king.

[19:43] At that moment he was bathed in light the darkness was passed before Jesus gave his life.

[19:58] The light had come but Jesus was buried and then three days later Jesus is lifted out of the tomb and up to the throne of the universe.

[20:13] Why? because the father wants him to be honoured. The father has a heritage to give to him that he couldn't give to him before.

[20:26] He is an heir of God in a way that he wasn't before. He has gifts to give his son that he couldn't gift before and he is lifted up to the throne of the universe because God the father honours him.

[20:52] The second thing is related to that. He's there he's crowned as king not only to show that he has received divine honour but to share spiritual blessing.

[21:07] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.

[21:20] God's the one who gives him the portion the inheritance. He is the one who says I will divide him a portion I will honour him I will exalt him I will give him all that he is due I will divide him a portion with the many and you and I we have the privilege you see of being the many if we are Christians what God gives to Jesus because he honours him he will give to us the many who are his seed but look at the next stage there therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong see the image changes there now this time it's the picture of victory the battle is over the victory has come and the dividing of the spoil and the plunder takes place

[22:26] Jesus has received gifts that he can now share with others he shall divide the spoil with the strong over whom did Jesus gain victory on the cross and through death he gained victory over sin he gained victory over Satan and he gained victory over death and each of these will be shared by Jesus he'll be they'll be shared with the strong that's another way of looking at the Christians they're not just the many they are the strong with whom Jesus will divide the spoil he gained the victory but this victory is now shared with these people who are called the strong in what way sin did

[23:36] Jesus gain victory over sin yes he did there was a time that sin set the agenda for Jesus and he dealt with sin now sin shall not have dominion over you sin shall never set the agenda for you sin shall not have dominion over you I share that blessing of victory with you Satan says to you oh come on sin that's just part of the Christian's life of course you've got to sin yes you can hold back for a while when the temptations come you can say no but sooner or later everyone sins Christians included Jesus Jesus has been enthroned he's been granted victory and he's dividing the spoils of victory and one of these victories is over sin now it's true we will sin but you know what we will not sin because we have to sin it's still because we choose to sin

[24:56] Jesus will never choose to sin he never did sin would not be allowed to set the agenda forever for Jesus and sin shall not have dominion over us either sin is defeated sin does not define us that's why I don't like the kind of language that maybe speaks about somebody as a homosexual or a gay person or somebody who's just an adulterer or something like that that's allowing sin to define how that person is to be thought of no whatever things people do or whatever even Christians fall into sin is not what thereafter defines them

[25:57] Satan was defeated at the cross he was remember the promise in Genesis 3 that the serpent will have his head crushed that did happen at the cross Jesus was there surrounded by the bulls of Bashan attacked by so many Satan himself you can be sure was there trying to destroy all that Jesus was doing was he successful no he wasn't no he wasn't when Jesus came to the point of offering his life as a sacrifice Satan you can well imagine said no you can't do that Satan couldn't make

[26:59] Jesus die and he couldn't stop Jesus dying not even the father could make Jesus die but Jesus chose to die and in that doing he broke the works and destroyed the works of the devil Satan is crushed under food and it's only a matter of time says Paul in Romans 16 before Satan will be crushed under the feet of his people the victory is not in doubt for a moment don't imagine don't imagine that Satan is somehow so powerful that he has a hope of winning he hasn't he has lost the victory has been won by

[28:01] Jesus God has highly honoured him and he's given him the spoils of victory to divide with the strong Satan's defeated sins defeated death death what's the last enemy says Paul that we are to face death death is death is still something that brings silence into a room death is something that makes us think so solemnly will death have the last word we know that that is not the case ultimately death will bring us into the presence of God and Satan can't stop it Satan can make us afraid he can enjoy playing with our emotions but you and I have to remember no the victory has been won over sin

[29:07] Satan and death therefore says God he shall divide the spoil with the strong you might at this point say is that really a wise use of the adjective to call Christians strong you probably don't see yourself like that probably see your own weakness so much and yet there's a very real sense in which you are strong not in your own strength but in the strength that is in Christ Jesus you are strong in Christ you are strengthened in the inner man very interesting study if you ever wanted to do it study the verbs of power and strength in the writings of

[30:11] Paul and see how Paul thought about converted people are they weak are they strong very interesting study to engage in you see for us what's our future filled with it's not fear it's hope certainty that's our horizon we moved up to Caveness and that's the land as they call it of the big skies so few hills so remote but the skies are enormous and when you see the horizon in a place like that you're looking far off and no matter how far the Christian looks out the reality is hope goes even further absolutely safe so why is Jesus crowned as king to receive divine honour to share spiritual blessings

[31:16] I suppose that's why Paul in that chapter we read in Philippians he just came out with it he says for me to live is Christ to die is gain my friend Donald McLean who was minister in Mure of Ord in the Scalpi laterly retired to Mure of Ord he was dying with cancer I phoned him up and I says would you be able to come and preach to us well he says I didn't buy a diary this year didn't buy a diary because I didn't think I would live long enough into the year I'll check so he checked and he says no I can't come and that's because he was going to be speaking at their own communion service in their own church he wasn't well enough to do a whole sermon but he did the pre-communion address and the post-communion address and the minister asked him to do it and you know the text that he took for this pre-communion for me to live is Christ and for the post- communion address to die is gain for him these were two facts they weren't aspirations for me to live

[32:36] Christ for me to die gain now there's a man who's dying and yet sin is defeated for him death is defeated for him Satan is defeated for him and he's now been in glory for the last 22 years that's the reality Jesus shared the spoil with the strong third reason why is Jesus crowned as king so that he could display his saving love see Jesus wanted to be lifted up so that he could display his saving love the father wanted to exalt his son so that he could display his saving love that's where the therefore comes in here therefore all the things that came before all the suffering the putting to grief the offering of his soul as a sacrifice for sin all of that the crushing the affliction the strickenness the smittenness all of that therefore he says

[33:57] I will divide him a portion with the many he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death never ever forget the connection the link between Jesus in heaven and Jesus on the cross don't think for a moment that the person who rules over the universe is God the son he's not God the son he's God the son in human nature that means that he's God the son fully but in addition to that he is a human being the son of Mary and he is the one who underwent all of the things of the suffering servant is described as undergoing before he'd be exalted over the universe never forget the stepping stone by which

[35:18] Jesus reached the crown what things are spoken of here first of all his sacrifice he poured out his soul to death we spoke this morning about the willingness of Jesus to die here you have it again he poured out his soul to death it's not just the father crushing him no no he poured out his soul soul nowhere short of death would he stop he poured out his soul to death the cross is damnation and he took it lovingly as Rabbi Duncan I think put it that's the basis for victory if he hadn't poured out his soul to death he would not have been honored by the father the way he is if he hadn't poured out his soul unto death he would not be in a position to share the spiritual blessings of victory over sin

[36:29] Satan and death with his people the second one his identification he was numbered with the transgressors see I will divide him a portion with his many he shall divide the soul with the spoiler with the strong because he was numbered with the transgressors he was counted among them he's the righteous servant and yet there he is in his incarnation he comes into a world of darkness he's born of a woman Mary his mother and as my old minister Angus Smith used to say he had enough sin in his mother to make him weep for eternity and yet he was willing to indwell her womb and then he comes into the world our world and walks among us never have such holy eyes seen people and yet lived among them even when he began to gather people to himself through

[37:48] John the Baptist and John the Baptist was baptizing people Jesus came in among them were they not talking about their sins yes he was did Jesus say well I'm not going near them no no Jesus says I'm going right among them because I am numbered with the transgressors he comes right in where they are being baptized they are concerned about their sins he is committing himself to take their sins he's identified with them when he goes to the cross he's numbered with a transgressor a robber a thief a revolutionary on this side and a robber a thief a revolutionary on that side they are publicly known sinners and Jesus allows himself to be placed among them he's numbered with the transgressors the woman of

[38:52] Samaria he talks with her all on his own he talks with her and then he asks her the question or a command your husband bring your husband she says I don't have a husband right you are he says right you are you've had five husbands and the person you're living with is not your husband you're right what's amazing is that he's there talking to her here's somebody who would go out to get water at the time when nobody else would be there so she wouldn't be seen and yet Jesus speaks to her without a word of harshness he's numbered with a transgressor Zacchaeus everybody hates Zacchaeus let's join the council Zacchaeus club Jesus says

[39:54] I must eat in your house today you can imagine all the disciples saying are you mad are you really wanting this movement to progress don't take on people like Zacchaeus I must eat at your house today the son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost Saul Saul the great persecutor of the church possibly the murderer of Christians surely Jesus won't speak to him and be numbered with him oh yes he will he's numbered with the transgressor happy let me say it again happy to be numbered with the transgressor it's not a last resort it's not reluctant it's not keeping his distance no no he chooses to be numbered with the transgressor and the father says see because you chose to be numbered with the transgressor

[41:18] I will highly exalt you I will honor you and I will give you blessings to share the third thing says substitution I will divide him a portion with the many he shall divide the spoiled with the strong because he bore the sin of many he bore the sin of many see in the end of verse 11 as we mentioned this morning he shall bear their iniquities that's Jesus he will bear the iniquities of all of his people that's the present that's the present Jesus is willing to bear forever the iniquity of all his people he will always be your sin bearer always be your sin bearer you will never be left with your sins to carry he will always be your sin bearer but notice the tense in this particular occurrence he bore the sin of many it's done and notice at the end of verse 11 in the plural he shall bear their iniquities here it's a singular he bore the sin of many it's happened and all of this sin he was numbered with the transgressors and that leads to this position where he takes all the sin of these people the entire dishonor with which they dishonored

[43:17] God their entire rejection their ungratefulness their unthankfulness their envy their lust every single thing he bore it all of that sin just this one big mass of sin he took that sin and he bore it it was the sin of many all brought in a mass and he bore it all and he bore it so well that there's nothing left for us to carry there's nothing left for us to carry you will never go into the presence of God carrying your sins you can't he's already done it he bore the sin of many well the father says

[44:20] I will highly exalt you because you poured your soul to death because you were numbered with the transgressors and because you bore the sin of every one of these people the many I will highly exalt you and then just one other thing is mediation his sacrifice his identification his substitution his mediation he makes intercession for the transgressors he bore the sin past tense he makes intercession present tense for the transgressors see he was numbered with them that is by choice he bore their sins that is done by choice by him and he makes intercession for these transgressors and that is by choice that is what he will do forever and ever and ever

[45:32] I mean here is commitment this is real commitment he is numbered with them he takes their sin and then he ever lives he makes intercession for the transgressors there is always a connection always a connection between you and Jesus there is always a connection between you and your sin bearer there is always a connection between you and the one who represents you in heaven your name is always named in heaven you've trusted in him your name is named in heaven by Christ he makes intercession but are you not a transgressor yes you are you hate yourself for it but he doesn't turn his back on you he always names your name he suffered for real people for many people for sinful people and he suffered for people who need him forever let me close by asking just one question resulting from all of this for how long will you need

[47:14] Jesus is it only up to the point of your death is it only to get you through the valley of the shadow of death and bring you to heaven's glory will you then be able to dispense with Jesus will Jesus say job done will you need him once you've been in heaven for a thousand years in perfect holiness yes you will will you need him once you are resurrected and your body is as perfect as your soul in righteousness and holiness will you need Jesus yes once you're in the restored universe and new heavens and earth will you need

[48:25] Jesus will you need his intercession yes because I live you also will live he ever makes continual intercession for us you will never graduate out of this school you will always need Christ and Christ will always be your intercessor always making intercession for you that's why Jesus said in John 17 in that prayer before the cross he says for their sakes I sanctify myself for their sakes and they're going to need me forever and ever and ever and ever what a

[49:28] Christ what a commitment I can't get over the magnificent beauty of the commitment of Christ it wasn't for a day or a week or a year not even for a lifetime on earth his commitment is from everlasting too everlasting he ever lives he makes intercession for the transgressors let's pray oh lord don't allow us to live with small thoughts of your son help us lord to honour him as you honour him help us to honour him for the reasons that you honour him there we were lord transgressors and he was willing to be counted with us among us there we were with a mass of sin and he was willing to bear it away once and forever and there we were as transgressors rescued only because he ever lives to make intercession for us oh lord jesus how we bless you that you know us you know us through and through you name our name you know everything about us and you will never ever turn your back on your people oh lord god thank you for all that you are doing through your son by your spirit help us to breathe this theology and live on the light of it for christ we ask it amen let's close now by singing to god's praise from psalm 24 verses 7 as as as as