[0:00] Welcome to our services today as we seek the Lord's blessing to be upon everything that we endeavour to do in his name.
[0:14] Let us join together in prayer. Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, we pray that thou would keep us mindful at all times of who thou art, that thou art the High and Lofty One, that thou art the One who is sitting upon the throne, that thou art our Sovereign God.
[0:47] And so we pray that we would come in humility of mind, of heart and of spirit, and that we would come with confession of our sins, seeking, O Lord, that cleansing that thou alone can give to us.
[1:06] We give thee thanks for that great provision which thou hast made for us through thy Son, as the fountain that has been opened for sin and for uncleanness.
[1:20] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the efficacy of his finished work, and for the great promise that thou hast given to us, that if we come with a true confession of our sins, that thou art faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[1:45] So we pray today that thou would grant to us the grace of repentance, that we would sorrow and turn away from our sins, and that we would embrace the mercy of God in Jesus Christ by faith.
[2:02] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the giving of thy Son, and we give thanks that he came, and that he took our nature unto himself, that he did not take the nature of angels, but that he took on him the seed of Abraham, that he was made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest, in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people, and that he himself hath suffered, been tempted, he is able to succour all those who are tempted.
[2:49] And so we give thee thanks, O Lord, that we can come with confidence and with boldness to our high priest today, who sitteth upon the throne, and that we can lay before him our petitions, knowing, O Lord, that he careth for us, knowing that he is the one who is able to meet with each one of us at our point of need.
[3:20] And so we pray that thou would be present in our midst through thy Spirit today, as we come to read thy word and to meditate upon thy word, for we are dependent upon thee, for without thee we can do nothing.
[3:41] And we pray, O Lord, that thou would take thy word today, and that through thy Spirit thou would bless it unto us, that it may be lodged in our heart, that it may bring forth evidence in our lives, to the glory of thine own name.
[3:59] Bless our homes, bless our families. All meet with each one of them at their point of need. Remember those who are ill, we pray thee, may thy healing hand be upon them.
[4:13] Remember those who mourn over the passing of loved ones, as they look upon empty places in their homes and their families. We pray, O Lord, that thou would draw near to them and fill the empty place that they find in their hearts with thine own presence.
[4:32] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless all our communities. O Lord, that thou would come in a day of thy power, that thou would reveal thine own right arm among us in the power of salvation, that thou, O Lord, would draw the careless and the indifferent, through stirring them up in their hearts and drawing them to thyself, that they may see their great need, that they may see the sufficiency of Christ to meet with that need.
[5:04] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our young people and our children. O, that thou would raise up a generation who would fear the Lord and who would be witnesses for thee in this world.
[5:19] We ask, O Lord, that it would please thee to continue with us as we wait upon thee. And all that we ask with the forgiveness of our many sins is in Jesus' name and for his sake.
[5:33] Amen. We shall now read from the book of Psalms and Psalm 24. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.
[5:53] For he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord or who shall stand in his holy place?
[6:05] He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
[6:25] This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob, Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.
[6:43] Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.
[7:00] Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his own word.
[7:16] Now let us turn to Paul's letter to the Philippians and chapter 2. And we'll read from verse 5.
[7:26] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
[7:49] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[8:28] We shall especially look today at the verses 9 to 11. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[9:01] We shall sit with the help of the Lord, and seeking his blessing, our thoughts upon these words today. The Apostle Paul, up to this point in the letter, is urging the church at Philippi to be of one mind.
[9:21] He is not urging them so much to be of one mind, concerning the truth, and what they believe, although that is important.
[9:33] That is not a matter that Paul has in mind here. He is seeking that they develop and promote and encourage a spirit of oneness and togetherness, thereby avoiding conflicts and divisions.
[9:57] This is why he focuses on to do nothing through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, each to esteem other better than themselves.
[10:13] He is urging them to focus upon the interests of others, even to put the interests of others before their own.
[10:30] And the great example he takes of a person doing that, is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And so he says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
[10:46] Now for the last two weeks, we have studied how Christ humbled himself, and the reason that he humbled himself, was that he was thinking of others.
[10:57] If you are a Christian today, it was for your sake and mine, that he humbled himself to save us. To save all those who will put their trust in him, and commit their way to him.
[11:15] Now we spent some time looking at this process of humiliation, and I hope that by doing so, we have in some measure been able to understand the amazing grace of God to our sinners, such as we are, shown to us in the person and mission of his Son, Jesus Christ.
[11:39] How first he humbled himself to become man, he who was in the form of God, and equal with God, but he came and took upon himself the form of a slave, and was made in the likeness of men.
[11:57] He takes on himself the nature of man, takes it to be his own, by which he was no less truly a man in time, than he was truly God from eternity.
[12:10] Secondly, he continued to humble himself further, through a series of voluntary humiliations. He goes down to the point of death, even the death of the cursed cross.
[12:26] He goes as far down as needs be, to find salvation for sinners, those in whom he was interested. And this mindset of Jesus, wherein his thoughts were upon others, and the only way by which he could save them, was to go the way of the cursed cross.
[12:48] So, he went there to save them. Oh, the amazing grace of God, as manifested in the person and mission of his Son, Jesus Christ.
[13:03] This is what John Owen says, regarding the condescension of Christ. We speak of these things in a poor, low, broken manner.
[13:18] We teach them as they are revealed in the scripture. We labour by faith to adhere to them as revealed. But when we come into a steady, direct view and consideration of the thing itself, our minds fail, our hearts tremble, and we can find no rest, but in a holy admiration of what we cannot comprehend.
[13:47] Here we are at a loss, and know that we shall be so, whilst we are in this world. But all the infallible fruits and benefits of this truth are communicated to them that do believe.
[14:06] But what Paul does not do is leave the matter there. He goes on and he says, Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
[14:26] Because he was obedient to the cursed death of the cross, God also hath highly exalted him to the point that he has given him a name which is above every name.
[14:40] No man ever went to the depths to which he went, but it is also true that no man ever rose to the heights to which he rose.
[14:55] In verse 17 and 8, we can see that in his humiliation, Christ is the subject of every action, made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a slave, he humbled himself, he became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.
[15:14] But now in verse 11, God the Father takes the initiative. Wherefore, God hath highly exalted him.
[15:26] Rather, verse 9, God the Father there takes the initiative. Whereof God also hath highly exalted him. Or, God the Father hath hyper-exalted him.
[15:38] That the Father delights to honour the Son for his accomplishment of his redemptive mission. You know, Old Testament prophecies and predictions concerning Jesus Christ refer to his sufferings and the glory that would follow upon them.
[15:59] Peter, in his first letter, says, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and such diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.
[16:13] Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.
[16:25] Jesus spoke to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and said to them, Ought not Christ who has suffered these things and entered into his glory?
[16:38] Well, you may ask, when does this exaltation of Christ begin? Obviously, it began when his humiliation ended.
[16:54] He comes down to the point of the death of the cross and one would assume that was the end of his humiliation. But the Shorter Catechism's answer is this.
[17:09] Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born and that in a low condition made under the law undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God and the cursed death of the cross and being buried and continuing under the power of death for a time.
[17:31] His burial and continuing under the power of death for a time was also part of his humiliation. Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth, says, For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried.
[17:56] This is all part of the redemptive plan of God. Christ died and was buried and was under the power of death for a time.
[18:09] His humiliation only ended when life came back into that body on the third day. Again, we refer to our shorted catechism which speaks of the exaltation of Christ in these words.
[18:23] Christ's exaltation consisted in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.
[18:43] When does his exaltation begin? And his rising again from the dead on the third day.
[18:55] The resurrection was the first step in his exaltation. In the Gospel of Luke, we read that when the woman came with her prepared spices to the sepulcher, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
[19:11] And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments, and as they were afraid, they bowed down their faces to the earth.
[19:24] They said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
[19:45] And they remembered his words. This was the beginning of his exaltation. There was an empty tomb, because Jesus who had died on the cross and was buried, had risen.
[20:02] In writing again to the church at Corinth, Paul says, if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins.
[20:14] But Christ is risen, the tomb is empty, and so began his exaltation. Then there is a second step, his ascending into heaven, in other words, his ascension.
[20:33] There are 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension. Now, recently in our study of Jonah, we saw that the number 40 in the Bible is generally accepted as representing a time of testing or trial or probation.
[20:54] And in that 40-day period between the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ, he is revealing himself to believers as alive.
[21:08] During this period when Jesus appeared, he showed them his hands and his feet and sighed as evidence that it was him. In his resurrection body, those marks could be seen and handled in order to accommodate the weak faith of his disciples.
[21:30] In John chapter 20, we are told that he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
[21:42] Why did he show them his side? Why not just merely his hands and his feet? Well, in the previous chapter of John, we read, then came the soldiers and break the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with him.
[22:00] But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
[22:17] You see, the hands and the feet of the two thieves were also pierced, but only the side of Jesus was pierced. And so here was the evidence shown to the disciples and given to us that it was Jesus who was alive, that it was Jesus who had risen out of the tomb, that it was the Jesus that was crucified and buried, that risen again.
[22:51] And when the forty days are up, he ascends into glory. Psalm 24 that we read earlier, verses seven to ten, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.
[23:14] Who is this King of Glory? the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.
[23:30] Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory, Selah. Although the entry here described by the psalmist probably refers to the bringing in of the ark into the tent that David had pitched for it, because the ark was a symbol or token of God's presence.
[23:53] It can also be applied to the ascension of Christ into heaven, and the welcome given to him there. When he had finished his work on earth, he ascended in the clouds of heaven.
[24:07] You recall the vision of Daniel in chapter 7, where we read, I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him, and they were given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve him.
[24:32] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. A very vivid picture for us of the ascension and the receiving of Christ into heaven.
[24:52] Matthew Henry says that in Christ's ascension, the gates of heaven must then be opened to him, those doors that may be truly called everlasting, which had been shut against us to keep the way of the tree of life, our redeemer found them shut, but having by his blood made atonement for sin and gained a title to enter into the holy place as one having authority, he demanded entrance, not for himself only, but for us, for as the forerunner he has for us entered and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
[25:34] The key is not only of hell and death, but of heaven and life must be put into his hand, his approach being very magnificent, the angels are brought in asking who is this king of glory.
[25:49] you will recall that God's appearance on Mount Sinai at the giving of the Lord to Moses is described for us by the psalmist in Psalm 68.
[26:02] The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. The Lord is among them as in Sinai in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
[26:24] Which is applied by Paul to the ascension of Christ after his resurrection in Ephesians chapter 4. Paul focuses among other things on the fact that Christ in his ascension has dominion over heaven and earth and thus he has the authority to dispense gifts among his people as he wishes.
[26:48] The end for which he ascended was to appear in the presence of God for us. Not for the following reasons. To make effectual the atonement that he had made for sin on our behalf.
[27:05] To undertake the protection of his people and to plead their cause against all accusations of Satan. To intercede for them and to ensure the communication of all grace and glory, all supplies of the spirit and the accomplishment of all of the covenant promise towards his own people.
[27:27] He ascended to appear in the presence of God for us. There on the throne of glory, on the right hand of the majesty on high, he sits down in the full possession and exercise of all power and authority.
[27:49] Now, it is important for us not to forget that when he ascended, he carried with him his whole person, and that includes the humanity in which he served and suffered and died and was buried.
[28:05] He took it with him to a higher point than the highest of all creatures, so that the very nature which he took on him in this world is exalted into glory.
[28:22] Last year, we studied the words of Jesus as they are found in John chapter 15, when he asked the Father, glorify thou me with thine own self.
[28:34] And we noted there that Jesus is praying that his human nature will be exalted, as to share as far as human nature can in the glory which as a divine person he had beside the Father before the world began.
[28:51] He is returning to his Father, and in that returning, he is not leaving his human nature behind, but he is taking that human nature with him to the right hand of the majesty on high, or to the very centre, of God's throne.
[29:10] So he is saying, glorify my human nature, bring my human nature into the glory I had with you as your son before the creation began. And this glory he received on his ascension.
[29:25] salvation. So that he went there, and we have someone in the very centre of the throne of God, in human nature.
[29:44] Then there is a third step, sometimes called the heavenly session, which really just means a sitting, sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
[29:56] The writer to the Hebrew notes, there in the beginning of the letter to the Hebrews, in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who be the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
[30:35] In chapter 10 of the same letter, the writer says, Christ, sitting down on the right hand of God, is really reference to power being put into his hands, a power to rule over his church, a power to rule over the universe.
[31:23] The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy food store. The Father exalts them, and puts them into a position of rule and power.
[31:38] As we have already noted regarding his ascension, he continues his ministry on behalf of the people, for he still functions as their prophet, and as their priest, and as their king.
[31:53] He continues his meditatorial office. There, he is still the mediator of the church. church. He is there functioning as our prophet, as our priest, and as our king.
[32:17] Then there is another step still to come, in coming to judge the world at the last day. In Acts chapter 17, we read, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all men in that he hath raised him from the dead.
[32:48] The empty tomb, the resurrection of Christ, and the ascension of Christ, speaks to us of another day.
[33:01] The Psalms in numerous places makes reference to this day. For instance, Psalm 96, let the field be joyful, and all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord, for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth.
[33:19] He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Christ's exaltation began in his resurrection.
[33:37] Then we have his ascension. And then we have his heavenly session, wherein he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, where he still ministers on behalf of his people.
[33:54] He is still their mediator. He is still their prophet, their priest, and their king. And he is there in the nature which he took to himself, when he came in the form of a slave, and the likeness of men.
[34:10] He is still there in human nature, a nature that he will not dispense with forever. He took it, and it is his nature forever, united to his person.
[34:28] But he is coming back, the last step in his exaltation. He is coming to judge the world at the last day.
[34:42] But you may ask, how high has Christ been raised? Well, here we are told that he has been given a name, which is above every name.
[34:59] Well, what is this name? Well, there are two options. It is either Jesus or Lord. It may look that the name Jesus is the name that is given to him in his exaltation, for in the following verse, we read there in verse 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
[35:27] But what that really means is at the name given to Jesus, every knee should bow. And then in verse 11, we read that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[35:49] You see, Jesus is a name given to him at his birth, in anticipation of his ministry, to save his people from their sins. Now, the name Jesus was not an exclusive name.
[36:03] There were many people named Jesus. Strictly speaking, he would have been called Joshua, because both names mean the same. But the name given to him in his exaltation is an exclusive name that belongs only to him.
[36:20] And that exclusive name must be Lord, which is the equivalent of God's own name Jehovah, the name by which God wishes to be personally known.
[36:34] And we are told in the book of Exodus that God committed himself to Israel as the I am that I am. I am the covenant keeping God.
[36:46] And the Jews regarded and still do this name of God as being so glorious that they were and are still afraid to use it. And they avoided it by substituting other words.
[36:59] And when they came to translate the Hebrew scriptures into Greek called the Subtuant in translation, they translated the name by a Greek word meaning Lord.
[37:10] God. It just teaches us that Jesus is God. Peter in his sermon recorded for us in Acts chapter 2 says, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made him the same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
[37:38] Jesus after his resurrection declared his universal authority as Lord. For we read they that Jesus came and spake unto them, that is the disciples, and said to them, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
[37:57] Ephesians chapter 1 Paul makes explicit the name that has been given to Jesus. he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be the head over all things to the church.
[38:33] That is the name that has been given to Jesus. That is what the name Lord means. Everything has been put into his hand.
[38:50] When Paul writes, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[39:06] He's actually quoting from Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 21. There we read, There is no God else beside me, a just God and a saviour.
[39:21] There is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself.
[39:34] The word is gone out of my mouth and righteousness, and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear.
[39:46] Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
[39:58] God declares to be the only God and saviour, and vows that he will be the object of universal worship and adoration, and Paul takes these words and applies them to Jesus.
[40:20] In other words, Paul is saying that honour that is given to God is also given to Jesus Christ. The name that Paul has in mind is Yahweh, which we have here in the Greek forum, Lord.
[40:38] You may ask, when is this name given to him? Well, there is a sense in which it always belonged to him.
[40:52] The divine glory that belonged to him was veiled in the robe of his humanity. People knew him as Jesus or Joshua.
[41:04] No one ever dreamt that he had another name. But when he is exalted, when he is hyper exalted and introduced to the whole of creation, heaven and earth, there is a public investiture of the name that belonged to him, that Jesus is Jehovah.
[41:24] Jehovah. And it is recognised by every eye, it is heard by every ear, every knee bow and confesses it, Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
[41:41] Father. I think the primary reference is to the judgment day when the whole of the created order is assembled.
[41:53] There is a great congregation and there is a public declaration that the one who sits on the judgment seat is none other than Jehovah in human nature.
[42:05] And everybody will be constrained to acknowledge it. Every knee shall bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[42:25] the bowing of the knee is a common expression of doing homage. Sometimes if we do so in prayer we bow the knee we go on our knees to express homage to God.
[42:46] But it is always in recognition of the authority that belongs to the person to whom one is offering the bowing of the knee.
[43:00] This right which belongs to God alone has now been transferred to the God man. The Lord to whom every knee shall eventually bow.
[43:13] Everyone both believers and unbelievers shall bow to his sovereignty even if they are not yielding to it here. There's a day coming when they shall bow the knee, when they shall submit themselves to the sovereignty of the God man Jesus Christ.
[43:39] You remember the famous saying of Pharaoh who is the Lord that I should obey his voice. Well Pharaoh will be there and he'll bow the knee and he will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[44:06] There are many in the world today who cry the cry of Pharaoh who is the Lord that I should obey him. But the day is coming and they shall all bow before him and acknowledge his sovereignty.
[44:28] Paul declares the full scope of the homage that Christ will one day receive. Every knee shall bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth.
[44:43] Now some people have got the notion that what is meant here is that things in heaven speaks of the holy angels and the earth speaks of people and that under the earth speaks of demons and so comes the idea that hell is under the earth.
[45:00] But nowhere does Christian theology teach that hell is under the earth. Hell like heaven is beyond the universe. it is of a completely different order, a completely different dimension.
[45:14] It is a spiritual dimension. Paul is here speaking of Christ's sovereignty over the whole of created beings.
[45:25] Heaven here represents heaven and hell. It speaks of all heavenly beings, angels, holy angels and demons.
[45:38] you will recall that when Paul is exhorting us to take the full armor of God. He says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[45:59] Paul is saying to us that the spirit world, the beyond, will acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ.
[46:12] Christ. The earth is a reference to those who live when the lord returns. And those under the earth is a reference to those who are buried, those who are dead, those who lie in the graves awaiting the resurrection.
[46:29] In other words, the whole intelligent creation, angels, good and bad, the living and the dead, will all bend the knee before the lord Jesus Christ.
[46:41] That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth.
[46:55] But not only shall every knee bow, but every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[47:12] Paul in Romans chapter 10 says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[47:24] Here, Paul reminds us that our faith is about a person, who he is, and what happened to him, and the meaning of it all. Our faith is centred on the Lord Jesus, and Paul is telling us two things in particular about him, that he is Lord, and that God hath raised him from the dead.
[47:45] Paul is saying that those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he is Jehovah, that he is God, and believe that this Jehovah has been raised from the dead, that they are saved.
[48:01] Every person who is a Christian confesses here and now that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the Lord of their life. but in that day, the day that is coming, when every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and on that day it will not be the confession that belongs to a conversion, but that of final acknowledgement that God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ, and it will all be to the glory of God the Father.
[48:39] in the light of the magnificence of this passage that we have been considering over these weeks, one can easily forget why it is here.
[48:53] One can easily forget why this passage which speaks of the humiliation and exaltation of Christ is here. Paul wants us to focus on Christ, and he does this throughout the letter.
[49:07] it. But secondly, he wants to point to Christ as the ultimate model of the self-sacrificing love to which he is calling the Philippians and all who are followers of Jesus Christ.
[49:22] Jesus, God the Son, who is in the form of God and did not think it robbery to be equal of God, did not grasp his own rights and privileges, but out of love took the lowest place, taking the role of a slave, whose love for others found its supreme expression in his cursed death on the cross, and having been raised from death and exalted by God to the highest place, by having been given the name of God himself, the God man, the Lord is none other than Jesus Christ.
[50:00] And here Paul urges on the Christians, to have the mindset of Christ so that they may walk worthy of Christ.
[50:12] Here Paul urges on the Christian to have the mindset of Christ. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. And what is necessary for such a behaviour are selflessness and humility in which one looks not only to one's own interests, but also and especially to the interests of others.
[50:39] Christ did not grasp the rights and privileges that belonged to him. He did not grasp his own rights and privileges, but out of love looked on the needs of others and became obedient to the cursed death of the cross in order to save them.
[51:03] You see, as a Christian, you are never to exalt yourself. You never promote yourself spiritually. You always humble yourself in the name of God and in the interest of others.
[51:16] And what this reminds us is that if you do so, God will exalt you. And you say, how can this be achieved? Well, the principle by which that can be achieved is love.
[51:32] The patron or example is Christ. The power is the Holy Spirit and the ultimate purpose is the glory of God. Now is the time to acknowledge the one who humbled himself and was exalted by God.
[51:49] Now is the time to humble yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the salvation that God is offering to you. If you do that now, you will do it gladly.
[52:06] You will do it gladly when the time comes when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Whosoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
[52:21] Humble yourself. Look after the interest of others. Cultivate a spirit of oneness and togetherness. And if you cultivate that and promote such a spirit and exercise such a spirit, then God will look after your exaltation.
[52:43] Whosoever humbles himself shall be exalted. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. We give thanks to the O Lord that we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and with honour.
[53:12] our we give thanks that after he had finished the work of atonement for sin, that he who died and was buried, that he rose again and ascended, having finished the work which thou didst give him to do, that he sat down at thine own right hand, where he ministers ministers on behalf of his people, where he secures to them all the benefits of the covenant of redemption.
[53:50] And we give thanks, O Lord, that thou hast given to us the promise that he will return. O grant to us, O Lord, that we would bow the knee here in a day of salvation, in a day of grace, that we would acknowledge him as the Lord of our life, so that when it comes to that day and when we stand before him and when we need a bow to acknowledge his Lordship, that we shall do so with delight and with joy.
[54:29] O Lord, we pray that thou would watch over us today, that thou would be with us in all the coming days. And we ask, O Lord, that thou would meet with each one of us at our point of need.
[54:43] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.
[54:54] Amen.