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Good Thursday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.
The next few minutes we spend together may be among the most important of our lives. We’re in a very special few verses of God’s Word…
Paul must have been a bit overwhelmed as he dictated them to the scribe who was writing this letter to the Christians in Philippi. . .
“Therefore, God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, 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.” (Philippians 2:9,10,11)
We know the word “therefore” is a hinge word, linking what was before it, with what comes after it. In this case this “therefore” is pointing to verse 6-8 which we discussed yesterday, and the fact that God the Son, Jesus, left heaven and all His glory, voluntarily, to accomplish God the Father’s Redemption Plan for sinful humanity.
God the Son was sent by God the Father (John 3:16), to incarnate in a human body, born to peasants in a stable in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-20) and for a season, live as a refugee in Egypt (Matt. 2:1-18). Raised in Nazareth, which never believed Jesus to be much more than an illegitimate child of Joseph and Mary, He was rejected by the religious establishment, dishonestly tried, and condemned to death on a Roman cross, and buried in a borrowed tomb.
It’s the ultimate, unbelievable story, which even today most people around the world do not believe as God’s truth. But it’s the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, because, Jesus did not remain dead! He rose from the dead and returned to heaven, where He re-assumed His glory, and He reigns in full Sovereign authority over all in heaven, on earth and under the earth!!!
Now in these verses 9-11, the Holy Spirit led Paul to write a long statement of authoritative truth, which defines the future for every living human being and angel. Let’s link Hebrews 1:3&4 with Philippians 2:9-11: “The Son (of God) is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word….” Do you see Colossians 1:15-19 and 2:9,10 here? Do you also see John 1:1-14 here? Jesus is fully God, in every way. Jesus is Creator and Sustainer of all God created.
Hebrews 1:3&4 goes on: “After He (Jesus) had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.”Do you see Romans 8:34 and Ephesians 2:6 here?
Now here’s an important thought for us to ponder: When did God the Son receive the name “Jesus”, and why is it the name above every name?
Do you find that name, Jesus, anywhere in the Old Testament, as attributed to the Son of God?
The New Testament opens first with the story of Zechariah & Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy with John the Baptist and then Luke 1:26-38 is the remarkable account of a young virgin girl named Mary, who is engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. She receives an unexpected visitation of an angel, sent by God, from heaven, to Nazareth in Israel… remember it’s the Christmas story, my friends?
Dr. Luke identifies the angel as Gabriel, and this angel explains to Mary that she has been chosen by God, to participate in the mysterious miracle of the incarnation of God. God will take on a human body, conceived by the Holy Spirit in her womb, birthed as any other normal human baby, and He will need her nursing care, her nurturing care, like any other infant… even though He is God in human flesh. Of course her question was “…how can this be?”
Gabriel’s answer is recorded by the Greek physician Dr. Luke, who accompanied the Apostle Paul, and wrote both the book of Acts and the book of Luke: “The angel said: “You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name ‘Jesus’. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, His kingdom will never end… The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Do you remember Joseph, the man to whom Mary was engaged to be married, also had an angelic visitation, as recorded in Matthew 2:18-25. Here’s what Matthew writes: “…an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
So there it is my friends… God the Son received the name that is above every name… JESUS… when Gabriel was sent by God the Father, to instruct Joseph and Mary about the miraculous incarnation. Dr. Luke tells us Joseph & Mary gave Him this name, JESUS, as instructed by God, on the 8th day after His birth, as part of the circumcision ceremony common for all little Jewish boys. (Luke 2:21)
Of course Jesus was not the only Jewish boy to have this name. Many parents gave their sons this name, in hopes their son would somehow be part of helping restore Israel to its former great glory days.
But this Jesus, is the only baby Who is the Son of God, born in this miraculous way, and given this glorious name of deliverance, by God Himself, before birth, through an angelic visitation. And while there have been many boys named “Jesus”, this is the only “Jesus”, about whom could be written what we studied yesterday and today, Philippians 2:6-11.
In the upper room, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said many powerful things to His disciples. Listen to John 16:28,33 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father... I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
And then as Jesus prayed, John records that He said “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Me authority over all people, that I might give eternal life to all those You have given Me… And now Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:1-5)
Do you see the link with Philippians 2:9-11 my friends? As Jesus paid the full sin atonement price on the cross, died, was buried and rose again from the dead, He brought God great glory by completing the Redemption mission for which He had been sent to earth. He defeated Death, Sin and Satan. And as He then returned to heaven, He re-assumed the matchless glory He had from eternity past, as God the Son, and He sat down in supreme authority over all, at the right hand of God the Father, the Majesty. Now that helps us understand Philippians 2:9 right?
But what about this matter of all knees bowing in vs. 10? Listen to what the Holy Spirit led the prophet Isaiah to write, 600 years, before Jesus was born in Bethlehem: “I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right… There is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked. Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear. The will say of Me ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength. All who have raged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.” (Isaiah 45:19,21-24)
When you link this my friends, with the picture Jesus gave of the sheep and the goats, in Matthew 25:31-46, you see this “…all the nations will be gathered before Him, (Jesus) and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…”
And in Revelation 20 you see this final judgement for all humanity: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence… and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened which is the book of life… and each person was judged according to what he had done… if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:11-15)
There will come a day when every human knee, of all time, will bow before the Sovereign throne of Risen, Reigning Jesus Christ!
There will come a day when EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, over all, to the Glory of God the Father!
One last important comment my friends. Do you see the phrase, right in the middle of the three verses we are studying today… Philippians 2:10: “…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth…”
“In heaven”… means all the angels and all who have died and whose souls/spirits are in heaven.
“On earth”… means every living person who is alive on the earth when this day of judgement comes.
“And under the earth”…means Satan, every demon, and every person who has died without trusting Jesus Christ to be their Savior.
So, that pretty well covers all the bases doesn’t it?
And so my friends, what, may I ask, is your response to Philippians 2:6-11? May I suggest you bow right now, and give JESUS the honor and glory He is due…
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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