The King Has Come Series

Philippians 2:9–11. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

Isaac Watts is often called the father of English hymnody. He wrote Joy to the World in 1719, as a celebration of Christ’s second coming, not his first advent. Nevertheless, it has become one of the best-loved Christmas songs in the world, which is fitting since Christ’s first coming in the incarnation and second coming to consummate his kingdom are parts of the same eschatological event. Watts asserted, “In these last days of the gospel we are brought almost within sight of the kingdom of our Lord; yet we are very much unacquainted with the songs of the New Jerusalem, and unpracticed in the work of praise” (Works, 1813, vol. 9: 127). Singing Joy to the World in celebration of the incarnation helps keep us from a merely sentimental celebration because it directs us toward Christ’s gospel mission. (Joy to the World - Christmas and the Second Coming | Prince on Preaching (davidprince.com)

Philippians 2 is structured as a hymn, with the central truth reflected in this epistle and the entire New Testament, on the exalted sovereign lordship of Christ. Paul begins Philippians by proclaiming himself and Timothy to be “bond-servants of … the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:1–2), and he ends section by declaring that one day “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:11). In the last days, only the exalted Son of God, Jesus Christ, will be worthy to take the scroll from His Father’s right hand and open it (Rev. 5:1–7). This scroll, which might be called the title deed to the universe, delineates Christ’s rightful inheritance of all creation, which He made and over which He will rule throughout all eternity (cf. Rev. 11:15). This self-contained unit of Christian hymnody, (is) in praise of the church’s Lord, who becomes such as he is acknowledged by all cosmic powers as their rightful ruler (Hawthorne, G. F. (2004). Philippians (Vol. 43, p. 132). Word, Incorporated.)

Responding to the reality of the Gospel kingship of Jesus Christ in Philippians 2, means living our lives in obedience to the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus. Advent drove our thinking to the promised consummation of Christ’s Kingdom. As we now live in the overlap of the ages we must preach the gospel of the Kingdom as far as the curse is found. The humble, incarnate Savior has been exalted as the almighty and sovereign Lord. Because of that, believers have the assurance that their ultimate redemption is certain and that their place in heaven is secured forever. Christ is properly to be obeyed as divine Lord, to be honored and worshiped throughout all time and eternity. As Paul wrote this from Prison, to the Philippians who faced hardship from the state, this suffering community that has been repeatedly reminded of Christ’s preeminent role in everything—both present and future—here is the necessary concluding word. Believers in Christ are both “already” and “not yet.” Already they know and own him as Lord of all; not yet have they seen all things made subject to him. Here, then, they are reminded of who, and whose, they are: glad followers of him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom at God’s final wrap-up every knee shall bow to pay him the homage due his name (Fee, G. D. (1999). Philippians (Vol. 11, p. 98). IVP Academic.).

Since the King has Come and is coming again, the Apostle Paul presents four aspects of the Father’s exaltation of the Son: 1) The source (Philippians 2:9a), 2) The title (Philippians 2:9b), 3) The response (Philippians 2:10–11a), and 4) The purpose (Philippians 2:11b).

Through the Coming of Christ, we see His Kingship through:

1) The Source of Christ’s Exaltation (Philippians 2:9a)

Philippians 2:9a. Therefore, God has highly exalted him (and bestowed on him the name that is above every name) (ESV)

Therefore/For this reason refers back to Jesus’ humiliation described in verses 5–8. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Christ’s exaltation was “the joy set before Him” for which He willingly endured the cross, despised the shame, suffered the hostility of sinners, and was seated “at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2–3). The way to exaltation is always through humiliation. If that principle was true for the Son of God, how much more is it true for His followers? Therefore, Paul draws the preceding narrative to its proper conclusion. Although he explicitly mentions neither the resurrection nor the ascension, these two realities are presupposed by what he does say (Fee, G. D. (1995). Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (p. 220). Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)