The Exalted Christ

The Exalted Christ

Philippians 2:9-13 (part 3)

Good morning.

Bowing is a sign of respect or submission to a higher authority, often done before a King or a ruler.

Bowing used to be a custom in the United States, where people bowed while being introduced to someone as a greeting.

But bowing fell out of fashion, along with the curtsy and both were replaced by a handshake instead.

According to nippon.com, “The word rei can mean to “bow,” as well as “etiquette” more widely, a reflection of this single action’s central importance to good manners in Japan.

Originally directed at people of higher rank, the symbolic submission of the vulnerable head indicated that the bower had no hostile intent.”

Please open your Bibles to Philippians 2, as we continue in our verse-by-verse study of Paul’s Epistle to the Church at Philippi.

Last week was part two of a series, on Philippians 2:5-11, the Apostle Paul wrote, as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Commentators refer to these verses as a hymn or a poem, written by the Apostle Paul. This hymn tells us to have the Mind of Christ, and there is also a breakdown of the character of Jesus.

The portion of scripture we looked at last week leaves no room for doubt that Jesus is God in the flesh, who humbly became a man, to visit Earth, take the Cross, and save lost sinners.

The word “being” in Philippians 2:6 tells us that Jesus, “being in the form of God”, happened before Bethlehem and Jesus remained God throughout His incarnation.

Jesus possesses the unique and identical qualities that make God, God. Jesus Christ is the very substance of God because Jesus Christ is in His very being, God.

Then we learned “no reputation” in the NKJV of Philippians 2:7, which says in the NASU, “But emptied Himself.”

The correct theology about Jesus coming to Earth is the Hypostatic Union, which teaches Jesus is fully God and fully man and did not give up any divine attributes while on Earth.

Wiersbe said, “It is only in Jesus Christ that the invisible God is revealed perfectly. Since no mere creature can perfectly reveal God, Jesus Christ must be God.”

So, last week we ended, talking about the absolute humility of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This morning, we will hear how the Father responded to the obedience and humility of Christ.

I. The Super Exalted One.

Read Philippians 2:9

In our world, there are some very powerful people, such as leaders of nations, sports idols, social media influencers, and the list goes on from there.

By definition, influence is the capacity to affect the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, and influence can be used for good or evil.

We are told Jesus is “Highly exalted” in Philippians 2:9 and “Highly exalted” can be translated as super exalted.

Matthew Poole said, “The Greek elegancy imports super exalted, or exalted with all exaltation.” (Matthew Poole)

If there were a totem pole of the hierarchy of powers in the entire universe, Jesus would be at the very top, a billion feet above, anybody or anything else.

Some claim there are over 50 names of God the Father and well over 130 names for Jesus Himself, but I believe there are many more than that.

Philippians 2:9 seems to indicate, that there is no other name ever given that is higher than the name of Jesus.

Shakespeare’s Romeo?and?Juliet play has a line that says, “What's in a name?”?

In other words, what effect does a name have on a person?

Mary Young said, “As important as names are to us in our culture, they were even more significant in biblical times.”

Names in ancient cultures not only identified a person, but names also reflected the nature and character of the person.

For example, Elisha means "God is salvation", Daniel means "God is my judge", and Isaiah means "The Lord is salvation."

Barnabas was called "son of encouragement". He was given this name by the apostles who valued his compassionate nature.

Just as biblical names often reflect the essence, character, and nature of a person, the names of God do the same thing.

The Father highly exalted Jesus and gave Him a name that goes beyond anything, ever given before.

Joshua in the Old Testament means Yahweh is salvation, and Jesus in the New Testament means the same thing, Yahweh is salvation.”

Again, Jesus’ name means Yahweh is salvation and His name is far above any other name.

David Guzik said, “Given Him the name which is above every name’, this goes beyond giving Jesus the Divine name Yahweh.”

He also said, “There is no higher name than Yahweh and Jesus has that name.”

God the Father has chosen to give Jesus a name, that has no rivals and is far greater than any other name in the universe.