The Exaltation of Christ Part 3

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Many would look to the story of Christ in history and consider it a tragedy, but God discloses a different outcome to us. Because of Christ's humility, followed by His resurrection, Scripture foretells the submission of all creation to the Son of God. All things will be made new.

We'll experience the height of our humanity. Let's listen to the sermon titled The Exaltation of Christ. This is the final part of the message first preached on December 26, 2021. God has declared a value judgment about His Son. He has given Him exceptional honor. He has raised Him up to the highest place.

And what is that? That is the throne of God. He's seated next to the majesty on high. So He's raised Him up to the highest place. But it has followed His humility and His death, which resulted in His resurrection and His ascension, and now His glorification, so that He has a name above every name. And when it says the name above every name, it's not talking necessarily about a particular title. It's referring to His reputation.

It's referring to, listen to this, a category. He is an unrivaled category. This Jesus, the one who died for you and me.

So He is in a place of honor. And this text also speaks of triumph. What is the triumph? It is the triumph over sin, over sin and death, the power that would separate us from God.

Think about it this way. Jesus has triumphed over what it is that separates you from God, so you can be reconciled. And He's also triumphed over the consequence of it, which is death. And ultimately, death is separation from God.

But the fact that He has triumphed over it just simply says, well, what about all those people who never know God, who do not ever surrender themselves in faith to Jesus Christ? There's a place for them. You know what it is? It's eternal quarantine.

I'm just wondering if there might be the label COVID on it. Never mind. But it will be put in its place forever, forever confined away from us. Jesus has triumphed over that. So what the text is telling us here, verse 10, 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.

Jesus is universally acknowledged as Lord, universally. How many knees? Every one of them. No exceptions. How many tongues will confess? Every one of them.

No exceptions. It is the submission of all creation to the Son of God. See, what this text has is the consummation of all reality in view, where Christ is over all of creation, and all of creation is in submission to him. It is then that all things will be new. And think ahead now, as we celebrate the Lord, as we partake of his invitation to his table of family acceptance, Jesus said, this is the new covenant in my blood. That is speaking of newness. Yes, we are celebrating and commemorating and remember the death, the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, but let's not forget the promise that comes with it, and that is the promise of newness.

And that newness already exists in those of us who are his. All things will be new. All things will be as they should be. All things will be as they were designed to be.

You and I will be experiencing the height of our humanity as God designed and desires us to be. Something else that is here, too, is that what's coming is a day of accounting. It is a day of accounting. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess.

It is a day of accounting. It is not a continued opportunity to put it off. Every knee that bows will be bowing in admiring humility or in resentful humility. Every tongue that confesses will make a joyful confession or a despairing confession. But they will confess nonetheless, all in submission. And you know what? We get a glimpse of this in Scripture. It's been revealed to us in the book of Revelation. I want us to read it.

Would you stand with me? Let's read this responsibly. I'll read the italics.

You read the bold. This is from Revelation 5. Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. It's rehearsal.

Go ahead and have a seat. Just imagine millions, possibly even billions of people doing that very thing. It sends chills up your spine. It gives them honor, but it is all to the glory of God. All of this is to the glory of God.

What do we mean by that? All of this, everything that we've talked about, Philippians 2, 1 to 11, all of it does what? Points to God. God did this. Only a holy, awesome, and good God would do this. In all the faith systems of the world, there's nothing else like it, not even close. It is the grace of God.

He is our benevolent sovereign. There is no better story than this. Does your life tell this story?

Does your life tell this story that is a better story than any other? Now, Bill Qureshi, some of you may know who he is, maybe you've read some of his books, but he had a resolutely Muslim friend named Sahar who was attracted to parts of Christianity, but couldn't accept the idea of God becoming a human being. On one occasion, she honestly asked, how can you believe Jesus is God if he was born through the birth canal of a woman and that he had to use the bathroom?

Aren't these things beneath God? Qureshi affirmed her question and then asked her one in return. Sahar, let's say that you are on your way to a very important ceremony and are dressed in your finest clothes. You are about to arrive just on time, but then you see your daughter drowning in a pool of mud.

What would you do? Let her drown and arrive looking dignified? Or rescue her but arrive at the ceremony covered in mud?

Her response was very matter-of-fact. Of course I would jump in the mud and save her. Nuancing the question more, Qureshi asked her, let's say there were others with you. Would you send someone else to save her or would you save her yourself? She responded, if she is my daughter, how could I send anyone else? They would not care for her like I do.

I would go myself, definitely. Qureshi said, if you being human love your daughter so much that you are willing to lay aside your dignity to save her, how much more can we expect God, He is our loving Father, to lay aside His majesty to save us? The biblical story of God eventually won Sahar's heart. As Qureshi reported, the message of God's selfless love had overpowered her and she accepted Jesus as her Savior.

Does your life tell a better story? This text before us today has been a call to follow Christ. There's pushback against that. But the pushback might not be where you're thinking it is right now. In this call to follow Christ, we are driven by our society, by our flesh.

Billy, give a punch there. We're driven by our society, by our flesh, and our adversary to look inward for a meaning, and to look outward for blame. That's the pushback. We are driven to look inward for meaning and outward for blame. But the call of this text before us today is to let your attitude be that of Jesus Christ. And what is that attitude?

Let me explain it this way. He looked upward to live for the audience of one. And he looked outward, serving others for their eternal welfare. That is the mind of Christ. It is to that that we are called today and let us remember that as we prepare now to partake of this right to which the Lord called us, his people, a table of family acceptance. We don't do this just for the sake of doing it.

There's no rabbit's foot going on here. We do this so that our remembrance of who Christ is and what he's done will compel us to live worthy of him and his gospel of grace. Stand with me please. Father, quiet our hearts now. May we focus upon you as the song says, Behold our God. Father, may we look at you, may we gaze upon you, the one who sits on the throne and the lamb. May we fix our gaze upon you and be transformed by it so that as we leave this place, we leave with our hearts set on the mission that you have entrusted to us, Father. Make us like your son, the Lord Jesus, that our attitude will be the same as his. It's in his name we pray. Amen. You've been listening to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Visit our church website to see upcoming events or to listen to more messages at www.gbcwinston.com. To discover how to live by grace, tune in on weekdays at 10 a.m.