The Exaltation of Christ Part 2

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 second part of the message first preached on December 26, 2021. We cannot become God, but we can become like Him, and that's the whole point of this story of redemption. So as we look, as we focus on the work of Jesus Christ, who is the second person of the Trinity, eternally pre-existent, infinite, sovereign God, who created all that is by the word of His power.

Think about that for a moment. That one came to us, became like us, and laid down his life for us in that humility. That's significant.

What does that mean for me today in the day to day? As we look at his example, as we have studied that, and then we get to verse 9 in our text. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. Honor. It begins with honor. Christ will be honored.

He is honored. We have value judgments that we place on things, and sometimes even people don't weigh in. We use words like up or down. And if a value judgment is increased, we use the word up, the direction up, or if it decreases, goes down. For example, not long ago somebody gave a living picture, and afterwards I went up to them and I said, my respect for you has skyrocketed as a result of what you said. See, if you want my respect, just give a living picture.

It's that easy. No, but based on what this individual said, I was so impressed because their work was a mission field, and they saw it that way. Value judgments are also, you know, if we're talking about somebody's condition, you could say, you know, the bottom fell out from underneath them, and you know, they're falling down. Jesus humbled himself. That word humbled just simply means to be made low. He made himself low.

That's what this text tells us. Here's the unfortunate part. Too many tend to keep him low by relegating him to the level of a rabbit's foot. I'll just keep him in my pocket and I'll take Jesus with me. As long as I have Jesus, things will be okay.

Is that how you view this one who laid down his life for you? I mean, think about it. For about five dollars, you can buy a four-inch plastic bobblehead Jesus that bounces on the dashboard of your car. People have sung about it. Billy Idol, if you know Billy Idol, you're aging yourself, but some of you know who this is, right? You know, words to his song, with my plastic Jesus, goodbye, and I'll go far with my plastic Jesus sitting on the dashboard of my car.

Paul Newman also sang it in the movie Cool Hand Luke. Again, if you know that, you're dating yourself, but well, I don't care if it rains or freezes as long as I have my plastic Jesus sitting on the dashboard of my car. Is that what he is to us? God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name. 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. 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 in 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. There's nothing else like it 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? Nabil 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? I'm 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.