Therefore God exalted him 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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11 NIVUK
Imagine that you are an athlete. I know that it might take more of our imagination for some of us than others, but let’s try. You’ve just won your event in a major international competition in a packed stadium for the first time. Years of training since you were a child has finally paid off. You hold your arms aloft and yell triumphantly. All around you, every person in that stadium is on their feet clapping and cheering. More than a few have tears in their eyes.
You look towards your family. They are in raptures. Your partner is blowing delighted kisses at you. Your children look like their little hearts could burst with pride. Your parents – who drove you to every practice, nursed your every injury, gave you a shoulder to cry on – are hugging each other and weeping tears of ecstatic joy, as if this moment, this single moment in time, makes everything worth it.
I love victory laps.
And these verses are Jesus’ victory lap.
Given all He went through and achieved, it would not surprise me for one second if even these verses, in all their rapturous joy, were a serious understatement compared to what Jesus Christ’s homecoming into Heaven is really like.
In these verses, and all that goes before, we see a little of the heartbeat of Heaven as it skips for joy at Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension.
These indeed are tremendous verses.
So let’s explore them together to find out what resurrection really is and how it is a critical part of the Mind of Christ.
First, we see the achievement. What Christ achieved.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8 NIVUK
There is a startling truth here. Resurrection comes not to the living, but to the dead. For Christ to be raised from the dead, He first had to die.
That sounds quite facile, but it is also profound. Jesus was resurrected by God because He was willing to give His life in obedience to God to save us.
Resurrection was a reward.
Very many of us long to be top dog: the best, the highest, the strongest. But we go about it the wrong way. We chase the wrong glory: we seek earthly rewards that are here today, but evaporate like a morning mist tomorrow.
Jesus sought eternal glory. And eternal glory could only be achieved one way: by letting go of everything He had in His favour, coming to earth as a baby, living as a human being and dying an unjust death on a cross, bearing the shame and the blame of billions of people who didn’t even know His Name.
For Jesus, the way up was the way down.
And that is the precise attitude Paul wanted the Philippians to have (Philippians 2:5).
Secondly, we see the enthronement.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
Philippians 2:9 NIVUK
But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under their feet.’ In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:6-9 NIVUK
God did not just raise Jesus up from the grace to live an average, normal life. No, He raised Him up to the most privileged position in Heaven. He was exalted (lifted up) to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:31-33). He gave Him a Name – and a glory and a reputation – far away above any other ruler or authority.
We need to ponder deeply on what this means for us. It means that every power and authority that bothers us is beneath Jesus. And not just a little beneath, but far beneath. Jesus is like a world champion. They are like Sunday league amateur hacks. He is not accountable to them. Far from it. They are accountable to Him.
Thirdly, we see the acclamation:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Philippians 2:10 NIVUK
Every knee will bow. Every last knee. Every knee that ever was. Every knee that is. Every knee that ever will be. Every knee in the heavenly realm. Every knee alive on earth. Every knee among the dead and the demonic.
Paul is one hundred percent certain in this.
Every single knee will bow.
The book of Revelation captures this in Revelation 4. The Bible is certain about it.
Unflinching. Direct.
Every single knee will bow to Jesus.
They might not know Him yet. They might not respect Him yet. They might not believe in Him yet.
But one day they will.
This is where we Evangelicals are accused of being arrogant, in the same way Joseph was accused of being arrogant when he told his family of his dreams (Genesis 37:1-11). ‘What are you saying?’ they protest. ‘Are you saying that the Christian God is above and over any other God? That’s arrogance!’ they say. ‘That’s intolerance!’
To which we say, ‘No. It’s simple truth. As true as gravity.’
But we cannot be mistaken here. This is not arrogance. Not even close.
How can it be arrogance? If Jesus is so exalted that every human being in history will one day worship Him, then that means He is exalted over us too! That means He is above us!
It would only be arrogance if Jesus was some idea that we dreamed up and created all on our own, but He is not.
He is Lord.
And let me tell you something. If every human being there ever was will one day bow to Him, maybe you'd better start doing it right now.
Just because they worship on the last day does not mean they will be saved. Only those who worship Him now and serve Him now as their Lord will be saved (Acts 4:12).
And lastly we see the proclamation:
And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:11 NIVUK
It is a fact that not every person who praises a king or queen or president is necessarily on their side. Many speak with forked tongues and mouths filled with flattery; others are determined to bend the powerful one to their will.
God will not be fooled with flattery. He will not be bent or persuaded from His will. He sees through all who wait until the last moment and have no intention of following Him, but speak falsely on the last day to try to be saved.
These verses state that all will proclaim that Jesus as Lord. That does not at all mean that all will be saved.
But they will at least recognise that He is Lord.
Some will do it gladly, as what they then see happening is something they longed for while they were alive.
Others will do so grudgingly, knowing that they wasted their breath following other so-called lords and now the real thing is present.
All will name Him as Lord. Not all will be saved.
At the end of a boxing match, the referee pronounces the winner.
The resurrection is the moment God pronounced His winner. Christ’s mission finished on the cross; His victory procession and celebration began on Easter morn.
Last year we were on the Amalfi Coast, based in a little hotel in Sorrento, Italy. All over town there was a procession advertised, marking the death of Christ on Good Friday. Honestly, we thought we wouldn’t see it. Our flight was early the next day. But then, just as we were preparing to leave for our flight, we heard the mournful noise of a brass band getting louder.
My daughter and I ran downstairs and caught sight of a white, hooded procession of men, their feet and legs clearly exhausted from shuffling around town, several of them carrying representations of the weapons that killed our Lord.
This was a March of the Penitents.
It was moving, but also sad. Putting yourself through something like that will not appease God or pay for your sins in any way.
Why would it? Christ has already paid for them!
I also saw no posters celebrating the resurrection.
And yet it is the resurrection that truly brings us life.
Through the resurrection, Christ is exalted to His rightful place over all creation.
Through the resurrection, He prepared a place for us in Heaven (John 14:1-3).
Through the resurrection, Christ has won the victory for us.
And so, no matter when we go through in life, we know one thing as a complete and utterly certainty:
We win.
We win, because of Christ.
And that makes everything worth it.
Questions
1. What makes Jesus’ resurrection different from any earthly glory we could achieve? How did He obtain it?
2. Who will proclaim Jesus as Lord? Why is it better to do it now?
3. Would you like to win the victory with Christ? How can you do that?
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