This is our King: humiliated & exalted

Philippians 2:5-11
Intro: Rollercoaster (142)

Recently as a family we took our first trip to Liseberg as a family since we moved to Sweden. We the
big rides. And Gabriel, Noah and I managed to get on Valkyria together. This one takes you 47 metes
up. It lets you hang there, peering over the drop for long enough to regret it. Then it drops you
straight down at 105 kilometres per hour. It’s truly exhilarating!

Today’s passage is a roller coaster of a text. It looks at Jesus and takes us high up into Heaven. Then
drops us deep down through death itself. And then right back up into the heights of heaven again.
Its infinitely superior to any rollercoaster in the world. And you don’t need to queue for 90 minutes!
So buckle up, keep your hands and feet inside the ride and lets get this rollercoaster started!

And as we meet to start our new church, this is an amazing text to focus on.

We will look at todays text under 2 headings; King Jesus’ Humiliation & King Jesus’ Exaltation. Then
we will look at three applications.

1) King Jesus’ Humiliation (600)

In our last look at Philippians, we saw how Paul encouraged his friends in Philippi to fight
their pride and strive for humility as they faced persecution together. And here, in these
following verses, Paul grounds this striving for humility in the gospel. Listen to verses 5 and
6 again:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to
his own advantage;."

Paul says you will find no better reason and no greater strength in our battle against pride
than looking to Jesus in the light of the gospel. So as we strive to kill our pride and grow in
humility, Paul says to think about Jesus in the gospel. Scholars believe Paul is quoting an
early Christian hymn here. I like that idea. If so, Paul is saying that as you strive for humility,
sing the gospel of Jesus to yourself repeatedly.

King Jesus: Who being in very nature God… The Jesus of Christianity is divine. And when Paul
says "in very nature", he is saying Jesus and God are the same in all their attributes. So
whatever 'stuff' God is, Jesus is too!

We don't believe that Jesus was born 2000 years ago and became God. No, Jesus is unlike
other religious figures who attained a sort of divinity. No, Jesus is "in very nature God" and
has been so in eternity, even before His incarnation. Jesus is the creator God, who sits
enthroned in the heavens, who created all things, and who upholds the universe by His
powerful word!
And this Jesus: did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage. Jesus was secure in His divinity. He had all the rights of the King of everything,
yet he laid His rights aside for our benefit. Jesus wasn't just 47 meters up. He was, IS, higher
and higher and more worthy than anything we could imagine.

And yet He: "made himself nothing." The Greek word here literally means he poured himself
out until the cup was empty. Not that he emptied Himself of His divinity. But that he laid all
His rights aside. How? Being made in human likeness, not just any kind of human, but as a
servant. But the one who was, by 'nature' God, took on the 'nature' of a servant.

But he humbled Himself further: "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled

himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!"  Crucifixion was a curse. It
was designed by the Roman’s to be the most humiliating way to kill an enemy of Rome! The
King of Heaven laid aside His rights and submitted to human nails in His hands and feet.

In His body on the cross and His death, Jesus submitted Himself to the Father by bearing the
weight of all our sins. To have God's rightful wrath against all our sins poured out on Him.
For God the Father to turn His back on Him so He wouldn't have to turn His back on us.

Jesus defended from the throne of Heaven to the depths of death. Humility is not strong
enough for King Jesus. Jesus subjected Himself to this ultimate humiliation for us!

We can see why Paul wants us to meditate on this as we struggle to submit to one another
in love, right? 

But that is only half the song!

2) King Jesus’ Exaltation (229)

Read with me verses 9-11:

“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 NIV

Because Jesus was willing to do all this to save us, God raised Him in exaltation and once again lifted
Him to be glorified in a new way. Think about it before all this, Jesus was praiseworthy because He is
the creator and sustainer of all things. So, how much more worthy of praise after all of this? Infinity
times infinity, maybe?!?!

This picture of God, of Jesus, is matched by no other religion, by no other ideology, by no other
belief system. The beauty and majesty of this King Jesus are not worth comparing to anything else. I
challenge you to hear this and go out and find another image of God that is greater. It is impossible.

Jesus' name is HIGHER than any other.

At His name, every knee shall bow.
And every tongue will confess.
That King Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!

Amen!

Let's spend a few minutes thinking about three ways this message should change our lives!
Application:

1) We have a great salvation. (206)

The first thing we should do after thinking about this passage is to rejoice! 'Rejoice' is the central
word in Philippians. Paul says it again and again and again! Even though he is facing persecution, he
knows the Philippians are facing it too. But Paul wants them to know, and us too, that no matter
what we face as individuals or in the future as Kungskyrkan, we can rejoice because our salvation is
secure in Christ!

King Jesus did all this to win salvation for us. So that we, the (nearly) members of Kungskyrkan, can
know forgiveness, be adopted into His family and be family together. Along with every other gospel-
preaching church throughout history!

So let's rejoice in that! If Christ would do all this for us, what can the world do to us? Nothing! We
can say with Paul:

"If Christ is for us, who can be against us? If God did not spare His own son but gave Him up
for us all, how will he not, along with Him, graciously give us all things?"

So, let's be a church that never forgets to rejoice in this amazing gospel of our secure salvation
through King Jesus!

Secondly, because we have a great salvation, then…

2) No service for King Jesus is beneath any of us. (154)

Suppose Jesus is our King, the humiliated and exalted King Jesus. Then there is nothing so low we
cannot do in His service. Think about it for a moment. If Jesus was willing to face total humiliation for
us, how can we ever say to Him, "you are asking too much!" If we think anything is beneath us in
service to this King, we deny the magnitude of what He did for us. And at the same time saying, we
think our names, reputations, and personal dignity are more valuable than His. So when we refuse to
serve His church or the gospel because something seems too humiliating, we deny the very gospel
that has saved us!

What is the worst job you can think of when serving someone?
Or serving in the church? Clearing the toilets?
Arriving early to set up the chairs?
Rundning the creche?
Leading Sunday school?
Maybe making the final or washing up?
Matberedare clearing up sick in the toilett after the service?
Whatever it might be. Jesus says to us in these verses, none of these Jobs are benheath you. None of
these Jobs are undignified, when in service of King Jesus or His church. His bride. Becasue none of
them are beneath Him!

And all of us can strive to serve Christ as He has served us. To the uttermost!

And the final application I want to make here is this:

3) God celebrates humility. (206)

We can see what someone values by what they are willing to reward. Right? So our employers
demonstrate they appreciate our work by rewarding us with salary, responsibility and even
promotion, right? And here in Philippians, God shows how much he values humility by how high he
lifts Jesus! So the Father exalted Jesus to the highest place IS because Jesus was willing to humble
himself to the uttermost.

What does this mean? Well, if we want to please our Heavenly Father, we need to make growing in
humility our top priority.

What are we prioritising when we look at our lives and grow in holiness? Is it to stop a particular sin?
Is it to grow in our theological understanding? Is it to get a degree in Biblical knowledge? Is it to
become a preacher or lead a Bible study? Maybe to get better at hospitality? Perhaps it is something
else. All these things are excellent and helpful, and you know we value them as a church, BUT unless
we strive for humility, it may all be in vain.

Suppose we want to please God the most. Then, if we're going to live and look more like Jesus,
humility in our church relationships needs to be our top priority.

Conclusion: This is our King! (205)

So, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 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! 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.”

Kungskyrkan this is our King.

He is why we are guarding the gospel by defining our faith (Vår tro). Because we have such a great
salvation.

He is why we are making the promises we are making to one another today. Because we want to live
lives where we have His the mind in all our relationships.

He is why we are starting this church. Because He is the only King worth serving with all we have.

Let’s pray.