Philippians 2:8-11
OK, I'm a bit confused by the discrepancy between the schedule Mike gave us back in May, and the one in the email, but I think I've got it figured out. Sorry if I'm posting on the wrong one, though.
So assuming I'm right, this is today's Scripture passage.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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.
(Philippians 2:8-11)
In the very first sentence we can see references to the miracle of the Incarnation, as well as the crucifixion. Next, the Apostle goes on to allude to Christ's resurrection. The word "therefore" indicates that God has bestowed the name above all names on Christ because Christ has merited it. Whereas we receive our salvation by grace, it would appear that Christ himself obtained his supremacy by merit. As the Prophet Isaiah says about Christ,
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. (Isaiah 59:16)
Paul goes further to discuss the reign of Christ, that everyone, believer or otherwise, will acknowledge Christ as King. Elsewhere he says,
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last
enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under
his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain
that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things
are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put
all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians
15:25-28)
Not only will Christ reign, but he will also destroy his enemies, including death itself. Yet both Christ's friends and his enemies will declare that he is Lord. And such a declaration will bring glory to God, whether it comes from friend or enemy.
posted by Arun S Madhavan at 10:10 PM
1 Comments:
Going off of what Arun said about the incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He came and emptied himself and became a human being. It is on these grounds that Jesus Christ is our example. He was a human, just like us. He did not sin, but rather he obeyed the Father perfectly. In all things He obeyed the Father, even unto death, even death on a cross. Paul reminds us in this verse of Christ's humanity: "being found in human form." So Jesus came and obeyed and he is our example.
So, this begs the question: Jesus obeyed and received the name that is above all names. How does our obeying fit into all this and what do we receive? I think that Arun nailed it by saying that we enter in by grace. It is out of our love for Jesus that we obey. Just like Jesus obeyed by loving God, we also obey by loving God and specifically our Savior. But our obeying exists because of gace. We do nothing of our own account but rather it is God who works in us so that no man may boast. So why obey then? By obeying we will receive an imperishable wreath and we will store up treasures in Heaven. Our good works matter big time, but good works ONLY exist when they are performed out of love for Christ so that He gets the glory and not you. ANy work or any act of obedience that is done for your glory is a sin because it is not done out of faith and any sin is either paid on the cross or in Hell. We obey out of faith and lack of obedience points to lack of faith.
Jesus is both God and man. As a human being, he is our example to follow. Here Jesus shows us that obeying the Father led Him to death. Moreover, Jesus in obedience was "humbled." How are we doing with obeying God in humbling ourselves? Do we humble ourselves so that we die to ourself so that we may count others more significant than ourselves, or look out for others' interests or do nothing from rivalry or conceit. Jesus did this and he is our example. Let us follow him and obey out of FAITH and let us glorify HIM by our good works. Let us obey because our Savior is so precious to us.
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