Unity ARP

The Glory of Christ: Name Above All Names

Philippians 2:5-11

12/21/97

Today a lot of emphasis is put on brand names. You know when a company has achieved marketing success when the name for their product becomes synonymous with that product. Mention adhesive strips and you think of Band-Aids. Mention facial tissue and you think of Kleenex. Mention acetominophin and you think of Tylenol. These names are usually associated with quality. They didn’t become household words without doing a good job, not merely of advertising, but of giving us a high class product. Their names have become representative of the high quality of goods and services they sell.

Humanly speaking, we don’t give each other names today that represent the quality of our character, but in ancient thought, the name was a “means of revealing the inner being, the true nature of that individual.” In the Bible, many names are given in order to fit the character and status of the individual. The name Jacob means “supplanter/deceiver”, and this was his character for much of his life until God changed him. When God changed Jacob’s heart, he changed his name - to Israel, which means “prince with God”. The apostle Peter was named Simon until Jesus changed his name to Peter, which means “rock”. Peter eventually lived up to his name.

Jesus Christ has the name that is above every name. Think of some of the great names in history - Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Ghandi, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Socrates, etc. Jesus has a name that is above every name, not because He is more famous, but because He is greater in dignity, character and being. Some of you may recall back in the ’60s when the Beatles were at the peak of their popularity. I remember John Lennen, speaking of the fame of the Beatles, saying something like, “We’re more famous now even than Jesus Christ Himself.” There have been modern polls taken, with the question asked, “Who is the greatest person of all time?” Jesus Christ is the answer often given, by people of many different religions. But greatness is not winning a popularity contest.

What then is it that makes His name so great, so that it is above every other name? In this passage I want to show you three reasons why His name is above every name. First of all, Jesus name is above all names:

I. BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS BEFORE HIS INCARNATION
When did the life of the Lord Jesus begin? Was it when He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary? No, Christ existed long before that. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ (is) the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NKJV) Who or what was He before He was born into this world then? Verse 6 says that before the incarnation, He was existing “in the form of God”. The word form does not mean simply the external shape or appearance of Christ. That definition would not fit here because God has no body or form. He is a spirit being. Deuteronomy 4:15 says, “Therefore take good heed to yourselves. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire.” (RSV)

The Greek word for form is “morphe”. Here it refers to the underlying reality of His deity. “It signifies … the nature of God, His character, the very essence of His being.” (C.H. Eerdman) What was Jesus doing before He was born on earth and laid in a manger? He was being God. As the apostle John in the first chapter of his gospel put it, “He was with God and He was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (paraphrase, vv. 1-2) Jesus’ name is great because He eternally existed as God. In John 17:5 Jesus was praying and said, “And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (NKJV) His name is great because He had glory before there was anything else that existed.

Verse 6 continues, He “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.” Christ was not stealing when He claimed deity for Himself. He was not robbing the Father of anything by claiming to be equal with Him. He could honestly declare that He was equal with God, because He possessed this dignity by right, having the same eternal nature as God. Recently I was talking with the mother of a six year old who had been asking her some theological questions. One question the boy had was, “Who is greater, Jesus or God?” The answer is, they are equal. The Greek word for equal is “isos”. This word is used in the scientific terms isomer, isomorph, isometric, and in the phrase isosceles triangle. An isomer is a compound that has a slightly different structure from another molecule, but the same composition and weight. Isomorph means “having the same form”. Isometric means “in equal measure”. And an isosceles triangle is one with two equal sides. “In Philippians 2:6 the word isos teaches that Jesus is God’s equal.” (adapted from a commentary on Philippians by James M. Boice)

How do you think of Jesus? Is He great but somehow less than God? Everything Almighty God is, Jesus Christ is. That’s what the Bible says. Jesus said, in John 5:23, “all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.” (NKJV) Do you honor Jesus Christ as you do God the Father? Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit Jesus is to be worshipped, praised, prayed to, and glorified. Let us all confess, with those early Christians: “Glory be to the Father; and to the Son; and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.” Jesus has a name above all names because of who He was before the incarnation - He was God. Now let’s look at another reason His name is above all names:

II. BECAUSE OF WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED IN HIS INCARNATION
Before He entered this world, Christ was on the throne of heaven, being adored by angels, robed in majesty and glory. There was no higher place to be in the universe. He was at the top of the ladder. But in spite of holding the highest position of all, He decided to step down the ladder, all the way to the very bottom. Jesus “DID NOT CONSIDER IT ROBBERY TO BE EQUAL WITH GOD.” Satan attempted to attain to the place of God unlawfully. He tried to exalt himself to a place that did not belong to him. In effect he tried to steal the place of God. Jesus, on the other hand, did not need to resort to robbery - He held the place of deity as His right.

What is so amazing is that this Jesus, Paul said, “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in he likeness of men.” Some translations say He “emptied Himself”. He did not empty Himself of His deity, but only of the outward glory of His divine nature. One commentator said, “HE WAS LIKE A KING WHO TEMPORARILY PUTS ON THE GARMENTS OF A PEASANT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME REMAINING KING, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT OUTWARDLY APPARENT.” This humbling of Himself only serves to show how great Jesus really is. There is a universal principle which Jesus taught while He was on earth that true greatness is found in lowly servanthood. Jesus said, in Matthew 23:11-12, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he who shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (NKJV)

His incarnation, or His becoming man, was the beginning of what is called the humiliation of Christ. Q # 27 of the Shorter Catechism asks: “WHEREIN DID CHRIST’S HUMILIATION CONSIST? A. CHRIST’S HUMILIATION CONSISTED IN HIS BEING BORN, AND THAT IN A LOW CONDITION, MADE UNDER THE LAW, UNDERGOING THE MISERIES OF THIS LIFE, THE WRATH OF GOD, AND THE CURSED DEATH OF THE CROSS; IN BEING BURIED AND CONTINUING UNDER THE POWER OF DEATH FOR A TIME.”

He “took the form of a bondservant”. The word bondservant is the Greek “doulos”, which means “a slave, one who gives himself up to another’s will”. Dr. Gordon Clark said, “the phrase form of a slave’, conjures up in the minds of many people the service that Jesus rendered to the people he healed and helped. Actually, that is not the meaning at all. He whom he served was God the Father. Jesus was not the servant of men, but He came to serve God in the manner described in verse 8
.”

“He came in the likeness of men”. He was “found in appearance as a man”. This does not mean Jesus only appeared to be a man. Some have taught this in the past. In the early church period there were people, called “Docetists”, who “found it impossible to believe that the preexistent Son of God had really lived in a human body. They held that during His stay on earth, the eternal Son of God had only a phantom body.” The majority of Christians rejected this and other heretical views about the person of Christ. The orthodox position is that Christ is fully God and fully man. He took to Himself a true human nature - body & soul. The word “likenesss” used of Jesus means more than similarity. However, it may communicate the fact that Jesus was not like us in every way, for He was without sin. He appeared to be a man because He was indeed a man. A man who also happened to be God.

Becoming a man was humbling enough for the eternal Son of God, but He went further down than that - “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Roman citizens were not allowed to be crucified if they were convicted of capital crimes. It was such an awful form of execution it was reserved for only the worst criminals. Though Jesus was without sin, the Bible says that He became sin for us on the cross. He voluntarily went to the cross to bear our sins. The apostle Peter said, in 1Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” (NKJV)

To die in this manner was, as the Old Testament puts it, a curse from God. It was understood by the Jews of that day that a person who was crucified could never be received into heaven. No wonder it was so difficult for the Jews to accept a crucified man as the Messiah! O God, how great Thou art, who would stoop so low as to voluntarily accept such a death — for me! “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God, shouldst die for me?!” Jesus said, in John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (NKJV) The greater the love, the greater the name. Truly, Jesus name is above all names because of His sacrificial, atoning death on the cross.

He died to secure salvation for those who would believe on Him. Are you secure in His salvation? Have you trusted in that great name to save you? The Bible says, “And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (NKJV) What must you do to be saved? The Bible says, “WHOSOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” If you have never called on the Lord to save you from your sins, then why don’t you do it today. The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation”.

It’s not too late for you to call on His name. It is too late for a man I knew named John. John was my roommate at college during my freshman year. I just found out that he shot and killed himself a few days ago. He had battled drug and alcohol addiction for years. He must have ran out of hope, but he didn’t have to. If only he had called on the Lord to save him. Maybe he did - I don’t know. But I do know that if you will call on him today, repent of your sins and receive Him as your Lord and Savior, He will save you from your sins. He will give you the free gift of eternal life. If you are saved, then just silently praise the Name of Jesus right now for His great salvation. One final reason from this passage for Jesus having a name above all names is:

III. BECAUSE OF THE FATHER’S EXALTATION OF THE SON
Verse 9 introduces a radical change in middle of this passage. It mark’s the end of Christ’s humiliation and the beginning of His exaltation. Q # 28 of the Shorter Catechism asks: “WHEREIN CONSISTETH CHRIST’S EXALTATION? A - CHRIST’S EXALTATION CONSISTETH IN HIS RISING AGAIN FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY, IN ASCENDING UP INTO HEAVEN, IN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER, AND IN COMING TO JUDGE THE WORLD AT THE LAST DAY.” The cross was not the last word, for Jesus burst forth from the empty tomb! His lowly life of suffering and being a bondservant is over, for now He has ascended to the right hand of the Father. And one day He will return as victorious King and Judge of all.

Verse 9 says, “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.” As God, Christ could not be more exalted than He already was, But it seems that it was probably the Son’s human nature which God the Father exalted. He exalted Him because of what He did in His life as the God-man and Mediator of the New Covenant. The “therefore” in verse 9 points back to the verses dealing with the humiliation of Christ as the reason God exalted Him. Christ actually merited this honor by His saving work which He accomplished in His human nature, and yet the name that is above every name could only belong to One who was also very God.

There has been disagreement among Bible scholars concerning just what that name is. Some say that it is simply the name Jesus, since in the very next verse it says, “at the name of Jesus”. But others say that the name is “LORD”. The Greek word for LORD, “kurios”, is the same word used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to translate God’s own name - Jehovah or Yahweh. The earliest Christian creed was “Jesus Christ is LORD”. Verse 10 is pretty much a direct quotation of Isaiah 45:23, where it is before Yahweh that every knee will bow and tongue confess. Using this line of argument, LORD is the name above all names because it is the name of God Himself.

A third possibility is that the name refers not to any particular word or title, but to “the dignity, the glory, the redeeming power, the divine supremacy, granted to Christ as the consequence of His atoning work and as the natural expression of His divine nature.” (Eerdmans) The Bible tells us to pray in the name of Jesus, and that means not just the bare mention of His name, but to pray with confidence in the person of Christ and His mediation. John Calvin spoke of the ridiculous conduct of those in his day who “bow the knee whenever the name of Jesus is pronounced, as though it were a magic word.” Calvin said, “Paul, on the other hand, speaks of the honor that is to be rendered to the Son of God — not to mere syllables.”

One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess what has been the truth all along - that Jesus Christ is LORD. He is sovereign as God is sovereign. He controls all of life from the very smallest details to the great events, and one day He will have all men to acknowledge this. This will happen on the day of judgment. He will be the Judge on the throne and all will bow before Him as King and Lord. Those in heaven - angels and believers that have died. Those on the earth - all mankind. Those under the earth - demons and unbelievers that have died. Satan himself will also have to bow before Christ and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.

All will confess that Jesus is Lord. Some will do it gladly and others will do it sadly. Some will voluntarily confess while others will be forced to acknowledge His Lordship. Each one of us will stand before Him one day and make that confession. What about you - will you make this confession willingly as you acknowledge Him who is your Savior and Lord or will you be forced to acknowledge it with shame and pain just before you are banished from His presence forever? Why not make that confession today in your heart - and put your trust in the Lord Jesus to save you from your sins.

The last thing Paul says in verse 11 is that this confession will be made “to the glory of God the Father”. On that day God’s Son will be seen to be who He really is. He alone will be exalted in that day. You cannot glorify the Father until you give glory to the Son by confessing Him as Lord over all and Lord of your life.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 1997 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Glory of Christ Series, Sermon Text.