Humility Therefore Exaltation
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 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.”
One word which holds this passage together is the word ‘therefore’ in verse 9. A word which connects two incredible realities, a word that connects the past to the future, a word which brings to light the law of cause and effect, a word which is like the final piece placed in the centre of the jigsaw completing and making sense of the beautiful picture.
What am I talking about? Well, the first part of this passage talks of Christ’s humility, his sacrificial love – though he was in the form of God, he became a servant – a man who was obedient to the point of a humiliating death on a cross. And the latter part of the passage talks of Christ being exalted to the highest place, and being given honour, upon honour, upon honour. So that everybody in all existence will gather around him and will bow before him and will know and confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord”.
In fact the entire history of the world orbits around and points towards the events in this passage. This passage talks about, the incarnation of Christ, the life and obedience of Christ, the crucifixion and death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ, the exaltation of Christ, and of the second coming of Christ, the day when all people will know and confess his supremacy and Lordship over all creation. In this passage God reveals to us the supreme love and glory of Jesus Christ, and it is to this very end God created the world, that we would know God and praise God, through Christ.
I cannot wait until this day – when multitudes upon multitudes gather around his throne on bended knee, beholding his glory. And with a fullness of joy and excitement by seeing the King on his throne we all join together, knowing perfectly that he reigns supreme, and we manifest our delight and knowledge, by confessing to him, his supremacy. Jesus Christ is Lord.
So, these events are not unrelated, they are gloriously and significantly related, Christ was the humblest man who was perfectly obedient to the Father’s will, therefore God exalted him to the highest place and bestowed on him the highest name. Humility and obedience leads to being exalted by God. “So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:16)
The same is true for us, if we join with Christ in his humility, his love, his sacrificial service, then we will be glorified with him, all to the glory of God the Father, it pleases him to exalt the humble.
There are times when our Christian service seems random and futile, sometimes it’s overlooked by others, sometimes it seems as if nobody really cares about how we serve. But our service is never meaningless. It’s never overlooked by God, God cares about our service, and even more so our hearts behind the service. So, whether we are stacking chairs after a meeting, or handing out CD’s or DVD’s, leading a Sunday school class or leading a worldwide revival. Whatever it is we do for God and his church, God rewards humble service. Our service is never meaningless. Humility therefore exaltation.
So how can we serve God and the church today for glory in Christ awaits us.
