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Jesus’ Attitude

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient

to death even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8 (NIV)

Jesus humbled Himself. He asked God three times to not let Him go to the cross, but the ending of His prayer was “not my will but your will be done.” He knew it was His Father’s plan, accepted it, and obeyed.

Crucifixion was the Roman way of dealing with the most severe of criminals. It is thought to be the most horrible of deaths at that time. But Jesus had done nothing to deserve it.

He had to learn obedience in order to achieve what God wanted for Him. He became like us in order to guide us through our days here on Earth. He took upon himself the sin of us all. He bore every cross word, bad thought, lie, broken promise, tidbit of gossip and misconception we ever had or gave.

He chose, for our sakes, to be obedient to the Father. He did these things because of His great love for us.

Name Above All Names

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.”

Philippians 2:9 (NIV)

As I grew up, movie theaters were a major place of gathering for teens. If friends saw each other there, one would save a seat for the other. When a local theater was refurbished, the campaign to replace the seats carried the name. “I’ll save you a seat.” Have you been invited to sit in church with a friend? When it happens to me, it always makes me feel special.

Because Jesus took on all our sins, God raised the Son and gave Him the seat next to Himself. He saved the most special place for the one who became Sin for us, the one who obeyed Him.

Because Jesus Christ is the name above all names, God’s children honor it.

Honoring Our King

“. . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and in earth and under the earth. . . .”

Philippians 2:10 (NIV)

We all will one day pay homage to God’s Son as we gather before Him. All who have every walked this earth will fall before Him in an attitude of worship. I noticed something when I recently studied this passage. Paul tells the Philippians that ALL will bow-those already in heaven, those still on earth, and those under the earth. Let’s think on this a bit. Could this mean those who have already been condemned will also recognize the need to get on their knees? Will they recognize His authority and who He is?

God’s children will bow their knees because they will recognize the returning Savior. They will do it without thinking and because they want to. They have been preparing their hearts for that time. Those outside the realm of God’s arc of safety will bow down because they have to do it.

As we wait for Christ to return, what are some ways we can honor Him?

Glory to the Lord

“. . . and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:11 (NIV)

Can you picture this? Every tongue will confess. I wonder how that will sound. I once sat in a large auditorium and heard those assembled sing “Wonderful Grace of Jesus”. (The chorus divides into four parts-each part singing different phrases.) My thought was “Will everyone know which part to sing?” When the people came to the end of the verse, all the voices divided as if they had the music right in front of them. I felt I was in Heaven. Those gathered that night knew the song. I believe hearing every tongue saying “Jesus Christ is Lord” will be like it was in that auditorium. It sounded like angels singing.

The sound will surround us. We won’t be able to hear anything else. We who believe He is Lord will be saying it as a form of worship-telling Him he is worthy to receive our devotion, our honor, and our praise.

God will hear our words of confession. He will be glorified. His Son will be recognized for who He is-Lord of our lives.

"Today's Little Lift" from Jim Bullington

Mercy and not Sacrifice (Sept. 30, 2010)