The Book of Philippians
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD
Philippians 2:5-11

1. In our text, the Apostle Paul, speaks of Jesus as the mightiest among the mighty, the Holiest among the holy, the greatest among the great and the loftiest among the lofty. Paul declares that Jesus is more than prominent. He is Pre-eminent. Jesus is Lord.

2. Joseph Ernest Renan, a French philologist and historian of the 1800's, said, "Let the greatest surprises of the future come, but never has there arisen, nor never shall there arise another like Jesus Christ."¹

3. The songwriter, Thomas Hastings, said it well:

No mortal can with Him compare,
Among the sons of men,
Fairer is he than all the fair,
Who fills the heavenly train.

4. Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only three. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact of the combined 130 years of teaching from the men that are considered among the world's greatest philosophers of all antiquity. JESUS IS LORD!

5. Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, received their inspiration from Him. JESUS IS LORD!

6. Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by Him. JESUS IS LORD!

7. Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn, reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratories they composed in His praise. JESUS IS LORD!

8. Jesus never wrote a book, but hundreds of thousands of volumes have been written about Him. His words have been translated into more than one thousand languages and dialects. JESUS IS LORD!

9. He raised no army, but those who would fight for His truth, principles, and cause, the world over can be numbered into millions. JESUS IS LORD!

10. The pages of history are besmirched with the blood of those who died for Him. Wars have been fought; thrones have been abdicated because of Him. Throughout centuries His name has been above every name. His life, His teachings, and His ethics have changed, altered and transformed individuals, communities, cities, nations, and continents. JESUS IS LORD!

11. Charles Lamb, the essayist, once said, "If Shakespeare walked into the room we would stand. But if Jesus walked into the room we would bow." JESUS IS LORD!

12. Roy L. Laurin said of our text that. "It is one of the greatest, most sublime and most profound statements of all the Bible."

13. Handley Moule said of the text, "...the most conspicuous and magnificent of the dogmatic utterances of the N.T."

14. Dr. W. Hershey Davis has called it "The sublimest passage in Paul about the person of Christ."

15. I want us to look at the text and see Jesus as He is described and declared Lord. Notice 3 things about Jesus as revealed in the text.

1. WE SEE JESUS AS THE ETERNAL SON!

1. In verse 6, we see Jesus described, defined, and declared as the Eternal Son. The deity of Christ is the theme of Paul's statement.

A. We See That Jesus Is Essentially God.

1. Paul said of Jesus, "who being in the form of God." When we think of form we think of shape. Yet the word "form" does not refer to one's shape but to one's essential form. It speaks of the outward expression of one's inward essence. It speaks of the nature and character of the being to whom it pertains.

2. The word indicates that Jesus outwardly expressed God for inwardly He is essentially God. In other words, Jesus is God.

3. John declared in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

4. That's why Jesus could say, "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). That's why Jesus could say, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30).

5. Jesus is the only One that can say, "I and my Father are one." You and I would say, "I and my father are two, because I am not my father, and my father is not me." But Jesus could say, "I and My Father are one," because Jesus is the Father, and the Father is Jesus.

6. When the angel appeared to Joseph and told him that Mary was carrying a child, the angel declared, "They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23).

B. We See That Jesus Is Equally God.

1. Paul also stated that Jesus "thought it not robbery to be equal with God." The word "equal" means, "to be on par with." Jesus is the same as God, equal with God.

2. It is not God the Father in the number one position followed by Jesus in the number two position. It is one God that has expressed Himself in three persons, thus they are equally the same.

3. There are those who accuse us of worshipping 3 Gods. They say, "1+1+1=3." I would say their math is right but their theology is wrong. It is 1x1x1=1. Jesus is essentially God. He is equally God.

4. We read in John 5:18, "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."

1. We See Jesus As The Eternal Son!

2. WE SEE JESUS AS THE EARTHLY SERVANT!

1. We read in vs.6-8, that Jesus, "thought it not robbery to be equal with God, But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

2. The Eternal Son became the earthly Servant. He that was in the form of God took upon Himself the form of a servant.

A. The Likeness He Assumed.

1. The Son of God became the Son of man. He that was without a heavenly mother in eternity came to earth as a son without an earthly father. He became God in the flesh. God became man.

2. Now notice how Paul describes Jesus taking upon Himself the form of a servant and the likeness He assumed.

3. First, Paul tells us what He THOUGHT. Jesus "thought it not robbery to be equal with God." The word "thought" refers to a judgment based on facts. This indicates that in eternity past there was something on His mind.

4. The thing that was on His mind; the case He thought of; was man as a sinner. The human race was condemned by sin. The sinner needed a Saviour.

5. He looked at the case, weighed all the facts and came to a certain conclusion. The judgment that He made was: "it was not robbery to be equal with God." The word "robbery" speaks of "a treasure to be clutched and held onto at all costs."

6. He looked at His equality with God, and came to the conclusion that it was not a treasure that was to be clutched and held onto at all costs. Even though He expressed Himself outwardly as inwardly being essentially and equally God, there was a need for Him to lay aside that expression and take upon Himself another expression.

7. Thus He made Himself of "no reputation." These two words literally mean, "He emptied Himself." The case before Him demanded that He empty Himself or make Himself of no reputation.

8. He that was essentially and equally God therefore set aside His outward expression of deity and assumed the outward expression of humanity. The Eternal Son expressed Himself as the earthly Servant.

9. Then Paul tells us what He TOOK. "He took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man." He that expressed Himself as God now expressed Himself as a servant.

10. The word "likeness" means, "that which is made like something else." He became man. He took upon Himself the nature of the human race that was condemned.

11. When the president of a great railroad died, a long procession of plain-clothed workers marched behind the casket on the way to the cemetery. A sign was carried in the procession that read: "He was one of us."

12. That's exactly what Jesus did. He became one of us. God became man. He left the heavenly to join the earthly. He that was in the form of God took upon Himself the form of man.

13. Now let me say, that when He took upon Himself the form of man He did not give up the form of God. He did not give up His deity to assume humanity. He was fully God and He was fully man. He was as much God as though He was not a man at all but He was as much man as though He were not God at all. He was not all God and no man; He was not all man and no God. He was not half God and half man. He was fully God and fully man. He was the God-man.

B. The Life He Abandoned.

1. There was the likeness He assumed and now we see the life He abandoned. Notice vs.8, "And being found in the fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

2. Oh, what humility we see in the Lord Jesus. He was that was essentially and equally God was willing to take upon Himself the likeness of man and die upon the cross to save a condemned people from their sins.

3. The word "humbled" means "to bring low." The cross was considered the most ignominious and degrading deaths one could die. It was a form of death reserved only for criminals and even then, only those who were not citizens of the Roman Empire.

4. We read in Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

5. Death on a cross was degrading to humanity, but one can only imagine the degradation to Deity. But in spite of the "shame," He "became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross." The ideal of obedient is not that He had to die, but that He was submissive to the Father's will and chose to die.

6. Dwight L. Moody used to tell the story of the days when the gold fever swept California. A man went west leaving his wife and their boy in New England. Soon He struck it rich and sent for his dear ones. The wife's heart leaped for joy. Taking her boy to New York, she boarded a steamer sailing for San Francisco. The ship had not been out at sea very long before there was a cry of, "Fire! Fire!" On board was a powder magazine and the captain knew the moment fire reached that store all on board would perish. Lifeboats were launched, but they proved to be too small and too few and were quickly overcrowded. As the last boat pushed away, the mother pled with the boatman to take her and her boy. "No, I dare not take another." But she continued to plead, and at last the boatman consented to take one. Do you think the mother leaped into the boat, leaving her boy to perish with the others? No, she seized him, gave him one last hug, and dropped him into the boat with these parting words, "My boy, if you live to see your father, tell him that I died in your place."

8. The Son became a Servant. The Servant became a Substitute. He assumed our likeness that He might abandon His life. He died that we might live. He died in our place.

1. We See Jesus As The Eternal Son!
2. We See Jesus As The Earthly Servant!

3. WE SEE JESUS AS THE EXALTED SAVIOUR!

1. We read in verses 9-11, "Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

2. Praise God He is not on a cross but is wearing a crown. We no longer see Him dying as a Servant but reigning as Lord.

A. We See Him As The Worthy One.

1. Because the Eternal Son became the earthly Servant, God hath made Him the exalted Saviour. The words "highly exalted" mean to "exalt to the highest rank and power, to raise to supreme majesty." The words are actually a double superlative. He has been exalted in a superlative degree.

2. He has been given "The name which is above every name." The words "a name" are literally "The name." This is actually a title that denotes office, rank, and dignity. Jesus is One with THE NAME. He ranks as no other in majesty, dignity, and glory.

3. John 3:31, says, "He that cometh from above is above all. he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all."

4. You can match all the great names of the world with one or more that is equally as great or good. Homer of the Greeks was great, reaching from pole to pole with the wings of his poetic fancy. But you can match him Virgil who wielded a pen that ploughed its way as far as Homer's wings could fly.

5. Dante, whose ears heard Hell's infernal drums beating time to the ceaseless groans of the lost runs not one step ahead of Milton, whose ears were attuned to the hallelujah choruses of heaven.

6. Shakespeare, from whose pen words dropped like golden pollen from the stems of shaken lilies, has his place equaled by Bacon, one of the greatest intellects of centuries.

7. Tennyson, with his "Crossing the Bar," has a high pedestal. But along beside him in Longfellow with his "Psalm of Life."

8. Among preachers, there were Wesley, Whitefield, and Jonathan Edward's. But there was also Spurgeon, Parker, and Talmadge.

9. But when you mention Jesus, there is no one to stand beside Him. He stands alone -august, supreme, and unique. He is forever the great unlike. His name is above every name, and with Him no mortal can compare among the sons of men.

Jesus, the name high over all,
In heav'n or earth or sky;
Angels and men before Him fall,
And devils fear and fly. 

B. We See Him As The Worshipped One.

1. The Worthy One is the Worshipped One. The exalted One is the extolled One. "The Name" should be and shall be worshipped.

2. We see the ADORATION of His Name. Paul said in verse 10, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."

3. Every knee should bow in adoration of Jesus. Note Paul did not say that we should bow at the name Jesus, but at THE NAME of Jesus. That is, we should bow in adoration to all He is as the exalted One.

4. We should adore Him as the highest among the high, the mightiest among the mighty, the loftiest among the lofty, the greatest among the great, the One who has supremacy among the supreme, so majestic that those of majesty fall at His feet, the One exalted above all others.

5. Paul tells us that all creation will bow at His feet. "Things in heaven" will bow at the name of Jesus. Angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim will worship Him. All of heaven will worship Him.

6. "Things in earth" will bow at the name of Jesus. Every man, woman, and child will bow at His feet. All of humanity will worship Him.

7. "Things under the earth" shall bow at the name of Jesus. Even the dead will be raised and will worship Him. All of hell will worship Him.

8. We also see the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of His Name. Paul said in verse 11, "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

9. He should and shall be adored as Lord and will also be acknowledged as Lord. The word "confess" means to agree and confess openly. One day every atheist, agnostic, infidel, liberal, modernist, God-hater, Christ-rejecter, and Bible-condemner will agree and publicly declare that He is Lord.

10. He is the Exalted Saviour!

All hail the power of Jesus name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.

11. E. P Scott was a pioneer missionary to India. One day he found himself surrounded by a murderous band of tribesmen. On impulse, he took out his violin and began to play and sing, "All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name." When he reached the stanza "let every kindred and every tribe" he saw to his surprise every spear lowered and many of the tribesman moved to tears.

12. One day at the name of Jesus every tribesman will lay down their spears, every blasphemer will silence their attacks, every agnostic will abandon their beliefs, and every king and queen will lay down their crowns and acknowledge Him to be Lord.

Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.

13. He is the Eternal Son, the Earthly Servant, and the Exalted Saviour.

Copyright Notice: This sermon is may be used and copied freely for personal use. If used in any publication or on another web page permission must be obtained from the author at: "The Living Word, Temple Baptist Church, 3204 Clio Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407."