Thank you all for coming tonight.
And we are so happy to be here and hopefully tonight will be
able to say something that's edifying to the church and will
be able to gain some knowledge from what we're studying in
Philippians. Of course we're studying
Philippians 2. Will particularly be studying
verses 9, through 15. And and before we start we'll go
ahead and read and kind of bring us up to speed.
So it's been a couple weeks since we've studied.
So we'll read starting at verse 1 and we'll read all the way
through verse 15. And remember while we're reading
this that of course, Paul is writing to the church and to the
congregation in Philippi and he's specifically giving
direction to those members about Unity about how to be Christ
Christ like and how to get along and how to be humble and all
these things. So, let's kind of keep that in
mind as we as we start reading, it says there in verse 1.
Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, If any
comfort in love, if any Fellowship of the spirit, if any
affection and mercy, fulfill my joy, be like-minded, having the
same love being of one, Accord of one mind, let nothing be done
through self-assembly selfish, ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of Mind, Let each esteem others better than
themselves himself. Let each of you look out, not
only for his own interest but also for the interests of
others. Let this mind be in you, which
was Is also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God, did
not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in
the likeness of men and being found in appearance.
As a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of
death, even the death of the Cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the
name, which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every
knee, should bow of Those in heaven and those on Earth and of
those under the Earth and that every tongue should confess,
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father,
therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed.
Not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who
works in you both to Will and to do his good pleasure, do all
things without complaining and disputing.
And that you may be that you may become blameless and harmless
children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the
world. So on the first to bring us up
to speed to vs. Starting in verse 9, you know,
we want to we talked about last time, how how Jesus humbled
himself and became a servant when he was part of the godhead,
and he became a little lower than the angels and came here to
this earth and and humbled himself and suffered for us.
And in his upcoming versus we're going to see because of his
humility. How God exalts him to the
highest position? And there could ever be.
So beginning in verse 9, the word, therefore there is derived
from a Greek word, a couple of Greek words deal and Kaia, which
literally means to. And that is why?
So, because he humbled himself, we could replace the word.
Therefore, and that is why. God has highly exalted him and
given him the name, which is above every other name.
So to be highly, exalted is to elevate to elevate above all
others, and to be lifted up. It's the same verb that was used
in John 3, verse 14. It says there.
And as Moses, lifted up, the serpent, in the wilderness even
so must the son of man will be lifted up.
This was a picture of the serpent was a symbolic to what
would happen to Jesus being lifted up.
And there's sermons have been taught here on that and I don't
have time to go into that, but it's a very clear type and anti
type of Christ being lifted up. So, This is being done.
God Is Lifting Up Jesus. Which which shows actually of
validation or Vindication and approval of god of what Jesus
did here. So God lifted him up because
Jesus did what he did and it was lifted to the highest position
possible. So that brings us to our first
question, what is meant by the phrase and given him?
The name above every name? So Not only was he, highly
exalted, he was given a name above every other name, you
know, in the Bible names, we can see names time after time being
changed from an original name to a different name, and that was a
purpose. There was a meaning behind the
names in the especially in the Old Testament.
For example, Abram was changed to Abraham, which means High
father. Was his original name to father
of all, which is Abraham, and same with Sarah.
Her name was Sir. I was changed to Sarah which
originally was, my princess changed his Sarah, which is
mother of all Nations. So the name is a description of
who and what they are their character.
So Jesus is name was not changed because Jesus was who he was and
always is who he's always been, and will always always be who we
always is. So his name doesn't have to be
changed but but the name above every name, in Isaiah 42 and
verse 8, which is a prophecy of Jesus.
It says I am the Lord that is my name.
I will not yield my glory to another Also in Hebrews chapter
1, verses 1 through 4, it says God who at various times and in
various ways spoke in times past to the father's by the prophets
has in the last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has
appointed, heir of all things through whom.
Also, he made the world's who being the brightness of all his
glory and the express image of his purpose person and upholding
All Things by the word of his power.
And when he had his Himself purged, our sins sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high, haven't become so much
better than the angels as he has by inheritance obtained.
A more, excellent Name than they.
So we hear all the time in this, you know, all kinds of names
that we hear all the time. And sometimes we wonder what in
the world, some parents were thinking, when they named their
kids. so, I can guarantee you that that when we hear, or
anybody hears, Jesus his name they know who he is.
All around the world, somebody could say, oh yeah, Chris.
And in Bakersfield, California, nobody may know that, you know,
people may not know that across the country or whatever.
But when they hear the name, Jesus, everybody knows who Jesus
is a name above all names, so that leads us to the.
Next question is deals with verses 10 through 11 verses 10
and 11 say that the name of Jesus, that at the name of
Jesus, every knee, should bow and those in heaven and those on
Earth and of those under the Earth and that every tongue
should confess, that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory
of God the father. So that this is the reason why
God exalted Jesus. These verses here.
He raised him up so that every knee should bow.
Now this does not mean that every time that the name Jesus
is uttered out of our mouths that we are going to bow.
This is dealing with the second coming of Christ.
This is dealing when when he comes, there is going to be so
much power and so much glory, and everybody's going to know
who he is. At every knee will be compelled
to Bow before him. And and and by every everybody,
it's talking to talk about those in heaven, those in Earth and
those under the year. So those in heaven refers to as
the Angels the angels will have in are going to bow to Jesus as
well in First Peter 3 and verse 22, it says who has gone into
heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities
and Powers, having been made subject to him, which is Jesus.
Also when Hebrews 1 verse 6 says, but when he again brings
the first born into the world he says let all The angels of God
worship Him. So that's what they have.
What those in heaven is talking about, is the Angels.
Now, those in the earth is to us that you and I everybody from
the beginning of time to the end of time.
And when you think about that, everybody will bow.
I mean, think it all about all the people who opposed Jesus
think about the high priest. Think about this, the Sanhedrin
think about Muhammad. I mean, those leaders of
different religions are going to bow to Jesus at the second
coming. That's pretty amazing when you
think about that. Every knee shall bow.
Now those under the Earth is referred to, as of course, the
dead those who are in the in the hadean realm at this time.
I don't know. All there is to know about this.
I'm going to admit that, but but we need to notice that Jesus has
power transcends, all time, all Dimensions.
If that's what you want to call space and all places.
There's not one part of creation that is not going to recognize
Jesus at the second coming. All, we're all of us.
All will recognize Jesus for who he is, that he is Lord of all.
So, you know, think about all of us who look forward to that time
who look forward to Confessor his name and look forward to
bowing to him when on the second coming.
But but even those who oppose him now, who don't look forward
to them, are going to be bowing as well.
So when we recognize Jesus for, who he is, and what he has done,
of course, it's always to God, be the glory.
So, Paul explained. So Paul is just explain to us
before how the humility, and how he is exalted work.
And Jesus could be only exalted if he was humbled first.
If he was humble first and same with us, do we have to be
humble? We have to be humble.
People will be humble, Christians, and God will
recognize us for that. And they in time a judgment,
that's a great lesson for us. That brings us to verse 12,
Which says they're therefore my beloved as you have always
obeyed. Not as in my presence only but
now much more in my absence working out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. So the question here is, how
does one work out his own salvation with fear and
trembling? So, if we read further in verse
15, Paul refers to the members, their Philippines children of
God, you know, us as parents are extremely happy when our kids
follow our Direction. When were around, we tell them
to take out the trash to take out the trash, tell him dust the
house. They does the house.
Tell him to act, right? When they're at school and a
crack at school. But when it's, we're away.
And they do what we want them to do.
It makes us so proud of our kids and what they do, you know we
can trust them being away. We know they're going to make
the right decision and we get word back from those who are
around them that they have You know, done what we expect them
to do and that's kind of what Paul is saying here.
You know, it's good that you're doing what you're doing while
I'm here. But do it even more when I'm not
here, when I'm not here to visit you.
Or, you know, follow the will of God.
So that leads us to a question in hand.
How does how does one? How do we work out?
Our own salvation with fear and trembling?
Now we cannot work out our own salvation on our own.
That is not our, there's nothing we could do to earn our
Salvation. Nothing at all.
We do not work to earn it yet. We work because we have been
saved. So, the verb here, the this this
word workout is a verb and it is defined as a continuous action.
We referred to, as going through a race or competition.
So it's continuous. So once we get saved once we get
baptized and follow the will of God, it's time to go to work.
We're working through our Salvation in First Corinthians 9
verses 24 through 25. It says, do you not know that
those who run in a race All run, but one receives the prize run
in such a way that you may obtain it.
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a
perishable Crown, but we for an imperishable crown and and and
fear. And trembling here is, is
basically a reverence for God, we have a respect for God, we
understand his power. We understand that he can blot
our name out of the book of life.
We understand that he can save us.
We understand that. At that, he that we are going to
be judged on that final day and there's no greater motivator
than that than to fear what judgment will be for us.
So, we need to work our out, our own salvation work, because we
have been saved Verses 13 and 14 says 48 is God who works in you
both to Will and to do for his good pleasure, do all things
without complaining in disputing.
And the question is, how does God work in us?
And why is it important to do all things without complaining?
So God works. God works from some examples in
the Bible. He works.
He worked by Distributing spiritual gifts and First
Corinthians 12, he worked in Peter and Paul in Galatians 2
and verse 8. He worked by raising Jesus from
the dead and he will also work in us when transforming our
bodies when this life is over in Philippians, 3 and 21.
I don't know. All there is how God works in
it. I don't know.
I don't think any of us are going to ever know the entirety
of how God works in US. But we know he does because we
can read it. Now that same power that worked
in the Bible works now in us I don't know how but it does
because Paul said it's the same power that will save us the same
power that will wash our sins. Clean one that hears.
Our prayers ones that gives us our needs.
Our Comforts that Comforts us and we'll eventually judge us.
There's all manners of how God works in us how we in dwells in
us and I do not have the knowledge and wherewithal to get
all that to understand that to preach it, but he does work in
US. Someone wants to comment on that
later on. That's great.
Without complaining and arguing, you know, this follows the same
line in which Paul was teaching the congregation at Philippi and
with unity in verse 2, through 4, you know, we called them to
be unified this teaches us as a congregation that we need to get
along that. We need to our have a Christian
attitude, to be humble considerate serving on, obedient
to death, So that brings us to our next verse or last verse,
which is verse 15. And it says there that you may
become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in
the midst of a crooked, crooked and perverse generation among
whom you shine as lights in the world.
So what is meant by the phrase crooked and perverse generation?
This goes all the way back to the Old Testament Deuteronomy,
chapter 32, verse 5. And it says there, they have
corrupted themselves. They are not his children
because of their blemish at perverse and crooked generation.
That was Moses speaking about the issue, The lights.
So God has a path to our Salvation And it is referred to
in the New Testament as a straight and narrow path.
So the passions that this is referring to is those who do not
walk a straight and narrow path but pervert it or distort it and
meaning and change the path to make it crooked as one bite.
That's what's meant by a crooked and perverse generation man.
Is the only one who can pervert God's work.
We are God doesn't perverted Jesus doesn't prefer it.
The the apostles didn't pervert. It But us as man thinking that
we know better than God can mess things up real quick, if we're
not careful. So in conclusion, just to
quickly go over kind of what we've studied.
So far number one, Jesus became a humble servant and because of
that God, highly exalted Jesus and gave him authority over all.
We are to continually work because we have been saved.
We need to Revere God and Jesus, we need to not argue with each
other or complain about each about each other within the
congregation. And we do not want to prefer
pervert, God's word. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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