"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

One of the reasons I love the Christ poem that we have been looking at in Philippians 2:6-11 over the past couple of days is the way that it draws together ideas from across Scripture to demonstrate the significance of who Christ is and what he has done.

One such example is the allusion that many Bible scholars find in the verses for today to an Old Testament text, Isaiah 45:23-24, where the prophet delivers these words from God: “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’ All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.” This passage in Isaiah comes from the middle part of the book, which is a dramatic announcement, while the Israelites are in exile in Babylon, that the time of exile has ended, that God has a plan to release them from foreign domination and return them to their land.

In Philippians 2, the verses we’ve read for today, the same claim is made with implications for the church–in Philippi and around the Roman empire–that the oppressive power which rules them will be subdued. God the Father has, by the obedient death of the Son, brought about the redemption of his people. He has exalted the Son to the “highest place” giving him the “name that is above every name” and all will bow before him and confess that he is Lord, “to the glory of God the Father.”

Just as God promised in Isaiah 45, despite the fact that the people were still in exile, that the time of exile had ended and God had acted redemptively on their behalf, in Christ, God has acted redemptively again on behalf of his people. In spite of the fact that the Philippian church still experienced the daily realities of suffering under a foreign empire, just as the Israelites had in Babylon, the work that was accomplished in Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection, meant that the empire of Rome was already defeated. Their fate was sealed; their power would give way to the one whose name is above every name.

But it wasn’t just Rome; every other power across time and space would give way. Every knee would bow and every tongue confess Christ’s lordship. The church, whether in Philippi or among us today, is called to live as those who believe that the Son has been exalted, that he already rules over all things, in spite of any evidence to the contrary. For those of us who do not live under oppressive powers, we can easily lose sight of the significance of this. But for our siblings in Christ around the world who suffer for their testimony that Christ rules, this changes everything. So perhaps the question for us today is this: What difference does Christ’s lordship make for you and your community here and now?

So as you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 2 Kings 2:1-15. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. Elijah takes Elisha on a journey. What do these places represent for Israel?
2. Idolatry is difficult to sort out in our own hearts. It is most often about trust. Who do you trust?
3. If we trust in God, we learn to obey him. But obedience can be costly. Has it cost you?
4. In our story, God provided for Elisha to carry on Elijah’s ministry. Will you trust God to provide for you so you can serve him?
5. Where is God now?

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:7-8)

This hymn doesn’t say that Jesus humbled himself for us. It just says that he humbled himself. If his humbling was before or for anyone: it was for God the Father, the only other person mentioned. Jesus responded to the Father by giving up everything and making himself nothing.

There are a few downward steps that Jesus takes. He lets go of his divine right to use his divine status and power. This is the very opposite move to that of Adam and Eve who grasped the status and power Jesus relinquished (“You’ll be like God!” the serpent said).

Letting go of his rights to exercise the role, status, and power of God, Jesus turns in humility and makes himself nothing—a servant—a human—and eventually a crucified, humiliated, dead human.

He is born into this world a human. The face of God visible to all in the form of new, fragile, helpless human life. Jesus lives and teaches, suffering among a suffering people. Having borne their burdens and having compassion on their needs, Jesus submits himself to death on a cross. He could have called a legion of angels to spare him from this fate; he could have crushed the Romans; he could have come down from the cross. But he didn’t do that. He did not use the divine power and status that was his to use. He gave it up. He became nothing and humbled himself to death—became obedient even to this death on a cross.

This resonates with deep biblical themes. In Deuteronomy, the first and second commandment, together with the Shema, say the same thing: submit yourself firstly, lovingly, and exclusively to God. Or in the Psalms where the action of the psalmists is to submit themselves and their situation fully to God—seeking no recourse of their own. It is God who will have to vindicate their cause. God, whose justice, power, and praise will be shown and known. Jesus does the same.

What does it look like for us to follow Jesus in this way of the cross in our relationships? What might it mean to make ourselves nothing, to humble ourselves, to make ourselves servants? That is, to let go of all our ability to control a situation, all our roles and titles, all our resources and assets, all our relational capital in friends, family, and networks of acquaintances?

This is not the sort of humility that denies having abilities, skills, relationships, or power. This humility looks with a clear eye at the rights, skills, relationships, and privileges we have and resolutely chooses not to use them for our own self—perhaps even choosing to give them up altogether.

This humility chooses not to seek another term; chooses not to step in and unduly influence an important decision; chooses not to purchase the expected property or possessions that social or economic peers have; chooses not to exact retribution; chooses to forgive.

We face variations on any of these examples from childhood on. Perhaps they sound less radical than we might expect. Yes, there are times that the call is to give up everything one has. More often we are called to give these things up slowly across a lifetime in the smaller, daily decisions of life. How might you take one step in this humble direction today? But why would you? Because, like Jesus, you trust God with your life.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.