Philippians 2:5-11; NKJV
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 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.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“Behold,
My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very
high” (Isaiah 52:13; NKJV).
Made
a Little Lower. In eternity, the
Word submitted to the will of the Father. In the first century, the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us. He "was made a little lower than the
angels" (Hebrews 2:9; NKJV).
Angels are spirit beings of a higher order than physical men and
women. The Word lowered Himself. A body was prepared for Him (Hebrews
10:5). The One who inhabits eternity
inhabited a body for some thirty-three and a half years. He became flesh and blood. He was a baby, a young man, a teenager, a
twenty-something. He was made a little
lower.
Lifted
Up. The Word became flesh for the
purpose of being "lifted up" (John 3:14). The process of
crucifixion was efficient. A hole was dug in the Earth. The cross was laid on
the ground. The victim was laid on the cross where he was then nailed to it.
The cross was then "lifted up" and dropped into the Earth. The
Word "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death" (Hebrews 2:9; NKJV). GOD
in the form of GOD cannot die. The Word
made Himself lower than the angels so He could die. He became flesh “so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone”
(Hebrews 2:9; NASBU). He was made a
little lower so He could be lifted up.
Exalted. The death of Jesus on the cross is not the end of the
story. It was never intended to be the
end of the story. Isaiah prophesied the
story from beginning to end over seven hundred years before the Word lowered
Himself. “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and
greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13; NASBU).
The I AM raised up His Servant and "Him God has exalted to His
right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and
forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:30-31; NKJV). When He, "by Himself purged our sins,"
He then "sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty on high," exalted (Hebrews 1:3; NKJV). Jesus is worthy of exaltation because He
lowered Himself, He sacrificed Himself, and He loved us without end. With the “myriads
of myriads, and thousands of thousands” around the throne, let us say with
a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing” (Revelation 5:11-12; NASBU).
Is
He exalted in your life?