God exalted Him
Philippians 2:1-11
2 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Many commentators believe vs. 6-11 are part of a hymn that Christians in the 1st century sang. The first stanza of the hymn (vs. 6-8) describe what it meant for Jesus to come the first time (Christmas), taking on human form and becoming a servant/slave. And being willing to die on the cross. That is the past.
The second stanza of the hymn (vs. 9-11) describe what will happen when Jesus returns. This time as the exalted king over all things – who will rule in majesty and power. And everyone and everything will acknowledge that rule – bowing the knee and speaking that truth with their mouths. Jesus the king will come – this is future.
If we turn back to the start of the reading, we will notice that Paul uses this hymn to point to the way Christians are to live in the present. To be humble – thinking of others as better than ourselves – to be concerned about others, not ourselves. This pattern of life in the present is built on the servanthood we see in Jesus’ first arrival – to imitate Jesus’ way of life in our lives. It is also built on the fact that Jesus is the true ruler of all things, and Christians are to live into the kingdom he is bringing.
In Advent, we remember that we live between these two arrivals of Jesus – the king has already arrived – the king is not yet here. The reign of God in Jesus Christ has begun, the reign of God is not yet fully revealed in our world. Advent calls us to live into the truths of the coming kingdom, the reign of God that will be revealed in our world.
PRAYER:
God of grace and glory, Your Son, Jesus Christ, came among us in humility and lowliness, and you have exalted Him above all things. Shape our lives to be more and more like Jesus Christ, so that by imitating him we may bring glory and honour to His name. Amen.