My burden in this message is to relate the exaltation of Christ to our spiritual experience. God has already exalted Christ, but have you exalted Him? Christ has been exalted in the universe, but has He been exalted in you? The problem is that Christ has been exalted everywhere except in you. This is the reason that I do not care to talk about the exaltation of Christ in an objective way, but to apply this to our subjective experience. Christ cannot be exalted in us unless we take Him as the crucified life to be the pattern of our daily life.
We should not forget that Philippians is a book on the experience of Christ. Hence, even the exaltation of Christ in this book is related to our experience. When I was young, I was taught about Christ’s exaltation. However, I did not see much of Christ’s exaltation in the lives of believers. This was primarily just a teaching from the Bible. We need to experience Christ to such a high degree that in our life He is exalted. Do not consider Christ’s exaltation merely in an objective way. Just as we need to experience the Christ who emptied Himself and humbled Himself, so we need to experience the Christ who has been exalted. God has already exalted Christ in the universe, but now it remains for us to exalt Him in our personal universe—in our daily life, in our family life, and in our church life.
Paul’s desire was that the saints in Philippi would exalt Christ in their daily living. If the believers had done this, they would have made Paul’s joy full. Paul did not want the saints simply to have a positive attitude toward him. His expectation was that the believers would experience Christ as the crucified life and then experience Christ in His exaltation. Christ’s exaltation needs to be carried out in our daily living.
Proof that Paul’s concept was that Christ would be exalted not only objectively in the universe but also subjectively and experientially in our daily life is found in verse 12. After speaking of the crucified life in verses 5 through 8 and the exalted life in verses 9 through 11, Paul says in verse 12, “So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only as in my presence, but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” The words so then indicate that what Paul speaks of in verse 12 is a consequence of taking Christ as the pattern of a crucified life in the preceding verses. These words indicate that Christ’s crucified life should be our experience. It is also true that Christ’s exalting life should be our experience. On the one hand, we may speak of Christ’s exalted life; on the other hand, of His exalting life. No matter which expression we use, in 2:9-11 we have a life of exaltation. Such a life should also be part of the salvation worked out by us. The main elements of the salvation in verse 12 are Christ as the crucified life and Christ in His exaltation. This should be the salvation we work out by God operating in us.
Surely the exaltation of Christ is the highest standard of our salvation. We should not simply be those who are saved, but we should be those who are exalted through Christ’s resurrection power. It was not Paul’s aim in speaking of the exaltation of Christ to teach doctrine objectively. Like all the other matters covered in this book, this point is related to Christian experience. We need to experience Christ in His humiliation. This means we need to experience Him as the One who emptied Himself and humbled Himself. Now that Christ has been exalted by God to the highest peak in the universe, we need to experience Him also in His exaltation. Oh, may the Lord open our eyes to the fact that we are far below His standard of salvation! The standard of the salvation worked out by us must be so high that it includes the exaltation of Christ. Christ’s exaltation should be our consummate experience in salvation. This requires that Christ be not only our crucified life, but also our exalted life in the power of resurrection. The very power that has exalted Him in the universe is the power that causes Him to be exalted in us. This power is nothing less than the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
In the book of Philippians Paul uses different terms to refer to the same reality. The bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the very power that exalts Christ. It is also the power of resurrection in 3:10 and the power referred to in 4:13, where Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me.” That with which we are empowered is the power of resurrection, the exalting power, and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This power is adequate to enable us to work out our salvation to the highest standard. When we reach this standard, we shall be more than conquerors.
Verses 12 through 16 are the interpretation of verses 5 through 11. This means that the words so then include all that Paul covers in verses 12 through 16. Therefore, 2:5-11 needs 2:12-16 for its interpretation and exposition.
Philippians 2:9 says, “Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” The Lord humbled Himself to the uttermost, but God exalted Him to the highest peak. The name referred to in this verse is the name of Jesus, as indicated in the following verse. From the time of the Lord’s ascension, there has never been a name on this earth above the name of Jesus. God has exalted Jesus, a real man, to be the Lord of all. Therefore, it is altogether right for us to call, “O Lord Jesus.” We need to confess the Lord’s name openly. What a glory it is to worship the Lord by calling on His name! Actually, in the New Testament we are not told to worship Christ, but there is the clear indication that we are to call on the Lord’s name.
When Paul was Saul of Tarsus, he received authority from the chief priests to bind those who called on the name of Jesus. Today we are opposed for calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. But the more we are opposed and attacked, the more we should call on His name. By His exaltation, the Lord has been given a name which is above every name. There has never been a name in history higher than the name of the Lord Jesus. The highest name in the universe, the greatest name, is the name of Jesus.
In verses 10 and 11 Paul goes on to say, “That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” The name is the expression of the sum total of what the Lord Jesus is in His Person and work. The words in the name mean in the sphere and element of all the Lord is. It is in this way we worship the Lord and pray to Him.
We should not only call on the name of the Lord Jesus, but also bow our knees in His name. This is to worship Him.
In verse 10 we see three levels of the universe: heaven, earth, and under the earth. Those who are in heaven are angels, those who are on earth are men, and those who are under the earth are the dead. The day is coming when those on every level will bow their knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. To openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord is to call on the Lord (Rom. 10:9-10, 12-13). The Lord Jesus as a man was made the Lord in His ascension by God (Acts 2:36). Thus, every tongue should confess that He is Lord. This confession is to the glory of God the Father. The Greek word rendered to means “resulting in.” Our confessing that Jesus is Lord results in the glory of God the Father. This is the great end of all that Christ is and has done in His Person and work (1 Cor. 15:24-28).