Sermon Tone Analysis

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Hallelujah!

Last week we looked verses 5 to 8.

This week we are looking at verses 9 to 11 and it has a therefore.

So, we ask again what it is there for and the answer is what we read last week and what we found was that:

Jesus is God

Jesus became a slave.

He made Himself nothing.

He was born into obscurity rather than fame,

to poor parents rather than rich,

In a stable’s feeding trough rather than a palace.

He had no rights or privileges.

He identified with us in becoming like us.

He died because He loved us.

He demonstrated His love by self-sacrifice for the sake of those He loves.

He allowed Himself to be humbled and crucified by those He made and for whom He came.

Therefore.

Therefore God has highly exalted Him.

Jesus is given exceptional honour and great status and raised up and exalted exceedingly.

Jesus Himself declared several times that anyone who actually humbles themselves; who does not claim for themselves their rights; who gives themselves for others will eventually be exalted.

One example is:

And Peter also joins in the chorus:

Therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus is highly exalted to as high a place as possible because He has shown the greatest humility – no one could have humbled themselves as much as Jesus.

He came from glory and was going back to glory: Jesus prayed:

But it wasn’t to stop there for it is now our privilege to have the opportunity of an audience with Jesus to see His glory:

Can Jesus be even more exalted than He was before?

Can He be even more glorious than He was before?

God is God after all and you cannot get higher and more glorious than that.

But there is another sense that He is more exalted.

He is now exalted in the eyes of people.

His role is now as our Judge.

He is head over the Church.

All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to Him.

Before Jesus came to earth little had been revealed about Him.

Jesus had a fairly hidden role in the Old Testament which, with our New Testament glasses on, we can see where He appears when we now look back.

But for His death and resurrection we would still be blind.

Jesus exaltation was for what He had done – though Jesus is already glorious in every way – this exaltation was a demonstration of the victory won by Jesus by His life, death, resurrection and ascension.

This exaltation has been made very clear not only before our eyes but before all of creation, seen and unseen.

After all it looked like He had been defeated by the power of the devil and by earthly powers but instead He triumphed over death in His rising from the dead, and now everything is beneath His feet, under His Kingship, His Lordship.

And, our passage continues; He has been given the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus…

Three times it says ‘name’.

When we recall someone’s name, hopefully we do recall because many of us are useless with names – but our name is is precious to us.

Someone forgets our name and we are put out.

Why?

Because it is what denotes us.

We are that name.

If we were to talk about Billy Graham what do we think about?

When he died we thought about the many crusades and evangelism that he did.

If you were to think of King David what do we think about?

A man whose heart was after God AND the adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and resulting murder.

If we are to think of Gordon Ramsey we think of a man who is a supposed cooking genius who swears a lot.

If we think of Emily Pankhurst we think of the suffragettes.

And so on.

People’s names illicit different memories about that person.

A person’s name is not just the title that everyone has but with it comes all their personality, good and bad, their reputation, what they’ve achieved and so on.

So, when we think of Jesus we think of all He is, all He has done and all He has promised He will do.

As I’ve said before, when we pray and tag on the end ‘in Jesus’ name’ it is not a magic formula but what we are saying is that we are praying in line with His wishes and personality and all that He is.

When my grandfather was dying I arrived at the hospital just as my parents were leaving on some errand and so I took the opportunity to share the Gospel with him though by this time he was in a coma.

Every time I mentioned Jesus His body would react and shudder.

I don’t know if he actually understood anything I said though it did seem an opportune time for, just as I was leaving, my parents returned.

I don’t think it would have been appropriate to share the Gospel if they had been present especially as I was quite forthright knowing how little time he had.

It did seem like a Spirit-led event.

Less than an hour later he died.

Who knows – talking about Jesus with him may have saved him.

Amazingly, the name of Jesus caused a reaction even in a comatose person.

The name of Jesus is powerful because it is not just about the name of Jesus but it is who the name of Jesus represents.

When I mentioned the name of Jesus to a man who was affected by an evil spirit – it made him afraid.

The name of Jesus gets other responses too such as found in:

And in giving an explanation Peter said:

Jesus’ name is mighty, mighty to save – to save from hell, to save from evil situations and Jesus’ name means that all the powers of Heaven are on your side if you are on the side of Heaven.

And then one of the most crucial verses in Scripture is:

Only through Jesus can one be saved.

Actually one of the nuns down the road from my previous Church misquoted this to me and said: Jesus is the name by which we can be saved.

This leaves the option for getting saved in some other way.

So I said to her that the Greek word δει is used here which means ‘Jesus is the only name given among men by which it is necessary to be saved’ – not can be but must be.

We must be saved through Jesus or there is no salvation.

We cannot be saved by saints or Mary or anyone else.

God the Father will not receive anyone without Jesus.

It is through Jesus and Him alone.

To prove it further today’s passage goes on to say that at the name of Jesus ever knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

It says in:

Clearly it is Jesus speaking in these verses attributed to God.

Jesus is the only way and to Him alone will every knee bow and tongue confess that He is Lord.

For us who know Jesus this is a privilege to do – for we have in effect already done it.

And it is found in this week’s readings:

We are only too willing to bow the knee to our King and confess with our mouths He is Lord.

But there will be others who have rejected Jesus throughout their lives and are on the broad road to destruction.

Even those who thought they had given their lives for God but didn’t come through Jesus alone.

When standing before the great white throne, some of whom would have been malicious in their anger against God and Jesus will realise how terribly wrong they were and will have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

How terrifying it will be for those who have acknowledged Jesus’ lordship in this life.

Who will bow?

Those in Heaven - The spiritual realm, angles and demons, those on earth – those who are here when Jesus returns, and those under the earth – probably referring to the dead – all shall be raised to declare that Jesus is Lord; that He is Sovereign over all.

God has given Christ supreme worship.

God is going to see to it that every creature confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father:

⇒ every nation, tongue, and language

⇒ every person, mind, and body

⇒ every race, color, and shape

⇒ every belief, creed, and religion

⇒ every man, woman, and child