Fellowship of Joy in Perfection: Humility (Part 2)

Take your Bibles this morning and turn to our text and that would be Philippians chapter 2 and I'm going to read verses 5 through 11.

! Hebrews chapter 2 verses 5 through 11. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men 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.

Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, 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, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Tremendous passage of Scripture. I think you would agree with me. In fact, quite possibly, I would admit to you that in this entire letter, the book of Philippians, this is my favorite part of the entire letter.

I love it. And tremendous truth that is there. Now, by way of introduction, let me remind you and keep reminding you that the theme of this letter, the letter to the Philippians, is what?

Somebody tell me. Joy. Joy. Not just joy. Where have you been for the last several weeks? The fellowship of joy. Now, that's key, I think, because that's the whole theme kind of put in just a few words.

The fellowship of joy. That's our theme. The theme that runs throughout this marvelous letter. Now, we've already considered the fellowship of joy in prayer, and we've already considered what Paul had to say about the fellowship of joy in persecution.

This is ground we've already covered in this marvelous letter. And now, we are in this portion of the letter that I have called the fellowship of joy in perfection.

The fellowship of joy in perfection. Fellowship that we have together through our ongoing spiritual maturity.

The fellowship of joy in perfection. And I would add to that, as I've already identified, it's important to note that this theme, the fellowship of joy in perfection, is applied by Paul to the church as a whole.

Not a universal church, but a local church. This spiritual maturity that we join in, that we have fellowship in, is applied to the church.

The local church. And that's what we are. And again, chapter 1, verse 27, introduces this section of the letter. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

That's how he introduces this portion of the letter. The fellowship of joy in perfection. Let this conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Or, more literally, we could read it, that this conduct match the great worth of the gospel. That's literally what Paul is saying in verse 27.

What conduct? What, according to Paul, represents the conduct in the church, that is to be in the church, a conduct that matches the worth of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What is that conduct? Well, Paul mentions three. Three broad areas of conduct. Unity. Unity in the body of Christ.

Humility. And integrity. These three. Now, folks, listen. The spiritual maturity or perfection of the body of Christ, that is the church, should always be marked by these three things.

Unity, humility, and integrity. First of all, unity, which is ground we've already covered. Of course, chapter 1, verse 27. That you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, the one faith of the gospel.

Chapter 2, verse 2. Having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Now, I didn't have to emphasize key words in those two verses for us to get the idea that Paul is talking about togetherness, unity, harmony.

And so, unity is to be the mark of a spiritually mature church. Amen? Amen.

And I thank the Lord for the unity that we have in this body. I just thank Him nearly every day. What a wonderful thing. Unity. And then, second, humility.

Humility. Now, what does Paul teach us concerning humility? Well, again, as I pointed out a couple of Sundays ago, Paul chose the supreme example of humility.

The one example of humility that is above all other examples, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the supreme example. The Lord Jesus Christ is the supreme example of humility.

Chapter 2, verse 5. Look at it again. Let this mind, or we could say this way of thinking that leads to a certain way of acting.

That would be kind of a paraphrase, but this is the idea. Let this mind, this way of acting, be in you, which was where? In Christ Jesus. Also in Christ Jesus.

He's the example. And what was his mind that led to a certain activity? Verse 8. He humbled himself. He's the supreme example of humility. He humbled himself to what point?

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death. But not just death or any death, but even the death of the cross. And so Jesus is the supreme example of humility.

All right. So then in this passage that I read a moment ago, Paul gives us kind of the full picture of this.

This example of humility. He gives us the full picture of it by presenting one of the greatest doctrines that you'll find in all of the Bible.

Indeed, a doctrine, a theological truth, that if it were removed, we would have nothing. And that doctrine is the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ.

The humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ. And I quoted C.S. Lewis last time. Let me quote a part of it again. God in the person of the Son descends to reascend.

He goes down to come up again and brings the whole ruined world with Him, up with Him.

Tremendous truth. The humiliation and exaltation of Christ. Now, last time we considered the down part of this theological truth, didn't we?

His coming down, His condescension. And I called it the depth of Christ's humiliation. And now this morning, we need to consider the other side of this.

Because Jesus indeed did come down. He did humiliate Himself, but it didn't end there, did it? We need now to consider the up part of this great doctrine.

Or what I want to call the height of Christ's exaltation. From the depth of Christ's humiliation to the height of Christ's exaltation.

Or I could use these words to describe it. From the depth of Christ's condescension. His condescension. To the height of Christ's ascension.

Ascension. This is the essence of Christianity. We've got to get this or we get nothing else. God in the person of the Son condescends.

He goes down to ascend. To come up again. Jesus said to His disciples in John chapter 6 and verse 62. He said, What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?

And they did, didn't they? I mean they did. They were there. There on that mount. When there in Acts chapter 1 verse 9. They saw Jesus lifted up into a cloud away from their presence.

He ascended. And they witnessed that. The ascension of Christ. We were traveling back from Colorado Springs. Back from our mission trip this past Monday.

And Sherry was reading a book of the letters of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer. And she, one of the letters, in one of the letters she was reading, Bonhoeffer referred to the Ascension Day.

Ascension Day. And Sherry asked me about that, thinking that I know all things and I don't. But she asked me about that, you know, like, is that a special holiday in the church?

I've never heard of that before. Or if it is, when is it celebrated? Ascension Day. Because he spoke of it as a specific celebration. Ascension Day. And I was humbled to admit and frank to confess that I'd never heard of an Ascension Day.

I mean, I've heard of the Ascension Day in the Bible. But I mean a special day where Christians celebrate or observe this special day in the church. The Ascension Day. Now, some of you already knew this, but I didn't know it.

So you say your pastor doesn't know everything. In fact, there's a lot he doesn't know. But because she brought that up and because I didn't know what it was, I decided I would look into it. I'd do a little research on it.

And really I was kind of motivated to do that because it fit with what I'm preaching about this morning. Strange, isn't it, how God does that? He brings something to your mind that's going to apply to the passage you're preaching from.

And so I did a little research on it and I discovered that Ascension Day is a very, very old celebration in the church. Very old, very likely.

And it's observed today, still today, by primarily Eastern Orthodox churches, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, the Eastern Church. But also by Anglicans and also by Catholics.

Ascension Day, they still celebrate that today. And I discovered that it's a very old, old celebration. In fact, in the writings of Augustine, who lived, by the way, in 354, early 400 A.D.

So this is a long time ago. But Augustine said that the Ascension Day was something that started in the days of the apostles.

That had an apostolic origin. And that it was universally observed by the church long before his day, Augustine's day. Frequent, also discovered that frequent mention of Ascension Day appears in the writings of John Chrysostom.

You might have heard that name. But also some of the other early church fathers along with Chrysostom. And they referred to it, Ascension Day, as one of the oldest feasts practiced by the church.

Possibly going back as far as A.D. 68. Apostle John was still alive then. Paul might have been alive. He may have died the year before by tradition.

We don't really know. So it's very old, isn't it? Ascension Day. And it got me to thinking, you know, we as believers... Oh, by the way, it's commemorated on Thursday, the 40th day after Easter.

After resurrection. According to Acts chapter 1, verse 3. Alright? Now you know all about the Ascension Day. Alright? As it's celebrated by the church in some parts of the world. Anyway, it got me to thinking, you know, we enthusiastic...

As believers, we very enthusiastically celebrate the birth of Christ. That would be Christmas, of course. I guess we could call it Incarnation Day. And we would never dream of bypassing or skipping over the celebration of Easter.

Really, we ought to call that and should call that Resurrection Day. But what about Christ's Ascension? Is that important? Should we celebrate, observe in some special way, Ascension Day?

Well, something to think about. Did you know that the Ascension of Christ is mentioned in the Bible far more times than His birth is mentioned?

In fact, there are 26, at least 26 separate references to the Ascension of Christ. Is it important? The Ascension?

Is that something we ought to celebrate and commemorate and think great thoughts about? Absolutely. I tell you, the Ascension of Christ, the exaltation, that's really what this is.

The exaltation of Christ is a highly significant event in Christian history because it marks Christ's completed work of our redemption. Our salvation.

Ascension is pretty important. I want you to listen to Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 to 4. Let me read it to you and listen to every word of this very carefully. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world.

He is the brightness, the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint or representation of His nature.

And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, that's the cross, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

That sounds very much like what Paul is saying to us in Philippians chapter 2. And so with that kind of as the introduction, let's look at what Paul says here.

Paul says in verse 9, look at it very closely. Therefore, or for this reason, God also has what?

Highly exalted Him. Paul said for this reason. What reason would that be? Christ's self-humiliation.

That's the reason. His self-humiliation. Remember verse 8? You've got it there. Look at it. He, that's Jesus, humbled Himself. His self-humiliation.

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross. His self-humiliation. And so for this reason, the cross, His crucifixion.

God also has highly exalted Him. Now, notice something because here is the principle that Paul is teaching us. Notice that God the Son humbled Himself.

But God the Father exalted Him. And here's the abiding principle I might just insert here at this point and we'll get on with the text. The abiding principle is when you humble yourself, God will lift you up.

If you exalt yourself, God will take you down. God will humble you. But Christ humbled Himself, but it's God the Father who exalted Him. But not just exalted Him.

Paul says that God has highly exalted Him. Now, here's a little word study. The words has highly exalted.

Three words in my English translation. That's one word in Greek text. One word. The Greeks really economized their words.

And they just pack a whole lot into one word. It takes us three, four, five, sometimes six words to translate. It's one word in the Greek. And it is a superlative.

It's called a superlative. It is the word huperupsao. Now, you're not going to remember that word. But it's two words put together. And it's a superlative.

And they would often do that and did it in this case. They would put attached to the front of the word a preposition. In this case, it's huper.

Normally, it's huper. To make it a superlative. Huper in the Greek means above. Above, beyond, over. We get our word hyper from this word huper in the Greek text.

Now, it's attached to a word. Very common word. Very normal word. Hupsao. And it means to lift up. To exalt. It can be translated to exalt.

For example, in Luke chapter 1, verse 52, the Bible says, He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted, lifted up, those who were humble.

There, by the way, is that principle again. Those who exalt themselves are humbled. If they humble themselves, God exalts them. And He has exalted those who were humble.

That's hupsao. It means to lift up. To raise up. But when you add huper on the front of it, the preposition above, beyond, then it becomes this.

God has raised up, exalted God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the absolute highest position.

That's what Paul is saying. God has highly exalted Him. In fact, I said as a superlative, we could translate this, God has super exalted Him. Super exalted Him.

Now get this. Get this right. In Christ's humiliation, His condescension, He went down.

Down, remember? A couple of weeks ago. Down to the earth. Down to the cross. Down to the curse. The curse of sin. My curse. Your curse. He took our curse.

And He did it for us because we could not do it for ourselves. The depth of His humiliation. His glorious, what a glorious condescension.

And for that reason, Paul says, God has highly exalted Him. And so in Christ's exaltation, He went up. Up from the grave, His resurrection.

Up from the earth, His ascension. Up to the throne, or to the heaven of heavens, for His coronation as King of kings and Lord of lords.

And up to the right hand of the majesty on high. Up to the very throne, right hand of the throne of God. His eternal, exalted position.

Even now. And by the way, Hebrews 7.25, it's from there that He always lives to make intercession for us. His ascension. His exaltation.

And so we have the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ. Now, very quickly, Paul declares three important features of this.

That we need to get. Three important features of Christ's exaltation. And I'm going to name them this way. A gracious reward.

That's number one. Number two, a guaranteed response. And third, a glorious result.

First, a gracious reward. This is the first thing Paul says about the exaltation of Christ. A gracious reward. And what is it? Jesus Christ was given a unique name.

Get it down just like that. He was given a unique name. Verse 9. Therefore, for this reason, God also has highly exalted Him and given.

Given. Given. Charizomai. From charis. That's the Greek word for grace. And it means this.

It means to give graciously. To give generously. And so, what has God the Father graciously, generously given God the Son?

Jesus Christ. What has He given Him? He has given Him. Do you see it? The name.

Don't pass over that. Don't pass over that and think you know all what that means. Now, you might. But I bet you haven't considered it.

Lately, anyway. Don't just pass over that. He has given Him the name. He said, which is above every name.

Notice, not a name. Not a name that is above every name. But the name. A name that already existed, by the way.

And He has given that name to Jesus. The name. Which is above. There's that word huper again.

That's that preposition. Above. Beyond. Exceedingly above. Every. Literally, absolutely every other name.

He has given Him a name above, beyond every single, absolutely every other name.

Now, what name is that? Well, Paul didn't say, did he? Not in this verse. He just said He had given Him a name.

He didn't give us the name here. But some of you astute Bible scholars are going to say, well, Pastor, just read on. It says in the very next verse that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.

And so you would say, isn't it pretty clear? The name graciously given is Jesus. Well, I must admit, there is something about that name, isn't there?

And there's no denying that. As a believer, Jesus is the sweetest name I know. Absolutely. The great John Newton was a drunkard before he was saved.

Drunken sailor. And before his conversion, I'm sure that the name Jesus was really nothing more to him but a swear word.

But after God graciously and gloriously saved John Newton, he penned these words to him. Listen to this hymn. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear.

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fears. Dear name, the rock on which I build, my shield and hiding place, my never-failing treasury filled with boundless stores of grace.

Jesus, my shepherd, husband, friend, O prophet, priest, and king, my Lord, my life, my way, my end, accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart, and cold my warmest thought. When I see Thee as Thou art, I'll praise Thee as I ought.

That was a wonderful word. And all that's true. True, absolute. About the name, just the name. Jesus.

Jesus. To the believer, there is not a more precious name than the name Jesus. Right? Right? I tell you, we invoke the name Jesus when we pray.

We speak the name Jesus when we witness. We find comfort, courage, strength, and healing in the name Jesus.

We are offended when the name Jesus is blasphemed or taken in vain. There is not another name that means more to us than the name Jesus.

Would you agree with me? I hope you would. Now, as true as all that is to me and to you, you should know that the name of which Paul is referring is not specifically the name Jesus.

Now, I'm not trying to throw a cold blanket on your great thoughts about that name. That's why I said what I said. Where I feel about the name Jesus, the person Jesus.

There's not another name like it to me. But the name specifically that Paul is referring to is not the name Jesus.

He already had that name. It had already been given to him way back there when Joseph had his dream, his vision.

The angel visited him and said, You shall call his name Jesus. He already had that name. And by the way, many others also had that name. In Jesus' day, there were many.

Many by the name of Jesus in his day. You could even argue that the name is still used today in some languages. What then is the name?

Well, Paul gives us the name, I believe, in verse 11. Look at it. That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is what?

Lord. Lord. Lord. Lord. Kurios in the Greek. And it means supreme ruler when it's attached to Jesus.

Common word. Translated master, but generally Lord. But when it's attached to Jesus, it means supreme ruler.

Kurios. Did you know that the Old Testament equivalent for this Greek, this New Testament word, kurios, the Old Testament equivalent is the Hebrew name Yahweh?

Some prefer the name Jehovah. Same thing. In Hebrew, it's Yahweh.

Yahweh is the Old Testament equivalent to the New Testament name kurios. It became a name when it was attached to Jesus. Now, folks, listen.

In the Old Testament, every time God reveals Himself to man, without exception, whether He appears to him in some visible form, like the visible form of a man, an angel, or whether He appears in some other manifestation, visible manifestation, every time God reveals Himself to man, appears to him, speaks to him, audibly, maybe even inaudibly, or reveals Himself in any way every single time, it is the second person of the Godhead.

It is God the Son. The burning bush of Moses. The pillar of fire that led Israel in the wilderness.

The rock that followed Israel and provided water for them. The angel of the Lord.

The Lord. Numerous times throughout the Old Testament, we read about the angel of the Lord. That's the second person of the Godhead. And we know that because every time man comes in contact with the angel of the Lord, the result is always worship.

And angels were not to be worshiped. It's God the Son. God the Son. Intersecting with man.

God the Son is Yahweh. Is Yahweh. I want you to turn to a passage of Scripture that was read by Chris just a moment ago.

It's Isaiah 45 and verse 18. Starting with verse 18. A portion of the Scripture is very likely the part of Scripture that Paul quoted in Philippians 2.

Verse 11. Look at Isaiah 45 and verse 18. Verse 18 says, For thus says the what?

Lord. In all capital letters. That means it's a translation of the Hebrew word Yahweh. This is what Yahweh says.

He says, The one who created the heavens. Who is God. Who formed the earth and made it. Who has established it.

Who did not create it in vain. Who formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord. Yahweh. And there is no other. I have not spoken in secret.

In a dark place of the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob. That is to the Jews. Seek me in vain. I the Lord. There is Yahweh again.

Speak righteousness. I declare things that are right. But. Skip on down there to the latter part of verse 21. And there is no other God besides me.

A just God. And a what? Savior. There is none besides me. Clearly this is Yahweh speaking.

This is Yahweh God. He identifies himself as Yahweh. And then he says in verse 22. Look to me. See. And be saved.

All the ends of the earth. For I am God. And there is no other. I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth.

In righteousness. And shall not return. That. To me. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue.

Shall take an oath. Or confess. Exactly what Paul said. Clearly Paul. In Philippians 2. Was referring. To Jesus Christ.

And who is. Jesus Christ. He is Yahweh God. Savior. The one.

To whom. Or before whom. One day. Every knee. Will bow. And every tongue. Will confess. That he is Lord. He is Lord.

That is. The name. Given to Jesus. In his exaltation. That kept his other names. As well. So we are not talking about.

Not worshipping. Just any Jesus. Truly is a sweet name. Because he is. The Lord. Jesus. The Christ.

The one sent from God. And I know what. Some of you might be thinking. If you are right pastor. Then didn't Jesus already have that name? I mean he is.

Eternal. Didn't Jesus already have. The name Yahweh. Then if you are right about that. Was he not already Lord? Well the answer is yes and no.

See as God the Son. As God the Son. Yes. He is Yahweh. Yahweh God. The great I am. The one who was and is and is to come.

As God the Son. The second member of the Godhead. The Trinity. Yes. Absolutely. He is Lord. But as Jesus. The God man.

Son of God. Son of man. He was given the name Lord. Upon the completion of his redemptive work. You see.

When Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. And then he ascended. He ascended back to heaven in a body. In a body.

I believe and we believe. And the Bible teaches very clearly. In the bodily resurrection. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took with him. His body. And the scars.

In fact some have said. And rightly so. The only man made thing in heaven. The scars. He took that to heaven. He went back to heaven in a body. Before the incarnation.

His birth. God becoming a man. Before the incarnation. He was God the Son. Without humanity. No human form. Spirit only.

But when he returned to heaven. To glory. He returned with a body. A body. A resurrected and glorified body.

And so listen. For the very first time. In all of eternity. A man. A man. A man. Bore the name. A man.

The God man. The Lord Jesus Christ. Bears the name. Lord. Yahweh. Which is the name. Above all other names.

Gracious reward. Jesus was given a unique name. Gracious reward. And with that name. Came something. Or comes something.

With that name. Comes a guaranteed response. That's number two. Jesus was given a unique worship. He was given a unique name.

Gracious reward. Lord. He was given a unique worship. A guaranteed response. Verse 10.

That at the name of Jesus. Which is Lord. Right. Or the full would be. The Lord.

Jesus Christ. At the name of Jesus. Jesus Christ. Every knee should bow. That's the new King James. And King James. It really ought to be.

Will bow. I'm serious. I'm not trying to change scripture. But. That's the meaning. Will bow. Every knee will bow.

Of those in heaven. That's the holy angels. And. Also the redeemed. The redeemed. Who are dead. Who are in heaven.

Saints in glory. Every knee will bow. Those in heaven. And of those on the earth. That's us. Or at least. The redeemed.

At the end of the age. Those who are believers. As well as the unredeemed. Who are still living at the time. And of those. Under the earth. The fallen angels.

Demons. And the unredeemed. Dead. So this. This is just. All inclusive. Everyone.

Will. Bow. Their knees. And. That every tongue. Should confess. That Jesus Christ. Is Lord. You see. One day. I don't know when it's going to be. But one day.

Every creature. In the universe. And in heaven. And in hell. Will acknowledge. Who Jesus is. Now they're not doing that yet. But one day.

They will. And on that day. Whenever it's going to be. Every knee. Will bow. In submission. To Jesus. The supreme ruler. Of all.

One day. That's going to happen. And. Every tongue. Will confess. In confession. That Jesus. Is. Lord. Every creature. Will. Every creature.

Will. Now. Think of the tragedy. Of this. You say. Tragedy. Yeah. Yeah. Think of the horror.

Of this. On that day. When all stand. Before. The Lord. Jesus Christ. All. Will.

Submit. All. Will. Confess. But not all. Will be saved. Many. Many. Many. Countless. Will not.

Think of the tragedy. The height. Of Christ's exaltation. Gracious reward. Jesus. Was given. A unique name.

A guaranteed response. Jesus. Was given. A unique. Worship. And then. One more. A glorious result.

Jesus. Was given. A unique. Glory. A unique. Glory. Verse 11.

To. The glory. Of God. The Father. John 17. In verse 1. Tremendous passage.

Of scripture. In the New Testament. Jesus. High priestly prayer. Would you listen. To some of it. And turn to it. If you'd like. John 17.

Starting with verse 1. Jesus spoke. These words. Lifted. Up. His eyes. To heaven. And said. So he's praying.

Praying. To. God. The Father. Father. The hour has come. He's about.

To go to the cross. And die. So he's praying. The hour has come. Glorify your son. That your son.

Also may glorify you. There was no competition. In the Godhead. Glorify your son. That your son.

Also may glorify you. As you have given him. Authority. Over all flesh. That he should give eternal life. To as many as you have given him.

And this is eternal life. That they may know you. The only true God. In Jesus Christ. Whom you have sent. I have glorified you.

On the earth. I have finished. The work. The work. Of redemption. Which you have given me to do. I finished it. And now.

Oh Father. Glorify me. Together. With yourself. With the glory. Which I had with you. Before the world was. A unique glory.

Revelation 5.12. Worthy is the lamb. That was slain. To receive power. And riches. And wisdom. And strength. And honor.

And glory. And blessing. Let me close with three. Significant applications. First of all.

The exaltation of Christ. Proclaims this glorious reality. A reality that Christians embrace. A reality that the world denies outright.

In fact. Is warning against it. What is that reality? That Jesus is Lord. He's Lord. He's King. He's Supreme Ruler.

King of Kings. And Lord of Lords. The exaltation of Christ. Proclaims that glorious reality. And here's the application.

You and I. Are as believers. Are as followers of Christ. As the redeemed. You and I. Are always to give clear evidence. To a watching world. That Christ reigns.

And that we are his people. We are always to give evidence. Of that. Second.

A second application. And more. To Paul's larger purpose. In the text. We are to have the mind of Christ.

We are to have the mind of Christ. That's how Paul started this whole discussion. Verse 5. Let this mind be in you. Which was also in Christ Jesus. We are to have the mind of Christ.

And so. Paul laid all this out for us. This Mount Everest of doctrines. Of theological truths.

He laid all of that out for us. For this purpose. That we would pattern our lives after Jesus Christ. We would pattern our lives after Him.

To have His mind. To humble ourselves. To do it all for His glory. We are to pattern our lives after this great example.

Remember. You exalt yourself and God will humble you. But if you humble yourself. As Christ humbled Him. God will lift you up.

And then one last application. The exalted Christ. That we've just been reading about.

Studying. The exalted Lord Jesus Christ. Will. One day. Bring. All things. To.

A conclusion. In. A very real sense. Bring. All. Things. That we know now. To an end. One day.

He's going to do. He is now. At the right hand. Of the throne. Of God. But he's not going to be there for long. Because he's going to leave that position. And he's going to bring everything to a conclusion.

I know it seems like. The world is just going to go on. And on. And on. Day. After day. Week. Year. Just like before.

Change is yes. But it looks like there's no end to it. But one day there will be. And. Dear people. There's coming a day.

When the opportunity for salvation. Will one day come to an end. It will. The door will be shut. It will be.

And then it will be a day of accounting. Not a day of opportunity. The opportunity. The opportunity. To bow the knee.

In repentance and faith. Much better to bow the knee. In repentance and faith. In Christ. Than to bow the knee.

One day in judgment. But the opportunity. To bow the knee. In repentance and faith. Will one day come to an end. And that's why. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 6.

2. Behold. Now. Is the. Accepted time. Behold. Now. Is the day of salvation. But when the exalted Christ.

Shuts. The door. It will be a day. Of accounting. A day. Of judgment. Not a day. Of opportunity. And it will be a day. When books.

Will be open. As revelation said. And one of those books. Will be the Lamb's book. Of life. In it.

Stored. All the names. Of the redeemed. Will your name. Be found there. Do you have.

An assurance of that. Are you ready. To stand. Before. The exalted. Lord.

Jesus. Christ.