The Savior – The Person of Jesus Christ

The Humility and Exaltation of Christ – Part 3

Psalm 2:8-12

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.

Worship the Lord with reverence, And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son,

lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! NASB

 

Ruler of the Nations

What is more is that this man Christ Jesus will reign as King over all the earth from His throne in Jerusalem. Jesus will be the ruler of the nations of the earth, and ALL the nations will come and worship the Lord and acknowledge His Lordship. This will happen during the Millennium.

Psalm 86:9-10 – 9 All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify Thy name. 10 For Thou art great and doest wondrous deeds; Thou alone art God. NASB

Psalm 22:27-28 – 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before Thee. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. NASB

There will come a day yet future when God will establish Christ’s throne and kingdom and He will rule all other nations. His kingdom will never end or be destroyed.

Daniel 7:27 – 27 ‘Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.‘ NASB

Daniel 2:44 – 44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. NASB

In this Kingship, all the nations of the earth will come and pay homage to Jesus the King. This is God’s warning to all the king’s of the earth.

Psalm 2:8-12 – 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession. 9 ‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.‘” 10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Worship the Lord with reverence, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! NASB

Christ will yield exceeding great power over them and they shall live under His rule or be destroyed. He will Judge the nations with justice and they will obey Him.

Psalm 110:5-6 – 5 The Lord is at Thy right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. NASB

The kings of the earth will be in subjection to Him and will serve Him. The extent of this rule will be worldwide including men from every tribe and language.

Psalms 72:10-11 – 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. 11 And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him. NASB

Daniel 7:13-14 – 13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed. NASB

Zechariah 14:16-20 – 16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. NASB

His throne will be located in Jerusalem and from Mount Zion Jesus the King will reign over all the earth! At this time God will restore His people Israel to Himself, and they will dwell in the land of Israel which He promised to them.

Ezekiel 20:40-41 – 40 “For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I shall accept them, and there I shall seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. NASB

Micah 4:7 – 7 “I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcasts a strong nation, And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. NASB

Ezekiel 37:21-22 – 21 “And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,” Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. NASB

There God’s people Israel will have Peace as the Prince of Peace their Messiah has brought them great security.

Zechariah 14:8-11 – 8 And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. 10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 And people will live in it, and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. NASB

So it will be in the latter days, Jesus the King will be highly exalted in the sight of all nations and kingdoms, and they will give Him glory and serve Him.  This will happen during the Millennium, the 1000 year period of Christ physical Rule upon the earth with His Saints. During this time Satan will be bound and have no influence upon mankind.

Revelation 20:1-3 – And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. NASB

Toward the end of the Millennium, there will be a final rebellion against Christ by the nations, at which time He will destroy them forever, along with Satan. This will be the final doom of Satan and all the wicked, and the Eternal State will be ushered in.

Revelation 20:7-10 – 7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. NASB

In this Eternal State there will no longer be any sin in God’s Kingdom and the inhabitants of the earth will rest in peace forever.

Revelation 21:24-27 – 24 And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. 25 And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed; 26 and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. NASB

To clarify questions of timing and distinctions between the Millennium and the Eternal State, please see the chart below.    

 

 

 

The Savior – The Person of Jesus Christ

The Humility and Exaltation of Christ   

 

Philippians 2:9

Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and

bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

 

The Exaltation of Christ – Jesus, the Highest Name

Jesus left the Glory of Heaven to humble Himself and become obedient to death on a cross. The Humility of Christ is an example of God’s character like no other. But consider that the lowly state to which Christ humbled Himself is not fit for a king. Should Jesus remain in that low estate to which He condescended forever, even though the Scripture should promise that “humility comes before honor?” (Prov 15:33) Jesus will of course be a man forever, having taken the nature of man, but He shall not be a humbled man, but One who is greatly exalted.

Philippians 2:9-11 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASB

See here that God has exalted Christ in His humanity and given Him a name among men and angels which is “above every name.” Because Jesus became obedient to death to serve God’s purpose in redemption as a man (Phil 2:6-11), God has “therefore also highly exalted Him!” Consider the nature of this exaltation, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father” See here that now Jesus the man will be exalted by all His creatures, and they shall be made to publicly confess His Lordship and pay homage to His great name, and this to “the glory of God the Father!” Consider what a contrast this is with His humiliation at Calvary. Jesus, who was scorned, shamed and beaten to death by men, shall now be their exalted King and Sovereign Judge! Thomas Watson comments..

“Christ shall judge his judges, he shall judge Pilate that condemned him; kings must leave their thrones and come to his bar. And this is the highest court of judicature, from whence is no appeal….See the different state of Christ on earth and in heaven. Oh how is the scene altered! When he was on earth, he lay in a manger; now he sits on a throne. Then he was hated and scorned of men; now he is adored by angels. Then his name was reproached; now, `God has given him a name above every name.’ Then he came in the form of a servant, and as a servant, stood with his basin and towel, and washed his disciples’ feet; John 13:3, now he is clad in his princes’ robes, and the kings of the earth cast their crowns before him. On earth he was a man of sorrows; now he is anointed with the oil of gladness. On earth was his crucifixion; now his coronation. Then his Father frowned upon him in desertion; now he has set him at his right hand. Before, he seemed to have no form or beauty in him; Isa 53:3; now he is in the brightness of his Father’s glory. Heb 1:1. Oh what a change is here! `Him has God highly exalted.’”

 

Seated at God’s Right Hand

The Scripture speaks in many places of His exaltation now at the “right hand of God.” The term “right hand” means that God has given Him the greatest honor, dignity, and power, as princes set the next in honor and authority to themselves at their right hands: It was esteemed the place of the highest honor to be seated at the right hand of a prince. So, to be seated at the right hand of God, means only that Jesus is exalted to the highest honor of the universe. So we are told in Scripture that when Jesus ascended into Heaven, He sat down at God’s right hand!

Mark 16:19 – 19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. NASB

Hebrews 12:2 – 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NASB

Further, He has now been seated at Gods’ right hand and is awaiting the complete subjection of His enemies “under His feet.”

Psalm 110:1 – 110 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” NASB

This place of honor is in fulfillment of Jesus prophecy to the Jews and the High Priest at His trial. There the Lord told them the truth, namely that they would see Him “sitting at the right hand” of God!

Matthew 26:62-65 – 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” NASB

The Scripture describes the full extent of this honor which the Father has bestowed upon Him. His Exaltation is of such nature that it is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named.” This is to say that the extent of His authority is infinite, being equaled to God Himself.

Ephesians 1:19-23 – 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all. NASB

So not only did He possess this Sovereignty from all eternity as God the Son, but now the man Christ Jesus sits at the throne of God with a name among His creatures that is exalted above every name! And they shall give Him the glory due His name, and not a single creature shall fail to glorify Him and confess His Sovereign Glory and pay homage to Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Revelation 5:9-14 – 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” 11 And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying 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.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped. NASB