The Name that is Above Every Name

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1-4 ESV). 

If there is any encouragement in Christ… if there is any comfort, exhortation, entreaty, joy, holy urging, or intimate call to holy living and to faithful obedience to our Lord, and to confident trust in the Lord without fear, and any comfort in times of sorrow, and uplifting in times when one is down…

If there is any comfort from love… if there is any encouragement, comfort, exhortation, persuasion, and/or soothing words or actions from love… from what centers in moral preference and is preferring what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, honest, morally pure, and faithful…

If there is any participation in the Spirit… if there is any spiritual fellowship, contributory help, sharing in, communion, and what is shared in common as the basis of fellowship (partnership, community) in the Spirit of God, which comes through submission and obedience and faithfulness to Christ…

If there is any affection and sympathy… if there is any sincere and from the heart caring and loving of one another, concern for the needs of one another, genuine compassion, sympathizing with others in what they are going through as evidenced by reaching out to them in some way to show love…

Then we are to be being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord (agreement) and of one mind (thinking, believing, mindset), which is the mind and love of Christ, which is godly, morally pure, upright, honest, obedient to the Lord, and faithful to him to doing his will.

And we are not to do what we do out of selfish ambition or conceit, looking for what is in it for us, but we should do what we do, first and foremost for the glory of God, then for the encouragement of the body of Christ, and then to minister God’s love and his gospel to the people of the world.

And Jesus Christ is our example for how we are to do this:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

We are to be likeminded with the mind of Christ, as followers of Christ. That means we are to believe the Scriptures and the voice of the Holy Spirit within us leading us and guiding us in the way that we ought to go. And then we should be following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commandments (New Covenant), and we should be going where he sends us and saying what he commands us to say, and without fear, but by faith, in his power.

But having the mind of Christ within us isn’t all about actions, but it is also about attitudes and our way of thinking and processing information and our mindsets. We are not to be proud people, thinking that we are better than other people. And we are not to consider any menial task beneath us. We are not to be conceited and egotistical, but we are to be humble and submissive to God with hearts to serve God and to serve other people.

And we are to be obedient to our Lord to the point of death, but before death, to the point of being treated like Jesus was treated, to being mocked, criticized, rejected, persecuted, hated, mistreated, shunned, cast aside, and falsely accused of what we did not say and of what we did not do. And we need to be people who continue to minister God’s love and grace, even to those who hate us and persecute us without cause, even if it hurts.

For none of us are deserving of God’s love and grace. We are all born into this world with sin natures, in the image of Adam. All of us have sinned. We have all turned away from the Lord and gone our own way. But Jesus Christ loved us so much that he gave up his life for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin and to empower us to now live holy and obedient lives to him in his power and strength.

And because Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and because of what he did for us in humbling himself and leaving his throne in heaven and taking on human form and becoming our sacrificial Lamb to deliver us out of our lives of slavery to sin, God the Father has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that we should all bow the knee to him.

For Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship and praise, and he is worthy of our submission to him and to his will for our lives. He is worthy of honor and praise and adoration and of our obedience to him and to his commands. And he is to be highly exalted and honored by our walks of obedience to him in humble submission to his divine will and purpose for our lives. For he is God! And we were created to worship him by our submission to his will.

Behold Our God

By Jonathan Baird / Meghan Baird / Ryan Baird / Stephen Altrogge

Who has held the oceans in his hands?

Who has numbered every grain of sand?

Kings and nations tremble at his voice

All creation rises to rejoice

Who has given counsel to the Lord?

Who can question any of his words?

Who can teach, the one who knows all things?

Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds?

Who has felt the nails upon his hands?

Bearing all the guilt of sinful man

God eternal, humbled to the grave

Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign

Behold our God, seated on his throne

Come, let us adore him

Behold our king, nothing can compare

Come, let us adore him

You will reign forever (let Your glory fill the Earth)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCwb1vEXyv4

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