Blogger's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!!
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Everything Jesus did, through His incarnation, which we celebrate on this date, and through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, was/is for the glory of God, The Father (see Phil. 2: 11). It is true that God, The Father, declares Himself to be the One and only God (see Exodus 20: 2 – 3 and Isaiah 45: 5a). However, as MacArthur relates in today’s Strength for Today entry, both Matt. 17: 5 and John 5: 23 declare, from the majesty of the Trinity, that all who honor God, The Son, give glory to God, The Father. They are One; and our lives are lived to glorify our TRINITARIAN God.
Therefore, as I meditate here on Christmas morning, I’m drawn, with conviction, to the realization that when I confess Christ as my Lord and I live in obedience to His word, doing all I can to reflect His Light into the world, I give honor and glory to The Father just as did His Son, Jesus (see Matt. 5: 16). And when the fruit of God [see Gal. 5: 22 – 23], the Spirit, are manifest in my life, again God, The Father, is glorified (see John 15: 8).
So, in this time of Advent reflection and celebration of Christ’s birth, we see that Christ’s exaltation by God, The Father, was to affirm that Christ would be glorified by His Church; and in so doing, God, The Father becomes greatly glorified. And likewise, when we worship Christ as our Lord with lives being directed by the Holy Spirit, we become the “living sacrifices” described by Paul in Rom. 12: 1; and in so doing we bring glory to our Father in Heaven. It is perfect circular redundancy; and the more it becomes our life of worship, we live to be God’s glory.
That is what all of this Christology has been about this month. I pray that it has touched you the way it has me; and tomorrow we switch to another passage from Paul in Colossians to round out these last few days in December; so, stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On this special day to honor my Lord’s birth, may my life be lived to honor You, my Father in Heaven. Amen
Showing posts with label Christ's exaltation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ's exaltation. Show all posts
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
December 18, 2011 … The Privileges of Christ’s Exaltation
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, we’re back again in Phil. 2: 9 this morning as John MacArthur continues to help me (us) appreciate the explanation of the reverse of the incarnation of Christ. Having become a babe in a manager, … having chosen to be a servant, … even a slave; and having died ignominiously on a cross, … Christ was raised from the grave, brought by God’s Spirit into Heaven, seated on God’s Throne, crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords, and established to His Royal Priesthood as Head of His Church.
He, Who was rejected by man, was accepted by God. He, Who had chosen obedience and humility to His Father, was once again given all power and authority in heaven (see Eph. 1: 22 – 23, which states, 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.) … And so, He, Who had been spat upon by the religious leaders of His day, became the High Priest for God’s Church and our intercessor/advocate forever.
Is this not the most glorious thing that one could ever contemplate – especially in this time of year, the Advent Season, when we remember His incarnation and the promise of His second coming? And John MacArthur closes his exposition and devotional on this date by emphasizing a point of enormous importance, doing so by quoting the Puritan, Thomas Walton, who wrote, “As sure as Christ is exalted, … so sure will He instate believers in all that glory … (read Christ pleading this for His Church in John 17: 22).”
What an incredible hope and encouragement this is, especially for those of us who’ve been lifted out of the tarpits of habitual sin and rebellion by His wondrous gift of saving grace. To be able to walk with Him and for Him in this life is truly the realization of the words of John Newton’s Amazing Grace (hum and sing those first bars with me), “Amazing grace … how sweet the sound … that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost; but now I’m found … was blind but now I see.”
But wondrously, it doesn’t stop there; … yes, … there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: All praise and thanks, dear Lord, for your exalted place in glory; and a place saved for me! Amen
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, we’re back again in Phil. 2: 9 this morning as John MacArthur continues to help me (us) appreciate the explanation of the reverse of the incarnation of Christ. Having become a babe in a manager, … having chosen to be a servant, … even a slave; and having died ignominiously on a cross, … Christ was raised from the grave, brought by God’s Spirit into Heaven, seated on God’s Throne, crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords, and established to His Royal Priesthood as Head of His Church.
He, Who was rejected by man, was accepted by God. He, Who had chosen obedience and humility to His Father, was once again given all power and authority in heaven (see Eph. 1: 22 – 23, which states, 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.) … And so, He, Who had been spat upon by the religious leaders of His day, became the High Priest for God’s Church and our intercessor/advocate forever.
Is this not the most glorious thing that one could ever contemplate – especially in this time of year, the Advent Season, when we remember His incarnation and the promise of His second coming? And John MacArthur closes his exposition and devotional on this date by emphasizing a point of enormous importance, doing so by quoting the Puritan, Thomas Walton, who wrote, “As sure as Christ is exalted, … so sure will He instate believers in all that glory … (read Christ pleading this for His Church in John 17: 22).”
What an incredible hope and encouragement this is, especially for those of us who’ve been lifted out of the tarpits of habitual sin and rebellion by His wondrous gift of saving grace. To be able to walk with Him and for Him in this life is truly the realization of the words of John Newton’s Amazing Grace (hum and sing those first bars with me), “Amazing grace … how sweet the sound … that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost; but now I’m found … was blind but now I see.”
But wondrously, it doesn’t stop there; … yes, … there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: All praise and thanks, dear Lord, for your exalted place in glory; and a place saved for me! Amen
Saturday, December 17, 2011
December 17, 2011 … The Meaning of Christ’s Exaltation
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Okay, today we’re back again in Phil. 2, with a focus on the one phrase from verse 9a, “… God exalted Him (Christ) to the highest place.” I believe John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, has taken his readers back to the theology of Christ’s exaltation so that we can gain a more complete understanding of what Christ gave up in His incarnation, life, and death on earth and what He attained in living as the God-Man.
MacArthur poses an interesting rhetorical question in his devotional entry for today, writing, “… how could Jesus be exalted since He was (already) fully God?” However, by returning to Christ’s High Priestly prayer, we read Christ (in John 17: 5) asking His Heavenly Father to be restored to His former glory. And ultimately, as we read in today’s verse, when this actually happened, which it did in His ascension and re-coronation (as we’ve seen), Christ reacquired His former status in the union of the God-Head – but with something added!
Now, restored to His glory bound position in the Trinity in the Godhead, and having lived out the reality of sinless humanity, the exalted Christ could – and has – become High Priest, Who can – and does – intercede and be the Advocate for God’s people (i.e., those who’ve received Him as Lord and Savior). And as our re-glorified God-Man Priest, … our Messiah, … my Lord … knows and has felt all that I am; and as my Savior-Priest, He can and does intercede for me before God, the Father, with infinite empathy, shielding my sin nature from the wrath of God and letting me wear His Own Robes of Righteousness to cover my rags of sin. When God, the Father, looks at me (or you, if you’re saved), He doesn’t see my sin. He sees my positional purity, having been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son.
I hope you’re getting the picture of our fully restored Savior in Heaven and what He set aside to become a Man like no other man, becoming a Servant King on my (and your) behalf. But there’s more; so, as I keep saying this month, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I praise Your Holy and Priestly Name! Amen
My Journal for Today: Okay, today we’re back again in Phil. 2, with a focus on the one phrase from verse 9a, “… God exalted Him (Christ) to the highest place.” I believe John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, has taken his readers back to the theology of Christ’s exaltation so that we can gain a more complete understanding of what Christ gave up in His incarnation, life, and death on earth and what He attained in living as the God-Man.
MacArthur poses an interesting rhetorical question in his devotional entry for today, writing, “… how could Jesus be exalted since He was (already) fully God?” However, by returning to Christ’s High Priestly prayer, we read Christ (in John 17: 5) asking His Heavenly Father to be restored to His former glory. And ultimately, as we read in today’s verse, when this actually happened, which it did in His ascension and re-coronation (as we’ve seen), Christ reacquired His former status in the union of the God-Head – but with something added!
Now, restored to His glory bound position in the Trinity in the Godhead, and having lived out the reality of sinless humanity, the exalted Christ could – and has – become High Priest, Who can – and does – intercede and be the Advocate for God’s people (i.e., those who’ve received Him as Lord and Savior). And as our re-glorified God-Man Priest, … our Messiah, … my Lord … knows and has felt all that I am; and as my Savior-Priest, He can and does intercede for me before God, the Father, with infinite empathy, shielding my sin nature from the wrath of God and letting me wear His Own Robes of Righteousness to cover my rags of sin. When God, the Father, looks at me (or you, if you’re saved), He doesn’t see my sin. He sees my positional purity, having been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son.
I hope you’re getting the picture of our fully restored Savior in Heaven and what He set aside to become a Man like no other man, becoming a Servant King on my (and your) behalf. But there’s more; so, as I keep saying this month, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I praise Your Holy and Priestly Name! Amen
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
December 13, 2011 … Elements of Christ’s Exaltation
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday we considered and saw the perfect evidence of God’s law of reciprocation, the wondrous balance of God’s justice for God, the Son, Who humbled Himself for mankind that we might be lifted up to Glory with Him. However, this law worked first and foremost – and perfectly - for Jesus; and what a wondrous sequence it is to contemplate the exaltation of Christ, following the kenosis [i.e., emptying] of His glory and majesty in the incarnation, … that He, having died for mankind, would be resurrected by God, the Holy Spirit, ascended to Heaven to the Right Hand of God, The Father (see Acts 2: 32 – 33; Acts 5: 30 – 31) and then to be honored above all by His Coronation so that He might serve eternally in intercession for you and me and His Church as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4: 14 and 7: 25). Contemplate these truths, fellow Christian!
As John MacArthur puts it in his Strength for Today entry today, “He (Jesus) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Then He was seated on the throne of God to intercede as High Priest of His people.” Oh, … I hope you are as much in awe as I am to meditate and contemplate the truth that as believers who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will one day be resurrected (should He not come again during our lifetime), and we will be exalted to sit with Him and to rule in eternity with Him. Is that not mind-blowing in its implications!!
Think about the spirit of this Advent season – our Christmas. Is it not a small, small gift to be able to serve our Lord on this earth for the gift of exaltation He has given us? But that’s all our Lord wants from us – the gift of our surrender and service to Him. And really it’s all I have to offer Him. He has everything! And, as one of our staple exhortations from Christ, Luke 9: 23, documents, what Jesus asks of me (and you) is for me to give up myself and follow Him. It’s really not too much to request for me to contemplate giving my all for Him during this Advent season (and beyond in my life).
What about you who might be reading this? Are you giving our Lord enough of yourself for Christmas [and for life, for that matter]? Well, there will be more time to mediate on this during the rest of December; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: May I always be diminished, Lord, that You may increase! Amen
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday we considered and saw the perfect evidence of God’s law of reciprocation, the wondrous balance of God’s justice for God, the Son, Who humbled Himself for mankind that we might be lifted up to Glory with Him. However, this law worked first and foremost – and perfectly - for Jesus; and what a wondrous sequence it is to contemplate the exaltation of Christ, following the kenosis [i.e., emptying] of His glory and majesty in the incarnation, … that He, having died for mankind, would be resurrected by God, the Holy Spirit, ascended to Heaven to the Right Hand of God, The Father (see Acts 2: 32 – 33; Acts 5: 30 – 31) and then to be honored above all by His Coronation so that He might serve eternally in intercession for you and me and His Church as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4: 14 and 7: 25). Contemplate these truths, fellow Christian!
As John MacArthur puts it in his Strength for Today entry today, “He (Jesus) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Then He was seated on the throne of God to intercede as High Priest of His people.” Oh, … I hope you are as much in awe as I am to meditate and contemplate the truth that as believers who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will one day be resurrected (should He not come again during our lifetime), and we will be exalted to sit with Him and to rule in eternity with Him. Is that not mind-blowing in its implications!!
Think about the spirit of this Advent season – our Christmas. Is it not a small, small gift to be able to serve our Lord on this earth for the gift of exaltation He has given us? But that’s all our Lord wants from us – the gift of our surrender and service to Him. And really it’s all I have to offer Him. He has everything! And, as one of our staple exhortations from Christ, Luke 9: 23, documents, what Jesus asks of me (and you) is for me to give up myself and follow Him. It’s really not too much to request for me to contemplate giving my all for Him during this Advent season (and beyond in my life).
What about you who might be reading this? Are you giving our Lord enough of yourself for Christmas [and for life, for that matter]? Well, there will be more time to mediate on this during the rest of December; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: May I always be diminished, Lord, that You may increase! Amen
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