Reformed Baptist Church in O'Fallon, Missouri
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Christ our Lord

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Opening

Good morning, how are you? So in the ministry, I guess when you retire, you never retire, right? Wait till you retire, Jake. We’ll put you to work. Will you stand with me and pray? Father, we want to thank You for the privilege and freedom to gather today around Your Word and around Your name. We want to bless You. We want to honor You today by being attentive to Your Word. Lord, we want to open our hearts to You and let You speak to us, whatever we need to hear today. We pray that You receive all the honor and all the glory for all that is shared and all that You are doing in our midst today. We just pray this in the name of Jesus, Your only Son. Amen. I want you to open to Philippians 2. Starting in verse 1, Paul says:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 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.

(Philippians 2:1–11)

Amen? So this passage here in Philippians is primarily an exhortation to humility, an exhortation to look on the interests of others, be concerned about others more than yourself. And that’s really the main focus of the passage. But we’re going to look at the verses after the exhortation where Paul then talks about Jesus. He’s using Jesus as an illustration of how we ought to be toward one another, what our attitude ought to be. And what he’s saying basically is, although He was God, He lowered Himself, and he gives us then a kind of a list, a little walk down. He was in the form of God, but He 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. So what Paul is giving us here is kind of a, you see Jesus stepping down, down, down, down, to where the Lord of life, the One who was truly God, came and then stepped down just by becoming a man.

Humiliation and Exaltation

Can you imagine the shock? Going from heaven, perfection, and stepping into this world, but stepping into it, not theoretically, but stepping into it experientially, to where He became a man, although also God. Yet then He laid aside His glory. Some theologians say that Jesus laid aside the manifestation of His glory. Some say He laid aside the power, His divine power, so that while He was on earth, He truly knew what it was like to be a man, even though, as we know, He was always God at the same time. But He veiled His glory, did not manifest His glory, and of course that’s why so many rejected Him. They didn’t see the glory. Where’s the glory? Now, He manifested it in some ways, the healings, right, the miracles. But we’re talking about glory versus glory. We’re talking about a full manifestation of deity, of divine perfection, versus a human expression which veiled His divine glory. And not only did He become a man, but He became a servant. And now He did become a servant, but then He became subject to death, and not just death, but also death on the cross, which, as you know, was not just a painful death, although it was, it was a shameful, shameful death. And so Jesus really became the lowest of the low. He became a criminal in the eyes of men, although He was truly God. It’s a pretty astounding step down, if you know what I’m saying. And that is the model for the Christian in their attitude toward one another. We are to be humble, we are never to put ourselves first, we are never to promote ourselves. We’re always to look out for one another, put others first, and honor them before ourselves. You know, if every church did that, we would not see all these church splits, would we? I’m serious. That’s the problem. The problem is we’re not following this one simple command: just put others first. You don’t need to be first. You go to work and be first. And I hope you are first at work. Hope you’re a great example.

Now, this passage is referred to by theologians as the stages or the state of humiliation, where Jesus, by the incarnation, just by virtue of the incarnation, was humiliating Himself and suffering, if you will, just by being a human, compared to the fullness of glory He had with the Father. So in this stepping down, we see Jesus first becoming a human, joining Himself with human nature. That’s a step down. Then He also had all the human sufferings that we did. He was tired, He was hungry, all of these things. He had temptation like we do, right? Scripture says that He was tempted in all things just like us. But then He died, and He died a terrible death. He died a criminal’s death, and then He was buried. That was His humiliation. But out of this humiliation then came an exaltation. And the first step of the exaltation was the resurrection, where Jesus has come back from the dead in glory. When Jesus came back, it wasn’t just His normal body that people had seen before. Jesus wasn’t resuscitated. Jesus was resurrected. I mean, He was now in a glorified body, and you see Him do all these extraordinary things like walk through walls and just disappear, or He’d make Himself appear one way and then really look a different way. So Jesus, the first stage of the exaltation was being resurrected from the dead. Then after the resurrection is what’s called the ascension. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus is really giving His final discourse to the disciples, and while He was even yet talking to them and blessing, it says that when He was blessing them, He was taken up, and the twelve and probably many others were there, and they saw Jesus go up and then up, and then He was out of their sight. We’re told that Jesus will come again just like He went. In other words, He will come back visibly and then come back in glory, but then He’ll come back with His saints, we’re told. So Jesus ascends, and where does He go? He goes to the Father. When He ascends to the Father, the next stage of His exaltation is what’s called the session. [audio unclear] So the question is, what is He doing up there? Is He sitting next to the Father and just having a good time? What is He doing? Well, the Scripture tells us that He has ascended so that He will be acknowledged as Lord. And that every knee in heaven and earth and under the earth, every knee will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. So at this time in history, Jesus Christ has received from the Father the authority to rule the world. When I say world, I mean the universe. So regardless of your end-time view, if you will, or to the Scripture, Jesus even tells us Himself, when He gathers them at Galilee, He says, “All authority has been given to Me.” All authority. Notice He says it’s given to Him. He didn’t take it. He didn’t usurp it. But it was granted to Him. Why was it given to Him? It was given to Jesus as a gift from the Father for His mediatorial work, for His humiliation, for His death, for the atonement, for His people. And as a reward for that, God said, here, I’m giving You the universe. How cool is that? I’d say no thanks. No thanks, I’m going to take a break. But He grants Him—there’s a lesson there, by the way, because that was a reward for His labor. So the more you do for God, the more He rewards you, the more you’ll do for God. That’s how it works. So Jesus then is given the kingdom. In other words, He is given the place of the Father, if you will, or He will be the one who will be making all the decisions in the universe. In other words, this is where Jesus first sits in His session as the King.

The Session of the King

A king is someone who is in authority, and a king is someone who has a lawful jurisdiction. Now a man can be crowned a king, but not be the real king. He could be a usurper, right? And they called usurpers tyrants. Did you ever wonder how the founding fathers, who by and large were Christians, justified rebellion? I mean, read Romans 13, right? How did they justify rebellion? Well, they wouldn’t say that. They wouldn’t say they were rebelling, but that’s a longer story, a much longer story. But because, well, at the time they believed they were on the side of law and order. They were defending law and order against a usurper or against the tyrant. So when they read passages like Romans 13, they said amen if the authority is the real authority. But if it’s a usurper, that Scripture no longer applies to a usurper. It doesn’t apply to a tyrant, because tyrants are illegitimate. So that Scripture then was off the table, if you will. The founders saw themselves as preservers of law and order against tyranny. And they believed that fighting tyranny was not just a right, but it was a duty. It was a duty to resist tyranny. Because tyranny was not God’s design. The king’s function was to rule, but he was to, if you will, shepherd the people under his care. And it was understood in those days—and we still have kings, we still have queens and princesses in different countries in Europe—but it was understood that there was a covenantal relationship between king and subjects, and that he had a duty to protect them from threats, whether foreign or domestic. And so a tyrant, of course, had broken that covenant. And because he had broken that covenant, the people no longer were bound to him. They no longer had to be loyal to him, because he was not a true king. He was rather a tyrant.

So the unique thing about Jesus in this period where He is ruling, and that’s this period we are in, is that He’s ruling not just as God and not just as man, but He’s ruling as what’s called the theanthropic man—theos, anthropos, the God-man. So now the One sitting on the throne as our High Priest and as our King has what is called fellow feelings with us. He understands us intimately because He is one of us, because He took on our nature, and the Scripture says that He was tempted in all things just like us, but He didn’t sin. Thank You for that. Now, Jesus, a little theology for you. Jesus, before He was incarnated, was ruling the world with the Father as the Son. But not being incarnated, He was not theanthropic. He was, I don’t want to say, just God. But He was just God. Whereas now we have One who’s ruling who is God and man. And so it will be. So what was the function of the king? It was to ensure law and order. It was to punish evil, it was to reward good. It was very simple. In other words, justice and order were to be maintained for the benefit of the king’s subjects. Not for the benefit of other countries or territories or jurisdictions, but over His people with whom He has made a covenant. He’s made a covenant. Guess what? We have a covenant with Jesus, and it’s called the New Covenant, right? That He gave us. Now we are assured, because Jesus is both God and man, He’s not going to break the covenant. He will never break covenant with us. Now we might with Him, but He will never do that with us. We don’t need to worry about being betrayed by our own Leader. Does that sound familiar to you? Yes. So what is He doing now? What is Jesus really doing now? Well, the first thing He’s doing is He is governing, which means that He is overseeing universal providence. Now, if you meditate on it a little bit, it will blow your mind. Now, think about it. Just think about the world with what, 8 billion people? And Jesus is governing all of it. You can’t comprehend it. You cannot comprehend what is really involved in God’s providential rule. But at this time, that providential rule had been handed over from the Father to the Son. So although it involves not just individuals, it involves whole nations. The course of human history is in the hands of Jesus Christ. The course of human history is in the hands of Jesus Christ.

He Is Governing Everything

Now many of you are letting many things trouble you. That’s anything from whether your dog’s going to be sick next week or to whether your political opponent is going to be elected. Many of you are troubled about where the world is going. It seems to be decaying fairly rapidly. Amen? But Jesus says, don’t take any anxious thought for tomorrow. Every day has the evil of its own. Well, He could say that because He’s governing everything. And He governs as an omnipotent, all-powerful, an omniscient King. He knows everything, so He sees the future. He sees the bad, He sees the good, and He is sifting it all through His hands. That should bring us comfort, amen. And it should also make us stop worrying. Okay, stop worrying. [audio unclear] The King, in this case, Jesus the King, is ruling everything in your life to His liking. Let’s say that again. Jesus Christ is governing everything in your life to His liking. Not your liking, His liking. And that means that there will be difficult things that come into your life. There will be extremely painful things, tragic things, things that your flesh really hates. And they have to be part of your life, because even though we’re saved now and even though we have the assurance of heaven, we are in a period of probation before we get into heaven. And we are in training for heaven. You understand? I mean, are you really ready? No, I’m serious. Are we really ready? [audio unclear] “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” So we live in a time of probation, a time of preparation, not to question whether, but to question how. We are rewarded for obedience. Obedience does not get us into heaven, but it puts us closer to the throne. We are living in a time when how we live now will determine our glory in heaven. I know some people are like, well, I just want to get in, I don’t care. I don’t care if I’m right next to the railroad tracks that go to the bad part. I don’t care. Just so I’m on the side of the tracks, we’re good. Well, that’s not the biblical attitude. The biblical attitude is I want to please my Lord. I want to be as much as I can here as I can be, amen? I really want to be like Jesus. So the Lord is not just governing in a general sense, He is governing in a particular sense. And one of the things He focuses on when on the throne is the welfare—excuse me, the Lord is telling me, you can do better now. Sorry, my phone. So, Jesus now, He’s governing all, but He’s governing all with a view, with a certain view. And that view is the welfare of His church. In other words, He’s shepherding His church in the midst of His overall providence so that His church will be built up, edified, and finally make it to glory. That’s His main focus while He’s on the throne. If that’s really true, then why are you worrying? On the throne, He’s still the Prophet, He’s still the Priest, and of course He’s the King. And as the Prophet, what does He do? He sends His Holy Spirit unto us so that through the ministry of His Spirit, He then can teach us. He teaches us His Word, building us up in the Word. But then He’s also a Priest, and as our Priest, we’re told that He is interceding for us. Jesus prays for His people that their faith fail not. And then as King, as I said, He’s governing in their interest. He’s doing what is best for them. He’s doing that which will ensure their ultimate arrival in glory, so that we need not be lost, because our Shepherd is watching over us. Now that’s a glorious thought. So the point Paul is making here is all of that implied, but the fact that that position of kingship, which Jesus now has, was a gift from the Father. He says, therefore God, back in Philippians 2, verse 9, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.” It’s because of His humiliation, because of His suffering and His sacrifice, that the Father then rewards the Son with this authority of reigning now. Jesus is reigning now.

Now I know that’s hard to really get in your head, because when you look at your Instagram, when you look at the news and you look at X and everything, the world seems like chaos, doesn’t it? I mean, do you realize we have—I never thought in my life—I mean, we have a Supreme Court Justice that doesn’t know what a woman is. Now, this is supposed to be the brightest we have. This is the best. These are the elites. Whenever there’s an elite, it’s a Supreme Court Justice. During confirmation, what’s a woman? I don’t know. I mean, we’re in Romans 1 territory. Do you understand what I mean? It is a giving over unto a debased mind. When we can mutilate children, when we can tell a three- or four-year-old, well, you want to be a boy or girl today. This is the realm of a very deep depravity we’ve not seen since Rome, really, which is why there’s always comparison made between America and Rome, the fall of America and that sort of thing. Although I think it’s worse today because we have the technology to make our fantasies come true. And so it looks very dark, and you struggle to think, how does this fit into God’s providence? How does this fit into Jesus’ kingship? All I know is who’s sitting on the throne. And Jesus is doing His will to accomplish His goal on the earth, His will. You think, well, wait a minute. That’s not really His will, because He’s not like that. The ways of God are above the ways of man. We will never comprehend at the moment what God is doing in many cases. But I believe someday we will see. But we’ve already seen this pattern in history. We saw it in Israel when Israel became apostate. We saw it in the pagan world when they abandoned even the knowledge of God they wouldn’t retain. And so what did God do? He said that God gave them over. So the worst thing that God can do for any people is to give them what they want. That’s the worst judgment. Say, okay, you want this, I’ll give you over to it and I’ll let you reap what you have sown. And that’s what we’re seeing today. Where there’s no right, there’s no wrong. There’s only what I want. And I can pick my gender, I can pick who to marry, I can pick this, I can pick that. Even though it’s contrary to the law of God that’s written in my heart. So I have to do violence to my own nature to continue on in that path. You know in Exodus where it says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart? A lot of people struggle with that. But in fact, that text has two different words for hardened. When it’s talking about Pharaoh, it’s not that God turned Pharaoh’s heart against Him. He didn’t do that. His heart was already turned against Him, but he lost nerve. So what God did is God enabled him to continue on in the path that he had chosen when ordinarily a normal person would have stopped out of fear. So He emboldened him to pursue what he had already determined in his heart. And God did that, it says, so that His glory would be manifested. So we have to trust in dark times that God is working things in such a way that although they’re contrary to what we might want, and they would apparently be contrary to God’s will, in fact God is working His will and purposes through what is happening. And so eventually we’ll see. Eventually I believe we’ll know. But we have to know who’s sitting on the throne. And that’s the One who died for us. So when Jesus makes the determinations regarding the welfare of His church, He’s doing it from a position of a King who is truly protecting, attempting to protect His sheep, even though it may not feel like that at the time.

Our Salvation Is Sure

So let me just conclude with a couple observations. The fact that Jesus Christ now is sitting on the throne means that our salvation is sure, because it’s not in our hands. It’s in the hands of Jesus our King. In Romans 8, well if you want to turn there with me, Romans 8, we have Paul glorying in his security. And not just his, but the church. Where do I want to begin? I’ll start in verse 28. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Do we really know that? Do we know that in our hearts? He’s working all things for good for those who love God. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” This is what I was talking about earlier, in this time of probation, if you will. The Lord is working on the church so that the church will be conformed to the image of Jesus. “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” If God is for us, then who can be against us? Well, the devil can be against us, he is against us, but is he greater than Jesus? No, he’s not. People can be against us indeed. But Jesus is greater. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God”—there’s this kingship—“who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ’For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Notice Paul does not say that none of these things will touch us. As a matter of fact, he even basically says, these things will touch us. “For Your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet, he says, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. So the Christian life and the many comforts of the Christian life are not designed to make our lives easy. That’s not how our lives are designed. Our lives will be lives of challenge. Our lives are lives of a battle. This is language of warfare here, when he talks about famine and peril and all these other things that can touch the Christian and often will touch the Christian. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us. Quite the contrary. God gives us the strength and the power and the faith to go through those kinds of things because we’re being conformed, as it says in verse 29, to the image of the Son. When you look at the life of Jesus, it is a life of constant warfare against the devil and evil men. It wasn’t easy. I can only imagine Gethsemane. I can only imagine the dread that came over Jesus when He contemplated, when He prayed, because He knew the wrath of God was going to be laid upon Him. It is incomprehensible. But He endured not only that contemplation, He actually endured it laid upon Him, the Father, for our sins. No easy task. And the Christian life is not an easy task for us either, but it is a victorious task. We are victorious by the power of our King and by the love of our King, and in spite of these sufferings, we can be assured of His great love for us. The next time you’re having a hard time, remember what’s really going on in your life. And that is that you are being chiseled, if you will, to be more and more like Jesus. And not only do you need not fear, you need to stop complaining. You need to stop saying you’ve got it so hard and no one in the world ever had a fussy baby before. It just never happened to anyone. You’re not a victim. You hear me? You are not a victim. Very popular to say, play the victim, get sympathy. You are not a victim. In Jesus Christ, you are a conqueror. And that’s the attitude you need. This is for my good. This is for my good. Do I like it? No. Is it easy? No. Is it enjoyable? No. But it is for your good. And God, Jesus on the throne, governing your life for your benefit, is maybe painful for a time. It’s for your good. So we need to stop worrying, and we need to stop indulging ourselves and expecting to have a soft Christian life. [audio unclear] You can go to heaven. I mean, that’s kind of a nutshell, right? But a big, big part of the gospel is who’s in charge of your life. Who’s in charge? If I was in charge of my life, I would have a lot of money. Be honest, right? Have a lot of money, have a lot of comfort, have all these nice things. That would be my choice. But I didn’t get that. I got betrayal and I got enemies and I got all kinds of things. And we’re preaching Jesus as Lord.

Call Him Lord, and Mean It

You know, you may not be able to remember the old debate about lordship. [audio unclear] I thought the whole debate was kind of silly, because you don’t make Jesus Lord. He is. And we were called to recognize it and bow. That’s what we’re called to do. To bow down before the King. Not say, let me see if He’s a good enough King for me. What are the benefits of this deal here? No. Recognition of what is, and what is that Jesus Christ is Lord. Either we bow willingly now or unwillingly later, but everyone will bow. And the lordship of Jesus is now. It’s today. It’s when you’re going home and you get a flat tire: well, for some reason I needed this. Not cursing the day you were born, like, this is the worst thing that could ever happen to me. You know how we’re so dramatic. So dramatic. So dramatic. Oh my goodness. I’m probably going to get a flat tire on the way home. Hey honey, ride with me on the way home. So part of the gospel is the recognition now of the lordship, the kingship of Jesus Christ. And that means preaching the gospel in its fullness. It means pointing out to people who Jesus Christ really is. You know, part of the decadence of our culture is the cavalier attitude people have toward God. I mean, you’ve heard the phrase, so-and-so is God-fearing, right? You’ve heard that phrase? Even lost people used to be God-fearing. They had enough of common grace, if you will, to know that there’s some things you don’t do. Now people mock God, they curse God, and they do it in public. They celebrate it. And that’s just the ongoing decadence that we see. Yes, He is the world’s Savior. He’s the One that died for you if you recognize you’re a sinner. But He’s also King. And that’s a present reality. And that’s the thing we need to get fixed in our hearts. The kingship of Jesus is now. He is the One who is ruling next to the Father. And in our presentation of the gospel, Jesus needs to be front and center, both as the Savior and as the King. What He calls us, He’s calling us to submit. He’s calling us to say, yes, Lord, yes, Lord. And not this maybe, can-be thing. If You’re nice to me, then I’ll follow You. But if anything bad happens in my life, I’m going to go a different way. And you see that a lot, people who quote, fall away. Many of these people never knew the Lord. They were following the bread, not the Bread-giver. “As long as things go well with me, we’re good, Jesus. If You make it hard, I think I may go back. I may go back.” But, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” You weren’t a Christian, any more than my old cat used to be a Christian. You just found the goodies, man. You just walked along behind waiting for goodies to fall out of the basket. [audio unclear] I remember praying, Lord, just don’t make me a preacher. Don’t make me a preacher. What did He do? He made me a preacher. We don’t get to set the terms of our discipleship. We don’t get to set the terms of Christ’s kingship. He’s the One who does that. So, I’m serious. Why don’t you really surrender and not be halting between two different ways? Why don’t you do it now? And really settle it, I mean, in your soul. I’m going to stop fighting God. I’m going to stop worrying. I’m going to stop complaining. I confess that Jesus is Lord. I think now I’m going to mean it. I’m going to mean it. And I’m going to live it by His power. If Paul can talk about famine and sword and nakedness and peril and all of this, surely when your hair dryer breaks in the morning, you can do it. I mean, surely you can get through it. I don’t mean to be mocking. I’m just saying that we are so acclimated to this comfort that being put out, it’s like, what? Me? Sacrifice? What? Give? What? Serve? What? Me? As if it’s beneath you. The One you’re serving, the One you’re calling your Savior, His entire life was an act of service. His entire life was an act of humiliation, and He did that for you. And what is the proper response to that? Surely not fear and surely not complaining, but sweet surrender. It is amazing how easy life goes, even in hardship, when you have a willing spirit. So why don’t you go ahead and really surrender. Call Him Lord today, but mean it. That means you mean it for tomorrow and every day thereafter. You’re going to give yourself over to your rightful King. Amen? Let’s bow our heads and pray.

Father, I don’t know everyone here and I don’t know their heart, of course, with You. I don’t know how many have truly confessed You as Lord, have truly called upon You as King. Although I’m pretty sure that some here have not. You’re the Searcher of all hearts. You’re omniscient. And You know the hidden parts, things no one else can see, You can see. And so I ask, God, that You would show each of us our hearts. I don’t want to see anybody else’s. I don’t want to know their business. But they need to know their business. They need Your help to see where they really stand. And so I pray for them to be illuminated by Your Holy Spirit, that if they have not truly surrendered, they might do so today. And they would put their old life behind them and say, Yes, Lord, to You, and truly mean it. I ask that when they do that, You empower them with grace to obey and to obey joyfully. Fill them with Your Spirit, and today let the work begin of transforming them into the image of Jesus Christ. May they truly reflect Him in all areas of their life. I pray these things, Lord, for Your glory, as their King. Amen.