9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so 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.
Philippians 2:9-11
In Sunday’s sermon, I said something to the effect of: “Jesus is Lord. This means that he is Lord over our bodies, over our feelings, over our desires. He is Lord over everything. And you can trust Jesus. No one has ever loved you the way that Jesus has loved you. No one has earned the right to your allegiance like he has. He never gives a command except for your good.”
Within the context of Philippians 2:1-11, what specifically does Paul say is the application of this vision? Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4: “3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
We can put others’ needs ahead of our own, because we have seen that this is what Jesus did and God honored it.
Although it will be difficult, I can trust Jesus to provide the grace I need to obey, and I know that God has promised to honor my obedience, no matter the outcome.
I obey because I trust him, and I lean on him to teach me to do this. I ask for grace to speak when I should speak, listen when I should listen and endure rejection if necessary, because I belong to Jesus.
So I follow where he leads me – into foreign mission fields, into my school, into my family… wherever. I know that he has promised to work all things together for my good and that he is at work. So I keep following no matter what.
This week as you consider the Lordship of Jesus, remember Paul’s specific application of the doctrine for the Philippians: that Jesus is greater than everything including me. I can put others ahead of myself because this is what Jesus does. This is what greatness in the kingdom looks like.
