There's Something About that Name

What’s in a name? Name’s identify. People are known by their names. In fact, people make their names what they are. When you hear someone’s name, certain images come to mind. At the mention of some names, you immediately conjure up nice thoughts and feelings of warmth and good will. At the mention of other names, you recoil with thoughts that aren’t so good. It all depends on the name, because it all depends on the reputation that the particular person has built up around his name.

The name of Jesus isn't any different. When you hear His name, what comes to mind? What images do you see? How does the mention of His name make you feel inside? Philippians 2:5 tells us to look at Jesus and then imitate Him, become like Him. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (v. 5).

The "mind" of Christ, which we are to have in us, has to do with "attitude" (NASB). He was humble beyond measure. He was all-loving. He was a man who gave Himself sacrificially for us. And that is the type of person you are to become. Christ came to this earth, died on the cross, and rose again from the dead to make you like Himself.

If you want your name to evoke images of love, humility, and self-sacrifice, as the name of Jesus does, then you must become like Jesus. To become like Him, you must first believe that the Son of God left the glory that was His in heaven and humbled Himself being born a man.

Verse 6 tells us exactly who Jesus is: "Being in the form of God, (He) did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." "Being" refers to natural existence. To say that He existed "in the form of God" (v. 6a) is to say that He possessed the very nature of God. This statement is then elaborated on by the phrase "equal with God" (v. 6b). The NASB says that Jesus "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped" (v. 6b).

This means that Jesus, though equal with God by nature, chose not to cling to it. Rather, He chose to divest Himself of His glory in heaven in order to become a man and provide us with salvation.

Verse 7 then tells us that Jesus did just that and became a man like us. "He made Himself of no reputation" (v. 7a), or He "emptied Himself" of His existence as God (NASB); that is He emptied Himself of His glorious state in heaven, but not of His divine attributes. He never ceased being fully God, but He took "the form of a bondservant" (v. 7b). Though being in essence fully God, "being in the form of God" (v. 6a), He took on the "form of a bondservant" (v. 7b), or became in essence a slave in the fullest sense as well. "Coming in the likeness of men" (v. 7c) refers to reality, not just the appearance, yet with one difference; the absence of a sin nature.

So, understand first of all that Jesus is both fully God and fully man at the same time, yet the two are never confused. That is why Jesus could die on the cross for sin and yet rise again from the dead. He became man in every sense of the word and yet remained God in every sense of the word. You must believe this first of all.

You must also believe that the Son of God died on the cross. Verse 8 adds purpose, speaking of the depth of humility to which Christ went: "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." "Being found in appearance as a man" (v. 8a), refers to how men looked upon Him. By the outward considerations of men He seemed no different. Men could not look inwardly to see the full truth of who He was, both God and man.

"He humbled Himself" (v. 8b) tells us just how far Jesus stooped. It literally means "to lie low." He lowered Himself below even the lowest level of man, dying on the cross, even though He knew no sin. That speaks of attitude; "the mind of Christ" (v. 5). That is humility at its finest. In fact, Jesus was both humble and "obedient" when he died on the cross for your sin. This too you must believe.

Third, you must believe that the Son of God rose from the dead. Verse 9 speaks of more than just the resurrection of Christ. The phrase, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name," refers to His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His glorification, His returning to all His glories in heaven.

"Highly exalted" (v. 9a) could be translated “superexalted” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, Regency Reference Library, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1978, 124). First, God "highly exalted" the Lord Jesus by raising Him from the dead. That is the truth we celebrate at Easter; the fact that the tomb is empty! As Peter explained at Pentecost, "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32). The resurrection of Christ completed His work on earth. The penalty for sin had been paid in full, and now even death has been defeated, making certain that all who believe will be raised to eternal life with Christ.

Finally, you must believe that the Son of God reigns above. Verses 10-11 speak of our response to the exaltation of Christ: "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." Christ Jesus was exalted above all, so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" before Him (v. 10), in honor of the name that belongs only to Him.

He rose from the dead and returned to His glory in heaven so all would confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord" (v. 11a). He reigns above! And it is all "to the glory of God the Father" (v. 11b). This too must be believed.

You can bow to Christ right now. When you trust in Jesus by faith, He will change your life and begin to make you like Himself. Then you will "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" (v. 5, NASB). Amen.