Jesus Is Exalted Through His Humiliation

Dr. James White said in his teaching on Hebrews: "The only true path to exaltation and being commended by God is that of humiliation. The person who seeks exaltation will be humbled. The person who is humbled will be exalted by God."

​Instead of exalting Christ in our life and humbling ourselves, we so often exalt ourselves and bring Christ down from where He rightfully belongs and that is Lord and God of all. Instead of exalting Christ, we exalt idols after our own imaginations and fleshly desires and we worship them which means that we are ultimately worshiping ourselves instead of God.

For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

But we do see Him who was make for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:5-9 NASB)

​The eternal state will not be subjected to angels but to Christ alone. The "Him" of verse 7 is identified in v.9 as Jesus. He was made lower than the angels in the predetermined redemptive plan of God for a time in His humiliation and by His suffering and by His death, God has crowned Him with all glory and honor, God has appointed Him over all the works of His hands, and God has put all things in subjection under His feet.

Notice that the writer points out that at the time of his writing and even now at this present time, we do not see all things fully put under His feet yet. But we do see Jesus already crowned with glory and honor and one day when He returns victoriously to defeat His enemies, He will usher in the eternal state, and all things will be put in subjection under His feet.

Why would God allow His Son to be humiliated, to be brought low, to be beaten, to be spat upon, to be crucified?

​If we were God, we would certainly not allow ourselves to be brought low or go through those things. If you look at all man-made religion, their idols and their gods are always exalted without any humiliation. It should be no wonder or surprise then that in man's idols, all we see is man exalted. Yet, it was God's exact and decreed purpose and plan to give His life and humble Himself. It was not plan B. It was the only plan!

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NASB)

​To have the "same attitude" is to have the same mind or to direct the mind in the same way or manner. It is to regulate from within and have an inner perspective which corresponds to a matching outward behavior. Jesus' intentions, His desires as God, His plan of redemption perfectly matched up with His behavior.

v.6 – "Form" same essence/substance – qualitatively the same thing
v.7 – "Emptied Himself" – to empty out, render void, without recognition or reputation, perceived as valueless. "Made in the likeness of men" – took on human flesh at a point in time. Was not eternally a man. (Self-humiliation)
v.8 – He humbled Himself
v.9 – God exalted Him.

​Man likes to think himself to be God but man would never do what God did in Jesus Christ. Man likes to exalt himself whereas Christ humbled Himself. Man creates idols and false gods, Christ is God. Notice the folly of man's idolatry and worship of himself.

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
"I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none."

Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”​

“Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.
“I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a heavy mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He shows forth His glory.
​(Isaiah 44:6-7a, 8b, 9-23 NASB)

There is only one God. There is no other rock besides God. Those who fashion graven images or idols are futile and unprofitable. No idols are self-existing or eternal. They are fashioned out of created things and matter by a created man who is a created thing.

Notice that man loves to labor over his idols ever though it becomes useless and just something to burn up and perish. Man has zero issue humbling himself and subjecting himself to himself. When bowing before idols, man is bowing to himself. It is not true humility but pride and self-exaltation and the path to true exaltation is not through self-exaltation.

Compared to the one true God, man is nothing. God is Redeemer, God is Savior, God is eternal, God is Lord over all. We are to shout joyfully to the Lord of heaven and earth!

Christ was made for a little while a little lower than the angels. Christ humbled Himself lower than beings that He created, and took on human flesh so that by the grace of God He might taste death for all those who will believe in Him.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, and our Savior and our God is exalted through His humiliation.

Below is the video where you can find my full teaching on this passage in Hebrews: