Philippians 2:9 - Higher than high

-’therefore also God highly exalted Him and freely gave to Him the Name the [one] above every name...’

-the glorious irony here is that what Jesus did in emptying and lowering Himself and making it all about others and not about Him is that God made it all the more about Him as a result.  obviously this could not be part of our motivation here, and we are not being asked to pay for the sins of the world, therefore we are not going to be talking about being given a name or a position like that which Jesus has.  not to mention that we are not the only begotten Son of God (and yet - for those who go low, who lower themselves and embrace others-first others-better, there remains a promise of exaltation, a promise of glory for those who walk the via dolorossa - mt 23.12, rom 8.17-18, 2cor 4.17).  but the context is others-first others-better, and here it is definitely not about us.  paul in these next few verses shifts the focus completely off of us and what we do and onto Jesus.  it is a slight tangent of glorious truth about the King of glory...

-He lowered Himself, going as low as He could go, and subsequently was lifted up as high as could possibly be.  God (the Father) highly exalted Jesus.  this is a great word in the greek, and it is only used here in the NT.  the word is huperupsoo, from huper (hyper)(it became ‘super’ in latin and it of course still that in english), which means above, and hupsoo (which is the verb form of hupsos, or hypsos, which describes something that IS above or high).  so God didn’t just make Jesus higher, He made Him higher than high.  basically, God super-exalted, He hyper-hyped Jesus.  the super-latives runneth over: supreme, superb, supernal, incomparable, matchless, unequaled, consummate, unsurpassed, par excellence, transcendent, unrivaled, inimitable, second-to-none.

-when did this super-exalting take place?  it seems obvious that it took place after this ‘death on a cross’ in v. 8.  really it takes place as a result of the entire process of emptying and lowering which of course began with the incarnation and even before that in eternity (cf heb 1.2), but the consummation is found at calvary.  and there are mutiple references throughout Scripture to this super-exalting coming after and as a result of what Jesus suffered on the cross (heb 2.9, act 2.33, eph 1.20-22, heb 1.3, heb 12.2, ps 8.5-6, is 52.13, lk 24.26, rom 14.9, eph 1.20-22).  to be fair, even the super-exalting which was determined in eternity and carried out in the ascension has yet to be fully realized (heb 2.8).  we will come back to this...

-but God the Father gave Him the Name - THE Name.  now there is definitely something about the Name of Jesus.  mt 1.21, act 4.12, eph 1.21, heb 1.4.  “you will be hated by all because of My Name...” - lk 21.16-18.  ‘they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus...” - act 4.18, act 5.40.  “whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do...” - jn 14.13-14, jn 16.24, act 3.6, act 16.18, lk 10.17.   the name Jesus means, ‘God saves’ (english for Iésou, which is the greek for jeshua/joshua, which was the hebrew word for savior).  it is certainly the most polarizing Name on the planet.  it is misused, abused, mocked, and hated - by many who are being deceived by the world, the flesh, or the devil, by ones who are in outright rebellion against their Creator, and by others who have experienced or seen unrighteousness worked by those who claim to follow Jesus.  it’s dismissed by ones who’ve yet to be convinced they need saving.  some use the Name as more of a means to an end (mt 7.22), but there are many others who have embraced the Name and the One to Whom it was given as their Savior and Lord.  these He is not ashamed to call His friends and His brothers and sisters (jn 15.13-15, heb 2.11, mt 12.50).

-obviously the name ‘Jesus’ was given to the Son of Man before He was conceived (cf lk 1.31, lk 2.21), and He had a status of glory before then as well (jn 17.24).  but it looks like the text here could be saying that God gave this super name to Jesus after the crucifixion, that He got the name as a result of His obedience unto death.  so, perhaps the name in question here is not ‘Jesus’ afterall?  or, the use of contrast could suggest that perhaps the naming is actually tied more to the entirety of His going low, the humbling Jesus did which began with the laying aside of His status and privileges and taking on the form of finite frail humanity.

-so we need to consider, was the exalting something separate and complementary to the naming, or is it the one and same thing?  because it would seem that the exalting was definitely part of the resurrection and subsequent ascension and seating at God’s right hand, especially since the flow here mentions the exalting immediately after the crucifixion.  and yet technically the Jesus-naming took place before that, prophetically before He was even conceived (lk 2.21)... one view suggests that the exalting and naming both did come after the cross, seemingly then requiring that the super Name to which paul refers here is not ‘Jesus’ but rather ‘Lord’ (verse 11 is mentioned as supporting this view, cf act 2.33-36).  another view suggests that it is not a personal name that was given per se but rather the actualization of a position and office of supreme, unrivaled dignity and honor.  another explanation is that the exalting and naming both took place more out of time, when the heretofore unnamed second member of the Trinity (cf dan 7.13, dan 3.25, ps 80.17) emptied and lowered Himself and was gloriously incarnated inside the womb of an unwed teenage girl in galilee.  it makes some sense to attach the naming to the incarnation as the time when the emptying and lowering actually took place.  this posture of humility then of course continued throughout His time on earth (cf lk 2.51, mt 3.14-15, mt 14.24-27), being ultimately consummated in the sufferings of the Passion.  but what about the exalting?  one could perhaps even try and identify a time prior to the incarnation, since in eternity the decision to lower and the actual lowering as well as the ultimate hyper-hyping would all be part of one continuous reality.

-another way to reconcile the timing of the naming and the exalting without having to resort to a name other than ‘Jesus’, which we are told in the next verse is the name at which every knee will bow, is to consider that the name of Jesus while given prophetically before conception and practically at His birth was fully realized only after He did die and pay the penalty for the sins of the world, thus accomplishing the salvation to which the name ‘Jesus’ refers.  it was only thus that He really and fully became Jesus the Christ, and in the ascension He then also once and for all entered into the place of Lord over all, subsequently bringing full expression to all that is contained in the name ‘Jesus’.  they called Him Jesus in the stable in bethlehem, but now He IS Jesus, in every sense of the word.

-nevertheless, a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, and there are many other names and titles found throughout Scripture by which He can be called.  the fact remains that Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and Christ, God’s Messiah, and there is no other name in or under heaven by which we can be saved.  He alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life.  His is a Name higher than any other, one which deserves and should impel both awe and worship, total abandonment and audacious boldness.  it should change everything - and has in many ways and for many people.  unfortunately the Name of Jesus has also been horribly misrepresented by some and has indeed become for many others nothing more than an epithet, or an afterthought.  or perhaps a kind of noble idea at best.  no doubt my own gaps and failings - not the least my materialism and timidity and selfishness - do indeed detract from a fully-orbed manifestation of devotion to and showing off of the glorious greatness of the Name of Jesus.  i do have a long way to go...