Christian Living 101 - Who Should We Think And Live Like?

God Centered Theology

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And just as we looked at last week, we are going to be essentially discussing

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Christian Living 101. Christian Living 101. And last week we asked the question how then shall we live?

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When we looked at the understanding of being of the same mind one one another and what that looks like.

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And this week we want to ask the question who should we live like?

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We know we are to live humbly and putting the interest of others before ourselves.

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And we spent a lot of time last week looking at the fact that in verse 2

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Paul said to fulfill my joy that you think the same way. And we noted that in some translations it will say be of the same mind.

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It literally means thinking the same way. Well that's fine and good, but it doesn't do us very well if we don't know what we should be thinking.

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Well we're thinking the same way. Well what are you thinking about? I don't know.

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Well it'd probably be good if we kind of figured out what we should be thinking as a church and as fellow

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Christians. Well that's what we're looking at today. Who should we live like?

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Who should we be thinking like? And also this section of Scripture verses 5 through 11 is what we're looking at this morning is one of the best sections of Scripture when we discuss the incarnation of Christ.

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We have obviously in John the prologue to the Gospel of John verses 1 through 18 especially specifically in verse 14 where it talks about the

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Word became flesh, tabernacled among us. Verse 18 talks about the monogamies in Greek which means the unique, the only, the where will we get the only begotten, the one and only

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God becoming flesh. But this section here is a little bit more not lengthy but just more detailed understanding of what

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God's purposes in the incarnation was, what Jesus Christ goals were, why he decided to do this and what his purposes on earth were.

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And what it does is it not only gives us a insight into Christ becoming man to become the

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God man 100 % God 100 % man but as best that God can knowing we have finite minds knowing that we are creatures he has revealed to us in language that we can understand to a degree what it must have been like for the

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God of the universe to condescend, humiliate, or humble himself to the point of encasing himself in weak human flesh.

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So to start with I have a quote for you that I thought was really interesting this is from the commentary

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I have at home by John MacArthur who's a more than 50 years been pastoring.

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He says the incarnation calls believers to follow Jesus's incomparable example of humble self -denial, self -giving, self -sacrifice, and selfless love as he lived out the incarnation in obedient submission to his

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Father's will. It's a beautiful beautiful picture there of what

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Christ did and he did this all perfectly for us. So we begin we look at verse 5 here it says have this way of thinking and I know the

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King James New King James and some of the other translations will say let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

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The legacy standard here says have this way of thinking. I believe the New American Standard says have this attitude.

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They're all correct. They're all getting at what the originals bringing out. It's Paul says we are to have the same attitude, the same mind, the same way of thinking.

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We are to operate in ourselves not just as individual

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Christians but as church the same way which was also in Christ Jesus.

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So we've already had our question before is answered haven't we? Who should we live like?

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Who should we think like? Christ Jesus who although existing in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.

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So right here it goes right into a description of why

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God in the person of Jesus Christ decided to take on flesh and and how he went about doing it but what

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I want you to see as we move through this what I want you to take away from this this is not going to be a point by point line by line fully detailed description of every single possible thing we can do to be like Christ.

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Every single possible situation and thing we can do and avoid to where we're not like Christ.

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That's not what this section is seeking to prove. We have the totality of Scripture and God's law and God's inspired

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Word in different areas we go to this section to learn about this or this passage to learn about that.

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We have the totality of Scripture to learn how we can please God and learn and serve him.

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That's not what's the ultimate point of what's being conveyed here. The point that's ultimately being conveyed here this morning in this section of Scripture is who we as Christians in the church should live like and think like so that as we fulfill

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Paul's joy by having thinking the same way maintaining the same love be united in spirit thinking on one purpose which is what we covered last week not just who but why.

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Why should we think like Christ? Why should we live like Christ?

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Why is it important for us as God's people for us as Christians for us as a church this local body of believers we call

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Seaboard Baptist Church and for every other church that names the name of God that's gathering today on this

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Lord's Day why is it Christ that we live like and think like and no one else?

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We don't think and live like Buddha or Joseph Smith or some political leader or even some outstanding well -to -do citizen.

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We think and we live like Christ. Ultimately we're gonna see this when we get to the end is because he is the one as verse 9 says that God has highly exalted and then verse 10 we find that every knee will bow.

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Verse 11 every tongue will confess and we'll look at the Old Testament quotation that's coming from when we get to the end of the sermon this morning because we're gonna see very clearly that Scripture only knows of one

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God existing in three persons that is the person of Jesus Christ the second person of the

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Trinity that took on flesh that died the death for us because of that he is highly exalted he is the only person worthy of consideration when we say thou shalt live and think like this person he is the only one that has the right as God to demand our worship and to command that we live and think like him so ultimately this is a sermon about who

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Christ is and why he alone is faithful and worthy you think about the book of Revelation when they had the the seal that or the book that couldn't be opened and the the writer weeps for no one could open it and the

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Lamb comes Jesus Christ comes because he alone is worthy to open the book why is he so worthy because Christ is the one that verse 6 although now the legacy standard translates this although existing in the form of God some translations will translate this they'll say although he existed in the form of God I like it to be translated with the more of a present tense verb here existing meaning he is existing this is part and parcel with all throughout the book of John we know that I am statements

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I believe you covered this Sunday school recently the I am statements what this is is a call back to the burning bush when when

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God said you will tell them that I am that I am well in Greek it's a it's a term it's what they say a go

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I me a go I me is what in Greek is translated to I am so in the

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Greek septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament in the burning bush account it says a go

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I me in John when Jesus says I am the bread of life I am fly of the world he says

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I am a go I me in John 8 when they said you're not even 30 years old how could you say that you knew

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Abraham he says before Abraham was I am a go

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I me I am it means I am the self existent one I exist so what's being said here when it says although existing this word translated existing is a word that means a continuous or the continuation of a previous state or existence so despite what our friends in Mormonism or in the

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Jehovah Witnesses and these other specifically when you think about the Jehovah Witnesses and their beliefs in these different false religions that think that Jesus was a created being or that Jesus had a point in time in which he came into existence scripture knows nothing of this

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Jesus was not a created being Jesus was not a person that came into being at a point in time although he did take on flesh and enter into his creation in a point in time this makes it very clear that Jesus existing in the form of God meaning before he ever was born in Bethlehem he was

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God John 1 makes this clear in the beginning was God was the word he was with God he is

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God the word is that's the term John gives to Jesus he calls

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Jesus the word this word who is Jesus is not just in the beginning with God but he is

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God so that's what Paul is picking up on here he's using this terminology this is this is a man who existing he is he is the self existent one he is

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God existing in the form of God in this word form is an outward manifestation of an inner reality so God the form of God existing is this he did not regard or consider equality with God a thing to be grasped so we obviously know that Jesus did make claims to be

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God despite what our atheist opponents and all these people it's always funny to me when people always say well

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Jesus never actually claimed to be God I'm like you clearly don't understand scripture why in the world of John 8 did they pick up stones to stone him after he says before Abraham was

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I am that Jewish people clearly knew what he was saying they clearly knew all those times he equated himself with God and here's

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Paul who met Jesus face to face on the road to Damascus spent three years studying and now is one of the goes from the great persecutor of the church to now the great persecuted and he's going out here saying he's

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God he's equal with God because he is God but he did not consider his state as God in the heavens is something a thing to be grasped or this you'll see sometimes um

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I think the King James puts it that he thought it not robbery that is it's a word that means to seize or grab or take by force so that's why you'll see some translation a lot of King James used the word robbery

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Jesus thought it not robbery or something to seize or grab something to be held on to by force so in other words

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Jesus says I'm God this is who I am but some of these things

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I'm gonna gladly and voluntarily set aside so that I could take on flesh and save my people notice verse 7 even though he's

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God he emptied himself completely emptied himself this is a word that means he laid aside his privileges emptied he fully gave himself over to the task at hand this will be sermon for another day but one of the most beautiful aspects of Scripture is the

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Trinitarian harmony in redemption I want you to remember that phrase

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Trinitarian harmony in redemption the plan of redemption the plan for our salvation didn't just come about by chance didn't just come about as God creates man he sins like oh boy

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I messed up I guess I better figure out a way to save mankind Jesus didn't wake up one day said you know what heaven's great

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I like sitting around manifesting my full glory here in heaven but you know what I feel bad for those little peasants down there

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I think I'll go join them no father son spirit in complete harmony and planning the plan of redemption before the foundation of the world the

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God God the Father has a role in sending the Son the Son has his role in making atonement for mankind and the

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Spirit has his role at raising Christians to life and sealing them to the day of redemption of the body everything that the

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Father does is in concert with what the Son does is in concert what the

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Spirit does so there was never a point on earth where Jesus did anything outside of what the

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Trinity the three persons had decided they would do before the foundation of the world so Jesus in emptying himself taking the form of a bondservant or slave by being made in the likeness of men this word made here is very interesting because in the first chapter of John you see two words being used and you look at the first chapter of John when it's referencing

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Christ it's using a term that does not speak to creation but speaks to self -existence but I think it's verse 3 of John 1 where it talks about how

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Jesus everything that came into being or everything that was made was made because of him that references creation in a point in time so let's make this more simple what that means is on April the 5th 1983 at 755 or 738 or whatever it was in the morning that was the moment in time where I came to be of course

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I was made and formulated in my mother's womb before then but that's the point in time where I came into came into the world what he's saying here made in the likeness of men that's referencing the incarnation it's referencing the point in time when

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Mary gave birth to Christ and he became a man being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross

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Jesus laid aside certain things for us there's five and we're not going to go real deep and explain all this

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I'm just simply going to list them for you to give you food for thought but there's five things I found that could be and this comes from John MacArthur's commentary on the book of Philippians I really liked his list so I thought

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I'd borrow it this morning but when we talk about Christ emptying himself into the incarnation there's five specific ways that he does this one he divested himself of divine glory divested himself of divine glory my friends there is a sense in a way heaven is just beyond any of our imaginations if you think about anybody that's ever seen

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God face to face what do they usually do they fall down dead don't they it is a reason why these what do you call them people that say they die and came back and have all these stories of heaven and stuff they're just not biblical they're not true why because my friends if you see heaven guess what you're gonna be there you're not coming back there's nothing in Scripture that speaks to a normative understanding of someone near -death experience that's what

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I was looking for there are no near that you're either dead or you're not now when you're dead there's probably there could be some type of scientific or metaphysical or something going on in your brain where your brain like you're dreaming or so maybe you're thinking something your brain when they say right when you die your brain's still on for a certain amount of time and it's usually going haywire and overdrive trying to kick things into motion there's plenty of natural understandable things that are going on spiritually speaking you're either dead or you're not you're either gonna be in heaven or not if you've seen the glory of God you're not gonna leave he's gonna keep you with him and so there is a glory a brightness

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I mean you think about the fact that it talks about Revelation how God himself will be our light

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Moses had to veil himself to see the glory of God or would have killed him and Jesus is only ever existed in this glory think about giving that up he says

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I have it every right to be here they're worth it the people

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I'm gonna die for the people I'm gonna save they are worth leaving this glory divested himself of divine glory number two he emptied himself of independent divine authority what does that mean well

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Jesus as God could do whatever he wants he acts he operates independently because he's God while he was on the earth he was fully submitted to the will of the father what the father had for him to do he did he spoke of this regularly throughout the

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Gospels you see Jesus saying whatever the father has for me to do that is what I do and that is the reason

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Paul can say here in Philippians to have this mind in yourselves which is in Christ Jesus even though he was

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God he laid aside his independent authority as God submitted himself to the first person of the

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Trinity while he was on earth not just so that he could be the perfect sacrifice but so that he could be the perfect example for all his people so what you see

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Christ doing we should do Paul says be imitators of God be imitators of Christ what you see

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Christ living and doing we should be living and doing his methods his attitudes his humility all of it because he laid that aside number three the voluntary exit the voluntary exercise notice of some divine attributes so many great sermons for another day but just very quickly and passing some divine attributes we still see

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Jesus healing people right divine power we see people with Jesus raising people from the dead divine power remember the part where it says he no one knows the day or the hour not even the

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Sun my friends Jesus is God he is has all knowledge it's not that Jesus as God doesn't know the day or the hour but what it's referred to in the incarnation when he was on earth in the purse as the person of the

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Sun when he was in the flesh on earth he set aside certain divine knowledge because it wasn't for the

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Sun in the incarnation to know so that it's true when Jesus tells him at that moment in time even the

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Sun doesn't know but only the Father because he was recognizing and showing that distinction that the

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Father knows I am the Sun here for my purpose for my deeds for what I'm supposed to be doing and so you see him laying aside some of that voluntary exercise of some of his attributes it doesn't mean that he wasn't

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God or ceased to be God or didn't have this power or have this knowledge but the exercise of knowing certain things exercise of doing certain things if it was something that would keep him from being submitted to the

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Father he laid it aside if it was something that would keep him from being the perfect sacrifice he laid it aside if it's something that would keep him from doing any and everything he needed to be and or do so when he hung on the cross he would make atonement for sin he laid it aside when he took on flesh number four eternal riches eternal riches if you like to make notes and look at other things this cross -reference is 2nd

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Corinthians 8 9 2nd Corinthians 8 9 it talks about how for now Jesus for our sakes became poor he was rich eternally rich but for our sakes he humbles himself and becomes poor and then number five he left his unique face -to -face relationship with the

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Father there's an intimacy that second person of the

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Trinity has with the first person of the Trinity that the third person of the Trinity the spirit that they they have this harmony and uniqueness among themselves where they say in Genesis let us make man in our image we will never understand we will never experience because we are creatures we are created they are the creators but think about this y 'all even in our finite state even in our we can state

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God reveals in a way that we can read and understand what our

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God is like there's no way we can possibly imagine what it felt like for God in the person of Jesus Christ to leave all that behind knowing what he was coming to I mean this world isn't exactly paradise it's sinful there's weeds there's disease there's what's going on in Israel there's famine and all these things that the closest

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I've come to understanding it is and this is even when you think about it isn't really apples -to -apples thing but it's the closest

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I can come to it what if I had to go do something that God wanted me to do to go to say that the farthest tip of Russia and be a missionary and I'd have to leave my wife and child behind I'd never get to see them again something like that but even that that is such a rudimentary

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I don't know how to put the words the gulf the wide expanse between how

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I would feel in that versus the literal God of the universe leaving everything behind for me for me for you do you know who you are

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I know who I am to leave all that for me yes he did he left it for you that's the gospel my friends that's the good news of salvation he left all that and said it's worth it and this is why and we're gonna move quickly here cuz

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I'm running out of time if I didn't know I was close to the end I might would just stop here and do part two next week but we're getting there verse 8 being found the appearance of a man he humbled himself so on so forth the notice verse 9 therefore

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God also highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name

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I could spend 30 minutes and do it I should could have done research and spent 30 minutes to an hour just talking about the fact that people can deny it all they want but you know there's something about that name when it's spoken it should send terror down the spine of an unsaved person in some cases it doesn't they can pretend all they want when a name of Jesus is invoked it means something and he will be the one that will judge those that have spit in his face verse 10 so that the name of Jesus every knee not might bow will bow of those are in heaven on on earth and under the earth meaning humans demons spirit any created being whether angel or human unsaved or not part of God's family every whether they want to or not that knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is

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Lord master what to the glory of Christ no to the glory of God the

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Father notice the Trinitarian harmony in redemption every person has a role to play

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Jesus Christ will be exalted knees will bow tongues will confess he's the Lord but it's not even to Christ's glory it's to God the

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Father's glory because even in his exaltation when every knee is bowing and tongue is confessing