(The way up is down, and the way down is up.

What? That sounds rather strange and contradicting, doesn’t it?)

 

(These chose to humble themselves, out of conviction:)

 

II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

II Chronicles 12:6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

  7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

  12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

 

II Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

 

II Chronicles 33:12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

 

II Chronicles 34:27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.

 

(These chose to lift themselves up, out of pride:)

 

II Chronicles 26:16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

 

Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

  5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

  17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

 

(It is not good to lift ourselves up, out of pride:)

 

I Timothy 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

 

Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

 

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

 

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

 

Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

 

(However, Jesus wants us to humble ourselves.

He will lift those up who humble themselves, but he will bring low those that exalt themselves:)

 

Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

 

Luke 1:52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

 

Luke 14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

(The way up is down, and the way down is up:)

 

James 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

 

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

  10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 

I Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

  6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

 

I Samuel 2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

  8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.

 

Psalms 147:6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

 

Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

  12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

 

Psalm 147:6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

 

(Jesus dramatically shows us this, first by how the enemy exalted himself, but then is brought down, way down.

First, here is how he exalted himself:)

 

Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

  13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

  14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

  15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

 

(Then here begins the process of his being brought down, first cast out of the mountain of God:)

 

Ezekiel 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

 

(Then cast out of heaven:)

 

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

 

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

  8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

  9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 

(Then cast into the bottomless pit:)

 

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

  2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

  3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

 

(Then finally cast into the lake of fire:)

 

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

(Conversely, Jesus dramatically shows the opposite.

First Jesus, equal with the Father, is in a wonderful position, above all:)

 

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

  6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 

(But then to fulfill the Father’s plan of man’s redemption, he began to willingly humble himself, down, down, down.

First, the Almighty, the Creator himself, humbled himself, to take on flesh, the seed of Abraham.

He made himself of no reputation, born poor, and laid in a manger.

He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, taking on the form of a servant, with no place to lay his head:)

 

  7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

 

(And he who kept the law perfectly, and never sinned, to fulfill the plan of the Father, had to bear our sins, and die in our place.

The perfect, pure, innocent Lamb of God, humbled himself to be rejected by his own people, turned over to the Romans,

to be beaten, scourged, spit upon, and to be brutally nailed to a cross, to bleed to death:)

 

  8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 

(Then he went further down, as they cast lots upon his garments, and he cried out as the Father had forsaken him.

Then he went down further, as he was buried in someone else’s tomb.

Then he went further down, to hell, and preached to the spirits in prison.)

 

(Then the Father began to turn things around. First, Jesus was not left in hell, and neither did the Holy One see corruption.

Then he resurrected Jesus from the dead, in his same body, but glorified, more that it was before the cross.

Then he took Jesus back into heaven, when ascended up from the mount of Olives.

Then he sat Jesus, in the resurrected body of a Jew, at his own right hand!)

 

  9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

  10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

  11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

 

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.