Exalt (lift up) (5312) hupsoo by Greek Word Studies

Exalt (5312) (hupsoo from hupsos = height, elevation) means to lift up spatially, to raise high. Figuratively, it can describe lifting one up to a place of honor, fame, power, or position (to exalt). Hupsoo is used as a reference to the crucifixion in Jn 3:14, 8:28, 12:32, 34 (cp use in Lxx of Ps 9:13 where "affliction" in the Lxx = tapeinosis = low estate, humiliation, which again links "exaltation" [lift me up] with "humiliation".). Hupsoo in other contexts clearly alludes to Jesus' ascension to the right hand of His Father's throne (Acts 2:33, 5:31). It is possible to interpret Jn 12:32 with a "double meaning" as referring not only to His crucifixion but also His exaltation to heaven. Davids comments that here in Jas 4:10... The picture is that of someone prostrate before an oriental monarch, begging mercy. The monarch leans down from the throne and lifts the petitioner's face from the dust. The person rises with grateful joy, knowing he or she is forgiven. (New International Biblical Commentary). Hupsoo - 20x in 16v and is rendered in the NAS as exalt(2), exalted(9), exalts(3), lift(1), lifted(4), made great(1). Matthew 11:23 "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Comment: Capernaum was the "operation center" for Jesus while in Galilee and thus was continually exposed to the Light of the world (7" class="scriptRef">Mt 4:16, 17, Jn 1:5, 7, 3:19, 20, 21, 8:12, 9:5, 12:35, 36) Greater revelation always brings greater condemnation if the truth is rejected, thus Capernaum would suffer ever greater condemnation than Sodom (Mt 11:20, 21, 22, 23, 24, - this concept of differ "degrees" of eternal punishment - Mt 10:14, 15, 12:41, 42, Jn 19:11, Lk 10:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 11:31,32, 12:47,48, 20:45,46,47, Mk 12:38,39,40, Heb10:29, 30, 31) Matthew 23:12 "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Comment: Jesus discusses the "revolutionary" character of His coming Kingdom, in which greatness is the opposite of what the world supposes, for genuine greatness stoops to serve. The prideful Pharisees exalted themselves before men, but would be brought low before God in due time. And so Jesus repeatedly stressed the importance of humility to His disciples emphasizing that if one wanted to be great in the Kingdom, he must become the servant of all (cp Mt 20:20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28) Luke 1:52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. Luke 10:15 "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! Luke 14:11 "For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted." Luke 18:14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." Comment: One can either exalt one's self or allow God to exalt him, but only the latter man will be justified or declared righteous. In other words, Jesus is teaching that the humble man who acknowledges his lack of personal righteousness and looks to God for righteousness will be exalted, which in this context indicates that he will be declared righteous. Justification or being declared righteous depends on God’s grace, not on human works or merit (cp Ro 3:24-note, Ro 3:28-note). . On the other hand those who exalt themselves and count on their own righteousness will be humbled by God. John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; Comment: Jesus is prophesying of His coming crucifixion, and points Nicodemus to an OT passage he would have been quite familiar with, Nu 21:5, 6, 7, 8, 9. In that passage the Israelites who had suffered a potentially fatal bite by the fiery serpents, were to look at the serpent lifted up that they might be healed. Jesus' main point is that He Himself would also be lifted up, so that just as all who looked at the serpent on the pole had been physically healed, so too all who looked by grace through faith at Christ lifted up on the Cross would spiritually live (cp Jn 3:3) John 8:28 Jesus therefore said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."..34 The multitude therefore answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Comment: As noted above while this use of hupsoo could refer to the crucifixion, it is difficult to exclude the possibility that it has a double meaning and also refers to Jesus' ascension and exaltation to the right hand of His Father in glory (cp Jn 12:23). By comparing Scripture with Scripture, we know without a doubt that Jesus was not saying all men would be saved when He said He would "draw all men to" Himself. As has been succinctly stated Jesus' being lifted up from the earth would draw all men without distinction but not all without exception. In other words, the idea is that all men who are saved will be saved in this way. Acts 2:33 "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Acts 5:31 "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 13:17 "The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 2Corinthians 11:7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? Comment: John MacArthur explains that "Greek culture measured the importance of a teacher by the fee he could command. The false apostles therefore accused Paul of being a counterfeit, since he refused to charge for his services (cf. 1Co. 9:1-15). They convinced the Corinthians to be offended by Paul’s refusal to accept support from them, offering that as evidence that he did not love them (cf. 1Co 22:11). Paul’s resort to manual labor to support himself (Acts 18:1, 2, 3) also embarrassed the Corinthians, who felt such work to be beneath the dignity of an apostle. With biting irony Paul asked his accusers how foregoing his right to support could possibly be a sin. In fact, by refusing support he had humbled himself so they could be exalted; that is, lifted out of their sin and idolatry." (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word or Logos) James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, Hupsoo is used over 150 times in the Septuagint (LXX) and the Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint has this note... A: to lift high, to raise up - Ezra 9:9; to set somebody upon something 27.5" class="scriptRef">Ps 27:5; to take up 2Ki 2:13; to raise, to lift up (the voice) - Ge 39:15; to raise (a song) - Ezra 3:12; to set on high (metaphorical) 2Sa 22,49; to elevate, to exalt - Ex 15,2; to rise Job 39:27; to be lifted up Ge 7:17; to be exalted Dt 8:14 (Lust, J., Eynikel, E., & Hauspie, K. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint: Revised Edition. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart) Here are some uses from the Septuagint... Genesis 7:17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days; and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above (Heb = rum = to raise, to lift, to be exalted, indicates something is raised up high; Lxx = hupsoo) the earth. Exodus 15:2 "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol (Lxx = hupsoo = exalt) Him. Psalm 27:5-see notes For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up (Heb = rum = to raise, to lift, to be exalted, indicates something is raised up high; Lxx = hupsoo) on a rock. Isaiah 2:11-see notes The proud look of man will be abased (Lxx = tapeinos), And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. Thomas Manton asks what does exaltation imply?... It means any kind of happiness, including deliverance out of trouble (“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted,” Ps 10:17) or promotion to worldly honor or dignity (“A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor,” Pr 29:23). Though promotion brings us to slippery places, the humble will be sustained and upheld. It is the same with advancement in grace or glory: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4); that is, he will have the most grace and glory. Learn from this that submission and humility are the true way to exaltation. This is often repeated in the Gospel: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11; see also Mt 23:12). We are all by nature proud and want to be exalted; but the way to rise is to fall. God gave us a pattern in Jesus Christ: first, he “made himself nothing … he humbled himself and became obedient to death … on a cross! Therefore God exalted him … and gave him the name that is above every name” (see Php 2:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). So then, do you want deliverance? Humble yourself! Omnipotence will not be your terror but protection. Do you want grace? See more of God. Lastly, we may be encouraged from all this to wait upon God with a holy humility and confidence in our lowly state: “When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast” (Job 22:29). When all your affairs go to decay, you may rely on these hopes. Peter says, “that he may lift you up in due time” (1Pe 5:6). Wait for God, and the promise will surely be fulfilled; only be humble. Gracious humiliation is a deep sense of our misery and vileness, with a desire to be reconciled to God on any terms. (A Practical Exposition of James) Dr. Bonar once remarked that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Master, talk less of what he was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun. Jonathan was willing to decrease, that David might increase; and John the Baptist showed the same spirit of humility. -Anecdotes, Incidents and Illustrations. Illustrations and Meditations: Flowers from a Puritan's Garden. The Spire - "The best of God's people have abhorred themselves. Like the spire of a steeple, minimus in summo, we are least at the highest. David, a king, was yet like a weaned child." Thomas Manton is not very clear about the steeple, but he means that the higher a spire rises toward heaven the smaller it becomes, and thus the more elevated are our spirits the less shall we be in our own esteem. Great thoughts of self and great grace never go together. Self-consciousness is a sure sign that there is not much depth of grace. He who overvalues himself undervalues his Saviour. He who abounds in piety is sure to be filled with humility. Light things, such as straws and feathers, are borne aloft; valuable goods keep their places, and remain below, not because they are chained or riveted there, but by virtue of their own weight. When we begin to talk of our perfection, our imperfection is getting the upper hand. The more full we become of the presence of the Lord the more shall we sink in our own esteem, even as laden vessels sink down to their water-mark, while empty ships float aloft. Lord, make and keep me humble. Lift me nearer and nearer to heaven, and then I shall grow less and less in my own esteem. R Kent Hughes sums up this great section of James writing... The gravity of grace will always channel the rivers of divine favor to the lowly—to those (1) who submit to God, (2) whose soul’s momentum is away from the Devil and toward God, (3) who purify their inner and outer lives, (4) who mourn over their sins, and (5) who obey the final summary command, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (Jas 4:10). We are not to wait passively for this to somehow happen. We are not to wait for someone else to humble us, nor should we wait for the vicissitudes of life to do it. Rather, self-humbling is our Christian duty. We must take inventory of our sinfulness and weakness, then bow in total submission to God, yielding our total being, our dreams, our future, our everything to him. It is then that he will pour on the grace—grace upon grace—grace heaped upon grace—“and he will lift you up.” John Blanchard summed up James 4:10 when he said that... God thinks most of the man who thinks himself least. E. H. Blake, in The Missionary Worker The Mystery of Truth In the Christian life we must lose to gain; we must give to obtain; we must be last to be first; we must be humble to be exalted; we must be least to be greatest; we must die to live. Tony Evans writes that... A lot of people misinterpret the promise at the end of Jas 4:10. James is not saying that God will exalt you to some high position in society. He is saying that God will exalt you above your problem, above that which is keeping you down and making you a spiritual POW. But before God can lift us up, He has to take us low. God wants us to weep and mourn over our sin. He wants us to start seeing our sin the way He sees it. When we do that, then we’ll get the help that God gives. (Evans, A. T. (1998). The Battle is the Lord's: Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press)

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Exalt (lift up) (5312) hupsoo

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