Christ obeyed by humbling Himself and taking on a form of a human being and submitting himself to death even death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him. Although, this is a great interpretation of the text and I think we read in Hebrews 12:2 that Christ received his reward or something like that, I will say however that this is the secondary issue or reasoning why God exalted him. With the first reasoning being the something else which the text does say - That although Christ was in the form of God He did not take equality with God a thing to be grasp but made himself nothing taking upon himself a form of a slave. Now the text is clear Christ was in the form of God I have no need to go through the meaning of this word. However, my goal is to show you that I think this is the reason why Christ was highly exalted not because He was obedient to death - that would imply to say that because one obeys God's law that God will automatically grant a high estate. But, my position on this matter is not that this reward idea is not grounded in the text that is probably true as well. But my position is that the reason why Christ was highly exalted after He submitted Himself to death on the Cross is because of who He was and is that Christ is the eternal God that is above all things and goes before all things. This means that because It was Christ who is God and humbled himself - although he had every right not too - and becoming man (something in which most religions had never taught - that God himself becomes one of us) and after having obeyed God to the point of death even death on a cross, God highly exalted him because He is God. Jesus prayed that God would give Him the glory which he had before in eternity past. (I hope that is clear)
Is my positioning historical? I think so as Athanasius says
"For if being God he became man, and having come down from the height he is said 'to be exalted,' where is he exalted, being God? It is clear that since God is the highest, his Word is also the highest. Therefore, how is one who is in the Father able to be exalted more and be 'like the Father in all things'? Therefore he is without need of every addition, and he is not as these things have been written, what was the need that he humbled himself in order that he should seek to receive that which he has?"Or elsewhere,
"And, if now he had his improvement according to them, remembering his own glory before the world and above the world, how did the Son say, 'glorify me, O Father, with the glory which I had with you before the existence of the world' (John 17:5)? But if now he has been exalted according to them, how before this time 'did he bend the heavens and come down' (Ps. 18:9) and again, 'The highest gave his voice (psalm 18:13)? Therefore, if even before the existence of the world the Son had glory and ' was Lord of glory and the Highest' and came down from heaven and is always worshiped; then having come down he was not improved, but rather he improved the things which needed improvement. If he has descended to effect their improvement, he did not have the title of Son and God as a reward; rather, he himself has made us sons to the Father, and deified men, having become man himself."
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