In this week’s passage, Paul finishes what is likely a very early hymn or stanza about the majesty of Christ. In the first few verses, this hymn speaks of his humility and his sacrifice. In these final verses, we see his exaltation to majesty.
You can see this for yourself in Philippians 2:9-11:
To this point, the focus has been on the humility Christ displayed in leaving behind his status and position at the right hand of God to become one of us, and being sacrificed for us. But now Paul shifts to the glory that God gives to Jesus because of this.
The opening word of verse 9 is “Therefore.” This means, based on what came before, now we see what the results are. This word ties the coming information directly back to the passage preceding it.
Another change is seen in who the focus is on. In the first verses, Jesus is the focus. But now, Paul shifts the focus to God himself, who transforms the humiliation of Jesus into glory.
A third difference in these verses is the number of Old Testament allusions compared with the first part of this hymn. These last verses contain more than the first ones do, displaying just how grounded this passage is in Old Testament theology.
In this passage, Christ is exalted. But to what heights! The Greek word used here, and translated “exalted,” is only found here in the New Testament. This lends it an extra weight, showing just how lofty this exaltation is. God lifted Jesus to the highest of heights when he glorified him!
What follows are the different ways that Christ was exalted:
He was given the name above every other name
What name? Certainly not Jesus, because that would not be any different in terms of his humanity. He was already named that. No, the name that God bestowed upon Jesus was Lord.
At his name, every knee should bow
Ultimately, each and every person will kneel in worship and homage to the Lord Jesus Christ. Borrowing this from Isaiah 45:23, Paul indicates that all will submit to his Lordship. Some will do so willingly, others will not. But all will submit. By adding the phrase, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” Paul makes it clear that no one will escape his sovereignty.
And every tongue will confess
Because of Christ’s exaltation, all will eventually know that he holds the title of Lord, and is one with God. The early church held strongly the practice of confessing that “Jesus is Lord,” as we should. Again, no one will miss out on this understanding, all will be acutely aware of Christ’s status, either willfully or not. But, either way, this will bring glory to the Father.
This passage I one of my favorites in all of the New Testament, and inspires worship each time I read it. If it is an early expression of a Christian hymn, then it fulfills its function well by bringing the awareness of God’s action through Christ to the forefront of my mind. Paul’s use of it here definitely gets his point across. Christ’s willing humility is what brought him eventually to his level of exaltation.
In much the same way, we may experience the same thing, although not to the same extent. Our efforts to attain a humble attitude, like that of Jesus, will one day be rewarded with the ability to stand in the presence of the Father for eternity, and sharing in his glory.
But if we refuse to be humbled, we will never reach that. There is another state reserved for those who do not willingly bow at the name of Jesus. Paul’s implication here is that we must be careful to choose which avenue we will follow, and then be careful to hold fast to that course.
The results will be well worth the effort.
Question: Does this passage draw you to worship? How does it affect you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.