Philippians 2:10, commentary and pictures

Because He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. At that name every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. At His second coming in glory all will acknowledge His divine authority in this way, reversing His rejected and crucified status, with even His enemies and Satan himself bowing and confessing His sentence just and His government righteous. This exaltation is grounded in who He is, equal with God, Creator of all things in heaven and earth, in whom all fullness dwells, who died and rose to be Lord of the dead and the living. Believers are therefore to have this mind of Christ in them now, working out their own salvation with fear and trembling as God works in them, in lowliness esteeming others better than self and honoring Him in worship and obedience.

Exaltation and Universal Homage

Because He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. That exaltation gives Him supreme honor, so that every being in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow at His name and acknowledge His authority. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This universal bowing acknowledges His supreme lordship and authority and brings glory to God the Father.

Though being in the form of God and equal with God, He made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death on the cross, and therefore receives this universal homage. At His name every knee in heaven and in earth and under the earth should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This admiring account reveals the mystery of godliness.

His exaltation reveals heaven's rejection of pride, self-sufficiency, and the struggle for supremacy. He received the name above every name because He humbled Himself instead of exalting Himself. Though He had right to divine honor and equality with God, He claimed none for Himself. His name is worthy of universal homage, powerful and essential, with every being in heaven and on earth and under the earth to bow to Him and every tongue to confess Him as Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Christ's Divinity and Victory

The bowing of every knee rests on His equal authority with God: the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands, all fullness dwells in Him, by Him all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, were created and for Him, He is before all things and holds all things together, He died and rose to be Lord of both dead and living, and all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him so that those in Him are complete. That rightful supremacy and authority is what the bowing acknowledges, and all created beings are to acknowledge His authority and worship Him as worthy.

In heaven the angels bowed to Him when the Father declared Him equal with Himself and gave Him authority to command the heavenly host. Satan also bowed outwardly at that time, though his heart remained envious and hostile. Envy then led him to refuse further submission and to urge other angels to rebel, and refusal to honor the Son was rebellion against God's authority.

By His self-humbling and obedience to death on the cross He became Redeemer and Restorer of man, in contrast to Satan who is the destroyer of man. His sacrifice and exaltation show the great value God places on humanity and the price paid to redeem people. His offering was accepted by the Father and the redemption price fully paid, making it possible through faith and obedience for people to become members of the divine family again.

In meekness and lowliness He laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown and clothed His divinity with humanity to stand at the head of the human race. In man's behalf He passed over the ground where Adam fell by living a life of perfect obedience to place the race on vantage-ground, with power vested in Him for the redemption of mankind. In that humiliation He worked out a perfect character on behalf of the human race and drew men and women to God by His unselfish ministry and self-denial. This answers the temptation Ye shall be as gods, which makes man unwilling to be what God desires him to be.

His obedience unto death on the cross gives Him all power in heaven and on earth and establishes His supremacy over Satan. That authority He uses as Advocate to claim mercy and reconciliation for guilty people who repent and trust Him. He was exalted at His ascension and honored by the heavenly host, with angels welcoming Him with joy and homage. He is the Redeemer who is to be crowned, honored and worshipped, with legions of angels standing ready to obey Him, and all allegiance belongs to Him with faith centering in Him as the only one who can help.

He will receive the kingdoms of earth through the path appointed by His Father, His suffering and death to redeem them, and will possess them forever. He refused to worship Satan to receive the kingdoms of this world without dying because He would bow only to His Father, choosing a life of suffering and dreadful death in the way appointed by His Father to become the lawful heir and everlasting Ruler with them given into His hands as an everlasting possession. Satan, who now claims the kingdoms, will be placed under His power and given into His hands to be destroyed by death, never again to trouble Him or the saints. After a season all in heaven and on earth will submit to Him, when He has redeemed Satan's possession by giving His own life.

He is the Son of David and the true Lion of the tribe of Judah, before whom all powers will bow and all nations will honor Him. His greatness makes serving Him an honor, not a humiliation, calling believers away from self-exaltation toward humble service. Though so exalted that every knee will bow to Him, and equal with God and worthy of the angels' service, He humbled Himself to wash His disciples' feet, even the feet of His betrayer. His supreme dignity and honor gave significance, not shame, to this humble service and makes it an example for His followers.

Final Universal Acknowledgment

When He comes in glory, His rejected and crucified standing is reversed. At that second coming all acknowledge His divine authority, with every knee bowing and every tongue confessing Him as Lord. Heaven's angels worship and adore Him, with the redeemed and people of every kindred and tribe joining in honoring Him as Lord. Even His enemies recognize their mistake in rejecting Him and confess His divinity, and this universal acknowledgment honors the Father.

Every being, including Satan, will bow before Him. Satan acknowledges that his sentence is just, for his rebellion has made heaven's purity and peace unbearable to him. His accusations against God are silenced, and the reproach he tried to place on God rests on himself. In the presence of the witnessing universe he confesses that God's government is just and His law righteous. There the results of his rule and of setting aside God's statutes are exposed, and God's law is fully vindicated.

Every created being in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow to Him, acknowledging His supremacy, authority, and rightful rule. Every human power will one day bow before Him and acknowledge the authority of God's immortal principles. Everyone will come to know Him, whether they want to or not. The opportunity to accept salvation and the call of mercy is now, and those who ignore it will face the reality of Christ too late to receive pardon. All who have sinned will eventually acknowledge their guilt before God, for though God patiently waits for sinners to repent, He ultimately calls every transgressor of His law to account. All will worship at His feet in the promised future, when the people of God, including prophets and patriarchs, will meet again and death will no longer separate them.

Living and Worshiping Response

The bowing of every knee at the name of Jesus is inseparable from having the mind of Christ within, working out personal salvation with fear and trembling while God works inwardly to will and to do of His good pleasure. That mind is met by meeting the mind of the Spirit in likemindedness, with the same love, of one accord and of one mind, in consolation and comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, bowels and mercies. It is instruction to be fulfilled with joy, heard as the sweet voice of mercy calling to repentance, and given as God's complete provision to enlighten how to obtain the crown of life and enter the joy of the Lord.

This requires universal humility, benevolence, self-denial and self-sacrifice in good works. It means doing nothing through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind esteeming others better than self and looking also to the good of others and not only to one's own. It means doing all things without murmurings and disputings so as to be blameless as lights holding forth the word of life.

The call is away from self-exaltation toward humble service, trusting that any acceptable work is possible only through strength God gives, and toward being strong in the Lord. All who believe are to honor Him in this way now, rendering the homage and confession that every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth owes Him as Lord to the glory of God the Father. When they do, the church sends forth a powerful influence, its members bearing fruit of good works, shining as lights in the world, and standing so plainly distinct from worldlings that all can see the difference, with faith centered in Christ as the only one who can help, and with keeping of God's law revealing the character of the One worthy of universal allegiance.

Accepting Him as personal Saviour and following His example of self-denial is the secret of holiness. His life, worked out in perfect character on behalf of the human race and drawing men and women to God by unselfish ministry after reaching the depths of humiliation before exaltation above every name, sets the pattern all who engage in His service must follow. Wider influence for good and greater work are accomplished in proportion as efforts are Christlike.

Contemplating His coming to engage in the mysterious conflict that defeated the powers of darkness purifies, elevates and ennobles the student. That contemplation beholds the infinite God consenting to the humiliation of His own Son so fallen men might be elevated to a place with Christ upon His throne. Truth so contemplated is opened to the mind and applied to the heart by the Spirit, giving clearer and broader views, more penetrating discernment, better balanced and far-seeing judgment, expanded understanding, clearer knowledge of personal weakness, and growth in faith and humility.

The passage is a lesson for all to study to learn the way of the Lord as God teaches in answer to earnest prayer. It is to be learned in connection with seeing that transgression of the law caused the price of the blood of the Son to redeem man, hating the sins that wounded Him, and preserving a contrite heart in viewing Him as compassionate High Priest. It is God's voice speaking to men, to be made a lesson book for traveling heavenward, studied in schools and read day by day with prayerful earnest interest so learners become doers of the Word and build on the eternal Rock and not on sand, since by this act Christ became Redeemer and Restorer of man in contrast to Satan the destroyer.

It declares His righteousness and love for the world, the grand heavenly theme that revives and quickens into new life when He is lifted up before the people. His name is powerful and essential and should be on every tongue through contemplation and adoration, and its absence from preaching shows He is not formed within, which is Satan's working to keep Him from being the theme. He is therefore to be the central theme of Christian teaching and worship by proclaiming His life, self-sacrifice, suffering, crucifixion, resurrection and triumphant ascension, as the divine center of faith and love worthy of universal homage from every being in heaven, on earth and under the earth.

Because His name is exalted above every other name, every soul is to turn to lands where the cross has not been uplifted to uplift that cross and exalt that name. Only through faith in His name can the sinner be saved, for power for redemption is vested in Him who in meekness laid aside royal robe and crown, clothed divinity with humanity, passed over the ground where Adam fell in perfect obedience, and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross. Before Him all people meet, with earthly distinctions of wealth, learning and social rank disappearing at His feet, since all are alike objects of God's love, purchased by His sacrifice and dependent on Him as Redeemer. At His feet rich and poor, learned and ignorant meet together with no thought of caste or worldly pre-eminence, all earthly distinctions forgotten in looking upon Him who came in self-denial, condescension and infinite compassion and was pierced by human sins, so that human pride, self-esteem and social caste are put to shame and pure religion brings into oneness all sanctified through the truth.

Since every knee should bow before the Holy One, in worship every person is to bow in reverence and silent prayer when the meeting opens and prayer begins, lifting the heart to God in devotion and recognizing His presence with solemn awe. The verse calls the church to thorough change of character before God can acknowledge them as His children, to have the mind which dwelt in Jesus in order to conduct themselves aright with order in the church, and to correctly observe the Sabbath. That change produces confession of wrong, good testimonies, and hearty repentance with shame for an unrighteous course toward brethren.