Paul Declares the Humble and the Exalted Christ Jesus
Part 3
Philippians
2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father. KJVPaul now concludes his declaration of Christ humility and exaltation by revealing to these Philippian believers and to we believers today that our Heavenly Father has so honored our Lord Jesus Christ that He has made all of His Creation to worship Jesus, whether it be willingly and lovingly or whether it be forcibly by saying, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). The eternal reality we find expressed here by the Apostle Paul declares that the Eternal Word of God who humbly, voluntarily, freely, and willingly chose to not just put on human flesh that He created, but to literally become human in order to redeem and bring many sons to glory as it is written, “For it was an act worthy [of God] {and} fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering. For both He Who sanctifies [making men holy] and those who are sanctified all have one [Father]. For this reason, He is not ashamed to call them brethren; For He says, I will declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You. And again He says, My trust {and} assured reliance {and} confident hope shall be fixed in Him. And yet again, Here I am, I and the children whom God has given Me.” (Hebrews 2:10-13) (Amplified Bible).
Jesus Christ the God-Man being full of grace and truth (John 1:14) has now been exalted above every created being of God the Father, therefore, when Paul says that every knee will bow or bend at the name of Jesus, he is emphatically declaring the deity of Jesus Christ the same way the Prophet Isaiah spoke of YAWWEH when he said this, “Declare and bring forward your strong arguments [for praying to gods that cannot save]; yes, take counsel together. Who announced this [the rise of Cyrus and his conquests] beforehand (long ago)? [What god] declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a rigidly {and} uncompromisingly just {and} righteous God and Savior; there is none besides Me. Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].” (Isaiah 45:21-23) (Amplified Bible).
The things in heaven refers to all of the faithful angels, seraphim, cherubim that did not rebel against God, the things on the earth refer solely to human beings those that have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as the Apostle John declared with these words, “But to as many as did receive {and} welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name.” (John 1:12) (Amplified Bible), also the human beings on the earth who have resisted or rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as it is written, “Then I saw a great white throne and the One Who was seated upon it (Jesus Christ), from Whose presence {and} from the sight of Whose face earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books. And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried {and} their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works]. Then death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15) (Amplified Bible), lastly the things under the earth refer to Satan and the third of the angels (now demons) that rebelled in heaven and were cast down to the earth, some in chains (Jude 1:6) as it is written, “Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer. And the huge dragon was cast down {and} out--that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out {and} down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9) (Amplified Bible).
Finally, Paul declares “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11), meaning that every nation on the earth in every human language given to man by God will confess or the Greek word for confess exomologeo, that is, to acknowledge or (by implication of assent) agree fully that the exalted Redeemer Jesus Christ is the One and Only Sovereign God of the Universes. It is God the Father that receives all the Glory because it is He that declared our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ to be so worshipped and honored in heaven and on the earth as the Apostle John wrote as much with these words, “Even the Father judges no one, for He has given all judgment (the last judgment and the whole business of judging) entirely into the hands of the Son, So that all men may give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, Who has sent Him.” (John 5:22-23) (Amplified Bible).
My own Personal Note: It is the God-Man Jesus Christ that the entire heaven and earth is to bow down and worship, for He has now all Authority and Power in both places (Matthew 28:18), therefore, it is only by the Power of God the Holy Spirit can the spiritual eyes of all the false worshippers such as the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, etc. to see this truth and bow their knee unto salvation as it is written, “Because if you acknowledge {and} confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) {and} confirms [his] salvation. The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame {or} be disappointed. [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13) (Amplified Bible).
“So then we may say, perhaps, that as in the humiliation He who is God experienced what it is to be man, now in the exaltation He who is man experiences what it is to be God. But the point to dwell on chiefly is this consideration-What is it that attracts so specially the Father’s approbation? What does so is Christ’s great act of self-forgetting love. That satisfies and rests the Divine mind. Doubtless the Son’s pure and perfect character, and the perfection of His whole service, were on all accounts approved, but specially the mind of Christ revealed in His self-forgetting devotion. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary
“‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though He was rich yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.’ ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me.’ And in various forms and degrees the manifestation of this same grace has astonished, and conquered, and inspired all those who have greatly served Christ in the Church in seeking to do good to men. Let us not separate ourselves from this fellowship of Christ; let us not be secluded from this mind of Christ. As we come to Him with our sorrows, and sins, and wants, let us drink into His mind. Let us sit at His feet and learn of Him.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary
“There is a sense in which Jesus is our example even in His ascent and exaltation, just as He was in His descent and humiliation. The mind which was in Him is for us the pattern for earthly life, though the deeds in which that mind was expressed, and especially His ‘obedience to the death of the Cross,’ are so far beyond any self-sacrifice of ours, and are inimitable, unique, and needing no repetition while the world lasts. And as we can imitate His unexampled sacrifice, so we may share His divine glory, and, resting on His own faithful word, may follow the calm motion of His Ascension, assured that where He is there we shall be also, and that the manhood which is exalted in Him is the prophecy that all who love Him will share His glory. The question for us all is, have we in us ‘the mind that was in Christ’? and the other question is, what is that name to us? Can we say, ‘Thy mighty name salvation is’? If in our deepest hearts we grasp that name, and with unfaltering lips can say that ‘there is none other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved but the name of Jesus,’ then we shall know that ‘To us with Thy dear name are given, Pardon, and holiness, and heaven.’” Alexander MacLaren
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
No comments:
Post a Comment