A Letter to the Church in Philippi-Pt. 7

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,

(((Joel Thoughts))) We must look at the context to understand what the “therefore” is there for. We see in verses 5-8 to see that Jesus humbled himself to become man and to die for the sake of mankind.  Verse 9 explains that his humble service to His Father and mankind is the reason that He is now the most exalted name ever.  He is the highest King and Lord of all…because he humbly served. Do you see how upside down God’s way is? The Lord of all becomes the highest by not being served but by serving. By lowering himself–he is forever the most famous and glorious name. Beautiful. What an example for us! How do we really gain success in this world? We serve. We lower ourselves.  We make ourselves less so that others can have more–have God.

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

(((Joel Thoughts))) This is an awesome verse because it helps encompass both Jesus’ divine and human natures.  Jesus was both completely human and completely God (let that one soak for a few). It is quite possible this verse is an allusion to Isaiah 45:23 which says, “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.” This verse of course was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and was referring to Yahweh (Lord God) of the Old Testament and the Israelites. By Paul alluding to this phrase and claiming that Jesus was the name that all would bow to is a HUGE statement.  Paul is claiming once again that the God of the Old Testament and Jesus are equal and are both parts of the Holy Trinity that has reigned eternally.
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

(((Joel Thoughts))) Paul reminds us that not only will their be a bending of the knee to the Lordship of Jesus but their will also be a vocal confession by all peoples of the earth.  Paul is definitely not referring to universalism (every person will find salvation in Jesus and live with him eternally)  By every knee bowing and every tongue confessing, Paul is referring to every soul who has ever lived either confessing Jesus as Lord with joyful faith (in His presence) or by dispair, resentment, and pain (eternal separation from God).

(((Joel Thoughts))) The phrase Paul ends this section with, “to the glory of God the Father” his doxology to a brilliant theological exposition of Christology.  Paul never loses sight of the end game while discussing the implications of Jesus’  incarnation, servitude, and exultation. The end and goal of everything in life is to give God glory.  Everything Jesus ever did on earth was to bring His Father glory and honor.  Paul wrote Chapter 2:1-11 to help show the believers in Philippi that if they want to be identified with Jesus they must follow in his footsteps and serve like Him and live like Him–in good times and hard times.  Paul writes this final doxology in verse 11 to remind them that just as the good came after people thought that evil had prevailed and love had lost in Jesus’ death—-God recieved glory and Jesus was alive and is alive in our broken world and in His followers today.