Philippians 2:10 KJV – That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things under the Earth;
Philippians 2:5-11 KJV Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Possibly my favorite portion of scripture! Many times I have looked at the humility of Christ, and been humbled…I want to devote a short essay about Ph 2:10, the memory verse for this week, but in order to do that, I felt verse 5 was the latest possible starting point to read into context. Here again, Christ’s perfect attributes are exemplified; even exalted! Essentially, Paul declares that Christ, who had every right to claim of deity, and the benefits thereof, willingly and humbly submitted himself to death on the cross and living as a man as the result of the incarnation. Now getting to verse 9, we see that He is highly exalted: elevated by praise! Why? So that at HIS NAME EVERY knee will bow. I prefer the Php 2:10 NASB translation; and I don’t think it is a bad translation, I think it is the best one if you review the original and cross reference Romans 14:11.
And now, you ask, what could Paul possibly mean by EVERY? I mean, people argue all the time that God didn’t mean “the whole world” in John 3:16, right? Let’s turn to scripture: things in Heaven, things in Earth and things under the Earth! Scripturally, I can’t think of “anyone else.” This encompasses the entire population of Heaven and Earth, all creatures great and small, if you will. And I contend, things under the Earth refers to the dead who are not saved. That means that the very same people who will curse God in this life, who will blaspheme His Name, who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, who deny Christ…not only will they suffer an eternity of torment, but they will ultimately bow to Christ as well. And as we see in verse 11, they will also confess Him as Lord. Please Lord, forgive me for my pride and lack of compassion for the lost today, and cause me to share the good news with others, so that they might confess Him as Lord in this life, and put their faith in Him, so that they may be part of the “things in Heaven.”