The Word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will acknowledge or confess.
Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength. So taken right out of the pages of Isaiah's prophecy, now fulfilled at the exaltation of Jesus Christ, the early church is singing what will become the very first creed. And it's just four words, Jesus Christ is Lord! In a global poll, asking people who they think of when they hear the word king.
The results might surprise you. Jesus would barely make the list. But according to scripture, he's not just a king, he's the king. In today's message, we're diving into a powerful hymn from Philippians that tells us the story of Jesus' journey from humiliation to ultimate exaltation. We'll explore why every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So stay with us as we uncover the meaning of Christ's sovereignty and what it means for your life today. In our last study, we looked at the rights which Jesus Christ gave up in his humiliation to give us the right to become children of God for those who believe in his name. That third stanza last Lord's Day as we studied it ended at the crucifixion where he suffered and died.
The sovereign became the sacrifice. But that isn't the last stanza, is it? That isn't the last stanza of the hymn. In fact, it's really just beginning. Let's go back and look at these last two stanzas. We'll cover both today. And let me make as we work our way through this several observations.
First observation I want to make is this. Jesus Christ is given divine confirmation. He is given divine confirmation. Notice at the beginning of verse 9, for this reason also God has highly exalted him, which is by the way another way of saying he doesn't tie for fourth place. He's actually ahead of and way beyond.
In fact, he is on a list all by himself at which he always comes in first and foremost. God highly exalted him. Now when Paul writes of his exaltation, it includes his resurrection, his ascension, his reception back to heaven. He has sat down at the right hand of the Father. That right hand refers to authority and sovereign deity.
Keep in mind, by the way, that this is not a promotion. Jesus isn't being given higher status than ever before. This is not, in the words of Bart Ehrman, where a man becomes God.
No. What's happening here, this hymn is simply singing that God the Father has returned Jesus Christ to the highest throne there is, the one he left when he came to earth to die. But you remember in that narrative after he died on that first Sunday after his crucifixion, the stone is rolled away.
Matthew tells us, literally you could render it, it's thrown out of away from its track. And an angel is sitting on it to basically tell people he isn't there. He's risen just as he said, Matthew chapter 28. And so the disciples come. In fact, we're told that Peter and John are the first to race inside and actually look inside the tomb and they discover that it is almost empty.
The grave clothes are there in that strange cocoon where those linen strips have already begun to harden with all the gummy substances and then the napkin which covered his face is folded and laying by itself. The text tells us that John saw that and believed. This hymn implies that moment then we know as we study the gospels and into the book of Acts that that 40 day period when later Jesus ascends and he gloriously is exalted back to his throne. He's alive, he's resurrected, he's exalted. Now the word here for exalted is significant, of course.
It's used only here in the entire New Testament. It's a compound word made up of the verb to raise up and the prefix which gives us our word hyper, who pair, hyper. In other words, God the Father hyper raised the son. That is, he went above and beyond in exalting his son back to glory in the most magnificent way possible.
That God doesn't reveal to us through Paul what that ascension, that hyper exaltation, that glorious majestic scene was like and maybe even what it sounded like with the choir, the hosts of heaven and all the Old Testament saints redeemed singing. But Kent Hughes imagines in his commentary on this text which I appreciated, he says I can just imagine cosmic fireworks, astral explosions and starbursts and awesome fanfare of an unrestrained celebration as the eternal son reenters the glory that had always been his, but that which he humbly set aside in order to come to earth. This exaltation is nothing less than the confirmation of who he was and is and forever will be.
Hebrews chapter 1 tells us that when he had made purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of majesty, that is he occupies the place of majestic authority and divine splendor. And then it says a couple of verses later, and he says, referring to God the Father, when God the Father says of him, the exalted Christ, thy throne oh God is forever and ever. You have the Father calling the Son God, which is interesting because when Jesus hung on the cross he called the Father God, my God. Now you have the Father in his ascension referring to the Son as the throne of God will last forever and ever.
Leads me to my second observation. Not only does he receive divine confirmation, but secondly Jesus Christ is given a sovereign designation. Come back to verse 9. Not only did God hyper exalt him, but notice he bestowed on him the name which is above every name. Now you might think well yes, that's the name Jesus.
Oh no, not at all. The name of Jesus had already been given to him. That was given to him by Joseph, the angel of course you may remember from Matthew chapter 1 came to Joseph telling him that his fiancé was already pregnant, but that that child was the miraculous overshadowing of the Holy Spirit in the womb of that virgin so that she conceives. And that Joseph is going to name that is to name that little boy Jesus, Yeshua, Joshua in the Old Testament as a counterpart. And he is coming to be what that name means, a deliverer. He will deliver his people from their sin, Matthew 1.21. So he has already been given the name Jesus that has already been bestowed on him at his humiliation we're told he's now being given a new designation, a new name so to speak which emphasizes his glorification. In fact, just a careful reading of verse 9 will help. It's going to mess us with gospel songs, but here's what it actually says. Therefore also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, would you notice your English translation is very careful here. It doesn't say at the name comma Jesus comma every knee should bow. Listen there were hundreds of little boys running around the hills of Judea named Iesus, Yeshua, Joshua. They wouldn't bow simply because someone had that name. Nobody would stop twice. But Paul is actually writing here that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.
What is that name? Paul withholds it to build suspense until you reach verse 11 and since we can't stand the suspense let's go right to verse 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is, here it is, Lord, Kurios. No other Israelite would be named Kurios or Lord. Now the Caesars lay claim to this title in their campaign to be worshipped as deity or as gods. They all discovered soon enough they weren't gods after all.
But here's why this early church hymn was not only powerful but combustible. The Jews considered God's name to be too holy to speak. So instead of saying Yahweh or in English Jehovah, Jehovah, they used the title Adonai and it's translated in the Old Testament translation into the Greek as Lord, all capital letters. In fact 300 years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Jews translated their Old Testament Scriptures carefully into the Greek language.
It's called the Septuagint. Both Jesus and Paul will quote from this Greek translation. And more than 6000 times in that translation the Greek uses Kurios in the place of Yahweh, the designated divine title for their holy living God. In other words, get this, Lord and Jehovah are equivalent names. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And he has this title which is in its equality right next to and equal with Yahweh.
That's why this was so stunning. This is the bedrock of the gospel. In fact Paul gives us here his full name. His full name in verse 11 is Jesus, that's the name he was given in his humiliation, Deliverer. Christ, that's the designation Christos, the anointed one, a reference to his messiahship, and Lord, fully and equally divine. So here is the early church singing that Jesus bears in his exaltation the unique and proper name of God himself.
There's no denying what they were saying. There's no denying what we've been singing as we sing of the Lamb seated upon his throne. Beloved we believe far more than we understand. But we believe because God has revealed himself in his word.
In fact the more incomprehensible he is the more we take pleasure in it because it could not have been conceived of or dreamed up by human invention. Now there's more here to this divine designation. You see not only is this text a staggering declaration of Jesus Christ's deity and equivalency with Yahweh, which by the way of course is tragically overlooked by the Jews, completely refused, misunderstood by among others, Jehovah's Witnesses. In fact if Jehovah's Witnesses understood this hymn they would immediately call themselves Jesus's witnesses because they are equally divine. But you need to know as well that Paul here is actually quoting lyrics that the early church didn't even come up with themselves. They actually took from the prophet Isaiah God himself speaking. You might write into the margin of your text here as a reminder and maybe the next time you're being given a visit by one of these individuals just write in the margin Isaiah 45.
And let me just read from my notes that text and you keep your eyes on Philippians 2 10 and 11 if you can turn quickly enough in your Bible and never make it on your smartphone. Isaiah 45 verse 21, declare and set forth your case indeed. This is God, this is Yahweh speaking.
Let them consult together who has announced this from of old, who has long since declared it. Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God beside me. Turn to me, verse 22 of Isaiah 45, 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 has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will acknowledge or confess. They will say of me only in the Lord our righteousness and strength. So taken right out of the pages of Isaiah's prophecy now fulfilled at the exaltation of Jesus Christ, the early church is singing what will become the very first doctrinal statement, the very first creed and it's just four words, Jesus Christ is Lord God.
That leads me to a third observation. Jesus Christ not only receives divine confirmation, he not only is given a sovereign designation, thirdly Jesus Christ will be given a universal vindication. Just as this ancient hymn text began by taking us into eternity past to show us the pre-existence son of God, equal to God the Father, it now ends by taking us to the very brink of eternity future and some things that haven't happened yet.
You'll notice, in fact, be careful to notice that Paul is singing about something yet to come. Notice that at the name of Jesus, that is Lord, every knee will bow. Your knee has bowed already if you're a believer. This speaks of time, a moment when every, every knee will bow.
Now if you're wondering if every knee means every, the literal translation from the Greek text of this word every is every, every, all, no one excluded. In fact, Paul says, you know, you might try to wiggle your way around this so I'm just gonna cover everything and you'll notice how he does it in three sweeping statements. Of those who are in heaven, this includes the holy angels, the redeemed believers who are already there, and on earth, this is a reference to humanity, both redeemed and unredeemed as we move toward the end of the kingdom and the eternal state. And now Paul just kind of makes one last sweeping statement, and those who are under the earth. This is simply a common reference to the grave. Paul is saying this is going to include all the unredeemed dead who await the resurrection to the final judgment.
The phrase under the earth also referred to the underworld, the under earth world, a reference to the demonic kingdom of fallen angels and their leader Satan who await their final judgment, which means that all the demons and even the devil himself will one day be compelled to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And you'll be there to see it if you're a believer. They will prostrate themselves before the throne of the risen Lord. Now this hasn't happened yet. I know because they're still bothering me.
How about you? This word is a stronger verb that literally refers to openly admitting. It means to publicly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is the gospel, isn't it, in a nutshell? We are as a body of believers inviting unbelievers with this doctrinal distinctive, this stunning, incomprehensible truth. If you confess with your mouth Jesus as what? Lord, and you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved from that terrifying judgment. Romans 10, 9. You see, one of the things the Father gave to Jesus, John writes in chapter 5 and verse 22, is the right to judge at his exaltation, given the right to judge the world.
And that's yet to come. The average person on the street, you ask them what they think about the coming judgment of God and you're going to get less of an enthusiastic response. You suggest that one day Jesus Christ is actually the one, God the Son, sitting upon that great white throne rendering judgment and they're going to say, you know what, you're making that all up and that's why we don't go to your church. The apostle John takes you to this moment the church is singing of here in Philippians 2, where every knee will be brought to bow and every tongue brought to publicly admit that which they denied. For the unbeliever, that final judgment is irreversible.
In fact, John describes it in Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11, he says, then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it. This is the worldwide judgment of all the unredeemed, resurrected for this moment before they're cast into hell. And the middle part of verse 12 says, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Evidently, hell has a future according to the Bible. But here at the judgment of all of humanity, John sees a book opened called the book of life, the Lamb's book of life. This is actually the registry of humans who have been allowed into heaven. In fact, at that point, we're actually part of the arena judging with Jesus the world. John records the horrifying reality as these unredeemed of all time recognized rightly so that their names are simply not found recorded.
Now John's first century audience would have immediately understood this concept because every community had a registry of citizens. Every emperor had a row book of living citizens under his reign. If your name wasn't in his row book, you weren't a part of his kingdom and he wasn't your king. The registry of heaven is effectively opened at this final judgment to reveal conclusively that these unbelieving did not make him their king.
By the way, this is not a book of religion. This isn't going to be a row book of church activity or church membership or religious deeds. No one is going to step forward and say, wait a minute, I never miss Sunday school except when on vacation.
I never missed. No one will step forward and say, listen, I'm a Baptist and I've been baptized. I'm a Catholic and I've been catechized.
I'm a Methodist and I've been mesmerized or whatever, but he's going to step forward there. The gospel of Jesus Christ never once commanded, believe on the church and thou shalt be saved. Now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, Acts 16, 31.
And if you do, if you have, your name is recorded in the Lamb's book of life. Paul will later write to the Philippians in chapter three. We're eventually going to get there just as the brink of eternity begins, I'm sure, but he writes this, for our citizenship is in heaven.
You know what he's saying? That's another way of saying we are in the king's registry of heaven from whom we await our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3.20. But here the church is singing and in that singing, giving that sweeping vindication of all those who would not bow their knee, they are now before the throne of God's sons, sovereign judgment, millions upon untold, millions of people, the unredeemed from all of human history who are about to hear the unpardonable sentence against them by this living and divine judge, just before he casts them into the lake of fire. Listen, the first part of this hymn has all come true.
Do you want to hope that the last part of it will not come true? For those who are here, you need to understand there is no parole from this place. There is no appeal.
There is no early release. There is no second chance. There is no escape. This is the final word of the exalted son of God. This is the verdict and with it the vindication of the savior who has and even today is being denied. I've had numerous people tell me over the years, listen, if God sends people to hell, I do not wish to worship him. I often think they will get their wish. How tragic, they will get their wish. These lyrics the church is singing of refer and include this moment when they get their wish and they fall to their knees. They will all not worship, by the way, but publicly come to the admission that Jesus Christ is Lord and it will forever be too late. They will come to acknowledge that Jesus was more than just a prophet, that he was more than just another teacher, that he was more than a nice man who gave us a golden rule, that he was a Jewish philosopher or he was a crucified victim of his own messianic delusion. He was more than a glorified man who made it to an exalted state of deity.
He was more than someone who tied for fourth place. Let me tell you, dear friends, no tongue in here will remain silent. No knee in here will remain unbowed. This hymn effectively presents an invitation then, doesn't it? For those who have yet to bow their knee, bow it now.
Join the church from the first century to the 21st century in our singing. Believe in his exaltation and his designation. Claim him as your living Lord. Avoid being on the wrong side of that coming universal vindication as this final courtroom scene delivers an irrevocable judgment. This hymn invites you to effectively settle with God the Son out of court.
Settle out of court with him now. Run to Jesus. Run to Jesus. That was Stephen Davey and this is Wisdom for the Heart. Stephen called this message, Jesus is God. Jesus Christ isn't just another name in history.
He's the one every knee will bow to, whether in worship or judgment. Thanks for listening today. We're currently working through a series from Philippians 2 called Humility. As you were listening to Stephen today, you might have found yourself thinking of a friend or loved one who could benefit from hearing today's message.
If so, we want to help you get it to them. This lesson, along with all of our teaching, is available free on our website. You can listen anytime at wisdomonline.org. That's a great way for you to share this message with others because you can send them the link and they can listen. I also encourage you to invite people to join you each day in listening to Wisdom for the Heart. Our desire is to see as many people as possible, be equipped with the truth from God's Word. Thanks for sharing. Please join us next time here on Wisdom for the Heart.
