that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [ASV]Phil 2:10-11
Again I am sticking with ASV at this point. Why? Because it’s the only faithful literal version which mirrors the text in Greek after what we have looked at in previous Gems. Also for that reason it is the text I have used in the propositional analysis, again for the same reason. Let me show you how Paul’s thoughts connect once more. Here is the proposition analysis layout again.
Wherefore also God highly exalted him,
and gave unto him the name
which is above every name;
that in the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
of beings in heaven and
beings on earth and
beings under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is LORD,
to the glory of God
the Father.
Some who are new to the Gems online have asked how they can view the Propositional Analysis layout on their mobile phone. Simply place your finger on the right side of the screen and drag to the left.
The two verses in our sights today parallel one another. Here are the two verses set in parallel.
that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
Paul’s concept is that the honouring of Jesus (the Christ) happens both with the bowing of every knee and the confessing of every tongue. The knees bowing and the tongues confessing are two simultaneous parallel actions made to honour Jesus Christ. Both are done in the name of Jesus and at the name of Jesus as we have discussed already. The honour given to Jesus is done by bowing the knee and confessing with the tongue; the paired action goes together.
Oh my goodness even that thought is mind boggling. Let’s unpack just that while sharing with you something that I picked up from one of my favourite author’s whose name and writings I have shared with you long term Gems readers before. His name is Rick Renner and I have told you about his devotional books Sparkling Gems from the Greek Volumes I and 2. He shared something in his reading on May 3rd in Sparkling Gems Volume 2 which captured my attention when I first read it two years ago and it has stayed with me and God reminded me of it for this Gem. I have clipped Rick’s devotional illustration below and then added my own comments afterward.
Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Well consider for a moment where He is and where all the rest are. Allow me to illustrate by using Rick Renner’s example of the Egyptian King Tutankhamun. You can visit King Tut. He is still wrapped in his burial cloth on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. I have not visited either King Tut nor the Egyptian Museum, but Rick Renner has. Rick tells of going to the Egyptian Museum and being fascinated in particular by the display of the walking canes of King Tut. Rick Renner wrote in the May 3rd devotion:
. . . these canes are long and slender and are decorated with gold, silver, ivory, precious stones and rare woods. They are not designed to carry the full weight of an individual, but rather intended to convey symbolism to anyone who saw Tut walking with these items in his hand. I realized this fact when I took a closer look and saw the unique carvings on the bottoms of each of these canes.
These walking canes are each shaped like a shepherd’s staff with a u-shaped hook on one end. However, instead of being placed at the top of the cane like a typical shepherd’s staff, these hooks were formed at the base. Engraved along the length are images of conquered people from foreign lands lying prostrate on their stomachs with their arms reaching upward in adoration of the Pharaoh. Every time the pharaoh walked with his cane in hand, these figures literally rolled on the bottom of cane, symbolically bowing before him. This imagery conveyed a strong message – namely that all of Egypt’s enemies were defeated and directly under the feet of this mighty Pharaoh.
Rick Renner
and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:22
The above verse was the one that came to my mind as I read Rick’s devotion and was indeed the one Rick had chosen for that day. But my point here is that Jesus has been given the Name above all names. So much higher than all kings who have gone before Him. Oh let that fact sink in. Where is the mighty Egyptian King Tutankhamun? He is lying in state in Cairo in a museum, his body mummified and wrapped in grave clothes on view for all to see. Where is Jesus Christ? He is sitting at the right hand of God, the place symbolising power. Jesus is not in the grave like all other kings who are dead and gone. He is alive and well, seated in His resurrection body in Glory while His Spirit is resident inside each one of His children. That puts Jesus Christ in a league of His Own.
Furthermore, the practice in the ancient world was that in the presence of the passing monarch their subjects were expected to bow down or bend lower than the Ruler and chorus out their statement of homage. I am sure most of us are familiar with the Roman practice of expecting the loyal subjects of Rome to chant “Caesar is Lord” as the Roman emperor passed by. Are you beginning to gain a clearer picture of subservience in the Ancient Near East and in most subsequent empires which followed through the course of history?
But there is more yet to come. Keep pondering the matter of the Name above all names. I will begin to unpack that in the next Gem. Yes I said “begin to unpack that”. It will take a while because after all it is the Name-above-names Name. See if you can eliminate some of the names from our list before we start. Take note particularly of what Paul tells us in this Majestic Passage in Philippians. He has laid it out before you and so have I.
The human race crave the experience of wonder (and surprise). There is no reality more breathtaking than Jesus Christ.
Christmas and Easter are more than dates on a calendar; they mark the coming and going of the most influential man in human history – Jesus.
One Solitary Life
James Allen Francis
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned–put together–have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.