Philippians 2:9-11 - JESUS The Name Above Every Name.
Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV) Therefore God also
has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,
and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
COMMENTARY PEARL
When my three brothers and I were babies,
our dad settled on a nickname for each of us.
The names didn't have any reasoning behind them,
and a couple of my brothers' nicknames were
downright odd. As we grew older, Dad stopped using the
boys' nicknames on a regular basis, but he kept on
calling me "Lulu" or "Lu." As an adult, I found it a
little annoying, until I read this Chinese proverb:
"The child with many names is much loved."
Maybe that's one reason I love how the
Bible is filled with names for Jesus, each one
revealing a specific aspect of His character or role.
Just a single verse in Isaiah labels Jesus
"Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace" (9:6). And one of my favorites is
found in Matthew 1:23, "Immanuel, which means God
with us."
God knew that specific names for Jesus
would comfort and sustain us during different
seasons of our lives. When we're hungry for
something more, we can find nourishment from the Bread
of Life (John 6:35). When we need guidance, we
can talk to the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). When
we go through dark days, the Light of the World
is there for us (John 8:12). When we're missing
a loved one, we can find comfort from the
Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).
Yes, God gave Jesus the "name that is
above every name." He also gave Him every name
that we will ever need to know Him by. by Dianne
Neal Matthews
Faith Step: Which name for Jesus do you
most need to meditate on today? [Mornings With
Jesus 2019 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
CONTEXT AND INTRODUCTION
2:6"11 This early Christian hymn is about
Christs preexistence and divine nature, incarnation
and death, exaltation and lordship. NLTSB
Jesus Christ is Lord of all. And thats
because He is the Creator of all: All things were
made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made (John 1:3). Thus, He is
Lord of every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people. Though not everyone currently recognizes Him
as Lord, the day is coming when every knee will
bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[Adult SS Quarterly 6/25/05]
What does the Christ Hymn tell us about the
nature of Christ?
Philippians 2:6-11, often called the
Christ Hymn, reveals early Christian beliefs about
the nature of Jesus Christ. This hymn affirms
that the early Christians believed that Christ
was divine and existed before God created the
world (John 1:1-2; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9;
Hebrews 1:1-3). Christ is not simply another human
prophet. He was present with God the Father from the
very beginning, and he is the one through whom
the universe was created. As the Son of God, he
shares the nature of God himself.
The hymn also affirms that Jesus Christ
came to earth in an act of immense humility - the
infinite God became human (John 1:10-14; Colossians
1:15; Hebrews 2:14,17). Jesus Christ, the glorious
Creator of the universe, died as a sacrificial
offering for the sins of human beings so that we
might be forgiven and be reconciled to God, as the
Scriptures had foretold (Isaiah 53:3-12; Colossians
1:20, 22; 2:13-14; Hebrews 10:12).
This hymn also affirms that God raised
Jesus from the dead, has given him the place of
highest honor" in heaven, and conferred on him the
title Lord. One day, all created beings will
bow before him and acknowledge that he is Lord
of the entire universe, deserving of the
worship that God alone is worthy to receive
(Revelation 5:8-14). [One Year NLT SB]
COMMENTARY
How many names do you have? Most people
have three - a first, middle, and last. In 2012 a
woman in Great Britain set a world record by
legally changing her name to include 161 names!
That's a lot, but Jesus was known by even more. He
was called the Son of God, Holy One, King,
Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Messiah, Master, Lamb of
God, Bread of Life, Rock, Deliverer, and the
names go on and on. All of Jesus names have a
special meaning and allow you to know more about his
character. He's the Chief Shepherd and your Advocate.
Similarly, your names give people an idea of who you
are. Do you know the meaning of your name? If
not, ask a parent to tell you what it means. In
addition to your given name, you're probably known by
many other names: student, child, brother or
sister, athlete, musician, and friend. Jesus even
calls you "friend." John 15:15 says, "I have
called you friends, for everything that I learned
from my Father I have made known to you." It's
nice to think about Jesus being your friend, but
he's a lot more than that.
Bible scholar Daniel B. Wallace believes
Christians need to do two things to grow in depth and
understanding of their faith.
"First, we have to quit marginalizing
scripture," he says. "We really need to wrestle with the
issues, because our faith depends on it. And second,
we need to quit turning Jesus into our buddy.
He's the sovereign Lord of the universe, and we
need to understand that and respond accordingly."
Christian writer C. S. Lewis may have explained it
best. When he described Aslan, the lion who
symbolizes Jesus Christ in the Chronicles of Narnia
books, Lewis wrote, "Course he isn't safe. But he's
good. He's the King."
Not surprisingly, one of Jesus' names is
Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). He
is powerful, good ... and a little dangerous.
Jesus is the most powerful name in the history of
the world. Just the mention of his name causes
people to bow in reverence (Philippians 2:10). We
should show similar reverence as we serve Christ
and interact with him through prayer. He is,
after all, the King of Kings. [Case For Christ For
Kids by Les Strobel]
CLOSING THOUGHTS FOR CONTEMPLATION
Hail the Incarnate Deity
On that still winter's night, something
was up something extraordinary something
supernatural. The shepherds raced to the City of David and
found their Savior, just as the angel had said
swaddled and lying in a feeding trough. This was the
Promised One, the Messiah! God had finally come to
dwell with His people, but in such an unexpected
way.
Just who was this holy Child the
shepherds gazed upon? Make no mistake: He was
incarnate deity. The newborn Jesus existed in eternity
past as God the Son. He was coequal, coeternal,
and coexistent with God the Father and God the
Holy Spirit. However, Jesus relinquished the
privileges and the pleasures of His existence in heaven
when He took upon Himself the limitations of
humanity (Philippians 2:6-7). In emptying Himself,
Jesus voluntarily set aside the prerogatives and
prerequisites of life as He had known it, an existence He
had enjoyed; He released His right to that kind
of life, saying to the Father, "I will go."
Go where? To Bethlehem. He took "the form
of a bond-servant, and [was] made in the
likeness of men." Allow yourself to picture what the
shepherds saw. There He is, the baby. Do you see His
ten fingers and ten toes? His button nose? Can
you hear the cries? There's humanity. In this
holy infant is the beginning of an earthly life.
Look deep into His eyes and see the beginning of
life itself.
Later, this divine man, completely unique
in His nature and in the perfect life that He
lived, "humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross." Isn't that
amazing? Of all ways to die, He died on a cross - the
most humiliating and painful kind of death.
God the Son lowered Himself. He took on
the flesh of an infant. He died a humiliating
death. As a result, God the Father "highly exalted
Him." One day, all will bow in worship of the
risen Lord, "to the glory of God the Father."
It's all about His glory. What a plan.
What an execution. What a perfect, awesome
wrapping! The God-man. Jesus is undiminished deity and
true humanity, two distinct natures in one
person, forever. That's the baby in the manger!
[Chuck Swindoll www.insight.org.]
He Loves to Be with the Ones He Loves
Holiday travel. It isnt easy. Then why
do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the
airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the
ones we love.
The four-year-old running up the sidewalk
into the arms of Grandpa.
The cup of coffee with Mom before the
rest of the house awakes.
That moment when, for a moment, everyone
is quiet as we hold hands around the table and
thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.
We love to be with the ones we love.
May I remind you? So does God. He loves
to be with the ones he loves. How else do you
explain what he did? Between him and us there was a
distance - a great span. And he couldnt bear it.
He couldnt stand it. So he did something
about it.
Before coming to the earth, Christ
himself was like God in everything. But he gave
up his place with God and made himself nothing.
He was born to be a man and became like a
servant (Phil. 2:6"7 NCV).
Why? Why did Jesus travel so far?
I was asking myself that question when I
spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of
black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots
of the tree north of my office. Weve been
neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the
keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the
trunk. Were mutually amused. I could watch them
all day. Sometimes I do.
But Ive never considered becoming one
of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to
me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent
with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who
feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky
Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a
hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts?
Count me out.
But count Jesus in. What a world he left.
Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to
him. Earths finest cuisine would be walnuts on
heavens table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel
with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail?
Its nothing compared to God becoming a
one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
But he did. The God of the universe
kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into
the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first
night in the feed trough of a cow. The Word
became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14
NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of
heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our
neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a
thing.
Why? He loves to be with the ones he
loves. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120620-1655.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4
4th of 28: Cared For:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds
5th of 28: Saved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI
6th of 28: You Can Change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc
8th of 28 Our Holy Father:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY
9th of 28 Gifts of Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo
11th of 28 The Law of God:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Q601HjogI
12th of 28 The Sabbath:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakgnKoTzZI
13th of 28 The Church:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFw2XsTW-w
14th of 28 The Gift of Prophecy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiO2VC09NPI
15th of 28 Stewardship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_lNLAataw
16th of 28 Marriage and the Family:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EybxvMQ0K7E
Live ongoing series in progress.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
