Skip to main content

Every Knee Will Bow

             Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

So, why is Jesus the only way? Why will every knee should bow and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father? I suspect that sometimes, some of us think that it’s some sort of bad attitude on God’s part. He picked Jesus in a fit of pique, and now He’s going to stomp His feet and demand that we make a big deal about Jesus. But He could have just as easily picked Mohammed, or Buddha, or you. It’s really not fair to arbitrarily pick Jesus. The snide part of me wants to finish the complaint of these some with “Who does He think He is?”

And the answer is that He thinks He’s God, and that’s only a problem if He’s not. And if He is God, then the choices He makes are based on thinking that is so much higher, bigger, better, longer, deeper, etc. than ours. He has the right to make decisions and our right to question those decisions is limited.  We can ask who, what, when, where, why, or how, but our response to His answer (even no answer) is His to judge.

So, returning to the passage, I submit that God’s choice wasn’t arbitrary. God exalted Him to the highest place because He did what was needed to earn that place. He gave Him a name that is above every name because He earned it. Every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord not because God said, “DO IT!” but because Jesus did what was required to become Lord.  It’s not arbitrary. It’s not magical. It’s just logical. What makes no sense is claiming the founders of other religions compare or deserve respect as anything other than a human being.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more