“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
The book of Philippians is a letter from Paul where he is not only thanking the Philippians for sending him a gift, but he is encouraging the believers in their walk with God. In the second chapter, Paul is talking about how we, Christians, can imitate Jesus. The idea of trying to think, talk and act the way Jesus did during His life on earth, can be overwhelming at first. However, as we mature in our faith, the idea of trying to be like Jesus becomes less daunting because we know that we are not doing it alone. We have the Holy Spirit with us at all times, helping us.
In the verses leading up to verses 9-11, Paul is talking about how the Philippians and Christians of all times, can begin to think like Jesus. He talks about having the same mindset as Jesus, one of humbleness and servitude. Paul then informs the Philippians that because Jesus was humble, gracious, faithful and obedient to God and His will, that God exalted Jesus.
In the verses for today we see that Jesus is exalted to the highest place and given the name that is higher than any other name. We also see that every person will acknowledge and bow to Him no matter who they are or where they are. As we have free will, this will not happen until the final judgement but at that time, even those who hate Jesus or what He stands for, will acknowledge Him. There will be no one, not even those who have chosen to follow the devil, that can deny that Jesus is the rightful ruler of everything.
Since we have free will, it is still up to us at this time to decide if we are accepting of Jesus, His sovereignty, and following Him or are we choosing to either deny His sovereignty or ignore who He is and go on with life as we want. The choice is ours right now, but there will come a day when we will no longer have a chance to change our choice.
Lord, I pray that anyone who is not chosen to follow You at this time be given the opportunity to understand who You are so that they may change their choice of not following You. Place people in their lives to help them learn about You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.