The name above all names
February 23rd, 2009 by Todd JohnsonPhilippians 2:9-11 declares Jesus to be the name above every name and the One before Whom every knee should bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. I find this fascinating when considering who it was that wrote those words. Here’s an excerpt from my notes. I’d love to hear what you think as well… (please forgive the formatting or lack of.. I’m spending a few days with my family in Tahoe and this is the best I could do)..
Isa 45:18 ESV
For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens…
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Isa 45:21 ESV
…There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
Isa 45:23 ESV
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance
POINT: God is the ONLY Savior, AND says Paul, JESUS IS THAT SAVIOR!
Isaiah 45:23 says, “God [the Lord] is the One before Whom every knee will bow” ..
Philippians 2:10-11 says “..at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
I don’t know that there are many other declarations AS CLEAR AS THIS on the true identity of Jesus
- Consider Paul (Saul of Tarsus) and his monotheistic past
- It was that very belief that there is ONE God and ONLY one God that got him up in the morning.. sending him out the door to find and sentence Christians for their belief in Jesus AS LORD!
- That day came to a screeching halt when on his journey he was arrested by Jesus, and his words to Jesus were…
Acts 26:15 ESV … ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus’.
For a man like Paul to say “Jesus is Lord”, is to say “Jesus is God”.
Isaiah 45 is GOD giving a description of HIMSELF (applying exclusively to Himself
And Paul takes up that description and applies it to Jesus
So more than saying “Jesus is my personal Savior and Lord”, Paul is actually making a universal declaration concerning the identity, authority & majesty of Jesus Christ AS LORD!
Skeptics & critics work hard to deny this..
I think we should work hard to understand this!
Any thoughts?
Exactly, Todd. I’ve heard people say, “Make Jesus your Lord.” or “Jesus was always my Savior, but tonite I made him my Lord.” We don’t make Jesus anything. He is the Lord. We just bow our knee and confess what’s true. He is Lord of all.
If anyone watches Lost, do you remember the conversation between Ben and Jack last week concerning Thomas and his doubts? Jack asked, “Did he come to believe? Ben said, (something like) “Everyone believes in the end.” As I listened to your message Sunday this came to my mind. (Not that I think of other stuff while you’re preaching, NEVER!)
Why am I always the first to comment?
The passage is so powerful because it absolutely demands a decision – you’re going to bow down sooner or later, with eternal consequences connected to the timing of that bow. It’s almost like a strong ocean current. You can spend your time trying to fight it and eventually be forced to succumb, or you can let it carry you along by submitting to its power and control (taking you to places you would have never been blessed to see!). Fighting this ocean is a fool’s errand. Likewise fighting the call of Jesus.
Wow, go Jeff!
Jeff – Ocean current.. great analogy. I’ve spend many days fighting currents that I could only fight but could never beat. That’s a good picture for me. Thanks.
Michele – If your mind is going to wander off on a Sunday morning (which all will from time to time), I don’t mind LOST being the thought. My wife and I love that series. And we loved that moment when Thomas came up, Ben’s response was great! Do you think Ben’s going to be good or bad in the end? It’s really hard to picture him as one of the good guys, but on this show anything is possible.
Now, just make sure that when your mind goes somewhere else while I’m speaking that it returns as soon as possible. I will be able to tell when it does not.
Back to the subject at hand…
Interestingly, I have never blogged Todd before today. However as I began to comment my employer, who is a devout Jew and a cantor in his synagogue, called me for a final thought before his Shabbat. As we finished talking I reflected on how much he reminded me of Paul of Tarsus, a brilliant, devout, driven and stubborn man. That God is able to change any of us (Jew or Gentile) so completely is the greatest proof for the truth of the Gospel. That this proud, legalistic, monotheistic, avenger for the Law could end up understanding, having and living the Mind of Christ and being used to bring the reality of Romans 1:16 to the Philippians and Romans is assurance that we can be used to do the same in our world of 2009. May we all bow and stay bowed so that we are available to accomplish whatever God wants with and within us.
Frank – I couldn’t agree more. I consistently go back to Saul/Paul and think through the miracle of that event and his unanswerable change apart from Jesus Himself arresting him. There is no explanation for that man apart from Jesus Christ risen from the dead with power to save.
A miracle that is replicated again and again every day here and around the world.
Thanks for sharing and I hope we see you here more often.. I think you’ll have a lot to contribute.
Be blessed!
Hey, is there a section just for latest news
You can look above at CROSSROADS LIVE / ANNOUNCEMENTS or keep your eye on the front page of our website.
I’m assuming you’re looking for “church” news as opposed to Fox news.