Every Knee Will Bow

Today’s Passage: Philippians 2:5–11

All week you have evaluated the evidence for the divinity of Jesus. Today, Paul reaches back and quotes an early hymn the first Christians sang. In a few short lines, this song delivers a profound verdict. Jesus emptied Himself by taking, not by losing. He assumed a servant’s nature, obeyed all the way to a Roman cross, and rose to absolute authority so that every knee will bow to Him.

Philippians 2:5–6 (BSB)

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

Paul calls you to adopt the very mindset of Jesus. Verse 6 establishes a massive theological fact. Jesus already existed “in the form of God.” He possessed equality with God as a permanent reality from eternity past. He never had to earn divine status or seize it as a prize.

Philippians 2:7–8 (BSB)

⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Look at the trajectory of His descent. God the Son assumes the form of a servant and enters human history as a man. He then walks a path of absolute obedience straight to an execution stake. Rome reserved the cross for slaves and insurrectionists to maximize physical agony and public shame. The Creator of the universe deliberately subjected Himself to that degradation for your sake.

Philippians 2:9–11 (BSB)

⁹ Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, ¹⁰ that 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.

The word Therefore pivots the entire hymn. Because Jesus descended to the absolute bottom, God exalted Him to the absolute top. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess His lordship in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Everyone, everywhere, will eventually acknowledge His supreme authority. First-century Greek-speaking Jews used the word Lord as a direct substitute for the sacred name of God. Paul states unequivocally that Jesus is God.

Jesus emptied (κενόω) kenoō, pronounced ken-OH-oh. Strong's G2758, to empty, pour out completely. This word means to pour out, like emptying a jar. Jesus poured Himself out by taking on a lowly human life while retaining all His divine attributes. He never stopped being God. Himself by taking on human flesh, never by surrendering His divine nature. He remained fully God at every moment. Since every knee will eventually bow to Him, you can make the decision to bow yours today. Take a moment right now, kneel on the floor or bow quietly in your heart, and say aloud, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Pray to Close

Thank Jesus for choosing to step down from glory to take on the form of a servant for your sake. Confess any pride that demands recognition, and ask Him for the humility to trust His timing for your life. Ask Him to give you a willing heart to bow before Him today, long before the final day when all humanity will kneel.