Christ Is Lord

"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).

One of the reasons I love the Christ poem that we have been looking at in Philippians 2:6-11 over the past couple of days is the way that it draws together ideas from across Scripture to demonstrate the significance of who Christ is and what he has done.

One such example is the allusion that many Bible scholars find in the verses for today to an Old Testament text, Isaiah 45:23-24, where the prophet delivers these words from God: “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’ All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.” This passage in Isaiah comes from the middle part of the book, which is a dramatic announcement, while the Israelites are in exile in Babylon, that the time of exile has ended, that God has a plan to release them from foreign domination and return them to their land.

In Philippians 2, the verses we’ve read for today, the same claim is made with implications for the church–in Philippi and around the Roman empire–that the oppressive power which rules them will be subdued. God the Father has, by the obedient death of the Son, brought about the redemption of his people. He has exalted the Son to the “highest place” giving him the “name that is above every name” and all will bow before him and confess that he is Lord, “to the glory of God the Father.”

Just as God promised in Isaiah 45, despite the fact that the people were still in exile, that the time of exile had ended and God had acted redemptively on their behalf, in Christ, God has acted redemptively again on behalf of his people. In spite of the fact that the Philippian church still experienced the daily realities of suffering under a foreign empire, just as the Israelites had in Babylon, the work that was accomplished in Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection, meant that the empire of Rome was already defeated. Their fate was sealed; their power would give way to the one whose name is above every name.

But it wasn’t just Rome; every other power across time and space would give way. Every knee would bow and every tongue confess Christ’s lordship. The church, whether in Philippi or among us today, is called to live as those who believe that the Son has been exalted, that he already rules over all things, in spite of any evidence to the contrary. For those of us who do not live under oppressive powers, we can easily lose sight of the significance of this. But for our siblings in Christ around the world who suffer for their testimony that Christ rules, this changes everything. So perhaps the question for us today is this: What difference does Christ’s lordship make for you and your community here and now?

So as you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.