The Proclaimer

Bowing Knees and Confessing Tongues

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

The above passage includes a quotation from the soliloquy of Yahweh found in Isaiah 45:23: “By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”  By lifting this text out of Isaiah and applying it to Jesus, Paul leads us to an unavoidable conclusion: the homage that the prophet said was due to Yahweh is due to Jesus Christ.  But such homage is not limited to the Hebrews but is universal in scope involving “every knee” and “every tongue.”

The phrases “every knee should bow” and “every tongue should confess” are indicative of one’s recognition of who Jesus is.  As Lord we are required to subject ourselves to Him.  God created man as a free moral agent, and as such gave man the choice of service.  In this life God does not coerce anyone into subjection.  We must freely submit ourselves to the rule, authority, power and dominion of Jesus Christ as Lord.  We must choose to obey Him without partiality or discrimination.  And we must confess “that Jesus is Lord” not only verbally but with every act of humble obedience we render to Him.  Those who chose to “do the will of my Father who is in heaven” will go to heaven (Matt. 7:21).

But the day is coming when man will have no choice in the matter. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:22, 23).  Having chosen not to do God’s will in the past, the disobedient will be forced into subjection at the judgment. In spite of protestation the wicked will go to the fires of hell, for “every knee should bow” and “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This being so, wouldn’t it be far better to “bow the knee” in humble obedience and “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” by your own choosing today so that the eternal blessings He has prepared for the faithful can be yours? 

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer