Exalted Through Humility: Why Every Knee Will Bow- Phil 2:9-11

Good morning, and what a great blessing it is to be worshipers of the only Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

We are so grateful for the love that Christ graciously demonstrated for us on

the cross and through His resurrection.

My name is Pastor Simon, and here at Dillingham Moravian Church,

we delight in making disciples for Christ as we learn God's Word with you.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Trump.

Melania, Trump officially welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the

White House on April 28, 2026 for a state visit.

The historic welcome featured a 21-gun cannon salute, a military flyover,

and a full pass-in review by nearly 500 members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The royal couple arrived at the South Portico on April 27th for an informal

greeting and photo opportunity with President Trump and the First Lady.

The official ceremonial welcome took place the following morning under military honors.

The ceremony featured the national anthems of both countries,

along with remarks from President Trump highlighting America's 250th anniversary

of independence and the strong U.S.-U.K.

Special relationship.

Following the morning welcome, the King and Queen attended a series of events

honoring the shared heritage between the two nations.

Later in the visit, King Charles III delivered a historic address to the joint session of Congress.

The visit concluded with a black-tie state dinner hosted by the First Lady at the White House.

I share the event of the King and Queen of England's state visit to the White

House to impress upon us that the way in which the world honors its royalties

and presidents is through pomp, wealth, and ceremony.

And yet this is very different from how the Lord of the entire universe,

Jesus the Christ, the King of all kings, came to be honored.

While Jesus will be honored above all authority and power, the road to Jesus'

exaltation by the Father was through suffering and shame-filled death at the

hands of evil people. Let's pray.

O Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for this opportunity to hear from your word.

To be able to understand the truth of your precious teachings to us.

May you give us your Holy Spirit so that we may be able to understand you.

We may be able to apply what you are giving us and help us, O Lord,

to exalt Jesus Christ as Lord of our life in everything that we do and say and think.

May you, O Father, be glorified in our lives.

In our precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Here at DMC, we have been going through a preaching series in Paul's letter to the Philippians.

And today we're continuing on in our study in Philippians 2, verse 9 through 11,

Philippians 2:9–11

where Paul boldly taught, For this reason also God highly exalted him,

and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name

of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are on the earth,

those who are in heaven and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

There are three foundational truths in this passage that I want to bring to your attention.

The first truth that God through Paul is teaching us today is that God highly

exalted Christ through his humble suffering.

Paul proclaimed in Philippians 2, verse 9-11, For this reason also God highly

Philippians 2:9–11

exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

Paul started off in verse 9 by writing, For this reason also.

What Paul was doing was pointing towards something he previously wrote,

that is also the reason for what he wrote about in verse 9.

To understand what Paul is getting at, we need to go back to Philippians 2,

Philippians 2:3–8

verses 3-8, where Paul taught, Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,

but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, although he existed in

the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant or bondslave,

and being made in the likeness of men.

Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In Philippians 2, verses 5-8, Paul described the great love of Christ that was

Philippians 2:5–8

displayed by Jesus considering humanity as more important than himself.

Even though Jesus was in reality God, he did not prize or treasure his power, authority, and riches.

Since Christ did not emotionally hold on to his Godhood in that way,

he was able to let go of the trappings of power, wealth, and status and become

fully human as well as fully God.

In the degradation of being born in an animal's feeding trough,

in a stable filled with manure and animals, growing up in Judea as a slave in

captivity to Rome, being tortured and dying on the cross,

having the Father forsake him temporarily.

And even through all of that, Jesus still knew exactly who he is.

Jesus did not need all the effects of being God to know that he was God and is God.

Jesus was secure in who he is,

was as the son of God, one with his father, completely assured of his father's love.

And this is how Jesus was able to be the sacrificial lamb of God,

to pay the debt of blood that all people owe God, so that we could have forgiveness

from God through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

And here's where we are now in verse 9.

As a result of Christ Jesus being obedient unto death, Jesus was highly exalted,

and the Father bestowed upon Jesus the name which is above every name.

The word that Paul used for exalted, which in the New Testament occurs only

in this one instance, and is here applied only to him, namely the verb super exalted.

God the Father elevated the Son in a transcendently glorious manner.

He raised him to the loftiest of heights.

I want you to notice something else.

God the Father raised Jesus in authority above everyone else,

everywhere, and bestowed on Him the name which is above all names.

This is super important because as one commentary explained,

a name, as then understood, was not as with us merely a convenient means of

distinguishing one individual from another.

On the contrary, in biblical usage, the name is intimately associated with the

person who bears it and is frequently that person himself as he reveals himself.

It expresses that person's character, reputation, dignity, work,

power, or his peculiar position in the divine economy.

Hence, often the name keeps pace with the person.

Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai develops into Sarah.

Jacob changes to Israel. Solomon receives the name Jedidiah.

Simon is called Cephas, that is, Peter. Now Paul says.

Does not distinguish here what this particular name is. However,

in the next verse, Paul did say that in the name of Jesus everyone would bow.

Thus, it's very possible that Paul was referring to the name of Jesus here.

However, he could also be referring to the name and title of the Lord,

or Yahweh, which no one else in all creation is worthy of having except Jesus Christ.

Paul also wrote in Ephesians 1, verse 20-21, which he, meaning God,

Ephesians 1:20–21

worked in Christ by raising him

from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

far above rule and authority and power and dominion. And here it is.

Every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

Whatever name that Paul was writing about in verse 9 was more important and

greater than any other name in all the universe.

So what can we as Christians today learn from Philippians 2, verse 9?

Philippians 2:9

The main application that I want to point out to you is that we as Christians,

are to realize that the path to glory with God is through obedient sacrifice

of our wants and our desires and even our own bodies for the will of God.

I want to impress upon you that Christ's path to glory was through obedient

suffering, death, and shame.

The world's idea of glory focuses on getting what we want, realizing our ambitions,

being more important than others.

Comfort is also heavily connected with human glory.

But Jesus Christ was an upside-down king in an upside-down kingdom,

where Christ, who really was and is the king of the universe,

gave up everything and died cruelly in shame as a criminal.

In Christ's kingdom, glory is derived from obedient and loving sacrifice for the will of God.

In response to James and John requesting to have positions of glory,

Jesus in Mark 10, verse 42 to 45 commanded his disciples.

Mark 10:42–45

This is what he said. And calling them to himself, Jesus said to them,

You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over

them, and their great men exercise authority over them.

But it is not this way among you. For whoever wishes to become great among you

shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,

and to give his life a ransom for many.

As Christ followers, we must realize that the path to greatness comes through

obedient surrender to God, and by serving others first before ourselves,

because we view them as greater or more valuable than ourselves.

It's a hard road, but the reward is great.

For Jesus said, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful with a few things, but I will put you in charge of many things.

Come and enter the joy of your master.

Oh, my friends, there is nothing I long to hear more than my master's words

telling me that I have been good and faithful.

To enter into the joy of my master.

And if we, you and I, wish to please our master, God, Jesus Christ,

then we need to view God and His will as infinitely more important than our

own, that God is our supreme treasure.

The second principle that I want to bring to your attention from this passage

is that at the name of Jesus, all will bow and swear allegiance to him.

My boys, Paul and Jonathan, love to build traps.

One of the more ensnaring and dangerous traps that my boys create was covering

their room with strings in a spider web pattern attached from bedroom furniture to the floor with,

those little paper hooks to the point where you couldn't enter into the room

because the web of string was so great and dense.

My boys were on the other side taunting me that I couldn't get them and that

they couldn't be reached by me.

So I calmly took out a pair of scissors in my pocket and a few snips and the whole snare fell apart.

I share this story with you because it can feel like to us as Christians that Satan is in control,

that he has ensnared everybody, and that he is traps upon traps like a big spider

waiting to pounce and destroy all in his path.

But Satan's power pales in comparison to the almighty power of our Lord and

God, Jesus Christ, who has already freed God's people from the snares of the

devil through his cross and resurrection.

Satan only has power and control because God, in his infinite wisdom, had given it to him.

And one day Christ will return and he will remove all authority and power from Satan.

Christ will destroy the devil's traps and have Satan thrown into the fiery pit

of hell. He'll be gone forever and ever.

And everyone on earth, including those who are in hell and those who are in

heaven, will know that Jesus Christ is God and Lord of all.

Paul went on, Philippians 2, verse 10, so that at the name of Jesus,

Philippians 2:10

every knee will bow, and of those who are,

in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Verse 10 stated that there will come a day when all will bow in complete surrender

to the lordship and godhood of Jesus Christ.

In verse 10, Paul quoted in Isaiah 45 verse 23 when he proclaimed that at the

Isaiah 45:23

name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

The Lord through Isaiah was speaking to Cyrus, the king of the Medo-Persian empire.

God proclaimed to Cyrus that Cyrus would rebuild the temple of the Lord and in Jerusalem.

God also declared that all power and authority that Cyrus had was given to him to be God's shepherd.

God told Cyrus that it was he, the Lord, who created everything.

Multiple times the Lord proclaimed that I am the Lord, there is no one else,

that there is no other God besides me.

God, in Isaiah 45, verse 23, declared, I have sworn by myself.

Isaiah 45:23

The word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back

and here it is that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance.

Not only will all people swear allegiance and bow before god but people will

come to him declaring that he is their righteousness and strength that all the

offspring of israel will be justified in glory,

See, back in Philippians 2, verse 10, Paul was proclaiming the lordship of Jesus

Philippians 2:10

Christ in three areas over intelligent beings.

First, over those who are in heaven.

This would include the God-serving angelic beings of all hierarchies and types.

Those who are in heaven would also include the saints of God who have passed

away and who are in heaven with God, Old Testament and New Testament saints.

Secondly, Paul wrote that every knee will bow on earth, meaning that all human

beings on the earth, all earthly and political and social structures,

will submit to the authority of Jesus Christ as Lord.

Thirdly, those under the earth will bow the knee to Jesus Christ.

But what did Paul mean by under the earth?

According to William Hendrickson, those who are under the earth,

all the damned in hell, both human beings and the evil angels or demons.

For if heavenly refers among others to the good angels,

then it's antonym, meaning the opposite, which literally means under earthly,

a word occurring only here in the New Testament, and all probability includes the evil angels.

What Paul was getting at in verse 10 was that every intelligent being anywhere

in this universe and in the spirit realm of heaven and hell,

whether willing or not, they will all bow to the majestic authority and power of the name of Jesus.

The last truth I want to show you in this passage is that everyone will declare

with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord God.

In an article from World Help, the writer began with the statement.

Incredible, I thought to myself. I couldn't think of a better word to describe

the scene before me as I stood in front of thousands of our Iraqi brothers and

sisters to share a message of hope.

Dozens of people sat on the floor in the shape of a cross while hundreds more

filled the aisles, the balcony, even spilled out the doors into the overflow area outside.

They called it Christ Day, a day dedicated to thanking God and asking Him to bless Iraq.

These believers had endured so much. Many in the crowd had personally experienced persecution by ISIS.

Most would be returning to refugee settlements after the event because they

had been driven from their homes.

They had lost everything, their homes, their jobs, and for some,

even their families, all because they had chosen to follow Jesus.

And the hardest thing is there was no end in sight.

Many remained in refugee camps for still a long time and still they praised God.

They knew that as long as he is on the throne, there's still hope for Iraq.

I share this article with you because the scene described was of thousands of

Christ followers worshiping Jesus as their only Lord together.

Now this wasn't a Christian music concert or a church service where people are

moved by the power of the music and emotion and good speaking.

Not that there's anything wrong with Christian music or church service that

preaches as we are singing God's Word.

No, this was a pure worship of those who had given up everything to follow Jesus,

to whom the only thing that they had left to give to Jesus was their own selves.

And they still thanked God. And they still prayed for God to bless the country that persecutes them.

See, this is what confessing Jesus Christ as Lord truly means.

Paul ended this section in Philippians 2, verse 11, by remonstrating that every

Philippians 2:11

tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

When Paul wrote that every being will confess with their tongue or mouth that

Jesus Christ is Lord, Paul was making a bold claim and quite possibly signing his own death warrant.

Paul was claiming in a time when making any claims of deity other than the emperor

was dangerous, that there is only one God in the universe, and that God is the

Lord and the Lord is Jesus.

Living under the lordship of Jesus Christ was the reason why Paul was beheaded,

the reason why Peter was crucified upside down, and why the Philippian believers

were persecuted and hunted down to be murdered.

Paul and the other believers in the New Testament would not bow down to worship

the emperor as God, nor would they worship the other so-called gods of the culture around them.

There are two words that I want you to notice here in verse 11.

The first word is the Greek word for confess, which meant to acknowledge,

affirm or agree, which is what everyone will eventually do in response to Christ's lordship.

Willingly and blessedly or unwillingly and painfully.

The word that Paul used for the Lord was the Greek word kurios,

which was the transliteration for the Hebrew word Yahweh.

Yahweh is the life giver, the creator, the one who is the absolute and unchangeable

one, the ever-existing, the ever-living, who is self-consistent,

who is the God of redemption.

Yahweh is the great I am who lives always in the present through all time periods.

Yahweh is the only existing God, and there are no others.

He is the creator and life giver. He's the absolute master of the universe and

is always consistent. He is always faithful.

And there's no salvation or redemption from anywhere else other than him.

Yahweh's throne is in heaven and he rules from heaven. He doesn't physically

live on earth or rule from earth, at least not yet.

This is extremely important because the worship of God is not based upon a deity that lives on earth.

All the human created gods are connected with the earth and draw their power

from the created universe somehow, but the Lord is beyond the created universe.

No one created Yahweh. He always was and is and will be.

And he created everything there is.

The Lord is the great I am, the only one unique in all of creation.

The Lord is completely set apart from the universe.

And when Paul declared that everyone everywhere would acknowledge that Christ

is Lord, he was meaning that Yahweh, the great I am, is Jesus.

And Jesus is Yahweh Lord of all.

We need to understand that although there will be a time when all will bow before

Jesus as God and only Lord, Jesus has already been exalted as Lord God by the Father.

And so this passage also means that we as Christians bow to only one God now.

And here's what I mean by this. Paul in Romans chapter 13 verse 1 tells us that

Romans 13:1

we are to be subject to all governing authorities because they get their authority from God.

Additionally, Romans 13 reminds us of Jesus' commands to love the people around us.

And one of the messages from God in the book of Jeremiah to the people of Judah,

who were in captivity in Babylon, was for them not to revolt,

but to seek the peace and prosperity of the place they were in.

Christians are commanded by God to submit the authorities and seek the peace

and prosperity of the community and nation we're in.

However, we are not to worship anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ,

who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, nor are we to obey any commands

from governments or the cultures around us that contradict the Word of God.

The cultures around us are more and more becoming hostile to biblical values.

Where once we were a nation founded

on biblical values, now we're a nation serving multiple false gods.

The media is increasingly feeding us beliefs and values that are contrary to God's word.

And as Hebrews 10, verse 23 proclaimed, let us hold fast the confession of our

Hebrews 10:23

hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

We, you and I, must hold fast fast to our allegiance and faith to Christ.

He is our God. Christ's lordship is to reign over us in our marriages and raising

our children in our work and how we act and behave at school or at home and

our thoughts and our actions.

When we watch television or on the internet or scrolling through social media,

if you're homeschooling your children, that is a great opportunity to instill

the truths of Christ's Word in the hearts and minds of your kids.

Work the truths of Christ into your curriculum. But what if your children go

to public school, as many do here in Dillingham and in the villages?

First of all, it's important to be aware of what your local school,

especially your kids' teachers, believe and teach in the classroom.

I find that it's important to respectfully interview your children's teacher

to find out how they view the world and their teaching philosophies.

Then at home, teach and train your kids or your grandchildren on the truths

of the true faith through Bible teaching, catechism, and memory verses.

I also find it helpful to be alert to what my children say about what they learn

and then gently teach them the right way to think on that subject.

I will also interrupt a movie or a TV show or in YouTube, especially YouTube,

When I see and hear of a contradicting truth on the Christian faith taught,

I will then teach what the truth is.

My children hate this, but it's so important.

I share this about our children and media because media is probably the largest

venue that is teaching our children.

And God has put us as parents, grandparents, in charge of discipling our children

in the ways of the Lord so that they will worship Jesus as their only God and Lord. And all of this...

It's the glory of God that everyone on earth will bow down and confess that

Jesus is Lord so that the Father will be glorified in Jesus.

What is it that God is communicating with us today? Just as glory for Christ,

our Lord and King, came through suffering and sacrificial death,

so also in Christ's kingdom, glory is derived from our obedient and loving sacrifice,

of our whole selves as we deny ourselves for the will of God.

Secondly, that because of and through his death and resurrection,

Christ has been exalted and declared to be what he has always been,

Jesus, the Lord Yahweh, the great I am.

Of all creation, including heaven and hell, one day all will bow down and confess

with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh, all to the glory of God.

Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and through the resurrection,

Jesus has been raised to a position above all others as Lord over everything.

In the light of our political climate, in the wars and acts of terrorism,

or the financial struggles in our country, it is tempting to despair.

However, I want to encourage you that Christ is Lord God, meaning He's sovereign over everything.

Jesus is sovereign over Satan. He can't make a move at all without coming to

God and asking for permission.

Jesus is sovereign over your spiritual battles. He is sovereign over the trials of this life.

As Christ believers in the power of the Holy Spirit, we're called to live in

the power of Christ's resurrection.

So that we may be able to think and act like Christ. To see life from his perspective.

To be a slave of God and to serve those around us.

We are promised that one day, and I hope very soon, we will see Christ return,

and He will set all things right and new to the glory of God the Father.

Amen? Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful.

Thankful that You, O precious God, have given us life in You.

That you, in the exaltation of Jesus through his death and resurrection,

you have given us the example to walk as you have walked.

And one day you have promised that in Christ we too will be glorified and honored.

And I pray that for all that are listening and myself as well,

that you will declare to us good and faithful servant, come into the joy of your master.

Thank you, Lord. For all those who are listening, Lord, I pray that you would bring them your joy,

your peace as they boldly go out and declare with their actions and the words

that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

In your precious son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

I want to leave you with this blessing from Romans 15, verse 13.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

Amen. Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you all.