EVERY KNEE WILL BOW

PROCLAMATION

“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 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Philippi.  Paul began this second chapter by encouraging them to have the same mindset as Jesus, The Christ. (Philippians 2:1-5)  He reminded them that Christ left heaven and came down to earth, took on human form, humbled himself, and was obedient to the will of God, including dying on the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)  It was because of this that God exalted Him to the highest possible place and made His name more important than every other name.  There will come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus, The Christ, is Lord of all. (Philippians 2:9-11)  Then he encouraged them to do all that they do without grumbling or complaining.  Their Christ-like behavior will cause them to shine among men. (Philippians 2:14-16)

 

APPLICATION

Our salvation is based upon our belief in Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God, and His earthly birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection. (John 3:16)  He has been exalted to the highest place and now sits at the right hand of God, The Father. (Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33, and Hebrews 12:2)  The day is coming when everyone will know that He is The Lord.  Believers will bow to Him out of love and respect, others will bow out of fear and trembling.  Everyone will not be saved, but everyone will know that He is Lord. (Matthew 7:21-23)  Only those of us who believe in Him will be saved. (Romans 10:9) 

 

THE LORD HE IS GOD

PROCLAMATION

“Then the fire of The Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord He is God!  The Lord He is God!’”  1 Kings 18:38-39 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Three years after Elijah had told king Ahab that there would be a drought in the land of Israel, The Lord God told Elijah to go back to Ahab and tell him that He would send rain to the land. (1 Kings 18:1-2)  When Elijah met Ahab, he told him that he and his family had brought trouble to Israel by abandoning The Lord’s commands and following Baal. (1 Kings 18:16-18)  Elijah then offered Ahab, the prophets of Baal, and the people a challenge.  He suggested that two sacrifices be prepared, one to their god Baal, and one to The Lord God, and see which god would consume the sacrifice by fire. (1 Kings 18:20-24)  Then the prophets of Baal prepared their bull for sacrifice and called on the name of Baal, but there was no response.  Afterwards Elijah repaired the alter with twelve stones, arranged the wood, prepared his bull for sacrifice, dug a trench around the alter, and then had the people pour water on the offering and the wood three times until the water filled the trench. (1 Kings 18:30-35)  Then Elijah prayed to The Lord so that the people would know that The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel was the only true God. (1 Kings 18:36-37)  The Lord God sent down fire and consumed the sacrifice. 

APPLICATION

Unfortunately, some people will only believe when they see a miracle for themselves.  It is as if they are from the “show me” state of Missouri.  Like the apostle Thomas, they will only believe when they see for themselves.  However, Jesus, The Christ, said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)  The gospel according to the apostle John was written so that all people might believe that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of God. (John 20:31)  Jesus, The Christ is God. (John 10:30 and 1 John 5:7)  The Bible says, “In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.” (John 1:1)  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)  The Lord God is God.  He is the one and only true and living God. (Jeremiah 10:10)

EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS THE CHRIST IS THE LORD

Proclamation:

“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 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Philippi.  Paul began this chapter by encouraging them to have the same mindset as Jesus, The Christ. (Philippians 2:1-5)  Then he reminded them that Christ left heaven and came down to earth, took on human form, humbled himself, and was obedient to the will of God, including dying on the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)  It was because of this that God exalted Him to the highest possible place and made His name more important than every other name.  Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus, The Christ, is Lord over all.

Application:

Our salvation is based upon our belief in Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God, and His earthly birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection. (John 3:16)  He has been exalted to the highest place and now sits at the right hand of God, The Father. (Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33, and Hebrews 12:2)  The day is coming when everyone will know that He is The Lord.  Believers will bow to Him out of love and respect, others will bow out of fear and trembling.  Everyone will not be saved, but everyone will know that He is Lord. (Matthew 7:21-23)  Only those of us who believe in Him will be saved. (Romans 10:9) 

THE LORD GOD IS IN CONTROL OVER ALL OF THE EARTH

Proclamation:

“Let them know that You, whose name is The Lord, that You alone are The Most High over all the earth.”  Psalm 83:18 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Asaph, the director of music during the time of King David, who was also a seer who was said to prophesy. (2 Chronicles 29:30)  This is the last of the psalms to be written by this psalmist.  It was written under a prophetic spirit and foretold of the enemies of Israel joining forces and conspiring against God’s people. (Psalm 83:2-5)  It includes a request that The Lord God would destroy them. (Psalm 83:9-14)  It ends with a request to let their enemies, and the whole world, know that The Lord God is The Most High God, and that He alone is in control of all of the earth.

Application:

The Lord God is the only true and living God. (Jeremiah 10:10)  He is self-existent and eternal.  He was, is, and is to come, and always will be. (Revelation 1:4)  He is all powerful, (Mathew 28:18 and Revelation 19:6) all knowing, (1 John 3:20) and everywhere all at the same time. (Matthew 28:20)   There will come a time when the nations will join forces against Israel and The Lord God will destroy them. (Ezekiel 38:18-23 and Revelation 20:8-9)  This will be done so that all men will know that The Lord God alone is The Sovereign Ruler over all of the earth.  Unto Him every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. (Romans 14:11)  For in the end He shall judge every man according to what they have said and done. (Revelation 20:12-15)

JESUS IS GOD

Proclamation:

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God." John 1:1

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle John, the youngest of the twelve disciples and the one who refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. (John 13:23)  The Book of The Bible entitled “John”, or “The Gospel According to John”, was written to believers so that they would know that Jesus is God. (John 20:31)  Here John states that in the beginning of everything was The Word.  The Word was there at the beginning with God, and in fact he states that The Word was God.  To make sure that the people understood that he was referring to Jesus, he later said that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)  This verse refers to The Son of God and His human birth via the virgin Mary.  Some Bible scholars believe that The Son of God is called “The Word” because we use our words explain our minds to others and He was sent to us to reveal the mind of God, The Father, to the world.

Application:

God is.  He exists, He is real, and He is alive.  God was, God is, and God always will be.  He existed before time began and He will exist after time ends.  He created time. (Genesis 1:14)  Everything that was made He created by speaking it into existence. (Genesis 1:3 and John 1:3)  Jesus was there with God at the very beginning.  “The Word” refers to Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God.  Jesus is God.  "For there are three that bear witness in heaven, The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost; and these three are one." (1 John 5:7)  Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.” (Matthew 10:30)  There exists God, The Father, The Word of God, and The Spirit of God, three attributes of one God.  As human beings we have only a limited capacity for understanding and some things about God we just don’t understand.  However, we are blessed for believing without seeing for ourselves. (John 20:29)  Jesus is God.  The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it!

Believe In The Resurrection

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in Rome, the Apostle Paul taught them that if they confessed openly that Jesus Christ is Lord, and if they truly believed that God had raised Him from the dead, then they would be saved.  Paul said that their salvation was based upon their belief in the resurrection of Jesus, The Christ.

It is essential for the salvation of our souls that we recognize that Jesus, The Christ, is The Lord of lords, and we must confess that He is our Lord and Savior.  We must truly believe, with all of our heart, that He died, was buried, and that He rose from the dead by the grace of God, in order for us to be saved.  Our salvation is based upon belief in Jesus Christ, The Son of God, and in His earthly life and His death, burial, and resurrection.  Without belief in the resurrection of Jesus, there can be no salvation for a lost soul.  Jesus raised several people from the dead, Lazarus (John 11:11-44), the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue (Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5:35-42, Luke 8:49-55), and the widow's son (Luke 7:12-15).  But these miracles were done so that God would be glorified, and so that the people would believe that Jesus was The Son of God.  Each of these three people were still limited by time, space, and matter, and they each died again.  After His resurrection, Jesus appeared and disappeared at will, to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9), to the disciples (Matthew 28:16-17 and John 21:1), to Thomas (John 20:26-29), and to Cloepas (Luke 24:15-32).  Jesus did not die a second time, He ascended to heaven on a cloud. (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51, Acts 1:2, and Acts 1:9)  Only Jesus, The Christ, was resurrected from the dead with all of the power of heaven and earth given to Him. (Matthew 28:16-18)  For this reason we give Him all praise, honor, and glory.  He is worthy of our worship.  Our salvation only requires confession and belief.

Want To Be Richly Blessed?

"As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of The Lord will be saved.' " Romans 10:11-13 (NIV)

In his letter to the Christians in Rome, the Apostle Paul tells them that salvation is available to all. He says Jesus Christ is The Lord of Lords, and He will richly bless all who believe in Him.

The same is still true today. When God made us, He gave us the freedom of choice. We can choose to believe in Jesus The Christ, or we can choose not to believe. All of us who believe in Jesus will be saved and richly blessed, those who don't, won't.