Philippians 2:10

ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ. Here Ἰησοῦ may be either genitive or dative. If dative, we must render “in the name Jesus.” But if the note just previous reasons rightly, we must choose the genitive; “the name of Jesus,” the Name borne by Jesus; the Divine Name, Κύριος, proclaimed as the true name of the once humiliated Jesus. So Lightfoot; and so A.V., R.V.

What is the meaning of ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι κτλ.? That all creation is to bow to Him thus glorified? Or that all creation should worship through Him (cp. e.g. αἰτεῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, John 14:13)? The context seems to decide for the former; dealing as it does not with His mediation but with His personal glorification. So Lightfoot; and he gives examples in evidence from the LXX.; e.g. Psalms 62:5 (Heb., Psalms 63:5), ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου�. We may thus paraphrase here, “that before the revealed majesty of the glorified Jesus all creation should bow.”

The ancient custom of bowing at the utterance of the Name Jesus (see Canon xviii. of the Church of England) derives no direct sanction from this passage.

πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ. An implicit quotation of Isaiah 45:24, ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ. The prophet (see the whole context) speaks there in the name of the Eternal Himself; thus we have here a profoundly significant index of St Paul’s view of the Nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Observe further that in Isaiah 45:21 we have the words, “a just God and a Saviour,” δίκαιος καὶ σωτήρ (cp. Romans 3:26, δίκαιος καὶ δικαιῶν), and in Philippians 2:25 occur the words, “all the seed of Israel shall be justified and shall glory,” δικαιωθήσονται … καὶ … ἐνδοξασθήσεται πᾶν τὸ σπέρμα (cp. Romans 8:30, οὔς ἐδικαίωσε τούτους καὶ ἐδόξασε). Was not the Apostle of Justification thus specially led to the passage as relating to the Son of God and His work?—The same place in Isaiah is directly quoted Romans 14:11.

ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων. The words evidently mean all created existence, in its heights and depths. Cp. Revelation 5:13, πᾶν κτίσμα ὃ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς, words whose whole context, full of the enthronement of the Lamb, is a Divine commentary here. We need not elaborately divide the reference here, e.g. between angels, living men, buried men (Alford), or angels, men, and lost spirits (Chrysostom). Rather we have Creation in its total before us, animate and inanimate existence alike; the non-personal and unconscious creation being said to “worship,” as obeying, after its manner, the lordship of the exalted Jesus.