Philippians 2:10

Philippians 2:10. that in the name of Jesus. The literal rendering keeps up for us, as is so often the case, the connection between Old Testament and New Testament phraseology. So we have (1 Chronicles 14:10) to ‘glory' in the name of the Lord, and (Psalms 63:4) to lift up the bands in His name, and (Micah 4:5) to walk, and (Zephaniah 3:12) to trust in the name of the Lord. Jesus is henceforth to be the glory, the way, the confidence, and the adoration of His people.

every knee should bow. Thus to Christ does the Father assign the worship which He solemnly (Isaiah 45:23) under the old covenant claimed as specially His own. Thus God's stamp is put upon what Christ had said of Himself, ‘I and my Father are one.'

of things in heaven. Of course the application is only to be made to such beings as can render worship; these in heaven are the angels, of whom it was said (Hebrews 1:6), ‘when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world he saith: And let all the angels of God worship Him.'

and things in earth. The human race, of whom Christ is to be owned for Lord, when all things are put under Him, and before He gives up the kingdom to the Father.

and of things under the earth. These are the spirits of the dead in the unseen world. That they were made conscious of the redemption wrought by Christ is to be inferred from many parts of the New Testament (cf. Colossians 4:9), and from such passages is drawn the teaching concerning Christ's descent into Hades after His death. The sacrifice was for all those who by faith had rejoiced to see the day of Christ, and so we may not doubt that they were made sharers in the knowledge when the work of redemption was finished.

Erasmus had two misconceptions concerning this verse; he accepted the first clause as though it meant that at every mention of the name of Jesus the knees should bow, which, however reverent in act, is not the sense of the verse, but ascribes to the spoken word Jesus (as Calvin says) a magical effect, as though the power were in the sound. Erasmus also wrongly held that by ‘beings under the earth' the demons were intended. Another equally false interpretation is that which applies the expression to the souls in purgatory.