Scripture
Have the Attitude of Christ
1Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6Though he was God,[1]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[2];
he took the humble position of a slave[3]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[4]
8he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Translation notes (4)
- 2:6 Or Being in the form of God.
- 2:7a Greek he emptied himself.
- 2:7b Or the form of a slave.
- 2:7c Some English translations put this phrase in verse 8.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11
As we think about what will happen when Jesus returns, we have questions about when this will happen and what Jesus will do when He returns. What about what human beings will do at the return of Jesus? One of the things that we can be sure all human beings will do when Jesus returns is that everyone will bow down and worship Him.
The apostle Paul writes about how everyone will respond to Jesus one day. He teaches us in this chapter of Philippians that Jesus came to earth as a servant, but now He has the place of “highest honor” and has been given “the name above all names” (verse 9). Because of these things, Paul writes, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father” (verses 1-11). These verses make it clear that one day, everyone will bow down and worship Jesus and say that Jesus is the Lord. One day, believers and unbelievers alike will bow down and worship Him. Why will we do this? We will bow down and worship Jesus because He is Lord of Lords who has the name above every name.
Friends, Jesus is worthy of our worship. He is Lord over everything. He greatly loves us and rescues us from sin and death. Sometimes we can become so caught up in our daily routines and rituals that we may, at times, forget about what is most important. We sometimes forget that He alone is worthy of our worship. May you and I live every day in worship to Him, the King of Kings, and Him alone. He deserves every ounce of our worship.
Moving toward action
Take some time now to worship Jesus as the King of Kings. Then, plan to worship with us at one of our services this weekend. As you worship, sing loudly and remember whom you are worshiping. After all, He is, indeed, worthy of our worship.
Going Deeper
Philippians 2:1-10 (NLT)
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