The Forgotten Psalm (12)

Until Every Knee Bows

Series: The Forgotten Psalm: Recovering the Reigning Christ of Psalm 110 Date: Sunday, December 28, 2025 Text: Philippians 2:9–11; Psalm 2 Big Idea: Christ’s exaltation guarantees universal submission. Every knee will bow—either in joyful allegiance or final judgment.

Recap (Brief, Series-Style)

Over the last several weeks, we have been rebuilding the Church’s memory.

We saw in Psalm 110 that Christ is enthroned now, reigning in the midst of His enemies.

We learned that His people are not passive spectators but willing volunteers in the day of His power.

We saw that His reign advances justice—not by sword, but also not by silence.

On Christmas Sunday, we proclaimed that the child in the manger is the King on the throne, and that when the Church preaches the throne again, courage and clarity return.

Today, as we stand on the threshold of a new year, Scripture presses us forward to the unavoidable end of all history:

Every knee WILL bow. Every tongue WILL confess.

Context and Connection

Psalm 110 tells us where Christ is now—seated at the right hand of Yahweh until His enemies are made a footstool. Psalm 2 tells us how the nations respond—they rage, they resist, they reject His rule.

Philippians 2 tells us how it ends.

Paul writes Philippians from prison, not to correct heresy, but to shape the Church’s mindset. This is a letter about how believers are to think, live, and suffer under the lordship of Christ.

From the beginning, Paul frames everything around the advance of the Gospel, not personal comfort. His chains have not hindered the Kingdom—they have served it. Christ is being proclaimed, and that alone is cause for joy.

He then turns to the Philippian church and urges them to live worthy of the Gospel—to stand firm in one spirit, to strive together, and not to fear opposition. Suffering is not evidence of defeat; it is evidence of participation in Christ’s mission.

In chapter 2, Paul presses even deeper. The greatest threat to the Church is not persecution from outside, but selfish ambition, pride, and division within. So he calls them to humility, unity, and sacrificial love—and then anchors that call in the ultimate example:

Jesus Christ Himself.

Christ did not grasp at power. He did not cling to privilege. He emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and humbled Himself to the point of death—even death on a cross.

And it is because of that obedience that God highly exalted Him.

Philippians 2:9–11 is not a detour into abstract theology. It is the foundation for Christian life and obedience. Paul is saying: This is the Christ you serve. This is the Lord you confess. This is the King under whom you live.

The call to humility, unity, obedience, endurance, and fearless witness only makes sense because Jesus reigns. The Church bows now because the world will bow later. The Church confesses now because every tongue will confess in the end.

So when Paul reaches the climax—every knee bowing, every tongue confessing—he is not merely predicting the future. He is grounding the present life of the Church in the certainty of Christ’s universal lordship.

That is the weight behind the Gospel call.

Paul does not speculate. He does not soften the language. He declares with apostolic authority that the reign of Christ culminates in universal acknowledgment. The same Jesus who humbled Himself unto death is now exalted above every name. The reign that Psalm 110 began in heaven will be confessed on earth.

This is not future hope disconnected from present reality. This is the inevitable outcome of a reign already underway.

Reading — Philippians 2:9–11 (LSB)

“Therefore 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 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Exposition

1. “Therefore God Highly Exalted Him” — The Coronation

The word therefore matters. Christ’s exaltation follows His humiliation. The cross was not a detour—it was the path to the throne.

This is Psalm 110 in motion.

“Sit at My right hand…” The resurrection did not merely vindicate Jesus—it enthroned Him. The ascension was not an exit—it was a coronation. God highly exalted Him, lifting Him above every ruler, power, authority, and name. As Hebrews tells us, after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, inheriting a name more excellent than all others (Hebrews 1:3–4). The Father Himself says of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8). This is not a delayed reign. It is a present one. Christ is seated now, reigning now—waiting not to begin His rule, but until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet (Hebrews 10:12–13), exactly as Psalm 110 declared.

Christ’s reign is not earned by conquest—it is granted by the Father.

2. “The Name Above Every Name” — Lordship Declared

This “name” is not merely Jesus—a personal name given at His birth. It is Lord—Kyrios—the covenant title used throughout the Greek Scriptures for Yahweh Himself. Paul is not describing a promotion in reputation or a rise in religious influence. He is describing a public enthronement. Jesus did not become popular; He was installed.

To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that all authority now belongs to Him. This is courtroom language. Throne-room language. Coronation language. The Father has openly declared what was always true: the Son reigns.

Psalm 110 calls Him David’s Lord—not David’s descendant merely, but David’s superior, seated at Yahweh’s right hand. Psalm 2 calls Him God’s anointed King, installed on Zion despite the raging of the nations. Philippians 2 brings both Psalms together and declares the verdict: Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation—heaven, earth, and the realm beneath.

This is exclusive authority. There is no rival throne. No shared power. No competing sovereignty. Kings rule only by His permission. Nations exist by His decree. History unfolds under His feet. The name above every name means that no authority—spiritual, political, cultural, or personal—stands outside His dominion.

To confess Jesus as Lord is not merely to affirm a doctrine. It is to acknowledge a reigning King.

3. “Every Knee Will Bow” — Universal Submission

Paul’s language here is deliberate and exhaustive. He leaves no realm untouched, no creature exempt, no corner of reality outside the reign of Christ.

In heaven — the angels and heavenly beings, those who already serve Him willingly, who have never rebelled, who veil their faces before His glory.

On earth — all humanity, kings and peasants, rulers and rebels, believers and unbelievers alike.

Under the earth — the realm of the dead and the demonic, what we might call R2—the unseen domain that modern man forgets but Scripture never ignores.

This is not poetic exaggeration. This is cosmic jurisdiction.

Paul is saying that every level of reality recognizes the authority of Jesus Christ. Nothing remains outside His reach—not death, not the grave, not the spiritual powers that once deceived the nations. The cross disarmed them. The resurrection broke their claim. The enthronement sealed their defeat.

There is no exemption. There is no neutrality. There is no third category.

This fulfills Psalm 110’s promise: “Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” A footstool is not annihilation—it is subjugation. Some are subdued through faith and joyful allegiance. Others are subdued through judgment and compelled acknowledgment. But all are subdued.

This means history is not wandering. It is not spiraling out of control. It is not waiting for God to act. History is moving in a straight line toward submission—toward the universal confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The enthroned Christ is not hoping this happens. He is ensuring it.

The reign that began at the right hand of the Father is advancing through time, through nations, through hearts, through judgment and mercy alike, until every knee—visible and invisible—bows before the King.

History does not end in chaos. It ends in submission.

4. “Every Tongue Will Confess” — Truth Vindicated

This confession is not automatically repentance. Paul is not describing universal salvation. He is describing universal acknowledgment. The truth of Christ’s lordship will be confessed by all—but not all will confess it unto life.

The tongues that once mocked Christ will one day speak His name with trembling clarity. The mouths that denied Him will affirm His authority. The rulers who resisted His rule will testify—against their will—that His throne was never empty.

This is the final vindication of truth.

For centuries, Christ’s reign has been dismissed as myth, postponed as future, or reduced to private spirituality. But when every tongue confesses, the excuses vanish. Lies collapse. Denials are silenced. What was resisted on earth is affirmed before heaven.

Psalm 2 warned the kings of the earth: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry.” That was an invitation—urgent, gracious, and time-bound. Philippians 2 tells us what happens when that invitation is refused. The kiss becomes confession. The refusal becomes testimony. The rebellion becomes acknowledgment.

Christ’s reign does not depend on human consent. He is Lord whether men believe it or not. But human destiny does depend on recognition of that Lordship. Those who confess now do so in faith and receive mercy. Those who confess later do so under judgment and receive no refuge.

The final confession will not ask whether Jesus is Lord. It will declare that He always was.

Truth does not lose because it was ignored.

And every tongue will confess.

5. “To the Glory of God the Father” — The End of All Things

This is not competition within the Trinity. The Father is not diminished by the exaltation of the Son—He is glorified by it. The reign of Christ is not a rival agenda within the Godhead; it is the fulfillment of the Father’s eternal purpose.

From the beginning, God’s plan was never merely to rescue individuals from judgment, though it certainly includes that. God’s ultimate aim was to exalt His Son as King over all creation, to restore order to a fractured cosmos, and to bring everything—seen and unseen—into willing submission under His authority.

The Father glorifies the Son, and the Son glorifies the Father. This is covenantal harmony, not competition.

Psalm 110 ends with the victorious King drinking from the brook and lifting His head in triumph—a picture of conquest completed and authority established. Philippians 2 shows us the same Christ, not merely crowned in heaven, but acknowledged across creation. Every confession, whether joyful or forced, magnifies the wisdom, justice, and sovereignty of God the Father.

This is where history is headed.

Not toward chaos. Not toward defeat. Not toward escape.

But toward glory.

The glory of a Father who kept His promise. The glory of a Son who reigns without rival. The glory of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

All things return to their source. All authority rests in Christ. And all glory belongs to God.

Application Points (6)

1. Bow Now, Not Later

Every knee will bow. Grace invites voluntary submission now—before judgment compels it later.

2. Live Like Christ’s Lordship Is Total

There is no area of life outside His authority—heart, home, church, work, nation.

3. Stop Measuring Christ’s Reign by Cultural Resistance

Raging nations do not disprove His reign—they confirm it.

4. Confess Him Publicly

Every tongue will confess. Let yours do it now—with joy, not compulsion.

5. Enter the New Year Under the Throne

Do not plan your future as if Christ is distant. He reigns now.

6. Proclaim the King Without Apology

The Gospel is not an offer of escape—it is a summons to surrender.

Gospel Call

The One who humbled Himself for your salvation—who took on flesh, bore your sin, and submitted to death—is now exalted over all things. The hands that were pierced now hold the scepter. The head that wore thorns now wears the crown. He reigns in glory.

And because He reigns, you will bow to Him.

The only question is how.

Will you bow now—freely, joyfully, in faith—confessing Him as Lord while mercy is still extended? Or will you bow later—when confession comes without repentance and acknowledgment comes without refuge?

Christ reigns. Christ rules. Christ calls.

This is not a call to mere belief in facts. It is a summons to allegiance. To lay down rebellion. To surrender the heart. To submit the will. To come under the reign of a good and righteous King.

So repent—turn from your sin, your self-rule, your false refuges. Believe—trust in the finished work of Christ, crucified and risen. Confess—openly and gladly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.

There is no refuge from the King. But there is perfect refuge in Him.

Come now. Bow willingly. And live.