THE BODILY ASCENSION OF JESUS INTO HEAVEN
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Paul describes Jesus’ bodily ascension into Heaven, as His “exaltation.” Jesus’ name literally means, “the Lord saves” it reveals both His identity and His mission. Jesus’ name is very powerful. But Paul is not just talking about His name, because he says, “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Jesus’ name is above every name, because everyone will confess He is “Lord”. What is interesting is that in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Hebrew name forGod, “YHWH” is translated into the Greek, “Kurios”. YHWH is the sacred name for the God of Israel; it so revered that to this day, Orthodox Jews will not pronounce the name out of reverence for God.
What Paul seems to be describing here is that when Christ ascends bodily to the throne, the entire cosmos- everyone in Heaven, everyone on the earth and everyone beneath the earth will confess that He is the Lord; that He is the one God of Israel who has come in Person.
Though many human beings regarded Him as merely a man and put Him to death on the cross, the reality is that through His death, He has now been raised from the dead and is now revealed as equal to God the Father and is sharing not just the glory, but the very Name of God. He is now revealed not just as Christ, but as Lord of Heaven and earth.
Paul is referring to this passage from Isaiah 45:22-23, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” This passage is referring to the one God of Israel and Paul applies it to Jesus; thus, there is One God in Three Persons.
Your friend in Christ,
Pastor Jim
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11