Philippians (Lesson 23)

Every knee will bow. Not as a metaphor, not as a tradition, but as a certainty. We open Philippians 2:10-11 and slow down long enough to feel the weight of what God says about Jesus Christ: universal submission, universal confession, and a glory that leaves no room for casual religion.

We also talk honestly about why this lands so hard in modern life. Our culture has trained us to treat authority as optional and reverence as outdated, so it is easy to slide into questioning God as if He owes us explanations. Using Romans 14, we trace the coming reversal: the day of judgment is not God answering to man, but man giving account to God. Then we walk through Job 38, where the Lord answers out of the whirlwind and Job finally realizes what most of us resist admitting until we are confronted by holiness.

From there, we challenge a style of preaching that encourages people to order God around, “name it and claim it,” and turn Bible verses into leverage. Isaiah 45 brings the focus back to the center: God alone receives the bowing of every knee, and if Philippians says every knee bows at the name of Jesus, then Jesus Christ is God. Finally, Isaiah 6 shows what happens when someone really sees the King: pride collapses, excuses die, and worship becomes unavoidable.

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Transcript

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Welcome And Core Scripture

SPEAKER_01 0:37

And a very, very pleasant good day to each and every one of you. I'm Brother James, and I greet you one more time in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, and I welcome you as always to the preaching of the cross radio broadcast. We are coming today to a portion of Philippians chapter number two that is vital. It is vital to men in this modern day. So I hope and pray that you will stay with us for the full half an hour as we consider these words from the Holy Bible, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Restored To Majesty

SPEAKER_01 1:37

We live in a day when men have little or no concept of the awesome power, majesty, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has been humanized, Jesus has been marginalized, Jesus has been reduced to a mere figment of selfish carnal man's imagination. But I am telling you, the Bible says, and we just read it so clear, no uncertain terms, that every knee will bow before the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the terror, the genuine terror of the Lord, ought to motivate us to persuade man. If there was not a place as awful as hell, there would not have been a death as awful as that Jesus died on Calvary. But the Son of God dying on that cross, that horrible, horrible death, is all the testimony you need that there is something far worse than just dying and going to the grave and rotting in the ground. There is something far worse than that, or God would have never sent his son to die to pay for the sins of the whole world. The death of Jesus at Calvary proves there is a judgment that follows this life. Now combined with our Philippians verse that we just read, Romans 14 and verse 11 says this for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God, so that every one of us shall give account of himself to God. The Bible does not say that every knee will bow. But the Bible says every knee will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not simply a reference to the physical location, but they will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a reference to position. Who is the Lord and who is the man? Who is God and who is the created being? It's not just bowing before Jesus as to location, but it's bowing under Jesus as to position. He is the superior one. He is the great one. And I acknowledge that by the bowing of my knees everyone will acknowledge that in time or in eternity by bowing their knees before Him.

A Culture That Forgot Reverence

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Citizens of the United States of America don't understand much about this idea of reverence and respect. Now some that were raised in a sacramental church have a have a bit of an advantage over others in that they were taught something of this as twisted as it may have been. But we are an independent nation, born of revolution and rebellion. We are a people, an independent people, and we have in our society, at least in precept, no ruling class, no lordly class. We don't have a monarchy. We have bought into the idea that we are all equal. Our founding fathers said, and we can debate it some other time, that we hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That is the farmer. The farmer is equal to the king. In fact, there is no king. Everybody else knows that no two people are equal, but the idea our society is built upon is this, that we do not have an exalted class that is entitled to laws and privileges and benefits to which the others are not entitled. I know that sounds silly the way things have turned out, but that that's what our founding fathers saw, and the remnant of that spirit and understanding abides in the hearts and minds of people even after they get saved. We now live in a day and age when children don't respect their parents, young people don't respect older people, saved people don't respect preachers of the gospel and ministers of the word. The order of the day seems to be I'm just as good as you. We have a post-60s culture where sir and ma'am are all but forgotten outside the military and a few fundamental churches where young people are still taught to show respect for older people, and so we don't have much of an understanding of this whole notion of bowing oneself in the presence of another or kneeling before another. But just as surely, just as surely as some man will bow his knee in the presence of a king or a queen, everyone will bow in the presence of King Jesus. And more than that, you are not going to take a knee in the presence of a superior human. No, you are going to fall upon both knees, both knees in the presence of, in subjection to the monarch, the ruler, the high and lofty one, you are going to testify by your conduct that you are in complete and total submission before the Master of all, Jesus Christ the Lord.

God Will Not Answer To Us

SPEAKER_01 7:49

The Bible says in this Romans passage, so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Oh, how the tables will be turned in that day. Well, men and women say every day, why is God doing this to me? Why did God let that happen? Why didn't God stop this? If God is so good, why am I in this situation? Why didn't God stop the war? And so forth. God is continually called on the carpet and asked to bow his knees before a speck of dust, masquerading as a human, and give account of himself to man. You better get all that out of your system now because the day is coming when God will be asking the questions, not you. And the day is coming when you will be trying to come up with some answers, not God. The Bible says in the day of judgment every man will give account to God. God will not give account to man. People say, Well, you know, when I see the Lord, I'm going to ask him, I bet you don't. People say, you know, when I get to heaven there are some things I want to know, I bet you'll change that to him. I'm certain of it. I'm certain

Job Learns To Put A Hand Over His Mouth

SPEAKER_01 9:32

of it. In fact, in the book of Job, there's quite a remarkable tale that is told. Job, according to chapter one, is not a bad man, but rather a good man. He's not an unrighteous man, but rather a righteous man. The Bible says in Job 1 1 there was a man in the land of Oz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. That's pretty good. Then the devil is turned loose on Job. In Job 2 7, Satan, so went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a pot shirt to scrape himself withal, and sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? See, it was obvious to her that he was still the same good man that he was before this happened, and she's angry at him, because he hadn't turned on the Lord, and she says, Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not perceive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Now chapter three verse eleven. Job under the intense weight of his suffering and I'm not finding fault, I'm not blaming him. I am simply pointing out that Job under the intense weight of his suffering began begins to question God, demanding Job the man, demanding answers of God. three eleven, why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? Chapter three verse twenty three Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? Chapter six verse eleven, What is my strength that I should hope, and what is mine end that I should prolong my life? Chapter seven verse twelve Am I a seer, a whale that thou settest to watch over me? Verse seventeen, same chapter. What is man that thou shouldest magnify him, and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him, and that thou shouldest visit him every morning and try him every moment? Now I'm gonna I'm not gonna read the whole book. But the Bible says that Job did not sin with his lips, but he sure spent chapter after chapter after chapter calling God to give some answers, and calling on God to give an account. In essence, he's he's saying, Hey God, come here so I can judge you. Hey God, come here so I can ask you some questions. You owe me some answers. Now again, I'm not criticizing Job. I've not been through anything close to what Job's been through, but I've questioned God many a time, haven't you? I've thrown a why in his direction every once in a while. Haven't you thrown uh thrown a how come at the Lord every now and then? But in chapter 38, God shows up, and God begins to question Job. Job 38, 1. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, End of verse 2, question mark, verse 4, question mark, verse 5, 6, 7, question mark. You know what you've got? In Job 38 and 39, God shows up and says, Okay, big boy, before I answer you, you answer me. And he starts asking Job question after question after question. You know what he's doing? He's putting Job in his place. He said, You want to play a little question and answer game here, do you, Job? Okay. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Where were you when I stretched out the empty place over the north and hung the planets on nothing? I mean, come on, where were you? Tell me. We're gonna have a battle of the wits here. Let's find out if you've got any. Two whole chapters of God turning the tables and questioning Job. And when the Lord pauses for a breath, in chapter forty and verse one, the Bible says, Moreover, the Lord answered Job and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? So, Job, you really think you are the superior person here? And that I need to listen to you? That I have to answer to you? The verse goes on, he that reproveth God, let him answer it. Said, Okay, Job, you've been saying I don't know what I'm doing, so how about you give the answers to the questions I've just asked you, Job? And verse 3 says, Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. Now hear me, my friend. I have questioned God and you have questioned God. I have wanted to know why, and you have wanted to know why. And that world out there, when they find out you're a Christian, they never say, What must I do to be saved? They say, How come if God's so good he did that? Now here's all I've got to tell you, according to the book of Job. When you finally get your chance to tell God what you think about him, you're not going to tell him. You are going to put your hand on your mouth and hang your head and fall on your knees and hope against hope that he'll forget about all those rotten things you've said about him. Job had one thing to say when he finally found himself in the presence of God. He had one thing to say before he covered his mouth. He said, I am vile. Now the only reason a little pipsqueak of a human walking across this globe would ever lift his voice or direct his temper or set forth his intellect against God is because he has yet to stand in the presence of the holy, mighty, all powerful, all-wise, all-knowing, absolutely pure, holy God. When you finally meet Jesus and you find out he's nothing like that little scrawny drug addict in the Hollywood movies about him, when you find out that he is the Almighty, the ancient of days, the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, the end, the first and the last, you're not going to ask him anything except maybe would you have mercy on my soul? Now I love the Lord, and he loves me. But when it comes to somebody giving the answers and somebody taking the instructions, I'm afraid humanity has got it all backwards.

The Danger Of Ordering God Around

SPEAKER_01 17:24

It frightens me to hear some of these radio and television preachers telling you how to order God around, perverting the scripture and telling you how to demand God to do this for you and do that for you, telling you how to name it and claim it and making God jump at your command. He's no glorified bellhop. He's not your servant boy. I believe if and when you ever meet him and see him face to face, you will turn that thing around. God will be naming it. I hear a lot of stuff from pulpits today. I don't think it's very well thought out. Here's the plan. You get a verse, you throw it in God's face, then you order him to do what you want him to do. You pervert some Jabez prayer out of Chronicles, try and get yourself a yacht. Come on. You know what the problem is? You know what the problem is? These men don't fear God, and they're appealing to a congregation that doesn't fear God, and one day you're gonna meet that God, and it will drive you to your knees.

Isaiah Shows Jesus Is God

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Now turn to Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45, let's see the Old Testament passage from which the Philippian and the Romans passages are taken. Isaiah forty-five, and the Bible says in verse number twenty two, God is speaking. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. You say that sounds like bragging. Well, he's the only being in existence that has any right to brag. Verse 23, I have sworn by myself the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return. Then unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. That's what God said. Verse twenty four, surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength, even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. If anyone, anywhere, any time, any age is going to get justification, whether they are an Israelite or a Gentile, Old Testament or New Testament, it's going to have to be in the righteous one that God sent to be the Savior and the Redeemer. That one is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee is going to bow to him, every tongue is going to confess him. Now, if the New Testament is true, and I believe it is, if Philippians says that the name of Jesus all knees bow. That's what it says. And every tongue confesses. And the Bible says in Isaiah 45, 22, for I am God. There is none else. I have sworn by myself that unto me every knee shall bow. If both those verses are true, the Philippian verse and the Isaiah verse, then who is Jesus? He is God. He's got to be God. Remember Philippians 2, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. If every knee is going to bow to Jesus Christ, and the Isaiah passage says that every knee will bow to God the I am and no one else, then Jesus Christ is God. That's why Thomas beheld him after his resurrection and said, My Lord and my God, and Jesus did not rebuke him because he told the truth. Now we've seen Job.

Isaiah Sees Holiness And Breaks

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Job in the presence of the Lord. Now let's consider the next man who found himself in the presence of Almighty God. Look at Isaiah chapter six. Isaiah chapter six. The man who wrote this passage ran into the Lord one day, and he says in chapter six, verse one of the year that King Uzziah died, I saw all. Also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. That all sounds wonderful to me. And his train filled the temple, and above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly, and one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory. Now, when Isaiah says this, he has just finished five chapters of talking about how rotten everything is, how depraved and defiled and corrupt everything is, but now he's turned his eyes off the things on this world and turned them on the Lord upon his throne, and he sees the glory. Verse 4 The post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Now old Isaiah he had some pretty hard words for his nation in chapter one. He called them out, named them as horrible sinners, from head to toe, corrupt. In chapter two, he told them they're going to have to run to the mountains and beg for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from God. I mean he's read them the riot act for five chapters. But then, instead of looking at the Israelites that are sinning, he gets a look at the Lord on his throne, and all of a sudden he forgets how bad everybody else is, and he said, Woe is me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. People said, Well, I think as long as you're good, you'll go to heaven. Good compared to what? The sinful people around you are a holy God. People said, Well, I think I'm a pretty good person. You can say that as long as you're in the midst of unclean people. But whenever you set your eyes upon the Holy One, you won't say that anymore. You are going to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Not you, not your religion, not your family, not your pontiff, not your priest, not your pastor. You are going to claim that Jesus Christ is who he's always been, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The power and might of a holy God is going to humble the pride of mortal man. Now right now, right now you can glorify yourself, right now you can honor yourself, right now you can pat yourself on the back, right now you can magnify yourself, but I'm telling you, I'm telling you, there is coming a day when you are going to fall on both your knees, and from the depths of your heart, you are going to own that Jesus Christ is the Lord of

Bow Now Rather Than Later

SPEAKER_01 25:32

all. Now here's what I here's what I recommend. Here's what I strongly urge, here's what I beseech you to do. Go ahead and get that taken care of. Fall on your knees now and own Jesus Christ as your Savior. Own Jesus Christ as your Lord. So that when you do stand before Him, you will be standing before your Savior rather than standing before the angry God whom you rejected, who will be casting your soul into the lake of fire. The Bible says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But the Bible says he that believeth not is condemned already. So what must be done, my friend? You must put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ now, while there is time to be saved. Do not wait until you step out into eternity. Then it will be too late. Your destination will be fixed forever.

How To Get Help And Closing

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Now if we can help you in these matters, we want to do so. If we can minister God's word to you more extensively, it would be our joy to do so. You may visit us for a listing of all of our available helps. You may visit us at jamesknox.com. That's our web address, jamesknox.com. Or you may write to us at eight seven two Glenwood Road. That's in Deland. D-E-L-A-N-D D Land, Florida. The zip code number is three two seven two zero. If you're listening overseas, that mailing address is in the United States of America. Now it is our it is our privilege to come to you on this radio station and minister God's word to you. You know that we never spend one minute of our air time soliciting funds or asking you to pay for these programs. We do appreciate your help. We do rejoice in the letters of testimony that you send our way, and we certainly look forward to hearing from you in the not too distant future. Well, this program, as we said, is heard many different times on many different radio stations, and would trust the announcer to come on now in just a moment and let you know when the program will be heard again over this particular station. At that time, we hope that you and a friend that you invite to listen with you will join us for the preaching of the cross radio broadcast. Until then, I'm Brother James. May the Lord richly bless you, and good day.