Wherefore Because of his voluntary humiliation and obedience, and in reward thereof; God hath highly exalted him In that manhood in which he suffered and died. Greek, υπερυψωσε, super- exalted him, or exalted him to a dignity higher than that which he possessed before his humiliation. By becoming man, therefore, or by consenting to be united to the human nature for ever, “the Son of God lost nothing in the issue. Nor is this all; besides restoring him to the visible glory and dignity which he formerly possessed, (Philippians 2:11,) God conferred on him a dignity entirely new, the dignity of being the Saviour of the human race; and hath obliged all the different orders of intelligent beings throughout the universe, both good and bad, to acknowledge his dignity as Saviour, as well as Lord.” For it follows, and given him a name above every name Namely, the name of Jesus, mentioned in the beginning of the next verse. “This name is above all the names of dignity possessed by angels and men, because of the power and authority which are annexed to it. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins. Even the name of Creator is inferior to this name; inasmuch as it was a greater exertion of goodness in the Son of God to save men by his humiliation and death, than to create them.” Some contend that the name above every name, which was bestowed on Christ at his exaltation, was the name of God's Son. “But seeing, by inheriting that name, as the apostle tells us, he was originally better than the angels, (Hebrews 1:4,) he must have always possessed it by virtue of his relation to the Father. Whereas the name Jesus, being the name of an office executed by the Son, after he became man, it implies a dignity not natural to him, but acquired. And therefore having, in the execution of that office, done on earth and in heaven all that was necessary for the salvation of mankind, the name of Jesus or Saviour which his parents, by the divine direction, gave him at his birth, was confirmed to him in a solemn manner by God, who, after his ascension, ordered angels and men to honour him from that time forth as Saviour and Lord, Hebrews 1:6. Thus understood, the names prince, emperor, monarch, government, power, throne, dominion, and every other name of dignity possessed by angels or men, is inferior to the name Jesus, which God bestowed on his Son, on account of his having accomplished the salvation of the world by his humiliation.” Macknight. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow That all creatures, whether men, angels, or devils, should, either with love or trembling, be subject to him; of things in heaven, earth, under the earth That is, through the whole universe. There can be no doubt that the first of the expressions here used, επουρανιων, rendered things in heaven, signifies angelical beings, over whom Christ is made sovereign, Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 1:21; but whether the latter terms, επιγειων και καταχθονιων, rendered things upon earth, and under the earth, may not, as Doddridge observes, relate to the living and the dead, rather than to men and devils, has been queried. Inasmuch, however, as the latter term answers to Homer's υπενερθε, Iliad, 3. line 278, which signifies the shades below, it seems probable that by it the apostle both denotes the souls of those who are in the state of the dead, over whom Christ reigns, (Romans 14:9,) and also the evil angels in Tartarus, (2 Peter 2:4,) who shall be constrained to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, Governor, and Judge of the universe. And every tongue Even of his enemies; should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Of all creatures, as well as a Saviour of men; to the glory of God the Father Who hath constituted him, in the human nature, Governor and Judge of all. Thus all the powers exercised by Christ, and all the honours paid to him, are ultimately referred to the Father. In these two last clauses there seems evidently to be an allusion to Isaiah 45:23, Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Philippians 2:12 , Wherefore Having spoken of Christ's astonishing humiliation and exaltation, by which he hath procured salvation for us, the apostle proceeds to exhort them to diligence in the use of the means necessary in order to their partaking of that salvation. My beloved, as ye have always hitherto obeyed Both God, and me, his minister, with respect to all my instructions and exhortations; not in my presence only When I was at hand to put you in mind of what God requires; but now much more in my absence When you have not me to instruct, assist, and direct you; which absence, as it is owing to my bonds in your cause, ought to increase the tenderness of your concern for my comfort. Work out your own salvation Which, though begun, is not finished, and will not be finished unless you be workers together with God. Herein let every man mind his own things: with fear and trembling That is, with the utmost care and diligence; and in the reverential fear of God, a watchful fear of your enemies, and a jealous fear of yourselves; lest a promise being left you of entering into his rest, any of you should come short of it, Hebrews 4:1. For You have great encouragement to do this; since it is God The God of power, love, and faithfulness, who has promised that his grace shall be sufficient for you; yea, the merciful, forgiving, and long- suffering of God, who is with you, though I am not; and worketh in you By the illuminating, quickening, drawing, renewing, and strengthening influences of his Spirit, in and by the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of his word, enforced often by the pleasing or painful dispensations of his providence; both to will and to do of his good pleasure Not for any merit of yours: or, of his benevolence, as υπερ ευδοκιας may be properly rendered. His influences, however, we must remember, are not to supersede, but to encourage our own efforts, and render them persevering and effectual. Observe, reader, 1st, The command, Work out your own salvation; here is our duty: 2d, The motive by which it is enforced; for it is God that worketh in you; here is our encouragement. And O what a glorious encouragement, to have the arm of Omnipotence stretched out for our support and comfort! “According to the Arminians and moderate Calvinists, the word ενεργει, inwardly worketh, does not in this passage signify any irresistible operation of the Deity on the minds of men. but a moral influence only. For of Satan it is said, (Ephesians 2:2,) that ενεργει, he inwardly worketh in the children of disobedience; and, Romans 7:5, we have the effectual working of sinful passions in our members; and 2 Thessalonians 2:11, ενεργειαν, the energy, or inward working, of error. These passages, they think, no one understands of a physical, but of a moral working, which leaves men accountable for their actions, and consequently free agents. They likewise observe, that if God inwardly worketh in men by any influence which is irresistible, and to which no co-operation of theirs is necessary, there would be no occasion for exhorting them to work out their own salvation, since the whole is done by God himself.” They observe further, “that notwithstanding the operations of the Spirit of God have a powerful influence in restraining men from sin, and in exciting them to piety and virtue, no violence is thereby done to human liberty. This they infer from what God said concerning the antediluvians, (Genesis 6:3,) My Spirit shall not always strive with men; and from the apostle's command, not to quench nor grieve the Spirit; for these things, they say, imply that the operations of the Spirit of God may be resisted, consequently that in the affair of their salvation men are free agents, and must themselves co-operate with the Spirit of God; which, they affirm, the apostle's exhortation in this passage evidently supposeth.” Macknight.