Expert: Marilyn - 11/16/2009

Question
Hello Marilyn, hope all is well.

My next question to you is about Philippians 2:6-11, now while having a discussion about this scripture, someone said that the name Jesus is not the name above every name as God had stated, here is the scripture, and also an excerpt on the person stating his point.

Philippians 2:6-11   (Geneva Bible)


6 Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God;
7 But he made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant, and was made like unto men, and was found in shape as a man.
8 He humbled himself, and became obedient unto the death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a Name above every name,
10 That at the Name of Jesus should every knee bow, both of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth,
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, unto the glory of God the Father.

Now.......here is what the person stated in our discussion:

Jesus is not the name above every other name. The name above every other name is YHWH.

The name Jesus was giving to him before his birth when the angel Gabriel visited Mary in Luke 1:31- You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name JESUS.

The scripture in Philippians 2:8-11 says- and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross. (THEREFORE) GOD EXALTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST PLACE AND GAVE HIM THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, THAT (AT THE NAME OF JESUS) EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH, AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS (YHWH) TO THE GLORY OF THE FATHER.

This is a reference to Isaiah 45:22-23 which says- Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, EVERY TONGUE SHALL SWEAR.

So you see the scripture says AT THE NAME (OF) JESUS. The name Jesus was given to him at birth so that cant be the name given. The new name was given to him after hes death on the cross and his resurrection.

The Father exalted him back to his former state of Glory in Heaven from his state of humility on earth.

I am just looking for clarification on this scripture, I do not at this point agree with the individuals statement, because to me scripture clearly states, "That at the name Jesus shall every knee bow" I will humbly await your response, and thank you in advance.

Junior

Answer
Hello Junior;

Since Jesus and the Father are One, how can there be conflict?

Jesus is the Greek for Yeshua, which means "Jehovah-Savior," Joshua for us English speakers. Part of this Name first appears in Genesis 2:3 where Jehovah is added to Elohim, English translates it LORD God. (Lord is the Name plugged in for Adonai; God is the Name plugged in for Elohim; when YHVH and Adonai appear together the Name is indicated by using Lord GOD.)

Actually, we don't know what the Name, YHVH, sounds like. The vowels have been lost. Only the high priest uttered the Name when he went into the Holy of Holies to offer blood once a year for his sin, the people's sin--he goes in three times, but I forget what the other purpose was right now. Since the Jews have not had a priesthood for 2000 years, it's not likely anybody knows the Name at all. Some people use the consonants, YHWH.

The four letters YHVH are the same first letters of the Hebrew phrase: He was, He is, He will be. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, Revelation 1:8, the One Who Is, Who Was and Who Is to Come. The primary meaning of YHVH is the Self-Existent One, literally as in Exodus 3:14, "I AM," "I AM THAT I AM," He Is Who He Is, the Eternal I AM. He is the Thing upon which everything else in the universe rests, upon which everything else in the universe exists and obtains its being, without Him nothing was made that has been made, John 1:3.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," John 1:1. "...He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed Heir of All Things, and through Whom He made the universe," Hebrews 1:2. How did Elohim form the universe through Logos, look at Genesis 1. "And God said" appears 7 times. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection. Anything the Bible repeats is important because the Bible makes very spare use of words.

Isaiah 55:11, "...My Word that goes out from My mouth...will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word...," Hebrews 1:3. In essence, not only did Elohim Speak and His Word accomplish what He desired, but His Word is the underlying laws of physics, the codes of the universe which cause it to function and sustain its order. He sustains it through His powerful Word. The Word is YHVH. Jesus told the Pharisees that He is YHVH, "Before Abraham was born, I AM," in John 8:58. And they understood His meaning quite well because they prepared to stone Him to death in that moment and from that time on their hatred intensified.

How can the Word be separated from the One Who Speaks, except He separate Himself. Jesus emptied Himself of His kingliness to become a Human Being because unless He were to become a Human Being, there could be no payment for Adam's or any human being's sin. He lowered Himself, then God exalted Him back to His position with the Father so that at His Name, Jesus, Yeshua, every knee shall bow because it was in that Name that He paid for sin, it is in that Name that He rose from the dead.

The Father took a great risk in separating a Person of Himself from Himself and sending Him into enemy territory a helpless infant born to a teenage girl in a cave or barn! This is the unfathomable Love God has for us that He would do such a thing! But Jesus is not a new Name for God, it is simply one of His Names and it is the Name to which every knee shall bow.

I think the Geneva Bible probably is the root of this argument. The translation there is not agreeable with any other translation I've read. The Amplified Bible says, "Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained." The Geneva Bible makes it sound like Jesus thought it was a good idea to grasp at equality with God. Examining the rest of Scripture, I believe the Geneva Bible errs in implying this because it is clear that Jesus gave up equality with God and never attempted to grasp at it again--it was the Father who restored it to Him.

This idea that Jesus thought it a good idea to grasp at equality with God leads to a prideful "Jesus" who gave up nothing but instead worked to elevate himself. This is the sin satan committed back in Isaiah 14:12- and Ezekiel 28:12- . There is the crowd out there who equate Jesus with satan because both were nicknamed "morning star," satan with lower case and Jesus with upper case. God uses the star as a symbol for angels and also for righteous human beings, see the last chapter of Daniel. (I have not done the study I have planned into the name "morning star," yet, so I can't elaborate on this very much right now.) I think it's clear, satan was once second only to the Triune God in heavenly government. He rebelled against God and tried to take away God's throne. The Son gave up His throne in order to redeem the human beings whom satan had lured into death. The contrast is extreme. There is no fragment of selfishness or pride in Jesus, while satan can probably be best defined as selfishness and pride incarnate.

I think the Geneva Bible errs in this phrase found in Philippians 2:6. Bible translation is tricky business and critics can find fault with every translation in existence. One must be a careful reader.

Thanks for the glowing rating on my previous answer.

Sincerely,

Marilyn