The Meaning of Philippians 2:10 Explained

Philippians 2:10

KJV: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

YLT: that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow -- of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth --

Darby: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings,

ASV: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That  at  the name  of Jesus  every  knee  should bow,  of [things] in heaven,  and  [things] in earth,  and  [things] under the earth; 

What does Philippians 2:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The purpose of the Father"s having given the Son great exaltation and a name suitable to such a position is that every person will bow in submission to His authority (cf. Isaiah 45:23 where all bow before Yahweh).
"Residents of first-century Philippi felt strongly compelled to proclaim their social location publicly in the pecking order of this highly stratified Roman colony." [1]
Thus Paul"s contrast between the humiliation and exaltation of Christ to the Philippians would have had unusual impact on these readers.
The beings in heaven that Paul referred to evidently are believers who have died and whose spirits have gone into the Lord"s presence. Those on earth are people still alive on the earth. Those under the earth are unbelievers awaiting resurrection. Hades (the same as Sheol, the Old Testament term) is the place where the spirits of the unbelieving dead go until God resurrects them and judges them. The ancients thought of Sheol or Hades as being under the surface of the earth, probably because that is where their bodies went in burial. All angelic beings will acknowledge Jesus" lordship too ( 1 Corinthians 15:27).
Various groups will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord at different times. Christians do so at conversion, and we will do so when we see the Lord following the Rapture (cf. Revelation 4-5). Those living on the earth and Old Testament saints resurrected at the Second Coming will do so then ( Revelation 19:11-21). Most of those living on the earth during the millennial reign of Christ will submit to Him then ( Psalm 2). At the end of the Millennium everyone on the earth and all resurrected unbelievers will bow the knee to Jesus Christ ( Revelation 20:7-15).

Context Summary

Philippians 2:1-11 - Following His Example Of Self-Surrender
In all Scripture-indeed, in all literature-there is no passage which combines such extraordinary extremes as this. The Apostle opens the golden compasses of his faith, placing one jeweled point on the throne of divine glory and the other at the edge of the pit, where the Cross stood; and then he asks us to measure the vast descent of the Son of God as He came down to help us. Mark the seven steps: He was in the form of God, that is, as much God as He was afterward a servant; being in the form of God"¦ took the form of a servant. He was certainly the latter and equally so the former. He did not grasp at equality with God, for it was already His. He emptied Himself, that is, refused to avail Himself of the use of His divine attributes, that He might teach the meaning of absolute dependence on the Father. He obeyed as a servant the laws which had their source in Himself. He became man-a humble man, a dying man, a crucified man. He lay in the grave. But the meaning of His descent was that of His ascent, and to all His illustrious names is now added that of Jesus-Savior. This must be our model. This mind must be in us. In proportion as we become humbled and crucified, we, in our small measure, shall attain the power of blessing and saving men. [source]

Chapter Summary: Philippians 2

1  Paul exhorts them to unity, and to all humbleness of mind, by the example of Christ's humility;
12  to a careful proceeding in the way of salvation, that they be as lights to a wicked world,
16  and comforts to him their apostle, who is now ready to be offered up to God
19  He hopes to send Timothy to them, and Epaphroditus also

Greek Commentary for Philippians 2:10

That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow [ινα εν τωι ονοματι Ιησου παν γονυ καμπσηι]
First aorist active subjunctive of καμπτω — kamptō old verb, to bend, to bow, in purpose clause with ινα — hina Not perfunctory genuflections whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned, but universal acknowledgment of the majesty and power of Jesus who carries his human name and nature to heaven. This universal homage to Jesus is seen in Romans 8:22; Ephesians 1:20-22 and in particular Revelation 5:13. [source]
Under the earth [καταχτονιων]
Homeric adjective for departed souls, subterranean, simply the dead. Here only in the N.T. [source]
At the name of Jesus [ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι]
Rev., better, in the name. The name means here the personal name; but as including all that is involved in the name. See on Matthew 28:19. Hence the salutation is not at the name of Jesus, as by bowing when the name is uttered, but, as Ellicott rightly says: “the spiritual sphere, the holy element as it were, in which every prayer is to be offered and every knee to bow.” Compare Ephesians 5:20. [source]
Things in heaven, etc. []
Compare Revelation 5:13; Ephesians 1:20, Ephesians 1:22. The words may apply either to all intelligent beings or to all things. The latter is in accord with Paul's treatment of the creation collectively in Romans 8:19-22, and with the Old-Testament passages, in which all nature is represented as praising God, as Psalm 148:1-14; Psalm 65:13. [source]

What do the individual words in Philippians 2:10 mean?

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in the heavens and on earth under the earth
ἵνα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καταχθονίων

ἵνα  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
ἐν  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐν 
Sense: in, by, with etc.
ὀνόματι  name 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
Ἰησοῦ  of  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
πᾶν  every 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: πᾶς  
Sense: individually.
γόνυ  knee 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: γόνυ  
Sense: the knee, to kneel down.
κάμψῃ  should  bow 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: κάμπτω  
Sense: to bend, bow, the knee (the knees).
ἐπουρανίων  in  the  heavens 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἐπουράνιος  
Sense: existing in heaven.
ἐπιγείων  on  earth 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἐπίγειος  
Sense: existing upon the earth, earthly, terrestrial.
καταχθονίων  under  the  earth 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: καταχθόνιος  
Sense: subterranean.