Daily Devotion for April 15 - Philippians 2:8 - 11

Verse

Philippians 2:8–11 – “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 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.”

Meditation

Christ’s humiliation is the path to His exaltation. Though equal with the Father, He did not cling to divine glory but emptied Himself to serve, suffer, and die. This willing descent into death, even the cursed death of the cross, is not defeat but obedience—and from this obedience comes His glorious enthronement. The Father exalts the Son, placing His name above all. One day every creature shall bow, and every tongue shall speak the truth that faith confesses now: Jesus Christ is Lord. His exaltation is the hope of the humble, for in His name we too are raised.

Old Testament

Isaiah 45:23 – “To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”
The prophet foretells what is fulfilled in Christ: universal homage to the One who saves.

Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, who sent Your Son in the likeness of men to suffer death upon the cross, grant that we may bow the knee in humble adoration and confess with joy that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of Your name; through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse

“At the name of Jesus
Ev'ry knee shall bow,
Ev'ry tongue confess Him
King of glory now.
'Tis the Father's pleasure
We should call Him Lord,
Who from the beginning
Was the mighty Word.”
— At the Name of Jesus – LSB 512:1