A Church Re-Formed Under The Lord

In this week of A Re-Formed Imagination, we opened Philippians 2:9–11 and asked what it means to be a church re-formed under the Lord. In a world shaped by rival allegiances, Paul announces something definitive: the crucified Jesus has been exalted, given the name above every name, and will be confessed as Lord by every tongue.

We began by naming the “throne we don’t see.” Whether we admit it or not, something shapes our priorities and fears. We can find it by watching our anxiety, our schedule, and what we protect at all costs. In the first century, Rome formed people through the confession “Caesar is Lord.” Today, we are still being catechized—by success, image, security, control, and comfort. Philippians 2 confronts us with a different throne and a different King: the One publicly humiliated and nailed to a cross is the true Lord of the universe.

Paul’s “therefore” matters. Jesus is not exalted in spite of the cross but because of it. His obedience unto death becomes the ground of His exaltation, revealing the very nature of God as self-giving love. By echoing Isaiah 45, Paul applies to Jesus what belongs to Yahweh alone: every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. This is not mere honor; it is cosmic lordship.

But Christ’s lordship is not domination. The throne of the universe is occupied by a crucified man. That means the deepest reality holding our lives together is not power or control but sacrificial love. If Jesus is Lord, then our anxiety is not. Our success is not. Our suffering is not. Our failure is not.

We were invited to bow now—not in fear, but in trust—so that the Spirit would re-form our lives and our church under the gracious reign of King Jesus.