The light thrown upon this scripture by its citation in the New Testament is remarkable. But before we proceed to this, a glance at the context will be both interesting and profitable. In verse 22, following upon the assertion that, in contrast with idols, Jehovah alone is God, that "there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me," we have the universal invitation of grace, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Then comes the solemn asseveration, enforced by a divine oath, "That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear"; that is, Jehovah, the Creator God, has thus decreed.
Turning now to Philippians 2, we find that these words are applied to the One who humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. There are, moreover, two notable explanations added—explanations which never could have been discovered, had they not thus been divinely given. The first is, that "every knee" applies to all in heaven, to all in earth, and to all under the earth; that is, to all intelligences, whether in heaven, or in earth, or in hell-all demons, as well as all angels, saints, and men. Second, "every tongue shall swear" is seen to mean the confession to the glory of God the Father that Jesus is Lord, all alike owning the exaltation and the given name, which is above every name, of Jesus as Lord, in virtue of His death on the cross. What an unfolding, both of the glory of the Person of our blessed Lord, as well as of God's appreciation of the life and death of Him who was known on earth as Jesus of Nazareth!
In Romans 14 we find another application. "Why," asks the Apostle, "dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." vv. 10-12. In this scripture, bowing the knee is referred to our accountability to God in judgment; and we are exhorted, because all alike have before them the prospect of the judgment seat, to desist from judging one another. (Compare 1 Cor. 4:3-5.) We know from another scripture that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son; and this fact, taken in connection with the statement of the Apostle, brings out again the essential and personal glories of Him who will be the Judge of all.
These several scriptures, when combined, contain a remarkable revelation of the purpose of God as to the absolute supremacy of His beloved Son, and also of His will to have that supremacy universally owned. Jesus of Nazareth is already, and one day shall be confessed to be, Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father.