Names of Jesus Christ: Philippians 2:5-11 Explained
Short answer: Philippians 2:5-11 explains the names of Jesus Christ by tracing His self-humbling, death, resurrection, and exaltation. Paul opens the passage with the command, "Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5), then shows that the One who was in God's form took the form of a servant, obeyed to the point of death, and was therefore highly exalted by God. The name above every name is not a magical formula; it is the Father's verdict on the Son's finished work. To confess that name is to bow before the person, not merely to repeat a title. The passage therefore answers both who Jesus is and how His people should think, speak, and live in light of Him.
The names that belong to Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11
Paul begins his great hymn with a title that carries enormous weight: Christ Jesus. The word Christ is not a surname but the Greek form of Messiah, the anointed King promised to Israel. Jesus is the personal name given at His birth, meaning the LORD saves. To say Christ Jesus is to say anointed Savior and King in one breath.
The passage then moves through descriptions rather than a list of labels. Paul speaks of One who existed in God's form, who did not grasp equality with God as something to exploit, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant. Each description tells us who Jesus is by telling us what He did. He is the kind of Lord who serves, the kind of King who kneels.
Finally the passage names Him Lord. The Greek word kyrios was used for masters, for emperors, and in the Greek Old Testament for the covenant name of God. When Paul says every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, he is placing Jesus in the highest possible category. The name above every name is not a new syllable but the recognition of who Jesus always was and now is.
Why the name above every name was given
Paul is careful about the order of events. The exaltation follows the obedience. He writes that Jesus humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Only after that does God highly exalt Him and give Him the name above every name. The Father's gift of the name is His public vindication of the Son's completed work.
This order matters for how we understand the names of Jesus. They are not titles He seized by force or reputation. He received them in the resurrection and ascension. The cross looked like defeat, and the name looked like a criminal's epitaph. God overturned that verdict. The name above every name is therefore a resurrection name, spoken over a tomb that could not hold Him.
It also means that the name of Jesus is not a shortcut around discipleship. Paul introduces the whole passage with a command to have the same mind. The name is given to the One who humbled Himself, and it is confessed by those who are learning the same humility. Where that mind is absent, the name can be used as a slogan rather than a confession.
What the incarnation tells us about His names
The titles of Jesus are not decorations added to a distant deity. They belong to the One who took flesh. John 1:14 says, "The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth." The name Jesus is therefore a human name borne by a divine person.
That is why the angel can say to Joseph that Mary will bear a son and he shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. The name is given in history, at a real birth, to a real child. The eternal Word did not merely appear as Jesus; He became Jesus, without ceasing to be the Word.
This is the mystery the church has long called the hypostatic union: one person, two natures, divine and human, without confusion or change. The names of Jesus Christ are therefore not masks worn by a hidden God. They are the true names of the One who is both Lord and brother, both Creator and child of Mary.
The name that saves and the name that judges
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told the rulers and elders of Israel that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The name of Jesus is not one option among many. It is the only name in which forgiveness and life are given, because it is the name of the only Son who died and rose.
Yet the same passage in Philippians says every knee will bow. That bowing is not only the glad worship of the redeemed. It is also the unwilling acknowledgment of those who rejected Him. The name above every name will finally be confessed by all, whether in joy or in judgment. A day is coming when no one can be neutral about Jesus.
This is why the names of Jesus matter for preaching and pastoral care. We do not offer people a helpful idea or a moral example. We announce a person with a name, and we call them to trust Him. To be saved is to call on the name of the Lord, and to call on that name is to entrust yourself to the One who bears it.
How the early church confessed the name
The first Christians did not have buildings, institutions, or cultural power. What they had was a name. They baptized in the name of Jesus. They healed in the name of Jesus. They cast out demons in the name of Jesus. When they were commanded to stop speaking in that name, they answered that they could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard.
For them, the name was not a mere label. It carried authority. To invoke the name was to invoke the person. To suffer for the name was to suffer for Christ Himself. That is why Paul could write that he bore on his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. The name shaped their identity, their courage, and their hope.
This has practical implications for us. We do not need to be embarrassed by the particularity of the name. The gospel is not a vague spirituality but a message about a specific person with a specific name, born in a specific place, crucified under a specific governor, raised on a specific day. The name is the anchor of the message.
Bearing the name of Jesus today
To be called a Christian is to be named after Christ. The name is not a badge of superiority but a summons to the same mind Paul commands in Philippians 2:5. If the Lord of glory took the form of a servant, then those who bear His name cannot use it to dominate, to boast, or to manipulate. The name is honored by humility, not by loudness.
That means the way we speak the name matters. It can be spoken in prayer, in witness, in comfort, in worship. It can also be spoken carelessly, as a curse or a punchline. The third commandment is not obsolete. The name of Jesus is not a tool we control; it is a person we revere. Our speech about Him should reflect who He is.
Bearing the name also means living under His lordship in ordinary things. Work, family, money, time, and speech all come under the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is not a burden but a freedom. If the name above every name belongs to the One who humbled Himself for us, then we can trust Him with every part of our lives.
Why every knee will bow to that name
Paul quotes Isaiah when he says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. The prophet had said that every knee would bow to the LORD alone. Paul applies that text to Jesus. This is one of the clearest statements in the New Testament that Jesus shares the identity of God. To bow to Jesus is to bow to God.
The bowing is certain because the exaltation is certain. God has already highly exalted Him and given Him the name above every name. The final scene is not in doubt. What remains is how each person meets that name now. The confession can be made in this life, in repentance and faith, or it can be made at the last day, too late to change the outcome.
This is the pastoral urgency behind the passage. It is not merely a doctrinal puzzle. It is a summons. The name of Jesus Christ is the most important name you will ever hear, and it will either be your salvation or your judge. The passage invites every reader to bow now, willingly, and to confess with the church that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Biblical fidelity check
Philippians 2:5-11 establishes that Jesus existed in God's form before His incarnation, that He humbled Himself by becoming a servant and dying on a cross, and that God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name. It also establishes that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. These are clear, repeated, apostolic affirmations.
The passage does not establish that the name above every name is a particular pronunciation or spelling of the name Jesus, nor does it teach that the name functions as a formula that guarantees results when spoken. A common misreading treats the name as a kind of spiritual technology, so that saying it correctly produces power. That is wrong because Paul's point is the person and work of Christ, not the mechanics of a word. The name is honored when the One who bears it is trusted, loved, and obeyed.
Other passages that speak to Philippians 2:5-11
The themes of humility, exaltation, and the person of Christ echo across Scripture. Colossians 3:17 Meaning: Do Everything in Jesus’ Name shows how the name shapes daily life. Hypostatic union: Jesus Christ as one person in two natures: A Biblical Guide explains how the divine and human natures belong to one person. Acts Bible Study: Seeing Jesus in Acts traces the name through the early church’s witness. Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ: A Bible Study from C. H. Spurgeon’s Classic Sermon invites weary sinners to the Savior who bears that name.
Frequently asked questions
What is the name above every name in Philippians 2:9?
The name above every name is the name given to Jesus because of His obedience and exaltation. In the following verses Paul identifies it as the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Greek word kyrios, used here, is the word the Greek Old Testament uses for God’s covenant name. So the name above every name is not a secret syllable but the acknowledgment that Jesus shares the identity and authority of God.
Does Philippians 2:5-11 teach that Jesus is God?
Yes, the passage presents Jesus as existing in God’s form before He became a servant. It applies to Him a prophecy of universal worship that Isaiah reserves for the LORD alone. The result is that every tongue confesses Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The passage does not use the word Trinity, but it places Jesus in the divine identity, which is why the church has always confessed Him as God.
How should Christians use the name of Jesus today?
Christians should use the name of Jesus with reverence, faith, and love. It is the name in which we pray, baptize, and proclaim salvation. It is not a formula to manipulate God or a slogan to win arguments. Because it belongs to the Lord who humbled Himself, we honor it most when we imitate His humility, speak truthfully about Him, and entrust ourselves to Him in daily life.
