Verse 9 says that God “highly exalted”
Christ. Many think this means that, after his death and resurrection, Christ attains
a markedly new position and identity; one that he did not have at the start, in
is pre-incarnate state. It is only after his death that Christ is given the “name
above all names.” If, as the majority now think, that superlative name is the name
of the one God—Yhwh—or its Greek translation substitute (Kyrios)—then
are we not bound to conclude that Christ is only identified with the one God of
biblical faith after his death and at his exaltation? And, in that case, it is
best to say that after his death Christ underwent a “deification” or
apotheosis.
Alternatively, if we take on board the
grounds for thinking that Christ is already divine in verse 6, perhaps the superexaltation
and the giving of the name in verse 9 means that Christ journeys from one degree
of divinity (“being in the form of God”) to another, higher degree of divinity
(with possession of the divine name, for which he receives universal recognition
as the Lord of all of heaven and earth). For these reasons, should we not
insist that the poem has a king of subordinationist Christology and it is not
strictly speaking a hymn of worship? (Crispin Fletcher-Louis, The
Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic
Virtues [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2023], 25)
