The most common approach is
to insist that those who bow are doing so forcibly. Their confession is
motivated more so out of trepidation than it is of joy. This profoundly stupid
suggestion will not do for any number of reasons. Firstly, kampto, here
used for “bow,” according to Vine, is used for religious veneration (Rom 11:4,
14:11; Eph 3:14). On the other hand, sunkampto, used in Romans 11:10,
“signifies . . . to bend down by compulsory force.” Furthermore, whereas the
ESV and other translations would attempt to render the verse as suggesting that
the confessors pay homage at the name of Jesus, Ken Eckerty, in an
article titled “The Work of the Cross,” writes:
I think it’s significant
that the bowing of every knee and the confessing of every tongue is done “in”
the name of Jesus, not “at” as translated by the KJV. Scholars such as Vincent,
Robertson, Young, Rotherham, and Bullinger (just to name a few) all say that it
is best translated “in.” “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there
am I . . .” Mt. 18:20 “In” Christ’s name implies an “entering into” or an
intimacy with His name. Confession “in” His name cannot mean anything but intimacy.
Moreover, should one examine
the words of the psalmist when he speaks of individuals submitting to God in
worship, they will find these words:
Say to God, “How awesome are
your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All
the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”
Selah Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward
the children of man. (Ps 66:3–5)
Couple this passage with
Revelation 5:13 (“And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under
the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever
and ever!’”) and pray tell, where does one find ever so much as the slightest
hint of forced worship? Notice that the individuals in question are submitting
themselves, not themselves being submitted (as if they are passive in the
matter). Philippians 3:21 references God’s power “that enables him even to
subject all things to himself.” The words “even to” imply some sort of
impressive ability on the part of God. I fail to see how forced submission is
at all impressive, yet to be able to melt even the hardest of hearts, to bring
Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins to the point of ecstatic, jubilant
worship, surely only God can do such a thing!
I also find it intriguing
that whenever a demoniac praises Christ, He becomes perturbed and mildly
indignant. Yet, should one believe the traditionalist objection, this is
somewhat awkward given that this is the kind of worship Christ will extract
from countless billions in the ages to come. It is plainly obvious to even the
most casual reader that God frequently chastises irreverent worship. Shall God
delight in abominable sacrifices (Mal 1:10)? “Shall I accept that from your
hand? says the LORD.” (Mal 1:13). If God is pleased with such disingenuous
worship, then why on earth did He roast Aaron’s sons for offering profane
sacrifice (Lev 10:1–7)?
It is inconceivable how God
the Father might be glorified through a ruse, whereby those in hell
begrudgingly acknowledge His lordship. This might do for Napoleon, but not for
the Abba of Christ. Does not Christ say that the worship God desires is one
that comes from those who “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24)? What
manner of worship, sincere or insincere, would highly exalt Christ? The whole
notion of forced, submissive worship is foreign to the text and a blasphemous
insult to the very nature of God, making Him out to be some sort of oriental
despot.
Other commentators have
confessed that “While the bowing of the knee might be reluctant, it seems
harder to regard the tongue’s confession in that light.” This owes to Paul’s
understanding of what it means to confess Jesus as Lord, which he elucidates in
other passages like 1 Corinthians 12:3. “Therefore I want you to understand
that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no
one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” How many individuals
can confess Jesus as Lord? None, except those who do so in the Holy
Spirit. “Confessing is not a neutral act. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. For
those in the three locations, including those “under the earth,” the tenor
seems to be promising. All things in heaven and earth will finally be one in
acclaiming Christ for who he is (Eph. 1:10).”
Another rejoinder to the
traditionalists concerning the text’s clear implications of universal
reconciliation centers on the etymology of exomologeomai. Christ Himself
uses this word in praising His Father in Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21. It is
used eleven other times in the NT. In none of these texts does the word denote
forced obeisance, but rather that which appraises itself as a natural
manifestation of the person’s condition and disposition towards God. Are we to
think that when Jesus says in Matthew 11:25, “I thank you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to little children,” that because Matthew uses exomologeomai,
Jesus is uttering these words forcibly? Absit! A mere reflection of
worship integrated in the Psalms would lead all men to the conclusion of
scholars that exomologeomai literally means “gladly confess.” It denotes
exuberance, whereby those who are confessing the lordship of Christ are doing
so from a standpoint of gladness. It is also of pertinence to recall the means
by which Paul says one confesses Jesus to be Lord. He tells the church in
Corinth, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit
of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except
in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). How many people can confess Christ as Lord apart
from the Spirit of God? None. Yet, Paul says in Philippians 2:10–11 that “every
tongue” shall confess. What is the logical implication as such? There is only
one plausible answer: eventually, every tongue shall gladly confess in the Holy
Spirit that Christ is Lord, and it is through confession and conviction as such
that one is reconciled to Christ (Rom 10:9). (Andrew Hronich, Once Loved Always Loved: The Logic
of Apokatastasis [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2023], 305-7)
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