What name does the Father bestow on the Son?

Explanation:

When Paul says that God has bestowed on him the name that is above every name, he likely has in mind that Jesus is bestowed with the name Yahweh. For inPhilippians 2:10–11, Paul says that every knee will bow, and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Interestingly, Paul seems to borrow the language of every knee bowing and tongue confessing from Isaiah 45:23. And there, those who bow and confess, bow and confess allegiance to Yahweh, or in the Septuagint, κύριος (Lord). Thus, by saying that every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, Paul alludes to Isaiah 45:23, and has in mind that all will bow and confess Jesus as Lord because God has bestowed this title on him.

Counterargument:

While it might be there are connections between Isaiah 45:23 and Philippians 2:10–11, this does not imply that when Paul says Christ has been bestowed with the name above all names, this refers to Lord. For Isaiah does not say anything about names. Rather, he says that all will confess and swear allegiance to God. Of course, Jesus is God, so the fact that all creatures in heaven and earth will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord is true, and a clear allusion to Isaiah 45:23. Still, it is not clear how this establishes that the name above all names is the title Lord.³

Response to counterargument:

The argument here is not that Isaiah explicitly explains that the name that is above every name is the title, Lord. Rather, there is a general theme running through Isaiah 41:1–45:25 where God makes clear that he is Yahweh (Lord). In Isaiah 41:13 we read, I am the Lord. Isaiah 42:8says, I am the Lord; that is my name. And in Isaiah 45:18 we read I am the Lord, and there is no other. Finally, we reach Isaiah 45:23 where God says that every knee will bow and tongue confess to God. Clearly, there is a general theme running through this section of Isaiah where God gives attention to his divine name as Lord. By alluding to Isaiah 45:23, Paul makes clear that this same divine name has been bestowed on Jesus Christ.

Explanation:

When we consider the historical context of the Philippians, we can deduce that when Paul says the name above all names has been given to Christ, he means the title Lord. For the Philippians lived in ancient Rome, where emperor worship was the norm. For the Romans, Jupiter and the gods gave Caesar Augustus divine authority and divine names.⁴ By suggesting that Jesus has been given the divine name, Lord, Paul circumvents the imperial cult and emphasizes the fact that Jesus Christ, and not the emperor of Rome, has been exalted.⁵

Counterargument:

If Paul wanted to make the point that Jesus has been given the title Lord, so that he deserves worship and praise in place of the Roman emperor, then we should expect Paul to clearly say this. That is, we should expect him to say that he has been bestowed with the name Lord, so that every tongue would confess that Jesus is Lord. Instead, Paul says he has been given the name above all names. Interestingly, when we reach Philippians 2:11, Paul says that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So if Paul has in mind that Jesus takes the place of the emperor in terms of who is to be worshipped, it seems the name that is above every name is Jesus Christ.⁶ Thus, if we take the historical context as a cue, Paul seems to be saying that Jesus Christ is the name above every name, because Jesus Christ is Lord.

Response to counterargument:

When Paul says that Jesus has been given the name above every name, it is implied, based on the historical context, that he refers to the title Lord. That is, the Philippians would think that Caesar has the name that is above every name, because Caesar is Lord.⁷ Now Paul is saying that Jesus has been given the name that is above every name. In other words, Paul is not saying that the name Jesus is the name above every name, but that the name above every name is Lord, and Jesus has been bestowed with that name

Explanation:

We can deduce the name above every name is the title Lord, because Paul says this in Philippians 2:11. That is, in Philippians 2:9 he says that God has bestowed on Jesus the name that is above every name. And when we reach Philippians 2:11 he explains that every tongue will confess that κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς. The most appropriate way to translate the phrase κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς is the Lord is Jesus Christ.⁸ Thus, we can see what Paul says that God will give him the name above every name, in that all will confess that the Lord is Jesus. Thus, the name above every name is Lord.⁹

Counterargument:

Unfortunately, ὄνομα (name) is best construed as name, not title.¹⁰ Thus, it is very unlikely that Paul would use the term ὄνομα to say that Jesus has the title that is above all titles, for the term is simply not best construed as title. Thus, we ought to follow the ESV and translate Philippians 2:11 as Jesus Christ is Lord, rather than the Lord is Jesus Christ  

Response to counterargument:

While ὀνομα (name) can be used to denote a proper name, as in the proper name Jesus Christ, it can also be used in the sense of a title or category.¹¹ And in ancient thought, the name bestowed on a being was meant to reveal something about that being’s nature. Thus, in Genesis 25:26, we learn that Jacob is given his name because he grasped onto his brother’s heel. Also, in 1 Samuel 25:25 we learn that Nabal was a wicked man, just as his named suggests. Thus, the name not only signified the person but revealed something of his character. In the case of Jesus, he is bestowed with the name Lord.¹²

Response to response to counterargument:

Unfortunately, this argument is not strong. It contends that the name given to a being says something about that being’s nature, as in Esau and Nabal. Such an argument could be used to defend the meaning of the proper name Jesus, not the title Lord. Jesus’ name means the Lord saves, which is a fitting description of his nature, because he is God who saves. Still, it is not clear what the fact that Jesus’ proper name reveals something about his nature has to do with the argument that Paul gives him the title Lord in Philippians 2:9.

The one weakness of this view is that it does not take it that ὄνομα (name) denotes its most common usage, which is name. It takes ὄνομα to mean title when this is not the common way to use the term ὄνομα. And since Paul never explicitly says that the name given is the title Lord, it is not clear that we should take ὄνομα to mean title.

Explanation:

We can understand what Paul means when he says that God bestowed on Christ the name that is above every name when we reach Philippians 2:10. There Paul follows this up by saying that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and tongue confess. In other words, Paul is saying that God has made the name Jesus the name that is above every name. By doing so, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and tongue confess.¹⁵

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it limits itself to Philippians 2:10 to understand what Paul means when he says that Christ is given the name that is above every name. While we ought to consider Philippians 2:10, we also ought to include what Paul says in Philippians 2:11. Once we consider his statement in the full context of Philippians 2:9–11, we can understand what he means when he says that Christ is given the name that is above every name. In Philippians 2:9, Paul says that Christ has been given the name that is above every name. Then in Philippians 2:10 he says that at the name of Jesus all will bow. Finally, in Philippians 2:11, Paul completes this thought by saying that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord could imply that the name above every name is Lord. Thus, we ought to take Philippians 2:10 and Philippians 2:11 together. If we do, we can see that Paul uses the proper name Jesus to indicate that it is Jesus who has received the name that is above every name, so that every knee will bow and confess that name, which is that Jesus Christ is Lord. Thus, the name above every name is the title Lord.

Explanation:

The name Jesus means Saviour. Jesus chose to act according to the meaning of his name, and thereby saved the human race. Thus, Jesus’ name is above every name because he chose to act according to his name.¹⁶

Counterargument:

It is not clear what Jesus’ acting in conformity with the meaning of his name has to do with God’s bestowing on Jesus the name that is above every name. One could just as easily argue that since Jesus acted according to the meaning of his name, and thereby saved the human race, God bestowed on him the title Lord.

This view is a fine option given that Paul says Jesus has been given the name that is above every name, and the fact that Jesus is a proper name. Still, Philippians 2:11 strongly implies that the name above all names is Lord, because every creature will confess not that Jesus is Jesus, but that Jesus is Lord.