Evidence · Case 11 · Mormonism
Philippians 2:9-11, New American Standard Bible
One exhibit from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Paul writes that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,” language he draws from Isaiah 45:23, where those words describe the LORD alone.
Sources
Objections & responses
- The verse says God highly exalted Jesus and bestowed the name on him, which fits the LDS picture of a Son who progresses and receives glory from the Father.
The exaltation language is there and should be acknowledged. Verse 6, just above the quoted lines, says Jesus was in the form of God and had equality with God before the emptying, so the exaltation restores what was set aside rather than conferring what was never held. The LDS reading requires that the equality of verse 6 be a lesser thing than the Father’s own status, which is the interpretive difference to name. Read the hymn from verse 5, not verse 9, and the shape of it is clear.