Paul's Prison Epistles: Paul's ImprisonmentSample

Paul’s Theology—Christ’s Kingship: Philippians 2:9-12

As we have already said, because Christ is King, he is sovereign. That means that he has the legal right to command our obedience. This in turn means that we have a legal obligation to obey him. 

And as we have also said, Christ is a perfectly righteous and just king. And this means that his judgments and commands are perfectly ethical so that we also have an ethical obligation to obey him. Because Christ is both sovereign and just, we are legally and ethically obligated to obey everything that he commands.

This is the type of argument that Paul made in Philippians 2:9-12, where he wrote these words:

God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth ... Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:9-12).

Jesus is ruler and Lord over everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth. In other words, he is the King of Creation. And on the basis of Christ’s kingship, Paul exhorted the Philippians to obey Christ.

Moreover, as we have seen, Christ’s kingship includes his honor. Accordingly, Paul also argued that Christians must live holy lives out of respect for their King’s honor. For one thing, obeying Christ preserves his reputation. For another, because Christ is holy and righteous and honorable, he deserves to be obeyed. Paul wrote of this in Philippians 1:27, saying:

Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).

And in Colossians 1:10 he encouraged his readers by writing:

We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:10).

Paul was deeply concerned that Christ’s honor and reputation be respected and protected, and he indicated that believers accomplish this when they do good works, that is, when they obey the Lord’s commands.

Throughout his prison epistles, Paul exhorted his readers to obey Christ, to live ethically by following the Lord’s commands to think, feel, and behave rightly. And although he did not always make the connection with Christ’s kingship explicit, he did so often enough to make it clear that Christ’s kingship should always be one of our fundamental motivations to live godly lives.