The following 20 points, with slight modifications, are quoted from pages 197-200 at:
https://www.tentmaker.org/books/hope_beyond_hell.pdf
Is this forced worship, or one offered genuinely from the heart? Below are 20 points that together, I believe, unmistakably affirm true worship.
(1.) According to Vine, ―"bow", (kamptō per Strong‘s 2578, "to bend") "is used especially of bending the knees in religious veneration, Rom. 11:4; 14:11; Eph. 3:14; Phil. 2:10)." While, he says, sunkamptō "signifies "to bend completely together, to bend down by compulsory force" (Rom. 11:10)." 1
(2.) The phrase ― "confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" was used in early baptismal services by which those being baptized expressed their commitment to Christ or declared they had been saved through Christ.2 Now, since "under the earth" refers to the abode of the dead (or hell), then even in death an opportunity remains to confess Christ unto salvation.
(3.) "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3). This is strong evidence it refers to a sincere worship since fear alone could bring about a forced worship without the need of the Holy Spirit moving the heart.
(4.) Paul links mouth confession with salvation. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus…you will be saved…with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).
(5.) This worship brings Him glory. A forced worship would not glorify or satisfy a loving God. "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Mt. 15:8).
(6.) That this is true worship is confirmed in Rev. 5:13 and by the entire context (Rev. 5:11-14) if they are related. "Every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth…I heard saying: 'Blessing, honor, glory, power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb'…" (Re. 5:13). Why would these two contexts not be related?
(7.) The word "confess" in this passage is the same Greek word exomologeomai that Christ used in praising His Father in Mt. 11:25 and Lu. 10:21. It is used 11 times: Mt. 3:6; 11:25; Mk. 1:5; Lu. 10:21; 22:6; Ac. 19:18; Ro. 14:11; 15:9; Ph. 2:11; Ja. 5:16; and Re. 3:5. None of these can be seen as "forced" praise. They relate to what flows naturally from the heart. For example, Jesus exclaimed, "I heartily praise Thee, Father…that Thou hast hidden these things…" (Mt. 11:25 Wey). The NIV and the NAS read, "I praise you Father." Ro. 15:9 RSV states, "I will praise thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name" (See the NIV, NAS, TEV, Phillips, Jerusalem Bible, RSV, NEB, WEY, and so forth). The Englishman‘s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament says exomologeomai is the Greek word used in Psalms for "praise" (yadah) and "give thanks" (hoday) in the Septuagint used in Christ‘s time. Simply reading Psalms confirms the genuine worship of Ph. 2:11.3
(8.) Ken Eckerty in an article titled, "The Work of the Cross," said:
"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."4
To accurately understand Ph. 2:9-11, we must go to the Old Testament from where it is quoted. Let us look closely at Is. 45:21-25:
21.There is no other God beside Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. 22. Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. 24. He shall say, ‗Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. 25.In the LORD all the descendents of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.
(9.) "Surely in the LORD I have righteousness" (vs. 24). Only a genuine believer could say this. Note that this is stated as an oath (vs. 23), making it especially pertinent.
(10.) Those who are incensed against Him shall be ashamed (vs. 24). Being ashamed is usually a positive thing and often a sign of genuine repentance. 2Ch. 30:15; Ezra 9:5-7; Job 19:3; Jer. 6:13-15, 8:12, 12:13, 31:18- 20, Ez. 16:60-63, 36:31-33; 2Th. 3:14-15.
(11.) "All the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory" (vs. 25). Justification and glory are undeniable evidences of genuine repentance.
(12.) "Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and WILL SUBDUE our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:18-19)." Is subduing iniquity forcing insincere worship?
(13.) "He is ABLE even to SUBDUE all ―things" to Himself (Ph. 3:21). Note: "things" is not in the Greek and that this is said in the very same letter!
(14.) "How AWESOME are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your ENEMIES SHALL SUBMIT THEMSELVES to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name. Selah. Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men" (Ps. 66:3-5). Certainly these passages together with Ph. 2:11 all point to the same glorious worship (Re. 5:13)!
In Ps. 66:3-5, God is described twice as "awesome" in the very context of "enemies submitting themselves" through His "great" power. And this mind you, is all in the context of "all the earth" worshiping and singing praises to God! David then invites us to come and see how awesome is His doing toward humanity! Where is "forced" worship here? As well, they are "submitting themselves," not "being" submitted. Relative to Mic. 7:18-19, how can a "compassionate subduing" from a God "delighting in mercy" (in the very context of sins cast away) possibly coincide with a forced worship of those eternally being tormented in hell? Now Ph. 3: 21 is found in the very same letter as our key text, making it particularly pertinent. It affirms that God‘s power is "even able" to do something. "Even able" implies something extraordinarily impressive. A compelled submission by brute force is not particularly impressive. But a God winning the hearts of His enemies through His sacrificial love on the cross—that is impressive! That‘s what makes Him truly a most "awesome" and all powerful God!
(15.) "He humbled Himself…even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him…that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow" (Ph. 2:8-9). Every knee bows because of the cross. The word "therefore" links the cross with worship. To deny genuine worship at the foot of the cross is to strip this passage of all its meaning. Worse, it strips the cross of its power to save and insults the Spirit of grace (He. 10:29). Talbott asks:
"Now just what is the power of the Cross, according to Paul? Is it the power of a conquering hero to compel His enemies to obey Him against their will? If that had been Paul‘s doctrine, it would have been strange indeed, for God had no need of a crucifixion to compel obedience. He was quite capable of doing that all along. God sent His Son into the world, not as a conquering hero, but as a suffering servant; and the power that Jesus unleashed as He bled on the Cross was precisely the power of self-giving love, the power to overcome evil by transforming the wills and renewing the minds of the evil ones themselves." ⁵
The cross of Christ is the greatest power in the universe because it alone can melt the hearts of God‘s enemies, and make them His friends. As John Milton, the famous 17th century English author wrote, "Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe."6
(16.) Salvation is directly mentioned here. "Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore…work out your own salvation…for God works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Ph. 2:11-13). The word "therefore" is very significant, for it links the confession that Jesus is Lord directly with salvation.
(17.) God Himself works in them "to will." Does God working in the hearts of His children to will to do His good pleasure mean only a forced submission? The question is its own refutation.
(18.) "When all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him that God may be all in all" (1Co. 15:28). The Greek word for "subject" is the same word applied to Christ. Can it be questioned that Christ‘s submission is not freely given? Moreover, would God be all in subjects forcefully subjugated?
(19.) God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name…. What kind of a worship, sincere or genuine, would highly exalt Christ? I know which one would lowly exalt Him.
(20.) Finally, some will say, "Of course they‘ll confess then, it will all be too obvious. There will be no merit to confessing then." But are we saved by merit? Where is boasting? It is excluded (Ro. 3:27). We, as the Church, have stripped this passage of its full glory. The bottom line is the love of God will do what His power alone could never do: conquer the hearts of His enemies and make them His friends.
Why did I go into such detail over this one verse? Because this passage is very well known, quoted, and even sung about. Sadly, it is not truly appreciated for its glorious meaning. I think any honest reflection of these twenty points must agree with the evidence presented, that Ph. 2:9-11 affirms sincere and heartfelt worship.
1. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Thomas Nelson 1996, p. 75.
2 Fristad, Kalen. Destined for Salvation. Kearney, NE: Morris, 1997. 14-15. Original source: The Interpreter‘s Bible: A commentary in 12 Volumes. Vol. 11. Nashville: Abingdon, 1955. 51.
3 Wigram, George W. The Englishman‘s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament. n.p. n.p. n.d. 499-500.
4 Eckerty, Ken. ―The Work of the Cross.
http://www.savior-of-all.com/cross.html.
5 Talbott, Thomas. The Inescapable Love of God. Salem, Oregon: Universal, 1999. 65.
6 Milton, John. Quoted by Ken Eckerty in ―The Work of the Cross.
http://www.savior-ofall.com/cross.html.