Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This relates to the confession of the church about Jesus, already in the time of Paul (see 1 Corinthians 12:3, Jesus is Lord
). The expression every tongue
is more often used in the Bible to designate any kindred, tribe, or nation (including Revelation 5:9, Revelation 7:9, and Revelation 10:11).
The song ends with God the Father. Everything about the course of Jesus’ life (his humiliation, his obedience, his exaltation, his adoration) is to the glory of God the Father.
It is good not to lose sight of the context in which this song about Christ has a place. After all, it is related to Paul’s call to serve one another humbly (see especially Philippians 2:3, Philippians 2:5, Philippians 2:12). But the life of Jesus, from the deepest humiliation to the highest exaltation, is unique. Indeed, it is incomparable to ours as humans. It cannot be Paul’s intention to present the emptying
of Jesus as an example to us.
However, apparently Jesus’ humble obedience is an example—no matter how great the difference with us is. The caption above this section in the ESV is also Christ’s example of humility.
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.