Romans 14:11 – Every knee and every tongue

For it is written: Living am I, the Lord is saying, For to Me shall bow every knee, And every tongue shall be acclaiming God!

Paul’s argument is that no believer is “lord” over his brother and has the right to judge him, let alone scorn him in arbitrary matters. These are disputes that must be dealt with by an arbitrator (=referee) in order to provide a definitive answer. There is only one Lord and His is the judgment.

By quoting Isaiah 45:23, Paul places his argument in an even broader, universal perspective. Because in Isaiah 45 it is not only about believers but about all people. What am I saying? According to Philp.2:10 it even extends to all heavenly, terrestrial and subterranean places. So no one is excluded. Every knee will bow and every tongue will praise God. The word for ‘acclaim’ (Gr. exomologeo) is not the common word for ‘confess’ (Gr. omologeo) but a reinforcement of it. The preposition ‘ex-‘ indicates that it comes from within! Imagine: every (conscious) creature who wholeheartedly gives GOD honor!

Delen: