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3 Places and One Commonality: Jesus Christ is LordPhilippians 2: 9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This passage describes Jesus' journey from God the Son in heaven to a lowly suffering servant and death on earth., Yet Paul describes His exaltation already in heaven and one day on earth and gives three distinct places which cover everything where Christ will be confessed as Lord.The very confession that cost many Christians their lives at the beginning of Christianity because they would not worship and confess to the emperor as God is the very confession one day everyone will utter. It will be uttered because Christ came as a servant and died in our place for our salvation. These places are:1-In heaven: Already in heaven, Christ is declared Lord, and they worship Him because of His redemptive work through shedding His blood for our sins Rev. 5:9. That worship is eternal and will magnify when Jesus returns to earth.2-On earth, the world is in the clutches of sin and war and crime and disease fostered by the evil one. One day, however, Christ's return will signal the end of all this, and everyone will declare Him Lord.3-In Hell. The is a hell and a place of torment for those who do not know Christ. If you use it frequently and profane God’s name, you may be reminding yourself of your future destination if you don’t know Christ. But even here, this declaration will be given not in worship but in eternal regret. God’s timeline says after we die, we will be judged for our spiritual condition while on earth Heb. 9:27. And the eternal regret that will be offered as God executes judgment on those who know not Christ. II Thess. 1:7-9. Yes, they will know Jesus is Lord, but it will be too late to change their eternal condition. But there is still time today to rectify that condition.The bowed knee and confessed tongue were a sign of submission to a conquering King. We gladly worship Christ today as our Saviour and Lord; one day, everyone will acknowledge Him for who He really is. Hang on: It’s going to happen! Let's take as many with us to heaven as possible so they can join us in this eternal acknowledgment and celebration.--- Dan Nelson