Fallen humanity is full of pride. Pride was the temptation of the human race at the Fall, was the product of the Fall, and continues to resist full surrender to Christ, Who is God incarnate, the One Who came to redeem our proud, lost souls.
Lucifer fell by pride.
Pride opposes God. Sin came into the universe through pride (Ezekiel 28:13-17). The devil resisted God with the vain thought that he could ascend his throne above the stars of God. He sought God-dom (Isaiah 14:12-14). He lost. He was kicked out of heaven.
Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil with pride.
Then came the beautiful creatures made in the image of God— mankind.
When the devil planned to bring down the human race, he used pride. He offered Adam and Eve God-dom. He told them they could be like God (Genesis 3:5). He said the forbidden fruit would make them wise. They would know as much as God. They could make their own decisions about what to do and how to live their lives. They could be autonomous, independent of God. By far, most of the human beings that have sprung from Adam and Eve have taken this ill-fated course of pride, to the extent that Jesus said few souls will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14).
Mankind must surrender to God, a real hardship for pride.
Pride interferes with surrender, at least full surrender. Surrendering one’s pride is the hardest task a person is asked by God to perform. Bowing to God in true and full repentance is hard for people. Repentance means turning fully to Christ and surrendering our autonomy, resulting in obedience to His every Word and making Him Lord. Pride is the biggest obstacle to that. Hence, partial surrender is the path most used by confessing Christians.
Bowing to Christ
We are told in the book of Isaiah, that one day every knee will bow to the one God and Savior and declare Him Lord (Isaiah 45:21-23). It is the universally needed surrender to the God we have offended by our proud, independent living. In the New Testament, Paul let us know that that prophecy will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). It will be fulfilled by all persons in one of two ways, either in bowing to the exalted name of Christ in salvation or bowing at the final judgment, giving due honor to His name and Lordship prior to being cast out.
Notice that the bowing Paul specified to occur was bowing at the name of Jesus (v.10). The positive side of this occurs at salvation. It is when we fully surrender to Him in repentance and submit to baptism in His name. There is no greater fulfillment of this important passage of Scripture than what we read in the book of Acts when repentant souls were baptized in Jesus’ name. That is the ultimate bowing at the name of Jesus. Only pride will keep a person from surrendering to Christ and taking His name in baptism.
The first fulfillment of bowing at the name of Jesus
Bowing at the name of Christ to obtain salvation occurred for the first time on the Day of Pentecost. The Jews, who had crucified their Lord, were convicted by Peter’s preaching of the resurrected Christ. But what really stirred them was Peter’s use of the prominent Old Testament prophecy that God would make Christ’s enemies His footstool (Psalms 110:1). In droves, they submitted to Christ and were baptized in His name (Acts 2:22-41). There is not a greater example of Christian preaching in the entire book of Acts. The final tally of souls who had bowed the knee in submission to the name of Christ was three thousand.
What’s significant here is that, by nature, we are all enemies to Christ and must bow similarly to Him. All of us have put Him on the cross by our sins. We all must repent and be baptized in Jesus’ name. That is precisely how we bow at the name of Jesus, resulting in salvation.
Why would anyone resist the name of Jesus in baptism?
Solomon said, ”Only by pride comes contention” (Proverbs 13:10). Resistance to baptism in Jesus’ name is pride. It’s of the devil, the father of sin. It is resistance to Christ, Who is the incarnate God. It is resistance to the Word of God. It is resistance to the only name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Baptism in Jesus’ name is how the name of Jesus is used salvificly in the New Testament. It is stated in the black and white of God’s Word to be particularly for the remission of sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 22:16). To deny it is to deny the clearly expressed Word of God, which is pride.
To add emphasis to the necessity of baptism, Jesus and Peter strongly asserted that baptism saves (Mark 16:15-16; 1Peter 3:21). Baptism in Jesus’ name is a command of Scripture (Acts 2:38; 10:48). Only pride resists the clear teaching of the Word of God because pride is always antagonistic to God.
Every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus. It is much better to bow in the here and now with the reward of heaven than to finally bow at the judgment just prior to being cast out from Christ’s presence. All pride has its end in the lake of fire. Humble obedience, heaven.