This is the first week of our 9-week series “Living under the Lordship of Jesus.”
Introduction
The first order of business is to define the word lord. 1. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; master or ruler.
2. a person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc.
3. a person who is a leader or has great influence in a profession: the great lords of banking.
4. a feudal superior; the proprietor of a manor.
5. a titled nobleman or peer; a person whose ordinary appellation contains by courtesy the title Lord or some higher title.
6. Lords, the Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal comprising the House of Lords.
7. (in Great Britain)
a. the title of certain high officials: Lord Mayor of London.
b. the formally polite title of a bishop: Lord Bishop of Durham.
c. the title informally substituted for marquis, earl, viscount, etc.
8. the Supreme Being; God.
9. Jesus Christ.
thefreedictionary.com/lord
As we see, there are several definitions of the word lord. Hopefully, this message will bring a clearer definition of that word in connection with Jesus as scripture establishes the fact that Jesus is worthy to be called Lord.
7 “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of our lives? How does this relational
submission impact our perspective on each of these areas?
When a person yields to the lordship of Jesus Christ, he or she acknowledges His ownership
and gives up his or her personal rights. Yielding to the lordship of Jesus Christ also involves
total and unreserved obedience. If He is the Lord of our life, we are going to do what He tells
us to do.
Jesus Himself gives the first inkling into the significance of being called Lord when He addressed
a great multitude of people along with His disciples. “46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6:46-49
If anyone recognizes Jesus Christ as his or her Lord, then the first requirement from such a person is utter and total obedience. This obedience is given to Jesus Christ because of the authority that was granted to Him. Jesus said, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said as He departed for His throne in glory, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18
How did Jesus gain this authority? On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter addressed the
crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. He recited from the Psalms, the words of
David, linking them to the deeds and happenings in the life of Christ. After explaining about the
suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and proving that the words in the Psalms did not
refer to David but to someone future and greater, he went on to say, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Acts 2:36
The Father bestowed the office of Lord to Jesus Christ His Son because Jesus had surrendered
Himself in full obedience to God and had accomplished the work of salvation through
crucifixion and taken victory over all enemies through His resurrection.
The Apostle Paul also stressed the connection between the obedience of Christ and His lordship
in the book of Philippians, “8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
As Lord, Jesus Christ deserves reverence, honor, and obedience because of the glory that was
bestowed upon Him by the Father. We are to take the same mind of obedience that Jesus
Himself had. We as followers of Christ must acknowledge Him in all of our ways. We are only to
do what pleases Him and what He has commanded us to do.
Concluding Remarks and Application
What does the lordship of Jesus Christ mean? It means that we recognize Him for who He is and
give Him the honor that He is due. He has earned it; He is worthy of it.
Ultimately, this is how our walk with Christ should begin, by recognizing and confessing that He is Lord.
In the coming weeks, we will explore what it means for Jesus to be in charge, our boss, literally over everything in our lives, every area, every decision, every decision…
Note: Much of what has been written here is based on notes from Daniel Lambert, senior pastor, Easthaven Baptist Church.