Mar 26, 2016 Words of Grace – His Lordship
Saturday – His Lordship
“
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Jesus is Lord. Mary Magdalene was given the ability to see that Jesus is Lord. She was the first to confess Jesus as Lord after he was raised from the dead (John 20:18).
What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? God the Father bestowed on Jesus Christ the designation of Lord. This makes Jesus’ lordship unique. He alone is Lord.
Jesus’ lordship is tied up in his humble obedience to the point of death on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead to the point of ascension into heaven. Since these acts are for our salvation, Jesus’ lordship means he is our Savior.
Jesus saved us to be a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Jesus as our Lord means we belong to him. We are his people and he is our Master. As he obeyed the Father, so we obey him.
Jesus Christ is the exalted Lord. Someday all will acknowledge his lordship. He will be worshiped as Lord. He will receive the glory that he once laid aside when men and women who were once his enemies confess him as their Lord and Savior.
Jesus is Lord, the unique One, the Savior of sinners, the Master of his redeemed people, and the One who enjoys the eternal glory that is reserved for him alone.
As you prepare yourself for Easter Sunday, think back over Philippians 2:5-11. Follow the line from the preexistence of Christ in the form of God, his laying aside of his privileges in heaven, his taking on humanity and the role of a servant, his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to his ascension and exaltation as Lord.
Now examine your life before him. Is there the proper confession of Jesus as Lord coming from your mouth that represents the proper place of Jesus’ lordship in your life? “To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:9).
Read Philippians 2:9-11 and John 20:18. What observations and applications do you draw from the lordship of Christ?
– Scott