The Lordship, pre-eminence and dominion of Christ.
What do we mean when talk of Jesus as Lord? What does being Lord mean? What are its implications for us in our lives as a whole and in our daily living? This subject is so vast that my own meagre efforts pale into insignificance and we must this night rely solely on the hand of God to illuminate this great theme. We must therefore turn to scripture. What is Lord? Listen then to Paul's words to the Church at Phillipi. Let us savour them. They speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in hearing them and by the grace of the spirit taking them into our very souls we shall grow wise:
"He always had the nature of God,
but he did not think that by force
he should try to become equal with God.
Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had
and took the nature of a servant.
He became like a man
and appeared in human likeness.
He was humble and walked the path
of obedience all the way to death -
his death on the cross.
For this reason God raised him to the
highest place above
and gave him the name that is greater
than any other name.
And so in honour of the name of Jesus
all beings in heaven, on earth, and
in the world below
will fall on their knees,
and all will openly proclaim
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father."
Doesn't that really say it all? Isn't it better than any dictionary definition? What does being Lord mean, well in terms of Jesus we can find no other more powerful image than Paul's: "all beings in heaven, on earth and in the world below, will fall on their knees and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord."
There is no one who will not bow and acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. Not the devil, not the angels, not us - no one now in the future or in the past. His authority is universal. That means totally, completely for all time and eternity. Paul in talking of Christ in Ephesians 1v21 writes, "Christ rules there (that is in heaven) above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next." Do you see clearly what this means? When we talk so loosely of the Lord Jesus, we are in fact talking of the one who had universal authority and Lordship. We are talking of him through whom all things were created.
And that Lordship, that authority is being worked out in our lives. Christ watches over us and guides us and sustains us in this present age. As Peter put it in his first letter as he quotes from Psalm 34, "The Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their prayers, but he opposes those who do evil."
He is Lord over everything over nature - do we not recall how he walked on water and how he stilled the stormy sea - He is Lord over our lives as well. We are according to Peter "to have reverence for Christ in our hearts and honour him in our hearts."
This is no distant Lord. Not some far off ruler. When we say he is Lord of all we mean that quite literally. He is Lord of everything. Lord of our every thought. Our very speech. His Lordship is of our souls. From this kind of authority and Lordship there is no escape. it has been said and said quite clearly that there just two kinds of people in the world - those who are following Jesus and working for his kingdom and those who follow the devil. The choice has always been as simple as it was back in the garden of Eden. Follow God or listen to the whispering of evil in your ears and go Satan's way. As Paul says in Romans 14, "For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and the dead." And let me share with you a quote from a book I was reading. It comes under the heading "pervasive authority".
"Both the Church and the individual believer live "in", and "under" and "through" the Lord. These recurring prepositions in reference to one's relationship to the Lord remind us that it is only by the presence and power of Jesus, who is Lord that present and future victories are made possible. The very fact of our existence is determined by the reality of Jesus as Lord. The New Testament speaks of a coming day of the Lord. Jesus will appear again and then his ultimate lordship over all creation will be demonstrated."
And the present situation in the church in Scotland and the U.K. and indeed the situation in our world must not delude us into thinking that in some way Jesus is not Lord and is somehow powerless. Rather we are being left to a very large extent to our own devices as a consequence of our sin. And as the world grinds its weary way towards its end we are each one of us in each generation faced with the freedom to choose Jesus or not. But never doubt for one minute that Jesus is the sovereign Lord and that his authority is universal, personal and pervasive.
For us it means keeping our eyes, our minds and our whole being firmly fixed on the things of God. We are to be constantly on guard against the usurper that is the devil. Peter addresses the problem in 1st Peter:
"Be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy, the Devil , roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him..."
You see, if we are not constantly focusing our minds on Jesus then the Devil will be lurking there with his legions of cohorts, whispering in our ears and taking us away from the Lord, fooling us, confusing us and desperately trying to keep our eyes away from the things of God. But victory is ours. The Devil has been defeated and as children of God we can resist and win. The victory has already been won by Jesus, but in this present day and dispensation he still has free reign in the world - just as the Lord made plain. If our minds are not fixed on Jesus then the Devil moves in and has a field day in our lives. And even when we do keep our minds on Jesus the devil still conducts a whispering campaign against us in our hearts and minds. That is why Peter commands us to be alert. It is why he likens the devil to a roaring lion roaming round us at all times waiting for his chance to devour us. God forbid that we should fall prey to him.
And that is where we can take courage from our knowledge of the absolute power and authority and victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can claim that power and in his name cast out the devil whenever he comes roaring into our lives. We need to be aware of Jesus. Of his Majesty and glory and power. This is our Lord the almighty one - and in him we move and have our being. He knows us. He knows our name. He cares for us. What a mind numbing truth that is.