What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?

It is without controversy, the Lordship of Christ is ubiquitous throughout the pages of the holy writ. It is quite unfortunate that many out there do not acknowledge his Lordship over their lives, but a time is coming that there will be a universal acknowledgement of the divine sovereignty of Christ which will ultimately redound to the glory of God the father, and this alone brings me peace.

The title "Lord" as applied to Jesus Christ reveals an aspect of his person and work. "Lord" in the Greek is the word, "Kurios", and it means, "Master or one who possesses authority over others". Kurios is a respectful title referred to human leaders, or to God. So the context of it's usage will determine it's meaning. 

For instance, it is written: For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords-- 1 Corinthians 8; 5.

From the text, we can see that Paul tells us that there are many lords, a reference to human leaders which are masters over others.

1 Peter 3: 6

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

Peter by the Spirit, makes it known to us that, Sarah submitted herself to her husband by calling him lord (Kurios). 

Matthew 8:1-2

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

The leper approached Jesus in a respectful manner, not by acknowledging his deity as some people teach, but as one who has power and authority to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases including leprosy.

Luke 9: 59

And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."

Here, Jesus issued a command for the gentleman to follow him, but he replied Lord, let me go and bury my father. He simply called Jesus Master or Sir, a respectful appellation, but he was not referring to him as divine.

After Jesus rose from the dead, the title, "Lord" in reference to Jesus was now an acknowledgement of his divine authority and sovereignty over all creation. When He is called, "Lord", it means He is God, it became more than a reverential title, but was an acknowledgement and declaration of his deity.

After Jesus resurrected from the dead, let us look at Thomas reaction to Jesus: Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"--- John 20; 28

Thomas paid divine obeisance to Jesus by calling him my Lord and my God.

1 Corinthians 12:3

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul stated it clearly, that no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. In other words, no one can say Jesus is God, except by the Holy Spirit. When the church calls Jesus Lord, by such declaration, we mean He is God.

Revelation 17:14

These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

Though there are many lords out there, but Jesus is the true Lord over all other lords, He is supreme and possesses divine authority over them, they are under all his divine sovereignty

Romans 10: 9

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved

We can see that confessing the Lordship of Christ is intimately linked to our salvation. How can we confess him as Lord, if we do not yield our entire lives to him? Jesus said: "Why do you call Me, ''Lord, Lord,'' and do not do what I say? (Luke 6; 46). For Jesus to be Lord over our lives means that, He is in charge, He tells us what to do and what not to do, it means we are to yield ourselves to him as his humble servants.

Philippians 2: 9-11

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From the passage, we can see that a time is coming that all angels, whether good or evil, and all believers and unbelievers, we shall all pay divine homage to Jesus, and shall confess him as Lord. This will be a universal acknowledgement of his supreme power and authority over every creature. By calling him Lord on that day, we are saying that there is no power or authority that can stand before him, there is none that can be compared to him, we are in effect declaring his deity. God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

How can we confess him as Lord, if we do not yield our entire lives to him?

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