2006-07-18 - The Lord Jesus Christ

Part 1

Acts 16:31 - And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

We seem to have muddied the waters over the years on Jesus' name. Lord Jesus Christ is not his name. Mary and Joseph were not the Christ family. His name is Jesus - just Jesus. Technically, his name was Yeshua in Hebrew, which translates into English most of the time as Joshua. But the New Testament was written in Greek and translators long ago decided not to translate his name from the Greek manuscripts and so his name stands today as Jesus. The words Lord and Christ are titles bestowed on Jesus that speak of his roles in the lives of those who truly follow him.

Kurios is the Greek form of Lord. This word was used for the authority figure over another person. It has been translated not just as lord but also as master and even owner. So when we say Lord Jesus we are submitting to him. We are acknowledging him as our ruler and owner. It is not just a name. We cannot call him Lord then make demands of him no more than a peasant could make demands of a king in feudal times. Lord is not a "give to me" title; it is an "it is all yours" title. We must believe that Jesus is our Lord and we must act like it. As I've heard many preachers say, "Jesus is either Lord of all or he's not lord at all."

Oh but what joy there is in having Jesus as master. From the same root as kurios comes the Greek word kuriotes meaning dominion or lordship. Just feast your eyes on these verses to see when Jesus has dominion over our lives what does not have power over it.

Romans 6:9 - Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

And just how is it that Jesus can take over from these things? The Bible clearly tells that Jesus defeated sin and death. He conquered the lure of sin and he mastered death for all eternity on that first Easter morn. He is the Lord of lords. He is over all the things that can be over us. He reigns supreme over it all. Every disease, every addiction, every sin, and every sorrow - he rules them all. When Jesus is in charge of us, death is not. When Jesus reigns in our lives, sin does not. So now you have to ask yourself do you want your life or any part of it to be ruled by sin or by death?

For him to be Lord there must be a commitment of your self to him - your whole self. Believing him to be Lord has two sides. To commit wholly to one thing means uncommitting from everything else. Jesus himself said, "No man can serve two masters." You cannot turn to the right without turning away from the left. Turning halfway to both sides is just continuing down the same path you're already on.

Is Jesus Lord? Do you submit completely to him?

Next week, we'll consider Jesus' "other name". Until then...

IHFHBOH
Adam

adam@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org

All scripture references from KJV unless otherwise noted