Lordship

QUESTION: Lordship - Why is Jesus called Lord? How does His Lordship relate to me?

ANSWER:

The term Lord is defined as, "A man of renowned power or authority." Jesus is Lord over all creation. Jesus has the ultimate authority; it is for this reason He is referred to as the Lord. During His ministry on this planet He had authority over sickness, He calmed an entire storm, He had power over animals, He had power over the molecular structure of the universe, demons trembled in fear of His power, and He even conquered death on several occasions. He came from heaven to Earth, and conquered the things of the Earth. He is the Lord, as His authority over nature is absolute. But it is His authority over us that we must be concerned with.

In this dark world, many of us are lost and suffering. Today we are bombarded with comments about how prosperous we are today. Most of us have homes, transportation, good health, nice clothes, education, and an abundance of entertainment. We lack major warfare in the western world, and we don't have to die for our beliefs. But the truth is, today we can have all of those things and still be unfulfilled. We can be affected by and maybe even addicted to drugs, alcohol, and sexual immorality. Suicide is increasing drastically, and depression is all too common. Material possessions are wonderful, but we don't know what we're supposed to be living for; what is a lost generation supposed to die for in a lost world?

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).

We have something to live for. The Bible tells us we need to give our lives completely over to Christ. Jesus is Lord and this gives us focus in our lives. As Rick Warren points out, when something is focused it's more efficient. For example, when light is unfocused it is not powerful, however when a magnifying glass focuses the light, it is more powerful, and when it is focused in a laser beam it becomes all the more efficient. God cares for humanity; it is for this reason He gives us commandments and when we accept Jesus as Lord, we abide by them and our lives improve.

There is another aspect of Christ's authority that pertains to our lives. His greatest authority is the authority He has to forgive sins. He is unique in His qualifications to be called the Lord, as no one else is able to forgive sins. No other major religion has a divine savior. And one day we will stand before the throne, and be judged for our actions. Jesus is unique again, as He is faultless. And if we have accepted that Jesus is Lord, we too can stand faultless before the throne, despite our sinful nature.

Jesus is the Lord because He is matchless in His accomplishments. Jesus Himself made His identity clear, so unless He was a lunatic, He was Lord over all. You must decide; there is no middle ground. He could not have been just a great man, He must either be Lord in your life or nothing.