Christ Jesus, the Lord

Livin Maharaj

A Macedonian call brought Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke to Philippi. There, they preached the gospel, leading to the conversion of Lydia, a merchant. They also cast out a demon from a slave girl, who had been able to tell fortunes because of the demon. Once freed from the demon, she was no longer profitable for her owners. These owners falsely accused Paul and Silas, resulting in their imprisonment. By God’s grace, the jailer was converted that night. The next day, they were released and asked to leave the city. Although Paul and his companions were in Philippi for only a short time, the few converts they made became the founding members of the Philippian church. This year, with God’s help, I plan to preach through this letter Paul wrote to the saints in Philippi.

For today’s sermon, look to the first two verses of this letter.

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this salutation section of the letter, we learn that Paul and Timothy are the co-authors of this letter to the Philippians. In a rare occurrence, Paul refers to himself in his introduction as a servant of Christ. His favorite title is “apostle of Christ.” However, there are three instances where he calls himself the servant of Christ. This is one of those three.

In interpretation, we have a saying, “choice implies meaning.” If an author has a choice between two or more ways of saying something, then his choice implies that he means to say a very particular thing. Because of this principle, commentators have sought to explain why Paul introduces himself as a servant of Christ. In general, there are two suggestions. Some suggest that Paul uses the title to indicate that his role is a continuation of the OT servants of God, such as Moses. Others take an opposite stance and suggest that Paul adopts a humble posture to identify with Jesus’s humility (cf. 2:7; Jesus took the form of a servant). The latter suggestion is more popular. Personally, I am not sure we can easily read Paul’s mind on this matter. Of course, Paul aims to highlight his own position, exalted or humble. Whether Paul aims one way or the other, this is clear: Paul is Jesus’s servant! Jesus is Paul’s lord. He has made that absolutely clear. In these two verses, Jesus is called Lord; Paul and Timothy are Jesus’s servants. My aim for this sermon is to teach us to esteem the lordship of Jesus. To rightly esteem something, we have to evaluate it as thoroughly as possible in the time available. To aid this evaluation, I will progress in three steps in this sermon. First, I will describe why people referred to Jesus as lord during his ministry. Second, I will explain what it means for Jesus to be lord in reference to his session at the right hand of the Father. Third, I will describe what it means to live under the lordship of Jesus, our lord.

 

Jesus as Lord

Jesus was called lord throughout his ministry. The word “lord” is common, but it also has a special meaning depending on the context. For example, the term “lord” (Gk. kyrios) is simply a polite address for a superior. It is like the English word “sir.” We do not use the word sir only for those who the British monarch knights. Just a few days ago, actor Idris Elba was knighted. He can rightly be called Sir Idris Elba. But we do not call a teacher in school “Sir X”; instead, we may say “yes, sir!” or “no, sir!” as a form of polite address, not implying knighthood in any way. The word “lord” had a similar use in the Greek world (see Matt 13:27; 21:30; 27:63; John 4:11). At other times, the word “lord” can simply mean “master” of a slave (Matt 6:24; 21:40).

Yet the word “lord” is also used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT, the translation commonly used in Jesus’s times) as a translation for the Hebrew yhwh. Because the Jewish people would not take the name of God, they would only use the consonants in the scripture so that the name would not be pronounced. Moreover, it was customary for them to pronounce the name as Adonai in Hebrew, which meant Lord—sir. And this word “sir” (lord/kyrios) is the LXX way of calling on the name of God. Thus, for someone in Jesus’s day, the word “lord” could also mean the one who is the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, the almighty God

Now, in the Gospels, Jesus is called lord. Sometimes, depending on the context, it merely means “sir.” Other times, it unmistakably means yhwh. Think about the infancy narratives of Jesus. In Luke 2:11, the angels announced to the shepherds: “To you is born this day a savior (who is Christ, the Lord) in the city of David.” If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, then this verse seems so Christmassy—so tame. To the shepherds, this news was worth checking out. In their day, no human could be a savior. Salvation belongs to the Lord. What does it mean that he was born today? We must see this for ourselves.

In the previous chapter, when Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaims, “How is this happening to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  (Luke 1:43). There can be no other way to explain why Elizabeth would call a yet unborn child “lord” given that he is not royalty, her master’s child, or any such deserving or superior but the God who created and sustains the world.

Finally, consider John the Baptist’s words about Jesus: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” He quotes Isa 40:3. That quote is about God Almighty. Jesus is the one whom he is preparing for. Is the Baptist confused? No. Jesus as lord may be used in some parts of the Gospel as merely a polite address, but in other places it is used to acknowledge his deity.

Jesus Is Lord

The special sense of the word “lord” is not only used to acknowledge his deity, but it is also used to acknowledge him as master or ruler. The session of Jesus is a decisive moment in the redemptive history of salvation. It is not the only decisive moment. The incarnation is decisive. The crucifixion is decisive. The resurrection is decisive. Jesus’s return will be decisive. Yet, the heavenly session is decisive. At some point in redemptive history, after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension, he sat down at the right hand of the Father. This event is called the session of Christ.

Jesus had predicted this event during his lifetime.

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” [Matt 22:41–45]

Jesus quotes Ps 110:1. There is so much that can be said about Ps 110:1. Yet, I will restrict my comment to the fact that the Christ, as Jesus says this psalm is about, will sit at the right hand of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, creator and sustainer. He will sit on this throne until all his enemies are subjected to him. This verse is quoted seventeen times in the New Testament. Jesus quotes it, Peter quotes it in his Pentecost address, Paul quotes it in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians. It shows up in Hebrews six times. If we also take Ps 110:4, it is quoted in John by those asking Jesus a question about how the Christ can die when he is supposed to live forever. It is quoted in Hebrews six times. That makes a total of twenty-one times that this psalm is quoted in the NT. Ps 110 is among the most frequently cited and theologically decisive OT texts in the NT, if not the highest. The identity and the ministry of Christ are central to how the OT and NT connect. Ps 110 is the most crucial junction where the OT and NT connect.

Jesus is David’s son who is seated at the right hand of God. This is a bodily session. The resurrected Jesus is on the throne (see Col 3:1; Heb 12:2). Now, we do not know the exact coordinates of this location. As Christians, we recognize that when we say God’s right hand, we are expressing ourselves biblically and correctly, yet we also understand that we are speaking in human terms and using imagery. Because of this, we do not speculate too much about the place’s specifications, but we focus on the exalted position of Jesus. Jesus, as the Christ, a human figure, has received tremendous authority. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. It is by this authority that he bids the church to take the gospel forth.

I say ‘human figure’ only to stress the fact that we must not think of Jesus as a ghost in heaven but as a resurrected human. That is why he stumped the Pharisees with the question about David’s son as David’s Lord. He asks how a human can be exalted to this tremendous position? I also say ‘human figure’ so that we can understand why Jesus was given authority at a particular time in human history, and it does not imply that Jesus, as God, enjoys omnipotence, sovereignty, etc. These are true of Jesus as Lord. However, the session of Jesus makes Jesus Lord, the messiah-priest-king.

 

Jesus, Our Lord

So we have learned that in the Gospels, Jesus is shown to us to be Lord, the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, God Almighty. Moreover, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and is Lord over everything. These are two different ways that we can describe Jesus with the word “Lord.” Here is where things can get difficult for us. Which of these two meanings does Paul intend when he refers to Jesus as Lord in v. 2? It is not an easy choice. Everything in the description points to the second sense in which he uses the word “Lord” for Jesus. Consider these two reasons. First, he and Timothy are servants of Jesus, the master or ruler, who has all authority to commission them to proclaim the gospel. Second, the terms or names Jesus and Christ refer to the eternal Son, the second person of the Trinity, according to his human nature. Thus, one can say that the term Lord also refers to him according to his human nature. But this would be only half the truth. Paul’s greeting, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” makes the Father and Jesus the source of grace and peace. Peace has been the longing of the OT saints. Only God can bring true peace. By making Jesus the co-source of peace, Paul highlights the divinity of Jesus. Thus, in these two verses, Jesus is called “lord” to mark his divinity explicitly, and he is the “lord” to mark his messianic rule implicitly.

Now that we have understood the meaning of the term “lord” when applied to Jesus—deity and messianic rule—we must ask ourselves what we mean when we believe that Jesus is our lord. This is important because Rom 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” We must confess that Jesus is lord to be saved. Do we, then, confess that Jesus is God or that Jesus is the Davidic-messianic-ruler who sits on the right hand of God to be saved? That is, does our confession lean more toward confessing that Jesus is God or that Jesus is the exalted man? To be clear, Paul does not pose this question, but it is nevertheless a question that may pop into your mind when you read that passage in the future. Once again, our confession of faith contains both aspects. Explicitly, it is without doubt the first option. Jesus is God. I say that because the condition of salvation is two-fold in this verse: confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. That is, the man Jesus is the eternal God. He came in the flesh. He was crucified. He died and was buried. On the third day, God raised him from the dead. The resurrection is usually a metonym for ascension and session as well, leading Christians to the next part of the Christian confession: he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father Almighty; he will come to judge the living and the dead. Thus, we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that Jesus is Lord. We confess his divinity and believe in his present cosmic rule. Both are necessary for salvation. But the second one is implied and, therefore, is only understood as the consequence of the resurrection.

Some of you may say, “I never knew about Jesus’s cosmic rule, his post-ascension session, until today or until much after I believed in Jesus. Was I not saved then on that initial belief in his divinity and resurrection?” Yes, you were. You only learned of the significance of your belief later. You continue to learn of the significance of the “such a great salvation” as you grow in knowledge and understanding. It increases your gratitude and praise toward God for his salvation. Praise be to our God who takes our speck of faith, ill-informed and lacking in clarity, and by grace grants us peace with him.

But now, let us in these last few minutes consider what it means to live under the lordship of Jesus. Since we have a master who has entrusted us with his business and has gone on a journey, how will we live until he returns and demands an account? We must live in a manner that demonstrates our unconditional allegiance to Jesus in all of our lives. Since Jesus is lord, our lord, we must obey him, hope in him, trust him, rejoice in him, stand firm in him, await his return, and live by his grace.

If Jesus is Lord now, seated at the right hand of the Father, then our primary allegiance cannot finally belong to family expectation, cultural tradition, or religious pluralism—but to Christ alone. To confess that Jesus is Lord is not merely to hold a belief about heaven; it is to live as though Christ—not culture, not family pressure, not fear of hurting the sentiments of those of other faiths—is already reigning.

Living under Christ’s lordship means embracing faithfulness in ordinary callings, even when obedience brings no recognition, advancement, or immediate reward. Because Jesus is already enthroned, no act of obedience is insignificant, and no faithfulness is forgotten—even when it is unseen by others.

Thus, whether it is public allegiance—the pressure from outside—or private faithfulness—weariness from within, the lordship of Christ is not abstract theology but a present and governing reality for Christians. We must live in a way that he will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”