Jesus is Lord
As we move from the Christmas season and into the New Year, the familiar words of Luke 2:11 may still be fresh on your mind. The verse reads, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” As 2023 begins, I wonder who will be lord of your life in the coming months. When the angel announced the birth of Jesus, he was called Christ the Lord. Many people call Jesus their Lord, but fail to live as if he is actually the one ruling their hearts and lives. So often, our language is flippant and reckless; we say one thing, meaning another. We boldly claim that we are going to obey God, and yet blatantly disobey His word. “Lord” is a word that is often thrown around in Christian circles with little regard for its actual meaning. If we are going to claim Jesus as Lord of our lives, we need to be sure that we are using the word accurately.
In Luke 2:11, Lord is a translation of the Greek word kurios. As with most words, kurios has a semantic range of meanings, and can be used in various ways in different contexts. Kurios is sometimes used as a term of respect, a way to show honor and reverence. Kurios can also mean, “One who has control of another person” and as “The title given to God, the Messiah.” In the context of Luke 2:11, the word is used to describe the dignity and authority of Jesus. When we claim that Jesus is Lord of our lives, we are saying that He is our absolute authority and has the right to direct our paths. While we may claim Jesus is our God and Lord, we must make certain that He truly is the one ruling our hearts and the One we are actually serving. Let’s consider three other significant places in Scripture where the word kurios appears, and verify that we are actually submitting to Jesus’s authority. I have labeled each with a descriptor to indicate the type of person using Lord in each of the passages.
The Unbeliever
There are some people using the word “Lord” who are actually trusting in their own works of righteousness for redemption rather than genuine faith in Christ. Many religious, highly moral, and socially active individuals call Jesus “Lord” but lack an actual relationship with Him. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Notice the double usage of kurios. In verse 22, Jesus explains that there will be those who claim to have performed many good works in His name. Jesus warned, “Many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’” Once again, the word kurios is used twice. These individuals were busy doing many wonderful acts in the name of the Lord. They were busy prophesying, exorcizing, and doing magnificent works, all the while claiming to be subservient to the Lord. Although they claimed to be genuine disciples of Christ, and wholeheartedly believed that they were, Jesus rejected them, saying, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (v. 23). Jesus’s rebuke includes some of the most soul-crushing words anyone could ever hear. Years spent in service, claiming to have a personal relationship with Christ, only to hear that the Lord never actually knew them. While they fully expected to spend eternity in God’s presence, their false hope placed them on the broad and well-populated path leading to destruction.
On a regular basis, I receive emails and phone calls from people using my first name as if they are old friends. Some of these callers sound very convincing; the first lines of their emails make it sound as if we have spoken many times, and that we have built some type of close friendship. But in reality, they are salespeople who know nothing about me. They are simply claiming my name to get access to me in hopes that I will purchase their product or give the opportunity to speak in our church. What those were doing in Jesus’s illustration was far worse than someone banking on securing a sale or speaking engagement by claiming my name. The religious ones in Matthew 7 were counting on an eternity in Heaven because of their claim to know Jesus. Sadly, their religious and moral actions were useless when it came to entering God’s kingdom. They lacked a genuine relationship with Jesus; therefore, He rejected them because He never actually knew them. What a sad testimony. Lacking salvific faith in Christ, these religiously active people were unredeemed and destined for an eternity separated from God. Although they passionately used the name “Lord,” Jesus was not their master, and they were not actually part of God’s family.
The Believer
One of my favorite accounts in Scripture is found in the twentieth chapter of John’s gospel, and it is another pivotal moment where we find the word kurios. Following the resurrection of Jesus, He appeared to His disciples to substantiate that He was risen and to instruct them on their future responsibilities. One evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were gathered behind locked doors out of fear of the Jews. With the doors secured, Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst and spoke with them. To verify that it was Him, He showed them His pierced hands and side. Thomas, who was one of the twelve, was not present when Jesus appeared. In exuberant joy over what they had experienced, the other disciples told Thomas what had taken place. They had seen the risen Lord, and expected that Thomas would share in the faith and exuberance. Thomas, however, was not easily convinced, and did not believe what the other disciples claimed to have seen. In John 20:25 Thomas declared, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Forever known as “Doubting Thomas,” he wanted more than the accounts of his friends; he demanded visible proof of his own that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.
Eight days later, the disciples were once again hiding with the doors locked. This time, Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut tightly, Jesus once again appeared and joined their company. Aware of Thomas’s doubt, Jesus invited him to touch His hands and side, and invited Thomas to believe that He was alive and that He was the Savior of the world as He claimed. In verse 28, Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God!” What a powerful declaration of Thomas’s faith and trust in Jesus. He proclaimed Jesus to be his Kurios and his Theos. At this moment, Thomas’s doubt what changed into living and saving faith. Jesus responded to Thomas, and said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v. 29). Unlike those who trust in their works of righteousness, Thomas recognized his sinfulness, and fully submitted himself to the authority of Jesus. Because of Thomas’s faith, Jesus saved him from his sin, promising that those who believe in Him for redemption without physically laying eyes on Him are blessed. Faith comes from hearing the word of God and responding to God’s truth by proclaiming Jesus to be our personal Lord and God.
The servant
The final usage of kurios that I want to consider is found in Philippians 3:8. In verses 3-4 Paul reminded Christians that we are to resist putting our confidence in the flesh. Paul then uses his own pedigree as an example, arguing that if anyone had the right to have confidence in the flesh it was him. This argument leads Paul into his personal testimony, found in verses 4-6, where he presents his impeccable orthodox Jewish ancestry. He also discusses his outstanding achievements in the religious and moral sphere in order to demonstrate that he understood what confidence in the flesh looks like. Paul had traveled the road of external confidence, and he learned that it is a dead end. He argued that trusting in the flesh cannot offer either life or intimate fellowship with Christ, describing why there is no future in trusting in the flesh. Before his salvation, Paul lived as a religious, law-abiding Jew of superior quality. Despite his religion, he lacked a relationship with Christ. Paul was a model Jew. No one could question his sincerity or devotion to Judaism. If anyone could have earned their way to heaven through good works, religion, and high standards of morality, it was Paul. His impressive credentials and earnest efforts, however, were insufficient when it came to entering God’s kingdom. Although deeply religious and sincere, he lacked Christ. Paul’s salvation was secured through faith in Christ when Jesus confronted him in the book of Acts, not in his circumcision and other works of the flesh.
In verse 8, Paul writes that the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ is far superior to all of his religious accomplishments, family heritage, and high standards. The former things in Paul’s life, those activities prior to faith in Christ, amounted to nothing but rubbish to him when compared to the glories of knowing Jesus. His fleshly works were street refuse in comparison to knowing Christ. Rubbish in the ESV or dung in the KJV is a crass word translated from the Greek word skubalon meaning, “Any refuse, as the excrement of animals, of things worthless and detestable.” The word refers to anything that belongs in a sewer. Paul considered his former religiosity as foul smelling street garbage, filth that is only fit for dogs. He counted the previous things of his religious life to be dung so that he may win and gain Christ. Paul sustained the loss of everything that he had trusted, but he had no regrets because Christ was far superior to an empty religion that had no hope of gaining him access to God’s glorious kingdom. In Philippians 3:8, Paul boldly declares, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” His impeccable family heritage, along with all of his amazing accomplishments, paled in comparison to having Christ as his kurios.
Once Paul surrendered his life to Christ, he invested all of his talents to serve his Lord. In Luke’s gospel, we find Jesus’s probing question, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). It is understandable that unbelievers would cry Kurios, Kurios and not obey Jesus’s commandments. But for a blood-bought Christian to claim Jesus as Lord, and still live in absolute contradiction to their assertion is unthinkable. If you call Jesus “Lord,” obey Him and His commandments. If you claim Jesus as Lord, but you have never repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, you are taking the name Lord in vain. If you lack genuine faith in Jesus, you must first believe in His finished work on the cross rather than your religion, family heritage, or good works to gain the privilege of calling Jesus “Lord.” The Bible promises that all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Once you have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, you have the opportunity to genuinely call Jesus the Lord of your life and the privilege of serving Him. As Paul proclaimed in Philippians 3:8, there is nothing in this world more glorious than having Jesus as our Lord.