Jesus is both Lord and Christ

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36) This was Peter’s concluding sentence from his first gospel message to the Jews in the Acts of the Apostles. The Jews rejected Jesus and nailed Him on the Cross to die. But God raised Him from the dead and established Him as the Lord of all creation and the Saviour of mankind. The affirmation of the dual role of Jesus Christ began with His fulfillment of the salvation of the Cross. He is the “Saviour” and the “Lord of all creation”. The tenor of Peter’s last sermon to the gentiles in Acts also focused on the two supreme roles of Jesus as “Lord” and “Saviour”. “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all… He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." (Acts 10:36, 42-43)

Most people willingly accept Jesus as Saviour, because they recognize their own needs and yearn for the grace of salvation bestowed by God. But believing in Christ means not just accepting Him as Saviour, but also acknowledging Him as the new master and Lord. This is a transfer of authority. Most Christians, and even some preachers, will only deliver the message of Jesus as Saviour when they are sharing the Gospel, and fail to clarify that Jesus is Lord. This may be due to time constraints when preaching, or concern that the listener will find it hard to accept. It is easier for us to urge people to accept grace, but much harder to surrender authority to God. Not only should we let people know when preaching the Gospel that God has prepared the grace of salvation for those who will perish, so that sinners will have life through faith, but we should also proclaim God’s authority in Satan’s domain, and declare to the world that God has established Jesus as Lord and Christ. This is the earliest proclamation in the Gospels: “the Kingdom of Heaven is near”. (Matthew 3:2). Jesus is the ruler of the Heavenly Kingdom. He possesses all authority. After Jesus was resurrected from the dead and before He announced the commission of the Heavenly Kingdom, He again declared His absolute authority: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

Many people neglect to implement the important truth that “Jesus is Lord”, so that despite being a believer for many years, they remain at the initial stage of just receiving salvation without further advancement in their spiritual journey. If we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, we should surrender authority over our lives completely to Him. The life lesson to be learned by disciples is to have Jesus as Lord, and to deliver authority over their own lives and control over their own bodies willing to God, so that God will have more people on earth who resemble His son Jesus Christ to manifest His will and glory.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Our lives being lived to the full because of Jesus means that Christians should manifest the life of the Son of God on earth even more. (1 John 5:20) In the same way that Jesus submitted to the will of the Heavenly Father on earth and deferred to God’s authority, we should also submit to the will of Jesus and defer to His authority. The Lord that gives us breath and eternal life commands all the universe and everything in the spiritual realm. He also commands our lives. Praise and thanks be to God!

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

By: Daniel To