Jesus Is Lord

Focus Statement

To confess that Jesus is Lord is to give the final word

NOT to fear, power, ego, empire, or even our own certainty,

BUT to the crucified and risen Christ

who interrupts, reorders, and remakes us in the shape of his humble love.

Point of Relation

Every pastor, at some point, has to answer the question: what do we mean when we say, “Jesus is Lord”?

Not repeat it. Not assume it. Actually answer it.

Because “Jesus is Lord” may be one of the oldest confessions of the Christian faith,

but familiar words can start to sound simpler than they are.

A simple answer like, “It means Jesus is God,”

may be true, but it is not enough.

Lordship has to do with

trust,

allegiance,

authority,

and surrender.

It asks who gets the final word in our lives.

And Paul is one of our most important witnesses,

because Paul did not come to “Jesus is Lord” as an abstract idea.

He came to it as someone whose whole life

had to be interrupted, reordered, and remade.

Things to Consider

Before we hear Paul’s words as poetry, we need to remember the stakes.

“Jesus is Lord” was not a harmless religious phrase in Paul’s world.

Lordship language already belonged to

Caesar, empire, public loyalty, and social power.

So when Paul gives that title to Jesus,

he is not simply saying something private about personal faith.

He is showing us what true lordship looks like

when every other power is already making its claim.

What Scripture Says

Paul writes that Jesus, “though he was God,”

did not cling to equality with God.

Instead, Christ emptied himself,

took the form of a servant,

humbled himself,

and became obedient to death,

even death on a cross.

That matters because Paul is writing in a world

where lordship usually looked nothing like that.

In fact, we MUST understand that in Paul’s world…Caesar was called lord, savior, son of god, and bringer of peace.

In fact, we must understand that in Paul’s world,

Caesar was hailed as lord, savior, son of god, and bringer of peace.

Rome attached those titles to imperial power,

and Caesar did not share ultimate allegiance with anyone.

Rome announced Caesar’s victories as good news.

The empire taught people that peace came through

conquest, order, strength, and control.

So when Paul says God exalted Jesus

and gave him the name above every name,

he is making a claim with public stakes.

The crucified Jesus outranks every power that claims our allegiance.

JESUS OUTRANKS EVERY GOVERNMENT AND EVERY LEADERS.

JESUS IS LORD.

But Paul also shows us what kind of Lord Jesus is.

Jesus does not grasp for power.

He pours himself out.

Jesus does not crush his enemies.

He takes the form of a servant.

Jesus does not save through domination.

He saves through humility, obedience, suffering,

and love strong enough to enter death.

Then God exalts him.

Not because Jesus plays Caesar’s game better than Caesar,

but because the cross reveals the character of God.

True lordship looks like self-emptying love.

So when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord,

Paul is announcing that

EVERY rival lord, king, dictator, president or supreme leader

has already been judged by the crucified and risen Christ.

Romans says that if we confess with our mouths

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead,

we will be saved.

But Paul immediately widens the circle:

there is no distinction.

The same Lord is Lord of all,

and EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The Lord who emptied himself is Lord of all.

And that means his lordship does not protect our pride,

baptize our favorite powers,

or let us decide who is worthy of mercy.

What This Means for You

If Jesus is Lord, something else is not.

Fear is not Lord.

Shame is not Lord.

Your past is not Lord.

Other people’s approval is not Lord.

Even your certainty is not Lord.

Paul knew certainty.

He thought he was defending God

until Jesus interrupted him and remade him.

So when you confess, “Jesus is Lord,”

you are telling every false lord within you:

you do not get the final word anymore.

What This Means for Us

Friends,

If Jesus is Lord,

the church cannot be ruled by

fear,

nostalgia,

money,

comfort,

politics,

or survival.

We must look like the Lord we confess:

humble, merciful, courageous, and reordered by love.

Jesus is Lord.

Amen? Amen.

Written by Rev. Todd R. Lattig with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI).