J e s u s, LORD
W E D N E S D A Y 4 | 1 0 | 1 9
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Over and over throughout the Old Testament, the Lord, the great I AM, revealed his power to destroy, his power to save, and his authority over rulers and dominions. Lordship has everything to do with power and authority.
In John chapter 1, John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1: 1, 14). John draws from Genesis 1:1, which his present-day readers would have known well: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John’s point is not only that Jesus is God in the flesh, but that he has power and authority.
Jesus Christ in the New Testament is the full, in-the-flesh revelation of the God of the Old Testament. As Paul writes in Colossians: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:15-20).
Jesus Christ demonstrated his power and authority on earth through many signs and miracles, including his death and resurrection, but he continues demonstrating his power and authority on earth through his Church, his people. Only Jesus has the power to reconcile what is irreconcilable. It is because of His power to reconcile us to God and man that we also submit to his authority and obey His commands.
Just hours before being betrayed, Christ said to his disciples: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love…You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:10, 14). The love between the Father and the Son was perfected through the Son’s obedience to the Father, which came at the cost of an excruciatingly painful death. This obedience has brought us peace and reconciliation.
Therefore all who follow him, all who claim to love Him, must also obey Him in the same way. It’s not enough to accept Jesus as only Savior. We must submit to Him as Lord, as the One who has authority and power over all things. For “on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16), and only those who faithfully submit to Jesus Christ as Lord can say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).