Jesus is Lord: What Does This Mean?

The Lord Jesus Christ

The most quoted Old Testament passage in reference to Jesus in the New Testament is Psalm 110:1. It says, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand. Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” Have you thought much about the importance of the truth that Jesus is Lord? The New Testament authors clearly thought much about this and the Holy Spirit inspired them to emphasize it for the church.

So, what does it mean that Jesus is Lord? It means that ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18b). There is nothing that is outside of Jesus’ authority. The title “lord” is similar to “master.” Thus, when the Scriptures declare that Jesus is Lord, they are saying that He is the Master over absolutely everything in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. There is nothing outside of the rule and authority of Jesus the Christ. Jesus is reigning as Lord over all of creation until the last of His enemies are put under His feet. Then all of creation will affirm with bowed knee that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

There are not many truths, if any, that are more important than this. Let us take some time to learn more of this great truth.

All Authority

Before Jesus ascended into heaven and took His rightful seat at the right hand of God. He said to His disciples,

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)

This becomes increasingly clear in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11, bold added)

After the ascension of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit in power on the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaims,

“For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:34-36, bold added)

In fulfillment of Psalm 110:1, Peter tells us that God has made Jesus Lord. This is because of what Jesus did. The second Person of the Trinity took on the likeness of sinful flesh, although He Himself knew no sin, in order to live a perfect and sinless life. In fulfillment of the Scriptures, Jesus willingly chose to lay down His life on the cross under the wrath of God for the sin of the world. Jesus was buried and on the third day He took up His life again. Christ is resurrected from the dead, never to die again. He took up His rightful seat at God the Father’s right hand where He was declared Lord.

What a beautiful picture.

Jesus is not some spoiled child that simply became a Lord because of His right as Son. The eternal Son of God earned what the Father bestowed upon Him with His own life! Jesus shared glory with the Father before the world was made (John 17:5). He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, then took His life back up again in a demonstration of His worthiness. God, the only one with the authority, has made Him Lord. Everything now is being made subject to Jesus’s authority. There is no one or no thing that is outside of His domain.

The Apostle Paul writes about this ongoing process in 1 Corinthians,

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:25-28)

Understanding the gospel includes understanding these things. That the Son has been exalted at the right hand of the Father. The Father now is subjecting all things under the feet of His anointed King, to bring all of creation into conformity with what He has already declared: Jesus is both Lord and Christ. All authority in heaven and earth have been given to Him. His kingdom, glory, power, and dominion will have no end.

How do you respond to this truth?

Every Knee

Let us observe the last half of Psalm 110,

The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head. (Psalm 110:5-7)

When Jesus comes again, He will bring peace to the world. To establish everlasting peace, He first must put every enemy under His feet. He will tread the rebellious nations as a great wine press. The earth will be filled with their blood and the birds of the air will eat their flesh.

After this judgment, when the long awaited Lord Jesus drinks from the brook by the wayside and lifts His head, there will be peace in the land. All of the enmity of man towards God will be put to death. Either it was put to death by Christ’s death, or by man’s own death and eternal destruction.

I implore you to submit to Jesus as Lord now before it is too late. To bow your knee in willing submission as you call upon the name of the Lord unto salvation. For there will be a day when it will be to late. When you die, or when the Lord comes in glory, you will stand before Him and be judged. If you are outside of Jesus Christ’s perfect righteousness then you will perish under the wrath of the Lamb for ever and ever. This is the testimony of Scripture.

The Lord is God

A final aspect of the declaration that “Jesus is Lord” must be briefly addressed. In the context of the New Testament there were two groups of people: Jews and Gentiles.

Both of these groups had a lord.

The Jews had a Lord: YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Gentiles also had a Lord: Caesar. The emperor and king of the Greco-Roman empire.

Both groups would have immediately understood the significance and weight of the gospel declaration that “Jesus is Lord.” This declaration would have been bold. It was dangerous. For some, it was blasphemous. To others, it was treasonous. But to those who are being saved, it was the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

Much of the discussion above focuses on how the Gentiles would have understood this declaration about authority. It would also be true of how the Jews would have received this statement, but with an extra caveat. By declaring the Jesus is Lord, the early church was using terminology from the Hebrew Bible (our “Old Testament”) that designated divinity.

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which was prominent at the time of Jesus and the Apostles), the convention had already begun to be used that the divine name, YHWH, was not used. The substitution for the divine name, to avoid accidental blasphemy, had happened many years prior. The Hebrew word substituted was adonai. The Greek translation of this word is kurios.

In your English Bible, the term LORD (all caps or small caps) is likely used whenever and wherever this substitution has taken place. It shouldn’t be hard to find a verse to see this. It occurs more than 7,000 times in the Old Testament. Some translations have begun putting in the divine name in place of LORD in an attempt to restore the original wording of the original manuscripts in at least some or all of these verses.

New Testament authors refer to Jesus with the same term. This is done purposefully. It is a declaration of Christ’s divinity from the very earliest stages of the history of the church.

It is common to read greetings like this from the Apostle Paul:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:2, bold added)

The implications of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ together as the giver of grace and peace is clear. The Father is God. He gives grace and peace. The Lord Jesus Christ is God. He gives grace and peace. It may not hit us immediately the same way it would have hit them. This language is undeniably declaring that Jesus has the authority of God and is able to bestow grace and peace because of His divine nature.

If that isn’t clear enough, then consider what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; (1 Thessalonians 3:11, bold added)

Our God and Father and Jesus our Lord are both explicitly named. The verb used, “direct our way to you,” is third singular in form. Even though two persons are named, the verb form is not plural. Paul’s Trinitarian understanding of the divinity, unity, and distinction of Person best explains how he uses these words together in this way.

There can be no doubt that the terminology that Jesus is Lord in the Bible is used to convey His authority. There can also be no doubt that this authority transcends all human authority because it also boldly declares the divinity of Christ. As the divine, eternal King, Jesus is Lord of all.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:12-13)

For more content like this, see our articles:

Jesus is Lord: What Does This Mean?

The Lord Jesus Christ

All Authority

Every Knee

The Lord is God

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