What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?
The title "Lord" is not a polite label attached to Jesus' name; it is the place God Himself gave Him after the cross, and the New Testament makes confessing it the mark of a saved person. Two questions sit underneath it: what does the word claim about who Jesus is, and what does it claim over the person who says it?
The Title God Gave Him
The pattern for this title appears long before the New Testament, in Joseph, the Hebrew slave whom Pharaoh set over all Egypt. One writer draws the two halves of Christ's lordship out of that story.
F. B. HoleJoseph acknowledged that it was God who had made him "lord of all his house," and "lord of all Egypt." … This is the first time we read of anyone being made "lord." So here we have a picture of Jesus being made "Lord," as Peter announced in Acts 2:36. As lord of all Egypt Joseph had all power given to him, and he used that power to promote what was good. So the Lordship of Jesus involves, first, His absolute dominion, and second, His benevolent rule.
Why the Word Carries Divine Weight
In the Old Testament, "LORD" printed in capitals stands for Jehovah, the personal name of God. So the title given to the exalted Man is not borrowed from human rank.
The Bible TreasuryHis Lordship is given to Him as Jesus, a Man, though it means Jehovah. The title is conferred because He is Jehovah. … Jesus is the name; Christ is the title, and means Anointed. Jesus means Jehovah-Saviour.
Confession That Saves
Romans 10:9 ties salvation to saying this out loud. What is being said is not a compliment but a surrender.
J. T. MawsonWhat does the title mean? It means His authority, His absolute rights over us; He is sovereign Lord. And we are not faithful to the flag if we are not owning that and living it out. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." That means open and definite subjection to His will, and rallying to the flag. It is what Saul of Tarsus did when he cried, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" But who would not be subject to Him whose love for us surpasses all our knowledge, and whose will and way for us is our greatest blessing?
No One Says It on Their Own
Paul writes that no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. That sounds strange, since the words are easy to pronounce — which is exactly the point.
J. A. TrenchBut you say, "we constantly say that Jesus is the Lord; why, we are always talking about 'the Lord Jesus Christ.'" That is just what I want to call your attention to. We do not enter into the solemn truth we are uttering when we say "our Lord Jesus." … The flesh rebels against His Lordship over us. We have hearts that are not willingly subject to His authority. We are fonder of choosing our own path than of walking in the one He has marked out for us.
The same verse was given to the church at Corinth as a working test, because voices claiming to speak from God were not all from God.
F. B. HoleThe confession of Jesus as LORD is the test. Many testimonies could be given, proving that this test always works. It works without fail. In modern spiritist séances demons will often say things that seem high-minded and beautiful, but they will never acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
Obedience, Not Vocabulary
Jesus warned that not everyone who calls Him "Lord, Lord" enters the kingdom. So the confession is measured by the life, not by the repetition.
J. A. TrenchOften to take the name "Lord" upon our lips is nothing, but to yield ourselves in everything to be subject to His will, as revealed in His Word — this is indeed to acknowledge that He is Lord. … I would not use that word as if it were bondage to obey Jesus — God forbid. … He does not want the cold service of the apprentice or the slave. He wants the loving heart-service of His chosen friends.
Willingly Now, or Compelled Later
Philippians 2 says every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Nobody escapes the confession; the only variable is when, and under what terms.
A. J. PollockAll have to bow to the crucified One, all have to confess Him Lord, but it is sad when they are "compelled by might" to do this before the judgment throne in the day to come, instead of being "drawn by mercy" for eternal blessing in this day of grace.
Summary
- Given — God made the crucified Jesus both Lord and Christ; the title is conferred on Him as Man, yet it belongs to Him because He is Jehovah.
- Governing — Lordship means absolute dominion joined to benevolent rule: all power in His hands, used for good.
- Confessed — Saying "Jesus is Lord" with the mouth, alongside faith in His resurrection, is how God links salvation to open subjection to His will.
- Given by the Spirit — The words cost nothing to pronounce, so the real confession is only ever produced by the Holy Spirit; the natural heart resists His authority, and hostile spirits will not make it.
- Guaranteed — Every knee will bow. Do it now, drawn by mercy, or do it later, compelled by might.