I believe the goal of preaching should always be to preach Jesus so that a decision will be made by one to come to Him, or another to stay in Him! If we don't preach Jesus in a sermon, it's not the gospel. Today many people are experiencing a deep desire to know Jesus Christ in a more personal and fulfilling way. Therefore, we are beginning our Preaching Jesus Series. In this exciting series, we will help you prepare to effectively preach Jesus by reviewing some of His names, His life, history and various other aspects of who He is. It is so important that we as ministers of the gospel have a thorough understanding of Jesus and the atoning work He has done on behalf of the world. Therefore, for convenience, we will create bulleted points to help you as we journey to learn more about our Savior, His name, life and work. Please know that none of the information these articles presented in this series are intended to be exhaustive. We are providing a very general framework for your ease of use and learning. So, let's get started!
Part II: Calling and Knowing Jesus as Lord (Luke 2:11, Acts 2:36, Romans 10:9)
- The title of Jesus as "Lord," was emphasized at HIs birth in Luke 2:11. The name became more commony used in the book of Acts.
- The Apostle Luke used the name Lord when he was writing the history of the church, possibly out of reverance, being that the name of Jesus was so common among the people..
- One of the advantages of the title Lord, is that it promotes the existence of relationship. In other words, if Jesus is considered to be Lord, He has to be Lord over someone or something.
- Jesus, by nature is "the Lord" because he has had dominion before the foundations or the seen or unseen world. Therefore, He is Lord, whether He is accepted or not (Philippians 2:11).
- When Christians pray, our posture should be one that recognizes Jesus as Lord. We humbly submit, accept and appreciate His dominion over our lives and the earth. The bowing of one's head, or getting on the knees is symbolic of the understanding of offering allegiance and submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
- The Greek work kurios is used in reference to "Lord" in the New Testament.
- According to Dr. Elmer Towns, the translation of Hebrew titles Jehovah, Adonai, and Elohim by the Greek word kurios (Lord) emphasizes that these titles of God in the Old Testament are also to be included in the names of Jesus. The use of the word kurios in this way recognizes that several rights belong to Jesus. Some of which are the right to respect, the right to be served, the right of disposal, and the right to rule and hold authroity over others.
- There should be a shifting from knowing Jesus as Master to knowing Him as "Lord." All of the disciples had come to recognize Jesus as Lord, except for Judas. He called Jesus Master. (Matt. 26:25)
- The name or office of "Lord" is the most frequently used name for Jesus in the book of Acts.
- The name Lord was used by God for Jesus during the ressurection (Philippians 2:9-11). After the resurrection of Jesus, the lordship of Christ was more often recognized.
**The above article is based upon personal research with ephasis based upon the text, "The Names of Jesus" by Dr. Elmer Towns. No part of the "The Names of Jesus" text has been reproduced or republished by the PreachingWoman.com organization. However, we do credit Dr. Elmer Towns for the initial research and information that inspired this article.