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The Exalted Position of our Lord
I praise the Lord again for the opportunity to come into your home with these messages on the subject, Christ is Lord of all.Listen as we go into this fourth message. To me it is refreshing in this dark day of sin in which we live to read in the Holy Scriptures of the exalted position that our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has as the eternal Son of God and as the Son of Man for He is Lord of all. Why do I make this statement? Because we are living in a day when our Blessed Lord Jesus is humanized, laughed at, ridiculed, made fun of, and is set forth from the average pulpit as a defeated Savior who has done all He can do to save poor sinners, but now must wait until they get ready to accept Him, for He cannot and must not cross the sinner’s puny little will.
But when you turn to Philippians 2:9-11, you read about, not a defeated Savior, but a living Lord who has been given a name which is above every name and one who has authority, all authority, all power, in heaven and in earth. There we read that “God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:” and “that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And dear friend, this bowing will be done in time, to the praise of glory of His grace; or at the great white throne judgment, to the praise of the glory of His justice.
Neither does1 Peter 3:22 picture our blessed Lord Jesus as a mere man who can be treated as one pleases and who comes at the beck and call of any sinner. We read that “By his resurrection, Jesus Christ has gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” You see, dear friend, Christ bows to no man’s authority; all bow to His authority. Christ bows to no man’s terms; all bow to His terms, which is complete, willing obedience to His Lordship.
In Revelation 17:14 we read that “the Lamb will overcome those who make war with him, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings.” He rules in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand for He is Lord of all (Dan 4:35). By Him, by our blessed Lord Jesus, the kings of the earth reign and princes decree justice. Their hearts are in His hand, and He can turn them withersoever He pleaseth as the rivers of water (Pro 21:1).
Also Revelation 19:6 pictures our Lord Jesus the Lamb, as the “Lord God omnipotent” who rules and reigns over all the earth and heaven and also hell is under His authority. Revelation 19:16 says that “On his vesture and on his thigh is written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” for He is the all powerful One before whom all the universe shall fall. He is no sissy man in whose face you can spit and laugh, but He is the One out of whose “mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev 19:15) as He brings all His enemies down at His feet as His footstool (1Co 15:24-26).
Let us go further. The Book of Revelation pictures our blessed Lord Jesus, not as defeated Savior who has no power over anyone, but as the “Lord God almighty, whose judgments are true and righteous altogether” (Rev 19:2). He is pictured as the conquering Lord who puts down all rebellion, who judges all ungodliness and unrighteousness, who brings all sin into judgment, who passes the death sentence in the lake of fire upon all who die unrepentant and who do not bow to His authority as Lord while yet in this body. He is pictured as the Lamb whose great wrath is come and there is none who is able to stand before Him. He is pictured as the King of Saints, but also the Judge of the ungodly; the Beloved of His people, but also the Avenger of God’s holiness to those who die in their sins. He is pictured as the Faithful and True Witness, both in grace to His people and in judgment to His enemies. He is pictured as the Lord before whom the inhabitants of heaven bow in grace and praise, and before whom the inhabitants of hell bow in judgment and blasphemy.
Oh, what a Lord is Jesus of Nazareth the Christ of God before whom all in heaven, in hell and upon earth shall fall and confess His Lordship. My dear friend, have you ever bowed your will, your affection, your knees, to Him who is Lord of all? Dear friend, let me tell you in love, you will
either bow to His Lordship here upon this earth while yet there is time for repentance and faith and find grace in His eyes, or you will bow to Him at the great white throne judgment where there will be no mercy, nothing but awful words “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:23), and then be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death which is eternal punishment (Rev 21:8).
Oh, dear friend, why don’t you bow to His Lordship now? Why don’t you seek for mercy now? Why don’t you look to Christ now for His grace? Soon it will be too late.
Listen as we go further in our study! Romans 14:6 declares Christ Jesus to be “Lord both of the dead and the living.” He is the Lord of the dead, for “with Him are the souls of the departed.” As Revelations 1:18 declares, He has the “keys of hell and of death.” He has the keys of the dead’s respective habitation and knows them all by name, and though nothing but dust remains of their bodies, He has laid it all up securely against the morning of the resurrection, when He will bring them up to be judged.
Hundreds of millions upon millions have died since Adam, dead indeed as to their bodies, but alive as to their souls, more alive, in truth, than they ever were upon earth: and all gathered in some mysterious world under the universal Lordship of Christ. Blessed are those who have died in the Lord, but damnation to those who have died in their sins.
But He is also the Lord of the living upon the earth today, for He fixed the bounds of their habitation, and the number of their months is with Him. It is His to kill and to make alive, for He is Lord. As no accident or disease can remove you, dear friend, till the Lord pleases, so no skill can prolong your life when He shall say, “Return ye children of men.” Every man living today will meet death at the Lord’s appointed time.
We must all abide His pleasure who “Hath the keys of death and hell, who shutteth and no man can open, who openeth and no man can shut.” And it is He who determines the length of our life and the time of our death, who is Lord both of the dead and the living. That is my God and my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again 1 Corinthians 2:8 pictures our Lord Jesus as the Lord of Glory. Why? Because His glory fills heaven and earth. He received honor and great glory in His condescension to be the Son of Man and as the Son of Man to die upon the cruel cross in the place of His people. Every stripe upon His back was His glory as He suffered in His people’s place. Every drop of blood that poured from His body was His glory as He gave it for His people’s sins. His separation from the Father was His glory as He went to hell for His people. The giving up of His life in the great cry “It is finished” was his glory as He did it gladly for His people.
Surely He is the Lord of glory for He took the spoils of victory with Him as He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Surely He is the Lord of glory for He sent back the Great Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, who is God, to be His people’s indwelling salvation. Surely He is the Lord of glory for He has been crowned with great honor as He sits upon His throne in heaven receiving the praise of His people. Listen to those in Revelation 5:12-13, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Yes, indeed, He is the Lord of glory, crowned with many crowns.
Again, Acts 10:36 pictures our Lord Jesus Christ as Lord of all, Lord of all power and might, all worlds, all persons, all things, and all events:“He hath left nothing that is not put under His feet.” He is Lord of the seasons; He crowns the laborers of the farmer with plenty, as He calls for the famine to chastise the crimes of an ungrateful nation. He is Lord of the elements: the winds are His ministers, and earthquakes and volcanoes fulfill His Word. At His righteous command the hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones blow and tidal waves come. At His righteous command whole cities are wiped out by fire and plagues and war. Also at His righteous command the fires of revival begin to burn and souls, precious souls, are brought under the convicting power of His Holy Spirit.
Yes, all things are under His feet. He is Lord over all the earth (Mic 4:13). Nothing is too trivial for His notice, not a sparrow, not an insect falls to the ground without His knowledge and consent. How much more does He care for man, choosing the place of his birth and fixing the bounds of his habitation. Then the same sovereign hand continues with him in his passage through this life. “A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps” (Pro 16:9). Success does not depend upon talent, nor education, nor wealth, nor friends, nor upon anything else that is human; but on the Lord alone. “Promotion cometh neither from the east nor the west; the Lord is Judge, He setteth up one, and putteth down another” (Psa 75:6).
Dear friend, these things we have spoken of today surely picture our Lord in all His glory as King, Ruler over all. Do you know Him as Lord? Have you bowed at His feet in repentance and faith? Has he come into your heart and subdued you by conquest?
Oh, I trust that you know Him. If you do not, then cry after Him and heed Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
From Lee Roy Shelton Jr, Christ is Lord of All
