{"id":2234,"date":"2021-12-11T20:18:04","date_gmt":"2021-12-12T01:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/?p=2234"},"modified":"2021-12-11T20:18:04","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T01:18:04","slug":"is-jesus-kyrios-of-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/devotional\/is-jesus-kyrios-of-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Jesus “Kyrios” of Your Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Is Jesus “Kyrios” of Your Life?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But why do you call Me \u201cLord, Lord,\u201d and not do the things which I say?<\/p>Luke 6:46<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s Western Hemisphere languages of English and Spanish, we probably do not understand that the words \u201cNo\u201d and \u201cLord\u201d should never be in the same sentence. (Peter tried that once, and he learned a unique lesson! See Acts chapter ten.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our American English, the word \u201cLord\u201d is usually only used in religious contexts. For most people, saying \u201cJesus\u201d or \u201cLord Jesus\u201d has about the same meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in Spanish, the title \u201cSe\u00f1or Jes\u00fas\u201d slightly raises the level of respect. However, the English translation of \u201cSe\u00f1or\u201d is \u201cMister.\u201d So it is literally the same as saying \u201cMr. Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the New Testament, \u201cLord\u201d is the Greek word \u201cKyrios.\u201d It comes from the word \u201cKuros,\u201d which means \u201cauthority.\u201d  So the very first thing to get straightened out in our Western mindset is that \u201cKyrios\u201d is not just a cute phrase to show respect but a serious matter of supreme authority. In fact, saying \u201cNo\u201d and \u201cKyrios\u201d would be a serious act of rebellion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a powerful declaration about the absolute Lordship and Authority of Jesus Christ. Notice how often the word \u201cevery\u201d is used. That denotes Jesus\u2019 absolute supremacy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above EVERY name,
That at the Name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
And that EVERY tongue should confess THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.<\/p>Philippians 2:9-11<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When Paul explains how a person can come to Jesus and be saved, it is obvious to see that confessing with our mouth that \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d is a vital part of that process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [\u201cKyrios\u201d] and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.<\/p>Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Speaking out the words \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d acknowledges not only Jesus\u2019 supreme authority but also involves a transfer of power. In effect, we are saying, \u201cI am no longer the owner and master of my life. I am surrendering full control to the Lord Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why saying \u201cLord, Lord\u201d to Jesus and not doing what He says no small matter. In Matthew\u2019s parallel passage, Jesus makes the seriousness of His point even more apparent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone who says to me, \u201dLord, Lord,\u201d will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
On that day many will say to me, \u201dLord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?\u201d
And then will I declare to them, \u201cI never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.\u201d<\/p>Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In the previous chapter of Matthew, Jesus modeled a prayer for His disciples, which contains one key phrase:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray then like this: \u201cOur Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven\u2026\u201d<\/p>Matthew 6:9-10 (ESV)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And then He ended by acknowledging God\u2019s supreme authority: \u201cFor Yours is the Kingdom and th<\/em>e power and the glory forever. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Luke 7:1-10, the Roman centurion was not a Jew awaiting the return of the Messiah (the \u201cChrist\u201d or the \u201cAnointed One\u201d). He was a Gentile (non-Jew) with love and concern for his servant, yet he effectively understood the meaning of \u201cKyrios\u201d better than most Jews! He recognized Jesus\u2019 absolute authority and power. And that is why he believed. His faith in Jesus was a simple calculation: Jesus is \u201cKyrios\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His display of faith in Jesus\u2019 authority is impressive. He did not need Jesus to come to his house. One who is \u201cKyrios\u201d has all the authority and power and only needs to speak the word!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow! His faith so impressed Jesus! Jesus spoke the word, and that centurion\u2019s servant was healed that very hour. We only read of two Gentiles (non-Jew) that received healings. This Roman soldier and a Canaanite woman (Mat 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30). Both of them came to Jesus on behalf of someone else they loved. Both of them expressed genuine humility. Both of them were highly commended by Jesus: \u201cI have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We must not miss this! A proper understanding of \u201cKyrios\u201d can produce \u201cgreat faith\u201d in us. That\u2019s powerful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the New Testament, we read that Jesus is the \u201cLord of Lords\u201d or \u201cKyrios of kyrios.\u201d Some have suggested that \u201cKyrios of kyrios\u201d denotes that Jesus is twice as high as the highest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and LORD OF LORDS,
Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.<\/p>1 Timothy 6:15-16<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is LORD OF LORDS and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.<\/p>Revelation 17:14<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.<\/p>Revelation 19:16<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In eternity, EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is \u201cKyrios\u201d \u2013 EVERYONE in both Heaven and Hell \u2013 whether they said \u201cYes\u201d or \u201cNo\u201d to Jesus. So doesn\u2019t it simply makes sense to say, \u201cYes, Lord\u201d now instead of later? Why should we be afraid to give all authority and control of our life to our Savior and Lord \u2013 our \u201cKyrios\u201d Jesus Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah prophesied about the Son of God\u2019s amazing eternal Kingdom \u2013 a Kingdom that starts right now in our lives and continues into eternity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the GOVERNMENT will be upon His shoulder.
And His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His GOVERNMENT and peace there will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.<\/p>Isaiah 9:6-7<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a kingdom where the government and peace continue to increase exponentially throughout all of eternity! The more we allow His government to increase in our lives from the inside out, the more His peace will also increase in and around our lives both now and eternally! Therefore, let\u2019s allow the government of our lives to rest upon \u201cHis shoulders\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is \u201cKyrios of kyrios,\u201d and He can do anything He pleases, yet in divine humility, He patiently waits for us to make that choice in our life. And when we do, EVERYTHING changes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dear Jesus, I confess You as \u201cKyrios\u201d \u2013 You acknowledge that You are twice as high as the highest. I set You as \u201cKyrios\u201d over every aspect of my life! I choose to allow the full governing of my life to rest upon Your shoulders. Oh, let Your Kingdom and supreme authority come \u2013 on earth (in my life) just as it is in Heaven!  Have absolute sway over my life right now and forever. I believe and thank You for the Your ever-increasing government and peace over, in, and through my life \u2013 a peace the world cannot give (John 14:27) and a peace that \u201cpasses all understanding\u201d (Phil 4:8). For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and glory forever. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Jesus “Kyrios” of Your Life? But why do you call Me \u201cLord, Lord,\u201d and not do the things which I say? Luke 6:46 In …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[430,427,429,200,431,211],"class_list":["post-2234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotional","tag-authority","tag-kyrios","tag-lordship","tag-sovereignty","tag-supreme","tag-surrender"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Prayer-Hand-Up_Sunset_156466384_cropped-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1229&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8ofw-A2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2239,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions\/2239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}