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In the previous book, we concluded that Jesus is God. This has important implications. If Jesus is God, then we must respond to Jesus as our Lord. The lordship of Jesus means that Christians not only recognise Him for who He is but also give to Him honour, glory, worship, and obedience.
When the disciples saw the glimpses of Jesus’ deity, they responded in awe and worship and followed Him wholeheartedly. From the rest of the New Testament, we get the clear-cut descriptions of Jesus when God the Holy Spirit breathed on the writers of the Bible books and letters as they wrote.
The Glory of Jesus
Colossians 1:15-20 reveal much about the transcendent glory of Jesus. From the following selected verses, list some of the descriptions of who He is.
Colossians 1:15,17,19 • Descriptions that show He is fully God
Colossians 1:16 • Descriptions that He created everything
Colossians 1:18 • Descriptions that He is supreme and above all
From Philippians 2:6-11, describe:
Who Jesus was before He became man
Jesus’ status after His death
What every creature will have to do in response to Jesus
Acknowledging Jesus’ Lordship
Jesus Christ is Lord and God. We do not make Him Lord. He is Lord whether we recognise Him as Lord or not. What Christians have to do is to surrender their lives to Him.
Surrendering to Jesus’ Lordship
How did the Apostle Thomas who earlier doubted Jesus’ resurrection acknowledge Him when Jesus appeared to Him? John 20:26-29
The Apostle Paul began as a persecutor of Christians but when Jesus appeared to him, what were the two questions He asked of Jesus in Acts 22:6-11?
Paul’s first question:
NOTE Paul may have asked this question partly in ignorance at that time. Yet, it is a question all Christians should continually ask to discover more of all that Christ is.
Paul’s second question:
Your personal response
Have you surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? If not, would you like to surrender your life completely to him today? Write in the space below what you should say to Jesus. (In addressing Jesus, feel free to use the descriptions from verses in questions 1 and 2)
Who is Jesus to you now? Now that you have written your response down, speak to Jesus what you had just written.
Now pray to Jesus what Paul prayed in his second question:
What is Jesus saying to you?
Verbal acknowledgement of Jesus’ Lordship is the first step in surrender. Let us continue to fully apply this great principle of surrender to as many areas of life as possible.
Surrender the big areas of life, those that make up who you really are.
Surrender Your Will
Surrendering your will means surrendering your choices, decisions, inclinations and the right to decide your own life. You align all these to God’s will.
What did Jesus say to surrender His will to God’s will? Luke 22:41-42
Surrendering your will is as simple as saying a few words as Jesus did. Yet the surrendering involves embracing God’s will, whatever that may be. For Jesus, it meant giving up His life at the cross for the salvation of man.
Surrender Your Mind
When we live in the world, we will be vulnerable to the way the world thinks, its value systems and philosophies. To surrender your mind to Jesus is to reject the world’s way of thinking and values. Instead, it requires us to think like Jesus, to fill our minds with God’s Word to know Him, know God’s will and fulfil His purposes.
According to Romans 12:2, how can we be transformed?
What does 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tell us we should do in relation to worldly thinking?
Surrender Our Bodies
What does it mean to you to make Jesus the Lord of your body? To make Jesus Lord is to acknowledge that our bodies are no longer our own. What we believe should be reflected in how we live, including where we go, what we do, and what we say.
Why should we surrender our bodies to God? 1 Corinthians 6:20
For whom is our body a temple? 1 Corinthians 6:19
Specific Areas to Surrender
Having surrendered the major areas of life to Jesus, we can now evaluate more specific areas of our lives to be given over to His lordship. God’s will is always good, acceptable and perfect hence it makes perfect sense to do that. The following areas may not happen all at once together, but their surrender individually ensures that when you face these areas and issues you are living in obedience to God.
After looking over the verse(s), check the areas you have surrendered to Jesus.
Obedience
Now that you have acknowledged Jesus as Lord, the big emphasis hereafter is to obey Him. Otherwise, the claim of having surrendered is false.
What did Jesus say to those who claimed to have obeyed Him but did not? Luke 6:46
What was He warning them about their lives? Luke 6:49
Conclusion
When you surrender your life to Jesus and seek to obey Him, you are entering into an exciting phase of life where you will discover the wonderful things God has planned for you. The pathway may not always be smooth or easy, but you will experience God’s peace, grace, strengthening and wonderful presence. God’s assurance from Jeremiah 29:11 is, ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’.
Evaluate what you have learned and what you would practically do in response to your lesson(s) from this study.