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WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 20
12 October 2008
Jesus Is LORD
(Message delivered by Rev
Hien Nguyen at the Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Oct 12, 08)
Text: Phil
2:9-11
Many know Jesus as a good
human prophet or a good human teacher, but they do not believe that
Jesus is equal with God and is God Himself. We must know Jesus as our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter
3:18; cf. 1:11; 2:20).
Some groups of Jehovah
Witnesses came to our home to evangelise to me. I said to them that I
am a pastor of a Bible Presbyterian
Church, but they still wanted to tell me about their beliefs. Knowing
that they neither believe that Jesus is equal with God, and is God
Himself, the Creator (but Jesus is only a god, created by God) nor
believe that the Holy Spirit is God Himself with His Divine Personality
and attributes (but He is only an impersonal power or a Divine
influence). Then, I always use the Scriptures to expose their wrong
doctrines right away as I do not want to waste my time. Dear friends,
when talking about the doctrines, which must be based on God’s Word and
defending our faith, which is also based on God’s Word, we have to use
the Word of God, the Sword of the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:17) or else we
cannot have the victory to glorify our Lord. Last week, we learnt from
God’s Word that Jesus is the Son of God, is God Himself, and is the
Creator with His Divine attributes. I hope you seriously learn to
remember God’s Word so that you may defend the Deity of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Our Lord will be greatly disappointed if we cannot use God’s
Word or quote the Scriptures to prove that He is God. What a shame,
isn’t it?
Jehovah Witnesses do not
believe that Jesus is Jehovah or Yahweh of the Old Testament.
Then, how do you and I use God’s Word to prove that our Lord Jesus
Christ is the Jehovah of the OT as failing to do this, we fail to
glorify our LORD?
Jesus Is the Jehovah or
Yahweh of the Old Testament
Jehovah is the covenant name
of God to His covenant people. God appeared to Moses “in a flame of
fire out of the midst of a bush” in the desert while he was leading
the flock to Mount Horeb, the mount of God (Exod 3:1-2). God said, “I
have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and
have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their
sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of
the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land
and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (vv 7-8). Then
God sent Moses to Pharaoh to bring His people out of Egypt (Exod 3:10).
Moses did not have any confidence in himself, saying, “Who am I, that
I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of
Israel out of
Egypt?” (v 11). God
promised to be with Moses, “Certainly I will be with thee; and this
shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast
brought forth the people out of
Egypt, ye shall serve God upon
this mountain” (v
12). Then Moses wanted to know what God’s name was to answer to the
children of Israel in case they might ask him, “What is his name?”
(v 13). And God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM: and he said,
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you…
The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for
ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (v 14).
Jehovah or Yahweh means
“I AM THAT I AM,” denoting that He is the living and true God,
the self-existent and all-sufficient God, eternal, immutable, holy,
mighty, loving, and faithful to His covenants, to His promises and to
His Word (Deut 7:9; Neh 1:5; 1 Kings 8:23; Eze 16:62, et al). He is All
that He has promised to be to His covenant people as well as to do for
them. When we read the King James Version, the name LORD in capitals
refers to Jehovah or Yahweh, and the name Lord refers to
Adonai, who has all right to requires our love, trust, loyalty,
submission and obedience. In Greek, Kurios (Lord) refers to both
Jehovah and Adonai, “The LORD (Jehovah) said
unto my Lord (Adonai), Sit thou at my right hand, until I
make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps 110:1). Jesus confirms, “If
David then call him (Jesus) Lord, how is he (Jesus) his
son?” (Matt 22:45). Then our Lord Jesus is both Jehovah and
Adonai in the OT. How can you and I prove that Jesus is the LORD or
Jehovah of the Old Testament?
Jesus Is Jehovah or
Yahweh of the OT
a. Mal 3:1
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way
before me: …, saith the LORD of hosts.
Luke 1:76
And thou, child (John the Baptist), shalt be called the
prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways (cf. Luke 7:27).
b. Isa 40:3
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Matt 3:3
The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. (cf. Mark
1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23)
c.
Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; …: for
mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
John 12:41
These things said Esaias, when he saw his (Jesus’)
glory, and spake of him (Jesus).
d.
Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the
name of the LORD shall be delivered:
Rom 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved
(cf. 1 Cor 1:2).
e. Jer 23:6
this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
1 Co 1:30
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
f.
Psa 97:9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth:
thou art exalted far above all gods.
John 3:31 He that cometh from above
is above all: … he that
cometh from heaven is above all
(cf. Rom 9:5; 10:12).
g. Isa 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of
Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts;
I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
(cf. Isa 48:12)
Rev 1:17
And when I saw him
(Jesus), I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
(cf. Rev. 22:13)
Jesus Confirms That He Is
Jehovah or Yahweh
The phrase “our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ” has only one definite article in Greek,
denoting one Divine Person, our Saviour Jesus Christ is the LORD, the
Jehovah, the “I AM THAT I AM” in the Old Testament (Exod 3:14).
Our Lord Jesus confirms that He is the Jehovah by His “I AM” statement,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am”
(John 8:58), and due to this, the Jews wanted to stone Him. Let us
meditate on Jesus’ other seven “I AM” statements and trust that He is
All we need:
- “I am the bread of
life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
- “I am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life” (John 8:12).
- “I am the door: by
me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and
find pasture” (John 10:9).
- “I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John
10:11).
- “I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
- “I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”
(John 14:6).
- “I am the true vine,…
ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John
15:1, 5).
What can you and I learn from
Jesus as our Jehovah? He is All we need. He is our divine life Giver as
well as our divine Life, our Saviour and our salvation, our Redeemer and
our redemption, our Justifier and our justification, our Sanctifier and
our sanctification, etc. Praise the LORD!
Is Jesus Really Your LORD?
The experiential knowledge of
Jesus Christ as our personal Lord is vital for you and me. Many
professing Christians say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord” on their lips
but their hearts are not submissive to Him and His Word at all. They
still use their lives, their time, and all
they have according to their own will and plan. They still want to
speak, read, watch, listen to, believe, write and do whatever they like
or go wherever they like regardless of the Lord and His will and His
Word! Many even arrogantly question, criticise, and misinterpret God’s
Word! Our Lord Jesus says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 7:21).
Dear friends, God “hath made that same Jesus… both
Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Thomas confessed to Jesus, “My Lord
and my God” (John 20:28). How about you and me? As Jesus is our
covenant LORD, shall we also enter into a covenant to seek the LORD (2
Chron 15:12), to walk after Him, to
keep and to do His Word with all our hearts and souls (2 Chron
34:31)? When we confess that Jesus is Lord, we must means that He is our
Jehovah and our Adonai. He is All we need and has the full
authority and right over our lives, our time and all we have, and that
we are not our own but His, and that we are willingly submissive to Him
and His Word with our trust and dependence. How can human beings with
their totally corrupt, depraved, sinful and rebellious nature (Jer 17:9;
Rom 8:7-8) be submissive to Jesus Christ as Lord with such meaning?
Thank God that the Holy Spirit is able to subdue our sinful nature and
help us humbly exalt Jesus Christ as our Lord, “no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor 12:3). Praise the
Lord!
Conclusion
Dear friends, who do you and I seek first and turn to
in our need, troubles, or trials? Is Jesus Christ really your LORD and
my LORD, who is All we need and who deserves all our love, worship,
praise, loyalty, trust, submission, and obedience? In all things do we
seek Him first every day with all our hearts? Do we make a covenant to
worship Him every Lord’s Day and serve Him and obey His Word? May the
LORD help us do that. Amen.
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