By Roger D. Willmore
The Lordship of Jesus Christ by Roger D. Willmore (July-August, 2003)
Philipians 2:5-11
Soon after I became a Christian I was introduced to the Keswick Christian Life Convention, a convention for deepening of spiritual life. The Keswick Convention began in Keswick, England in 1875, and since that time has heralded the message of victorious Christian living, practical holiness and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Throughout my Christian pilgrimage I have taken seriously the claims the Lord Jesus has placed upon my life. To me the most important truth in the Christian life is the truth of the lordship of Jesus Christ.
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Lordship is inseparably linked to the name of Jesus. The text before us makes this clear. Paul said, "Therefore God 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 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" ( 2:9-11 NKJV). Jesus came from heaven to earth, contracted Himself to the measure of a virgin's womb, was born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life and died on a cross an atoning sacrificial death, was buried in a tomb and was raised victoriously, and ascended into heaven to occupy His throne in Glory where God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.
Lordship was at the very heart of Jesus' redemptive work on the cross. Paul makes this point clear in Romans 14:8-9 (NKJV): "For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died, and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living."
R. G. Lee spoke of the sovereign authority of Jesus' name in a sermon entitled The Name Above Every Name, from Philippians 2:9-10. He said,
The Transcendence of the name of Jesus and its everlasting glory depend upon the work accomplished at the place called Calvary and at the open grave. It is because of that, dear friends, that He stands out today the First Begotten from the dead, "that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." "His name shall endure forever."
When the names of earth's benefactors are no more remembered, when the achievements of science are no longer of value, when the guesses of philosophers are seen to be in vain, when time shall be no more — multitudes, in praise of Him in gratitude for salvation through His name, will still sing the song of Moses, and of the Lamb of enduring name. When the Caesars and Charlemagne, the Napoleons and Wellingtons and their so-called splendid victories are forgotten, the multitudinous trophies of His saving power, in enjoyment of His endless fruits of His blood-bought victories, will sing the praises of His peerless name.