10 Things You Should Know about the Lordship of Christ
Vern S. Poythress
This post is
adapted from The Lordship of Christ: Serving Our Savior All of the Time, in All of
Life, with All of Our Heart by Vern
S. Poythress.
1. Christ is Lord over
all because He is God.
The Father is God; Jesus the Son is God; and
the Holy Spirit is God.
God rules over all things by His
providential control (Psalm 103:18).
Therefore it is also true that each
person in the Godhead rules over all.
Christ rules over all. This rule is
comprehensive not only in its extent (over all of space, all of time, and all
areas of human activity), but in its details—over each sparrow, each hair of
the head, and each atom.
2. Christ is Lord over
all because in His human nature He has accomplished perfect obedience, has won
salvation for us, and has been given universal dominion as a reward.
As a result of His resurrection and
ascension, Christ has been enthroned at the right hand of God the Father, with
universal dominion:
. . . he [God the Father] worked in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and
gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:20-23)
Christ is one person, and His rule over
all things is a single unified rule. But he does so in two respects: because he
is God, and also because He has achieved the
final victory over sin and death through His resurrection and ascension. He is
God and man in one person, on the throne of the universe.
3. Christ claims
authority over both believers and unbelievers.
The difference is that believers
acknowledge and submit to his rule, with joy for the salvation they have
received in him.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me
[Christ]. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations .
. . (Matthew 28:18)
4. We are to obey
Christ in all things.
However, our obedience does not earn
our salvation or contribute to becoming a saved person.
We are justified by God's grace as a
gift (Romans 3:24).
It is all God's doing (Ephesians 2:8).
It is Christ's perfect obedience, not
our obedience that has obtained for us forgiveness of our sins and all the
benefits of salvation.
We are saved by being united to him
through the Holy Spirit and by trusting in Him alone for our salvation. Genuine
obedience is the offering that we give in gratitude to God, because we
have already been saved.
Because we are saved, we are empowered
by the Spirit of Christ. And we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
5. We are to serve
Christ all the time, in all of life, with all of our heart.
We serve for several complementary
reasons:
- Christ is enthroned and deserves our
obedience.
- Christ is altogether lovely and completely
worthy of all our service.
- It is God's command for us to serve him.
- We were created and designed and destined for
this service.
- We will find the deepest satisfaction and joy
in life only in this service.
- The Holy Spirit empowers us for this service.
In serving Christ we are serving the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together, since the distinct persons
indwell each other.
6. The means of grace
guide us and equip us to grow in serving Christ.
We should not suppose that our service
is built on merely human effort. God in Christ provides the means of grace to
guide, equip, and strengthen us.
These means include Bible reading, Bible study,
preaching, the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), prayer, and
fellowship with other saints in the church, the body of Christ. These means
become effective through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in us.
In addition, we can receive subordinate
resources from the theological reflections and examples of previous generations
of Christians. The leaders of the Reformation, and particular figures like John
Calvin and Abraham Kuyper, have thought carefully and deeply about what it
means to serve Christ in all of life.
7. Serving Christ
makes a pronounced difference in every area of life.
Christian believers differ radically
from unbelievers in the inclination of their hearts. This radical difference
gets expressed in differences all along the line in every area of life.
We have motivations that differ from
unbelievers. We look at the law and the world differently, because we
acknowledge that law comes from God and the world is providentially governed by
God.
We look at ourselves differently,
because we know that we are made in God's image and we belong to him.
We have different purposes from
unbelievers. We serve God and his kingdom, while they serve other goals, which
are like counterfeit gods.
The differences in starting point
result in differences even in areas that many people consider to be
"religiously neutral," like science and mathematics.
Politics, work, social relations,
social institutions, finance, and art need Christian reflection, as well as
areas like church, marriage,
parenting, and homemaking that have more commonly received attention.
8. Because of Christ's
lordship over the world, we can sometimes learn from and cooperate with
unbelievers in short-term projects.
We can do this because God, in common
grace, keeps them from consistently working out the rebellious inclination of
their hearts.
9. Christ gives
distinctive authority and responsibilities to people in various spheres of
life.
Authority comes from God; it is not
merely a human invention.
All human authority is limited because
it is delegated by God through his Son, Jesus Christ.
The responsibilities of officers of
civil government, parents, church leaders (pastors and elders), business
leaders (owners and managers), teachers, artists, farmers, and so on, are
limited by God, and these responsibilities depend on what kind of authority
belongs to each.
Christians must study the Bible and
consider its ethical implications for our responsibilities in each area.
10. Through Christ,
God establishes a pronounced distinction between the church and other
institutions on earth.
The true church is the body of Christ,
made holy by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It is manifested on earth in particular
local gatherings of the body of Christ, and it is also enthroned with Christ in
heaven (Ephesians 2:6).
By God's own appointment, it is
distinct from other institutions by being holy and by being uniquely empowered
by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's will for its role in discipling and
nourishing believers. Believers treat church members differently from the
world.
This distinctiveness is quite
compatible with the church being a source of encouragement and empowerment for
Christians to serve God all the time in all of life, beyond the bounds of the
church's distinctive responsibility as an institution.
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Content taken from The Lordship of Christ: Serving Our Savior All of the Time, in All of
Life, with All of Our Heart by Vern
S. Poythress, originally appearing on Crossway's blog, ©2016
Vern S. Poythress is professor of New Testament interpretation at
Westminster Theological Seminary, where he has taught for nearly four decades.
In addition to earning six academic degrees, including a PhD from Harvard
University and a ThD from the University of Stellenbosch, he is the author of
numerous books and articles on a variety of topics, including biblical
interpretation, language, and science. His most recent book is The Lordship of Christ: Serving Our Savior All of the Time, in All of
Life, with All of Our Heart.
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