JESUS - THE ONLY SOVEREIGN THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

(Scriptures from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise stated.)
(July 18, 2004)  

INTRODUCTION 

"He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (First Timothy 6:15b). The word "Sovereign" is rendered Potentate in the King James Bible and the American Standard Bible. It is from the Greek "DUNASTES" and is used one time only in the Bible. The Greek word is akin to "DUNAMIS" meaning power. Our English word "dynamite" also comes from the Greek "DUNAMIS." God and His Son Jesus have divine power with the highest authority in the universe. God has given all authority to Jesus in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 2:10). Everything is in subjection to Jesus, however, "It is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him" (First Corinthians 15:27). You and I can only know what God has revealed within the Scriptures, and it is the Scriptures that bear witness to Jesus (John 5:39). God has revealed to us, "Whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (Second Corinthians 3:16). Further, "The seed is the word of God ... and the seed in the good ground, these are the ones who have heard the word with an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance" (Luke 8:11 and 15). God has revealed Himself to mankind in many ways (Psalm 19:1-14; Romans 1:18-20 to name a few), "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1: 12). To truly receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, one must walk in Him as He directs through His word, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Colossians 2:6). Faith is the active manifestation of belief, and since faith comes from the word of God (Romans 10: 17), man is without excuse from knowing God and having faith in Him, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). 

THE WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD HAS GIVEN TO MANKIND 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not parish, but have eternal life … but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life" (John 3:16 and 36). "Every perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17), but the gift of God's only begotten Son, and the sacrifice of the Son's shed blood excels them all. It is too great for us to properly express, so I say with a humble heart, as with the apostle Paul, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (Second Corinthians 9:15). 

WE ARE TO LEARN FROM THE LORD JESUS 

In a gentle and humble manner, Jesus asked people to come to Him, "Come to Me, all who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6), and man must follow Jesus to be worthy of Him (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23). "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Paul penned these words to those in the church at Colossae, "Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel. Which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth. Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf. And he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God " The gospel, the word of truth came to the brethren at Colossae through preaching, and was constantly bearing fruit and increasing. The knowledge of God's grace in truth can be known and understood. The knowledge of God's will can be known and understood. The knowledge of God Himself may be known and understood, at least to the extent, which God has revealed in Holy Scripture. Following God’s way allows us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 

HIS HUMANITY WHILE ON EARTH 

John called Jesus "a man" while on earth, yet John understood the divine nature of the Lord Jesus. (John1:30). God called Jesus "a Man" (Acts 17:31) and even Jesus on one occasion referred to Himself just as "a man" (John 8:40). However, Jesus also made it known, "Behold, something greater than Jonah is here", and "Behold, something greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:41,42; Luke 11:31,32). While on earth, Jesus was God manifested in the flesh (First Timothy 3:16), and He is our "Great God and Savior" (Titus 2:11-14). "While his divine nature retained all the attributes of Deity, they were not exercised ...when the Word, which, was with God and was God, emptied himself (Philippians 2:7), and became a man, he gave up the right to exercise his divine powers on his own determinations. It was only when the Holy Spirit descended upon him and remained that he began to exercise his divine powers (John 1:33). He cast out demons by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28), and he gave commandment to his apostles through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:2)." The Timeless Trinity by Roy H. Lanier Sr., Printed by Roy H. Lanier Sr., Denver Colorado, copyright 1974, pp. 268, 269. In reading biographies of men on earth, great details are given about life while living, but with the Savior of man, it is quite different. In twenty-one of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament there is little discussion of the life of Christ, however, every gospel account places the greatest emphasis on His death. All accounts treat the death of our Savior in great detail, and the Bible states, "And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). It is significant because it required "A Death" for the shedding of blood, the precious blood of Jesus. He was crucified on a cross, buried, and raised from the dead by the God of creation, to bring salvation to mankind. 

CHRIST IS KING REIGNING ON DAVID'S THRONE 

"And you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:31-33). Acts 2:30-34 reveals that Christ began His reign from David's throne on Pentecost (about 33 A.D.), and will reign on that throne until all enemies are under His feet (First Corinthians 15:24-28). Christ is the fulfillment of David's own prophecy in Psalm 110:1. God made an oath that He would seat one of David's descendants upon David's throne (Second Samuel 7:12-26) and this was fulfilled in Jesus at the right hand of God (Acts 2:25-32; 13:32-39; 15:12-18; Hebrews 1:1-5 and others), who is now reigning over His faithful followers in His kingdom (Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28). 

JESUS IS THE HEAD OF HIS CHURCH 

"He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation" (Hebrews 5:9). "He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything" (Colossians 1:18). His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and His church/kingdom on earth is of a spiritual nature, and the members of the body, the church have their citizenship in heaven (Philippians 3:20). While on earth, Jesus promised to build His church/kingdom (Matthew 16:18, 19), and this was accomplished when He established it on the day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter Two). This was at the cost of His blood shed on a cross (Acts 20:28), and this should make every true follower forever thankful with humbleness of heart and mind. Jesus redeemed the faithful obedient baptized follower with His precious blood (First Peter 1:18,19). Redemption from man’s sin comes through the shed blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:17). Followers of the Lord Jesus, who are members of His church, are to assemble together each and every first day of the week, to worship our Lord in remembrance of His precious blood shed for our sins, and to proclaim His death until He comes again (Acts 20:7; First Corinthians 11:23-26). 

JESUS, THE SOVEREIGN KING IS THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN 

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Jesus Christ" ( First Timothy 2:5). Jesus is the one who stands equal distance between God and man. He was a man, and He is Deity, hence, He understands both sides. Jesus was both God and man. That is the human soul blended with the divine. This can be seen in the advancement of Jesus as told in Luke 2:52, "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Jesus understands man's human side, and that we must grow both physically, spiritually, and in wisdom from God. As human's we do not always do what we should, but Jesus knows our heart's and mediates appropriately between God and ourselves, and we must always be aware that all will be judged on the last day by this Man - Jesus (Acts 17:31). 

HE WILL RETURN TO RECEIVE HIS FAITHFUL 

Near the end of His life on earth, Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father" (John 16:28). Prior for leaving earth, and going to heaven, Jesus had told the apostles that He would go to His Fathers house and prepare a place for His followers (John 14:1-3). In His final prayer to God the Father, Jesus said, "And now glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was ...for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:5 and 24). When Jesus had suffered sufficiently to make propitiation for the sins of the world, He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). Jesus said to His Father, "Father, into thy hands i commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46). This is a quotation from Psalm 31:5, and this was the human spirit which went to paradise (V43) when Jesus returned back to His Fathers house in heaven (Luke 24:51). His return to earth (second coming) will be to take His church to heaven (First Corinthians 15:24), where the faithful will "meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words" (First Thessalonians 4:17,18). 

CONCLUSION 

I stand in awe with reverence for the only Sovereign, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and the marvelous way God works in the lives of those who love and obey Him. My words seem so inadequate that I feel it best to close repeating the inspired words of the apostle Paul as shown on page one of the report, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (Second Corinthians 9:15).

The greatest thing a person can do while alive on this earth is to submit in obedience to the gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because death seals our destiny, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

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