Jesus Is Lord? Please explain.

‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him

from the dead, you will be saved.’ Romans 10:9

What would Paul’s readers have understood him to mean by speaking of Jesus as ‘Lord’? What

are the implications for Christian life and ministry today?

This essay explores the meaning of Paul’s statement in Romans 10:9, in particular regarding

what it means to say ‘Jesus is Lord’, and its implications. I seek to answer the question by

looking at how Paul presents Jesus as Lord with regard to his identity, position and power. To

draw consistency with other Pauline writings I have briefly touched on texts from Galatians and

Corinthians. The understanding of Lord also seeks to frame it’s meaning in light of the world in

which Paul lived, namely the Greco-Roman world. The conclusion drawn is that the statement

‘Jesus is Lord’ requires an understanding of Jesus as a supreme benevolent ruler and saviour to

whom we must wholly submit. The implications of this being that the evidence of our

willingness to submit is seen through how we live our lives and whether we live in obedience to

Christ, or in pursuit of our own self centred goals.

In Romans 10:9 it states that if a person declares with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes

in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be saved. It seems a fairly simple task to

understand what it means to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. It requests that a person

believes contrary to the normal human experience, whereupon a person who dies remains in the

grave, and that in the case of Jesus he did not remain in the grave but resurrected to life in bodily

form, never to die again. However, a more difficult task in our current society is to understand what

it means to declare Jesus as Lord. In our modern times our understanding of what ‘Lord’ means

would be very, very different to the understanding held by the church in Rome, who were the

original recipients of Paul’s letter. By unpacking what the original recipients understood by the

phrase, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and consequently its implications, I will seek to construct an explanation of

how Christians in our time, should understand the same phrase. From this then I will explore the

question of what the implications are for our Christian life and ministry today. I will seek to answer

the question of what it means to be Lord, be assessing how Jesus is presented throughout the letter

to the Romans, in particular with regard to his identity, his position and his power.

Firstly, it is important to consider the world that Paul was living in when he wrote this letter.

Living in the Greco-Roman world is very different to life in the year 2014 in Australia. We do not live

under the rule of a dictating emperor whose words are esteemed by the general population as akin

to God’s. We do not have leaders who claim to be demi-gods or the son of god and demand

absolute loyalty. We also do not have a civil obligation to sacrifice to the many gods who were

thought to protect and prosper the empire. If we refuse to acknowledge Tony Abbott or obey his

personal request of us, it is unlikely that we will be imprisoned or given the death sentence.

However, the Roman Empire was ruled by military might. Soldiers enforced the wishes of Caesar

with a ruthless obedience that would leave any dissidents trembling in fear. This was a civilisation

which would expose criminals and those who were considered a threat to the empire, to public

humiliation and torture. It was during these times that these people would be thrown to their death

in arenas, at the hand of well-trained gladiators or wild animals. This was the same civilization that

crucified our Lord Jesus.

Caesar was the self-proclaimed lord of lords and anyone else who sought to take that title was

executed. Caesar held the power of death in that he could take a life away by a single word. Caesar

would appoint rulers and leaders in different regions. Caesar was honoured by tributes received

from every town, city and province. He had the power to sweep aside all opposition and create an

extraordinary new world order, in which it was claimed, justice was brought to the world. It was

Caesar who was the lord who brought about the Roman peace throughout the empire, and it was

Caesar who demanded that all his subjects worship him. The expression, ‘Gospel’, (euaggelion) was

used to propagate this good news of the empire in which Caesar was proclaimed to be lord of the

world. 1 All people living during this time would understand that declaring someone ‘lord’

consequently implied their loyal commitment to honour, obey, and fear the one who rules over

them.

Purely by living in the capital of the Roman Empire, the members of the church in Rome would

have had the above understanding of ‘lord’ ingrained in their very being, and therefore would have

understood that to declare Jesus as Lord, would mean their ongoing loyalty and commitment to

honour, obey and fear Him. However, as we read through Romans, we see a more complete picture

of what they would have understood Paul to mean by speaking of Jesus as Lord.

The letter opens with a declaration of Paul as a servant of Jesus (1:1), which immediately implies

Jesus’ position as a master.2 This is followed closely by His title of ‘Christ’. 3 This term refers to the

1 N.T. Wright, "Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans," A Royal Priesthood: The Use of the Bible Ethically

and Politically (2002).173-193,

2 Tokunboh Adeyemo, Africa Bible commentary (Nairobi, Kenya

anointed one of God, meaning one whom God had chosen. The term was used in the old testament

of priests, kings, and occasionally prophets, but in most instances for kings.4 The usage here shows

that Jesus’ position is more than just a master, but rather of God’s chosen king. In verse 4 Paul now

refers to Jesus as ‘our Lord’, and then in verse 6 he makes it clear that the people who form the

church in Rome belonged to Jesus. Already we see a picture emerging of a Lord who is a divinely

appointed king to whom we belong. One may say, that already very early on in the letter, it is clear

that Paul is saying to his audience, ‘This Lord, Jesus, owns you.’ This may seem like a flimsy

argument, because I am aware that the idea of belonging to Jesus may convey the notion of

belonging as one would consider themselves as belonging to, or being a part of their local soccer

team. This notion of belonging is far removed from being owned by the soccer team. However, as I

continue to build my case I will show later how my statement above is supported and stands true.

Nonetheless, at this very early stage in his letter, Paul’s readers would understand that Jesus is

someone with a very special position.

Paul speaks of the identity of Jesus from very early in this letter. In 1:3 he speaks of Jesus as being

a descendant of David. This shows his humanity and the fact that Jesus is a man. Which is also seen

in 5:15, 17. Paul makes it clear that the Lord Jesus is human. This statement draws attention to the

fact that Jesus descends from a much lauded royal lineage, and when this is coupled with 1:4, which

shows Jesus’ identity as the son of God5, his identity emerges as the king whom God spoke of when

Grand Rapids, Mich.: WordAlive Publishers ;

Zondervan, 2006).1377, Robert Horton Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament : verse-by-verse

explanations with a literal translation (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010).571

3 Colin G. Kruse, Paul's letter to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament commentary (2012).38

4 Lois Tverberg, "What does the word “Christ” actually mean?," http://ourrabbijesus.com/articles/what-does-

the-word-christ-actually-mean/.

5 D. A. Carson, New Bible commentary : 21st century edition, 4th ed. (Leicester, England ; Downers Grove, Ill.,

USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).1119

he made his covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 - the king whose kingdom and throne will last

forever.6 The idea of an everlasting kingdom is simply impressive, and leaves the greatness of the

Roman Empire to pale in comparison. Surely the king of an everlasting kingdom, the Lord Jesus, is

greater and worthy of more honour than the emperor of Rome.

Another way Jesus is identified is found in 3:24 where it is written, “…and all are justified freely by

his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Here Jesus is identified as our

redeemer. The remarkable thing we see here is that Jesus is the one who delivers us from the

penalty of our sin, namely the wrath of God!7 Identifying Jesus as redeemer gives yet another

dimension of his lordship. Now we see a human who is able to negotiate with God on our behalf

and in our favour. Indeed in Psalm 130:7-8 it is Yahweh who redeems Israel from their sins, and

therefore leaves us with the impression that the redemption of sins is a task which only God can do,

however when we read Job 19:25, we learn of a redeemer who seems to intercede between Job and

God who is inflicting him (see 19:6-22). The declaration that Jesus’ Lordship extends even to the

point of interceding on our behalf with God, gives us a sense if we can possibly grasp its immensity,

of how great our Lord is.

Throughout the letter to the Romans, Paul declares just what it means that Jesus is Lord, by

speaking of his power. In 1:4 he shows Jesus to have power over death, as is obvious in his

resurrection. In 1:5 Jesus has the power to dispense grace, and commission his servants to various

works of ministry. Verse 7 speaks of the peace Jesus gives, which 5:1 expands upon by saying he

gives peace with God. Not only does Jesus have the power to give us peace with God, but as 5:11-12

6 Adeyemo, Africa Bible commentary.1377, Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament : verse-by-verse

explanations with a literal translation.571

7 ———, Commentary on the New Testament : verse-by-verse explanations with a literal translation.582,

Kruse, Paul's letter to the Romans.183-85

shows, he has the power to reconcile us to God.8 He has the power to save us from the wrath of

God, (as outlined in 1:18-3:20), by the power of the gospel concerning him (1:3, 16). Jesus has the

power to declare us righteous before God and as already mentioned previously, to redeem us (3:24).

He has the power to fulfil his promises (4:21), to give us life (5:17-18), and not just ordinary life, but

to give us eternal life (5:21). Jesus has the power over sin and to free us from sin (6:6-7), and to set

us free from the law of sin and death (8:2). He has the power to give us the Spirit (8:9-11) which

brings about our adoption into God’s family as children (8:15). Many of these attributes are things

which can only be done by God!

Now, we already know that Jesus is introduced as the son of God in 1:4, and therefore it is possible

that the original recipients of this letter would have attributed the remarkable power of the Lord

Jesus to him having god-like abilities. However, Paul does not stop at identifying Jesus as the son of

God. In 9:5 he goes further and writes, “…and from them is traced the human ancestry of the

Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Here Paul clearly states that Jesus is God!9 It

may seem that Paul is confused and believes like some of the so called ‘Christian gnostics’, that there

is more than one god. After all, he speaks countless times throughout Romans of God and of Jesus

as seemingly different entities. However, I believe that no clearer evidence is given than in 10:9-13

that Jesus is, in fact, God. He begins in verse 9 by saying that Jesus, the man, is Lord. I add the term

‘the man’, because it was the man who was crucified and then later raised from the dead, as

mentioned in the last part of verse 9. Then Paul goes on to say in verse 12 that the same Lord is Lord

of all – over Jews and Gentiles alike, and that he richly blesses all who call upon him. This ties in

nicely with 9:5 who calls Jesus God over all, insofar as it puts no limit to his rule. In 10:13 Paul now

quotes Joel 2:32 by saying everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. When reading

Joel 2:32 you will notice that it actually says the following, “And everyone who calls on the name of

8 Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament : verse-by-verse explanations with a literal translation.585-86

9 Adeyemo, Africa Bible commentary.1391

Yahweh will be saved…” Paul quotes a verse that is without doubt speaking of Yahweh, and uses

this verse to show just what kind of Lord he is speaking of in the previous verse in reference to

Jesus.10 Paul does the same in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17 when quoting Jeremiah

9:23-24, and also in 1 Corinthians 10:26 where he quotes Psalm 24:1 and, in all three instances,

clearly uses Lord in reference to Jesus, in exchange for the Old Testament Yahweh.11 Paul here is

saying that Jesus is Yahweh, and that Yahweh is Jesus. This is why he is able to call Jesus our

redeemer when in Psalms 130 it clearly shows that our redeemer in none other than Yahweh

himself.12

By a correct understanding of Jesus Lordship, the church in Rome would have acknowledged that,

as I mentioned previously, Jesus owns them. Paul’s discourse in 6:5-14 makes it clear that whilst

previously they were slaves to sin which was their master (vss 6, 14), now they must count

themselves alive to Jesus. The idea of being alive to Jesus required them to first die to sin (vs 11),

and their old self (vs 6), and give themselves over to God as instruments of righteousness. The

implication of this passage is that they are now slaves, or owned by, the Lord who freed them from

sin.13 This becomes very clear in 6:22 which says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and

have become slaves to God…” Paul does not leave the status of the relationship between Jesus and

the church in Rome ambiguous; he is very clear – Jesus is their master and they are his slaves.14 The

10 Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

Baker Books, 1998).561

11 Daniel G. Reid, Ralph P. Martin, and Gerald F. Hawthorne, Dictionary of Paul and his letters (Downers Grove,

Ill. ; Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1993).563

12 Kruse, Paul's letter to the Romans.410

13 Adeyemo, Africa Bible commentary.1387, David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament commentary : a companion

volume to the Jewish New Testament, 1st ed. (Clarksville, Md.: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992).401-

02, Craig S. Keener and InterVarsity Press., The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Downers

Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993).425

14 Reid, Martin, and Hawthorne, Dictionary of Paul and his letters.569

difference is that He is a benevolent master15 and they were voluntary slaves (6:19). They

recognized the virtue of being part of the eternal kingdom of Jesus and they willingly submitted to

His lordship, being convinced of His goodwill to them because of the love He demonstrated on the

cross. Paul’s understanding of Jesus’ lordship is supported in Galatians 2:20 which says that it is ‘no

longer Paul who lives, but Christ who lives in him’, which demonstrates the laying down of one’s

own individual pursuits in submission to Jesus. The implications of their understanding of His totally

sovereign and divine Lordship extended much further than their understanding of the lordship of

Caesar. They may have obeyed and feared Caesar, but they did not live for him. Whereas, as

mentioned in 14:7-8, Paul was able to convey to the church in Rome that they did not live for

themselves, but for their Lord. Likewise, they do not die for themselves, but for their Lord Jesus. As

Paul writes, “So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Their understanding of Jesus as Lord

through reading Paul’s letter would have taken into account his identity, power and position as

sovereign God, and should therefore result in a total submission to his will in all facets of their lives.

As mentioned in 12:1 it should result in them offering themselves as living sacrifices to God. It

should result in their display of love (12:9-21; 13:8-10; 14:1-23), their submission to governing

authorities (13:1-7), and their consecration to Christ (13:11-14).16 The same kind of emphasis is

given in 1 Corinthians 6:13 - 7:40 where Paul is giving directions exhorting them to submit to the

Lord Jesus. This is especially seen in 7:22-23 which refers to the Corinthians as Christ’s slave and

reminds them they were bought at a price.17

The implications of this understanding for us today is much the same as what it implied to the

Christians in Rome. We, however, have the benefit of not being persecuted for our faith, and nor do

15 Schreiner, Romans.562, Kruse, Paul's letter to the Romans.282-86

16 Reid, Martin, and Hawthorne, Dictionary of Paul and his letters.566-

17 Ibid.567

we risk execution by declaring Jesus is Lord of lords.18 The message of Paul is clear in this regard, in

order to be saved, we must truly believe that Jesus is Lord, and it must be a belief that is outworked

by our attitudes and actions. As James says, faith without works is dead. We struggle to understand

the true concept of Lordship because the idea is foreign to us. We don’t experience this sort of

authority and dominion exercised over us by anyone, as the Romans did under Caesar. As a result

we are often very reluctant and slow to lay down our rights in order to follow and serve Jesus. Our

goal as Christians ought to be one of servitude to Jesus in all aspects of our lives, even if it means

laying down our lives for His sake, and in Christian ministry, we should be teaching others to do the

same. The other aspect is that we ought to rely totally and solely on Jesus as our source of peace,

protection, providence and eternal salvation. Even in ministry, our reliance should be upon Him for

its success, and it should not be depend on our abilities, but rather on our obedience to the one who

commissioned us.

Therefore the statement ‘Jesus is Lord’, encompasses His identity as the Son of David and the Son

of God, as Redeemer, and as God. It also recognises His position as God’s anointed king and our

Saviour, as our Master, our Owner, and God over all, and it acknowledges His sovereign power and

His benevolence and provision for us. When truly understood and believed, this will result in a

dedication of our lives completely to Him. Our every desire ought to be to please Him, and to live

out His commands as we rely on Him for all our wants and needs. Although whilst in this mortal

body it is unlikely to perfectly live this out, if our attitude does not reflect this, and our ministry does

not promote this, then we must seriously question if we have truly placed Jesus in His rightful place

as Lord of lords.

18 Kruse, Paul's letter to the Romans.410

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adeyemo, Tokunboh. Africa Bible Commentary. Nairobi, Kenya

Grand Rapids, Mich.: WordAlive Publishers ;

Zondervan, 2006. Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England ; Downers

Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994. Gundry, Robert Horton. Commentary on the New Testament : Verse-by-Verse Explanations with a

Literal Translation. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Keener, Craig S., and InterVarsity Press. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary : New Testament.

Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Kruse, Colin G. Paul's Letter to the Romans. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. 2012. Reid, Daniel G., Ralph P. Martin, and Gerald F. Hawthorne. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.

Downers Grove, Ill. ; Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids,

Mich.: Baker Books, 1998. Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New

Testament. 1st ed. Clarksville, Md.: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992. Tverberg, Lois. "What Does the Word “Christ” Actually Mean?"

http://ourrabbijesus.com/articles/what-does-the-word-christ-actually-mean/. Wright, N.T. "Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans." A Royal Priesthood: The Use of the Bible

Ethically and Politically (2002).