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"We preach Christ Jesus the Lord." Christ is His title, identifying Him as the one anointed by God to be the great deliverer of His people as their Prophet, Priest, and King. Jesus is His name, identifying Him as the Savior of His people. Lord is another of His titles, identifying Him as Master.

1) We preach the divine lordship of Jesus Christ. He is not some mere earthly lord. Rather, He is Jehovah! Jehovah is God's name par excellence. The Jews in Old Testament times were so fearful of taking God's name in vain (see Exodus 20:7) that they refused to utter this name or write it in their sacred Scriptures. They therefore substituted "LORD" (written in all upper case letters) for Jehovah.

Various references to the "LORD"/"Jehovah" in the Old Testament are ascribed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. For example, the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3 reads "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD [i.e. Jehovah]; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" This prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus Christ (Matthew ch.3). Jesus Christ is declared by Isaiah and John to be "the LORD" and "our God." Thomas the apostle therefore acknowledged Him as "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

2) We preach that Jesus Christ is "Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). i) He is the Lord of nature: "even the winds and the sea obey Him" (Matthew 8:23-27). ii) He is the Lord of all angelic beings: even the demons acknowledge Him as their Master (Matthew 8:28-32). iii) He is Lord of the nations: they are His inheritance, and all their kings and citizens are instructed to reverence Him as their Master (Psalm 2). iv) He is therefore "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16).

3) We preach that God the Father requires all creatures to submit to Jesus Christ as their divine Lord (Philippians 2:9-11): "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name [i.e. Jehovah], that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord [or Jehovah] to the glory of God the Father."

Paul does not here imply that there was ever a time when Jesus Christ was not Lord. His lordship is eternal, as He is eternally "in the form of God" and "equal with God" (v.6). But in order to redeem and save His people, He assumed their humanity (vv.7f): He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men." "God was manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). Furthermore, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Having accomplished His saving work as the Son of man, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him." And God the Father has declared Him to be Jehovah-Jesus Christ, and required us all to acknowledge Him as such.

Consequently, all those who deny the deity and lordship of Jesus Christ are in rebellion against God, still in their sins, and subject to the everlasting wrath of God. No one will know Jesus Christ as Savior until first he submits to Him as Lord.

Therefore, "We preach Christ Jesus the Lord." He is Jehovah the Son, and Jehovah's anointed Prophet and Priest and King, and the only Savior. Have you believed our gospel?

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