CHRIST'S TWO ROLES: KING AND LORD

I have been a born again believer since January 31, 1971, and I have heard thousands of sermons!  In fact, as a Pastor, I preached many myself, and yet, I have never heard or preached a sermon that divided Christ's "name," which appears in three variations in the Scriptures:  in Revelation 19:16, Jesus is both "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."  The same goes for 1 Timothy 6:15 which states that Jesus is "the King of kings, and Lord of lords," and in Revelation 17:14, He is identified as "Lord of lords, and King of kings."  However, I cannot count the sermons which included the seven words as a single title. 

 

JESUS CHRIST AS KING OF KINGS

The phrase or title of "King of the Jews" appears only eighteen times in the entire Bible, all in the four Gospels (Mt. 2:2; 27:11, 29, 37; Mk. 15:2, 9, 12, 18, 26; Lk. 23:3, 37, 38; and Jn. 18:35, 39; 19:3, 19, 21).  However, the word "kingdom" is found 110 times in the Old Testament, and 162 times in the New Testament (120 of those are in the four Gospels).  The kingdom, with Christ as King, was presented as prophecy in the Old Testament, was offered to the Jews in the Gospels (Jn. 1:11-12), and when Christ was rejected and crucified, it once again has become a prophecy for the future.  It will become a reality at Christ's Second Coming (Rev. 19:11 - 20:15)!  Jesus will be acknowledged as the King of the Jews.

 

JESUS CHRIST AS LORD OF LORDS

The phrase or title of "Lord" appears 667 times in the New Testament; in eighty-four verses, the words, "Jesus," "Christ," "our," and "Lord" appear together!  While Jesus will one day rule as King over Israel, He IS NOW (and always will be) Lord over the Church!  Remember, the Church is comprised of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ.  Here are some examples:

*  Acts 2:47 - "Praising God, and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
*  Acts 20:21 - "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Gentiles, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
*  Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
*  1 Corinthians 1:2 - " Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."
*  1 Thessalonians 1:1 - "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

 

SALVATION OCCURS WHEN ONE RECOGNIZES JESUS CHRIST AS LORD!

*  Romans 10:9-10 (SLV) - "That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart man believes and receives Christ's righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21); and with the mouth, confession of Christ as Lord results in salvation."