Divine Titles And Their Significance / Part Eleven

Series – October 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Divine Titles
AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE / Part Eleven

The Lord Jesus Christ
This combination, presenting a full presentation of our Lord, occurs about 75 times. Not found in the Gospels, it occurs once in Acts and is common throughout the Epistles. It forms the benediction of eight of Paul’s epistles and ends Revelation.

There is a wonderful majesty in this combination. When the Philippian jailer cried in anguish under deep conviction of sin, “What must I do to be saved?” the memorable answer was given, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NKJV ). We have in this combination:

The Lord to whom we bow and whose claims we recognize;Jesus the Savior whom we trust for salvation; andChrist, the Anointed, sent to be the great Mediator between God and man.

When the Corinthian assembly was called to excommunicate a man who had sinned grievously, the solemnity of their action was emphasized by the use of this combination of our Lord, twice. We read: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:4-5).

We may remember, too, the beautiful doxology that graces the close of 2 Corinthians: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor. 13:14).

Lord
As a title of our Lord, there are two words in the Greek translated “Lord.” The first is despotes, meaning “Master” – a strong word. It only occurs 5 times. In every case it indicates our Lord. The second, kurios, occurs nearly 700 times, meaning “Lord” or “Master.” Occasionally it is directed to an earthly lord or master but it generally refers to the Lord Himself. In the Gospels the single word is used, but in Acts and the Epistles it is generally found in combination with Jesus or Christ.

How good and right that the day is coming when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord [kurios] to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).

Jesus Christ
This combination occurs about 100 times. Scripture does not use words loosely, at random or, in their relation to other words, in a casual fashion. They are given with the utmost precision of meaning. If we keep this in mind and apply it to all the places where the combination Jesus Christ is found, we will gather the idea of a divine person’s coming into this world, becoming Man, never ceasing to be what He was from all eternity, the Son of the Father, living a blameless life, going about doing good, dying a sacrificial death on the cross for God’s glory, establishing divine righteousness, rising the third day according to the Scriptures and ascending to glory 40 days later.

So in thinking of Jesus Christ, you begin with our Lord on earth and end with Him in the glory. Consider a couple of illustrations. We read: “The birth of Jesus Christ was as follows” (Mt. 1:18). Here the Lord had His whole life before Him, as well as His death and resurrection.

Again we read: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). Here we are led to think of the dying of our Lord on the cross and the blessing that is wrapped up in that death for all who put their trust in Him. The apostle Peter wrote of the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All these verses have to do with the earth, though ending in the glory.

Christ Jesus
This is a wonderful combination occurring 47 times. It leads the student of Scripture to begin with Christ in glory at God’s right hand. We read that God has “raised us [believers] up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). We instinctively think of Christ in glory. Then Ephesians 2:10 says of believers, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Our thoughts turn to Christ in glory as the One from whom comes all our spiritual blessing.

We read: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). The riches are His riches in glory. Finally we are invited to “consider ... the High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus” (Heb. 3:1). Not until our Lord was glorified did He become the High Priest of His saints. We are told that if He were on earth He would not be a priest (Heb. 8:4). So, the combination Christ Jesus very plainly links up our thoughts with our blessed Lord in glory.

By A. J. Pollack

Related thoughts shared by Walter Scott
(adapted from The Bible Handbook)Lord Jesus Christ
This is the full written title of our Lord, connecting His authority (Lord) with His manhood (Jesus) and glory (Christ). Thus His power is forever linked with His humanity and present exaltation (Mt. 28). This title is found in all the introductory verses, and generally at the close, of the Pauline Epistles. In the introduction to 2 Timothy the title is slightly altered, but it occurs in the last verse of that epistle. John did not use it in his three letters – in fact the word “Lord” does not occur once in those epistles. If the thoughts given under each name are connected, the Scriptural force and value of this fullest of the Lord’s New Testament titles will be readily perceived. Jesus Christ
This double title only occurs five or six times in the Gospels, but is frequently used by the apostles Paul, Peter and John in their epistles. The lowly humbled man on the earth, Jesus, is now the exalted and glorified man in the heavens, Christ. What He was as “Jesus” and what He is as “Christ” combined give the force of this title. The sufferings of earth and the glories of heaven are thus wondrously linked in the divine order of the names “Jesus Christ.” Christ Jesus
“Jesus Christ” is common in all the epistles, but “Christ Jesus” is almost wholly confined to those written by Paul. These titles are penned with remarkable precision in the Scriptures, and to confound them is simply to rob our souls of blessing and Christ of glory. This we cannot afford to do. An exact acquaintance with the Spirit’s employment of these names and titles will yield light or profit to your soul. Except for Paul, whose first acquaintance with Christ was formed in the glory (Acts 9), the apostles and writers of the New Testament were converted when Jesus was on earth. In this way we account for the rare occurrence of Paul’s favorite title, “Christ Jesus,” in the other than Pauline writings. Peter, John and others, first knowing Jesus on earth, speak and write of Him as “Jesus Christ.” Paul, first knowing Jesus in glory, uses the expressive title “Christ Jesus.” This title is not found in the Gospels. The exalted man, the head and center of every glory – Christ, was once the deeply humbled man on earth – Jesus. Thus in this title the glories on high and man in Christ in the presence of God are known before the sufferings of earth and Jesus, our pattern in conflict and sorrow, can be learned. I must know Christ in the glory as an object and for power before I can walk as He walked.

Look for the continuation of this Series next month.