BULLETIN ARTICLE – 12 November 2017
“Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3)
Since the first Sunday of January this year, the church had been studying Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Christians. Although the letter was written some 2,000 years ago, the issues faced then are also applicable in this twenty- first century. We, therefore, need to take heed of the lessons that are taught by Apostle Paul in this very challenging Bible book.
In the book of 1 Corinthians, the word “Lord” occurs more times than in any other book in the Bible. The Lordship of Jesus is a central theme that runs through the whole Bible. Jesus needs to be the centre of the church, the Lord of all. Apostle Paul was addressing problems in the church of Corinth and showing that the reason for the problems in the church was that Jesus was not Lord there. Jesus Christ is the only cure for their divisive nature – “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.” (1 Cor 6:17). God wants to knit His church together in love and to be striving together in harmony.
Jesus needs to be in the centre of the individual Christian. John Piper, an American Pastor/ Author, in his book, “What Jesus demands from the world”, wrote: “He (Jesus) did not say, “Teach them all my commandments.” He said, “Teach them to observe all my commandments.” You can teach a parrot all of Jesus’ commandments. But you cannot teach a parrot to observe them. Parrots will not repent, and worship Jesus, and lay up treasures in heaven, and love their enemies, and go out like sheep in the midst of wolves to herald the kingdom of God.” The individual Christian needs to settle within himself or herself on the Lordship of Jesus on a daily basis. In John 6, many of the hearers decided that to obey the teaching of Jesus was not for them. “On hearing it, many of His disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ … From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (Jn 6:60, 66). Instead, when we read/hear the teachings of Jesus, let us conclude as Simon Peter did, who “answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68–69). We have believed in Jesus as our Saviour and need to press on to worship Him as Lord. The Lordship of Jesus in our daily Christian lives, obeying His teachings and following the leading of the Holy Spirit is very important in our growth as Christians. We always proclaim confidently: JESUS IS LORD!
“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11).
