“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” - Mark 8:29Christianity has been founded on statements of truth that were confessed. Here we see a statement that Peter the Apostle gives to Jesus: "You are the Christ" or Messiah. Such a phrase was similar to the statement "Jesus is Lord" (1 Corinthians 12:3). These fixed statements of Christian faith were repeated over and over in New Testament writings along with the meetings of the Church. This caused tensions with the Roman world who saw Emperor Octavian as the lord in a sense carrying the title "Augustus." Early believers committed to follow the rulership of Jesus Christ as Lord above all others and this was the problem, as Roman idol worshipping peoples could worship multiple idols along with honouring the Emperor. It is wonderful to see that this creedal affirmation has continued through the Church in many forms and is still the foundational statement, or at least one of the main ones in the life of the Church. When believers confessed "Jesus is Lord" they were stating that Jesus the man was God. He was the Kurios (owner and master) of all things and believers therefore were not their own but slaves of this God. We read in Romans 10:9, "If with your mouth you confess Kurios Iesous and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Kurios Iesous meaning "Jesus is Lord." We do not need to re-invent in our modern days Church experience, a new emphasis for it has always been the emphasis on our Lord Jesus Christ. Another passage in the New Testament that make this declaration is, "and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11). Is Jesus the Lord of your Life? Is he the owner of you and all you are and have?
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
