Accepting Jesus as Lord means fully embracing all of this—His true humanity, His divine anointing as the Christ (the Messiah), and His unique role as the one whom God has appointed to be the Lord of all creation. It is crucial to understand the distinction between the God-man concept and the belief that Jesus was fully human—not some hybrid of divinity and humanity, but truly human in every way, empowered by the Holy Spirit and anointed by God to fulfill His divine mission.
Key Aspects of Accepting Jesus as Lord:
- Jesus is Fully Human: Jesus’ humanity is essential to the Christian faith. He is fully human, just like we are, and His humanity is central to His lordship. He experienced life as we do—joy, sorrow, temptation, pain, suffering, and even death. This full humanity is vital because it means that Jesus understands the human conditioncompletely. He did not live as a “superhuman” or a being above the experience of humanity; He lived a normal human life but sinlessly, and obediently to the Father.
- Divine by Anointing: Jesus' divinity is not intrinsic to His human nature—He did not have two natures in a mixed way (as in the “God-man” doctrine of some Christian traditions). Instead, His divinity comes by anointing—He was chosen and empoweredby God to be the Christ, the Messiah, and the Lord of all. God appointedJesus as Christ (meaning the Anointed One), giving Him the fullness of the Spirit and the authority to rule as Lord over all things, as confirmed by His resurrection. This is a crucial point because it means that Jesus' lordship is not about His being a "God-man", but about His humanity, empowered and exalted by God to fulfill this supreme role.
- His Anointing as Lord by the Father: Through His obedienceand sacrifice, Jesus was exalted to the highest place of authority by the Father. His resurrection and ascension signify God’s declaration that He is Lord over all creation. Acts 2:36 captures this truth well:
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."
His Lordship is not an inherent part of His humanity but is given to Him by the Father—a result of His perfect obedience, His fulfillment of the Father’s will, and His victory over sin and death. This means that Jesus’ Lordship is righteous and fitting because it is God the Father who declares Him to be Lord, based on His perfect human obedience. - Jesus’ Humanity Makes Him Truly Relatable: Jesus is the perfect Lord because He is truly human and understands the struggles, temptations, and limitations of the human experience. This is one of the reasons He can be trusted as Lord—He is not distant or detached from us. He knows what it means to suffer, to be tempted, to feel joy, and to endure the hardships of this life. His Lordship is therefore relatable and accessible to us, as He is not only Lord over all creation but also a compassionate Savior who can help us in our weakness.
- The Fullness of His Humanity and Divine Appointment: Jesus being fully human and anointed by God as Lord does not detract from His humanity but rather affirms it. In His resurrection, Jesus proves that He fully shared in our humanity, even in death, but because He was sinless, God exalted Him to the place of supreme authority. His Lordshipdoes not diminish His human nature but confirms it, because it shows that God is justin making Him Lord, as He has fully experienced all that it means to be human, yet remained faithful to God and conquered sin and death.
The Righteousness of God in Appointing Jesus as Lord:
God’s decision to make Jesus Lord is righteous because Jesus was obedient to the Father in every aspect of His life—He was the only human being who could fulfill God's perfect plan for salvation. Jesus did not need to be “part God, part human”; His complete humanitymade Him the perfect candidate for Lordship, and it was through His human obedience and resurrection that He is declared Lordby God. This is a deeply righteous decision because Jesus, as a true human who fully obeyed God, is worthy of the supreme authority granted to Him by the Father.
Conclusion:
To accept Jesus as Lord means to believe in Him as fully human, yet anointed and empowered by God to be the Lordover all creation. It means acknowledging that His resurrection is the righteous declaration of His Lordship, based on His perfect obedience as a human being. This understanding of Jesus as Lord is not about a “God-man” hybrid, but about a true human being, empowered by God, who overcame sin and death and was exalted to the highest place of authority by the Father. Through His humanness, He can truly be Lord, and it is because He has experienced what we experience and yet remained faithful to God that He is worthy to be our Lord.
