“Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”

Bulletins

Michael Hickox
09/01/24 - General

2 Peter 3:18: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

While 2 Peter 3:18 exhorts Christians to spiritually grow, it also contains some key words about the Son of God, whose instruction provides the basis for our growth. In this verse, He is referred to as Lord, Savior, Jesus, and Christ.

As our Lord, Jesus has the authority to direct our lives. The Father “gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:22-23). Our Lord is our Lawgiver who, as the Father commanded, must be listened to and heeded (Matt. 17:5). He is the One who has the right to establish doctrine for the church, as He has done and revealed through His Word.

Those who respect and submit to Jesus’ Lordship can lean confidently on His strength. Revelation 17:14 shows the superiority of Jesus’ Lordship as compared with earthly “lords,” especially those who persecute His subjects. Jesus is the “Lord of lords, and King of kings” who assures victory for the righteous.

As our Savior, God the Son allows us to be rescued from sin (Matt. 1:21) and from the consequences of sin. Romans 5:9 speaks about the faithful being “saved from God’s wrath through [Christ].” Though mankind can identify many problems, the greatest problem any of us have ever faced is sin. The wages sin earns is eternal death in hell (Rom. 6:23). The debt owed to be rescued from sin was too high for any of us to pay, but Jesus’ blood was a sufficient ransom price that allows us the opportunity to be rescued.

The name Jesus is also connected to His role as our Savior. The name means “Jehovah is salvation.” Jesus was given this name because, as the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

The final title ascribed to our Savior in
2 Peter 3:18 is Christ. The term Christ (or Messiah) means “Anointed,” and alludes to Christ’s rule. It also relates to His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. In Luke 24:44, Jesus said to His disciples, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.” Jesus is the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy who the Jews of His day were looking for (cf. John 1:41).

These four words are among those frequently used to refer to God the Son. As simple as these words may seem on the surface, they have great significance when we consider what they tell us about the Son of God. There’s a lot of depth in the words “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”