LORD OF LORDS

On each of the three occasions in the New Testament where the title ‘Lord of lords’ is used, it is alongside the title ‘King of kings’. Clearly the two titles are linked, but they also have significance in their own right. The underlying thought of lordship is the exercise of power, whereas the underlying thought of kingship is the exercise of authority. The two concepts, though similar, are different. In 1939 the armies of Germany marched into Poland. They had the power to do so but they had no authority for their invasion. On the other hand, a policeman may step into a road and, by use of his upraised hand, bring to a halt a 42 ton truck. He does so not by personal power, but by the authority vested in him. Power and authority have been dreadfully abused throughout the ages, and the resultant suffering and misery are beyond calculation. What a joy it is to know that the Man whom God has set upon a throne will one day establish His kingdom! As a prelude to that glorious day, He will utterly subdue His enemies and all who would oppose His right to reign. He will be manifested as the possessor of invincible power, the Lord of all who exercise lordship upon the earth.

The epitome of lordship lies in unique, solitary, unassailable power, and though many of earth’s tyrants have wielded the sword of oppression in mighty strength, none will match the tyranny of the Beast. He will subjugate every other power to the point where ‘these have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords’, vv. 13-14. Totally invincible in His power and strength, He who once allowed cruel sinners to set Him at nought, and brutish Roman soldiers to make Him an object of their derision, will utterly crush in an instant every opponent and assert Himself as Lord of lords. God has ordained ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . .. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’, Phil. 2.10-11. O the grace of God that has brought us to acknowledge the Lordship of His Son, and to say with David, Elisabeth, Mary Magdalene, Thomas and Paul, ‘my Lord’!