The Lordship of Jesus

Paul writes Philippians 3 from prison, not from a comfortable place, and that matters. Philippians 3 puts an older, seasoned apostle in chains saying, “that I may know him.” Paul had seen signs, wonders, churches planted, missionary journeys, beatings, shipwrecks, stonings, and arrests, yet the cry of his heart was still not, “I have arrived,” but “that I may know him.”

Paul counts all the old gain as loss. His Hebrew background, his zeal, his law keeping, his education, and his reputation all get laid down as dung compared to the excellency of knowing Jesus Christ. The text makes lordship very plain: righteousness is not found in the flesh, not in religious performance, not in what a person can stack up before God, but through faith in Christ. Paul presses toward the mark because Christ first apprehended him on that Damascus road.

First Corinthians 12 says no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. That confession is not just natural talk. It is supernatural. The Spirit puts His fingerprint on a human life and brings a person beyond admiring Jesus, quoting Jesus, or respecting Jesus, into surrendering to Jesus. The first confession is a truth acknowledged: Jesus reigns over all. The second is a throne surrendered: Jesus is Lord over the will, the plans, the future, and the preferences.

Philippians 2 shows that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The same words will be spoken by all, but not with the same heart. One confession is love, drawn by the Spirit now. The other is verdict, compelled at the judgment when it is too late to be saved by it.

Jesus gives the picture of the yoke in Matthew 11. His yoke is not a burden strapped to the back alone. His yoke is a wooden crossbar joining the weary soul to the One who pulls beside it. Lordship is not Jesus piling more weight on worn-out people. Lordship is surrender to the One whose strength is infinite, whose gentleness is real, and whose burden is light.

The two searching questions press deep: How long has Christ been known, and what is He really like? Philip walked with Jesus three years and still heard, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me?” The real Jesus must be received as He truly is, not as the comfortable Christ arranged in the corners of life.

Communion brings that surrender to Calvary. The broken body declares healing by His stripes, spiritually and physically. The blood declares remission of sins, cleansing, redemption, and victory over the devil. The Spirit calls the house awake, because this is an hour of revival, gifts, healing, and fresh surrender.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Lordship is a surrendered throne The confession “Jesus is Lord” is more than agreeing with a fact about heaven. Lordship reaches into the throne of the will, the plans, the future, and the preferences. The Spirit does not merely give words to say, He gives the surrender those words demand. [14:11]
• 2. The Spirit gives true confession A person can admire Jesus, quote Jesus, and build thoughts around Jesus without truly bowing to Him. The deep confession that Jesus is Lord comes when the Holy Ghost marks the life with His fingerprint. That confession reorders the whole existence, not just the religious part of a person. [18:26]
• 3. Christ’s yoke carries the weary Jesus does not call heavy-laden people so He can add a harsher burden. His yoke joins the weary one to Himself, and He pulls beside the one who comes to Him. Rest is not the absence of work, but the presence of the gentle Lord in the work. [24:05]
• 4. Knowing Christ keeps going deeper Paul had walked with God for years, suffered for the gospel, and seen great victory, yet still cried, “that I may know him.” Spiritual maturity does not sound like arrival, it sounds like hunger. The closer Christ is known, the more the heart sees that surrender is not finished yet. [03:37]
• 5. Communion searches and heals hearts The table calls the believer to judge the heart by the Word, not by self-deception or condemnation. Repentance belongs there because Christ’s body and blood speak both cleansing and healing. Calvary is not half a work, for the stripes and the blood declare freedom in the whole person. [47:16]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:53] - Paul Writes From Prison
• [02:37] - Counting All Things Loss
• [03:37] - That I May Know Him
• [10:32] - Confession Only The Spirit Gives
• [14:11] - Truth Acknowledged, Throne Surrendered
• [20:49] - Every Knee Will Bow
• [24:05] - A Word About The Yoke
• [25:29] - Come To Me, Heavy Laden
• [31:20] - Two Questions That Search
• [35:14] - Philip And Knowing Jesus
• [37:29] - Surrendering To The Real Jesus
• [42:23] - Examining The Throne
• [45:30] - Communion And Calvary
• [51:18] - Revival, Gifts, And Sending

Bible Reading

Philippians 3:7-10
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” [00:03:37]

1 Corinthians 12:3
“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” [00:10:32]

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [00:25:29]

Philippians 2:10-11
“so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [00:20:49]

John 14:9
“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” [00:35:14]

Observation questions

1. In Philippians 3, what are some of the things Paul once counted as gain, and what words does he use now to describe them compared to knowing Christ? [00:02:37]
2. According to 1 Corinthians 12:3, who enables a person to truly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and what does that show about this confession? [00:18:26]
3. In Matthew 11:28-30, who does Jesus invite to come to Him, and what does He promise to those who take His yoke and learn from Him? [00:25:29]
4. In Philippians 2:10-11, what does Paul say every knee and every tongue will do one day, and how broad is that picture? [00:20:49]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul had already walked with God for many years, yet he still said, “that I may know him.” What does that suggest about the difference between spiritual maturity and spiritual arrival? [00:03:37]
2. There is a difference between acknowledging that Jesus is Lord over all and surrendering the throne of personal will, plans, and preferences to Him. Why is that difference so important in real Christian life? [00:14:11]
3. Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. How does the picture of being joined to Him change the way a person thinks about surrender, obedience, and rest? [00:24:05]
4. Jesus asked Philip, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me?” How can a person spend years around Christian things and still not really know what Jesus is like? [00:37:29]

Application questions

1. Paul counted even good and impressive things as loss compared to knowing Christ. What is most likely to compete with that in a person’s life right now—reputation, success, comfort, control, religious performance, or something else? Where does that become a lordship issue for the heart? [00:07:48]
2. The throne of the heart can be surrendered or defended. In what area of life is it hardest right now to say, “Jesus, You are Lord here too”—future plans, money, family concerns, time, habits, or personal preferences? [00:20:08]
3. Jesus does not place a crushing load on weary people; He joins Himself to them. Where has life felt heavy lately, and what might it look like to come to Him there instead of carrying it alone? [00:30:10]
4. “What is Jesus really like?” is a searching question. When this group answers that honestly, what picture of Jesus tends to come most naturally—and does that picture match the gentle, holy, living Lord revealed in Scripture? [00:33:06]
5. A person can admire Jesus, quote Jesus, and still resist letting Him reorder life. Where might that be happening quietly—in speech, relationships, decision-making, forgiveness, or private thought life? [00:19:15]
6. Communion is a place to let the Word search the heart and to respond with repentance and faith. What helps a person examine the heart honestly without sliding into either self-deception or condemnation? [00:47:25]
7. Paul pressed on because Christ had first apprehended him. Where is there a need to stop drifting, stop looking backward, and begin pressing toward Christ again in a concrete way this week? [00:04:34]