Meditations for Communion: Jesus is Lord

In the ancient Roman-ruled world, there was a short two-word “confession of faith” that was required to be said by those living under Roman rule…if they wanted to stay in the good graces of Rome.

That short “confession of faith” was: Καῖσαρ κύριος (Kaisar kyrios)—Caesar is Lord. 

By saying Καῖσαρ κύριος, a person was doing at least two things: 1) they were doing what needed to be done to say in line with what Rome (Caesar) demanded from its people, and 2) they were making it clear to whom their allegiance belonged.

To be a good Roman citizen was to be a person who submitted to the authority of the state above all else. Rome was the one in charge. Sure, you could believe what you wanted and do what you wanted (on the side, and within limit), but there was no mistaking who made the rules. And there was certainly no mistaking who held those accountable for breaking those rules.

There was a type person (better, a whole group of people), though, for whom declaring Καῖσαρ κύριος would not do.

Those were the ancient Christians.

For them, there was someone they worshipped as Lord, but Caesar (and, thus, Rome) was not it. The ancient Christians had already settled on their “confession of faith” and it was: Ἰησοῦς κύριος (Iēsous kyrious)—Jesus is Lord.

This might not be clearer anywhere else in the New Testament than Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome where he writes: “…if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ (κύριον Ἰησοῦν) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9, LEB).

What hope was there for a Roman Christian in ancient early church?

It could be Rome, but Rome wasn’t going to truly save them. No, for the early church, Jesus was the only one who defeated death and, thus, could pass on that victory to those who testified to his death and resurrection.

And, so, they worshipped. And they testified. And they believed.

The ancient Christians did that then, and we can do that now—through communion.

Therefore, let us take of the cup and the bread together, and declare in the Lord’s Supper that, above all else: Ἰησοῦς κύριος—Jesus is Lord.

Worshiping in Defiance

We worship because of what God has done to us and for us. That much is for sure.

Often our individual worship happens when we come to the realization that God has blessed far more than we could ever have imagined. We’ve been given life when we should have received death. We’ve been given health when we should have received sickness. We’ve been given prosperity when all we should have received is hardship. Over and over again God gives us what we don’t deserve, because he loves us. And so, we worship him.

This is good and right and I don’t want to say anything to disparage that type of worship. It’s the type of worship God is due and it’s the type of worship we ought to give him. And yet, I wonder if there’s a different type of worship we can take part in. A type that doesn’t take away from the worship given from the recognition of God’s good gifts, but the type of worship built upon the truth that we’re in a spiritual war.

We struggle, fight, and wrestle because we’re in a war “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). The question then is: How can fighters worship? They can worship in defiance.

Christians who worship in the midst of a spiritual war can worship in defiance. Not in defiance to God for what he’s doing or allowing to happen during this spiritual war, but in defiance to the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. In other words, against all those spiritual realities that would set themselves up against God. Christians can worship the goodness of God in the face of all those spiritual realities who would love nothing more than for us to doubt the goodness of God.

Think of the statement you can make to the spiritual realities around you (and the world!) by listening to your favorite song while your hurting, reading Scripture when you don’t feel like it, or loving someone who hurt you, all as an act of worship to your Lord and God, Jesus Christ. Think of Job worshiping when he lost almost everything (Job 1-2). Think of Elijah when he was surrounded by the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:1-40). Think of Jesus himself when he was being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). I dare say there is no more powerful strategy in this war we find ourselves in than to worship when everyone says we shouldn’t.

To worship God when the world both physical and spiritual says you shouldn’t is an act of defiance in the best way possible.

May God give you the grace and peace so that you may give yourself to this type of worship.