Here’s
a three-voice reading on the Lordship of Christ I put together for a service a
few weeks ago. It draws from the
following scripture texts: 1 Corinthians
1:2-3, Colossians 1:15-17, 19-20; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Corinthians 8:5-7;
Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 7:21; Ephesians 4:1; Romans 14:7-9; 1 Corinthians
15:57; 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24.
The Lordship of Christ
1: To the church of God,
to all those whom Christ Jesus has made
holy,
who are called to be God’s men and
women,
to all true believers in Jesus
Christ—their Lord and our Lord—
grace and peace to you
from God the Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ!
2: Christ is the visible image of the
invisible God.
He existed before anything was
created
and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created
everything in heaven and on earth.
3: He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
1: God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him, God reconciled
everything to himself,
making peace…by means of his blood
on the cross.
3: Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with
God as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine
privileges;
he took the humble position of a
slave
and was born as a human being.
2: When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to
God
and died a criminal’s death on a
cross.
1: Therefore, God elevated him to the
place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all
other names,
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.
2: We know that there is only one God, the
Father,
who created everything,
and we live for him.
3: And there is only one Lord, Jesus
Christ,
through whom God made everything
and through whom we have been given
life.
1: This is the message we preach:
If you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
3: For it is by believing in your heart
that you are made right with God,
2: and it is by confessing with your mouth
that you are saved.
1: Not everyone who calls out to me,
‘Lord! Lord!’
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Only those who actually do the will
of my Father in heaven will enter.
2: I beg you,
lead a life worthy of your calling,
for you have been called by God.
3: We don’t live for ourselves or die for
ourselves.
If we live, it is to honor the Lord.
And if we die, it is to honor the
Lord.
1: So whether we live or die, we belong to
the Lord.
Christ died and rose again for this
very purpose—
to be Lord both of the living and of
the dead.
2: So, brothers and sisters,
be strong and immovable.
Stand firm.
3: Always work enthusiastically for the
Lord,
for you know that nothing you do for
him is ever lost or wasted.
1: May the God of peace make you holy in
every way;
3: may your whole spirit and soul and body
be kept blameless
until the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
2: He who calls you is utterly faithful,
1: and he will finish what he has set out
to do.
