Thirst Student Ministries

Sovereign Joy: Jesus Christ, by Stuart McCray - April 8, 2007

It is Easter morning and Christ has risen from the dead and He is Lord! And because of this, our sorrow of his death has turned into an everlasting joy! Our hope lies in the fact that God is glorified in and through all things and is ultimately glorified most because Jesus Christ died on the cross for his good pleasure and rose again. In Romans 3:25-26 God says this about Jesus, it was he, "whom God put forward as a propitiation (a turning of wrath) by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he (God) might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

The theme of my life is the understanding that, "God is glorified in and through all things as shown through the face of Jesus Christ, the risen Christ".

I want to show you two things this morning pertaining to God receiving the glory through Jesus Christ. And then I want to show you the most glorious gift of all, which we receive because of Christ's death and resurrection. The First thing is Christ's supremacy over his own death and resurrection. The second is, God bestowed on Him "the name that is above every name" and then finally the glorious gift we receive from Christ's death and resurrection is the ability to have Sovereign Joy.

The Supremacy of Christ
Over His Own Death and Resurrection

Christ being supreme over his own death and resurrection means that he had ultimate authority over loosing his life and then taking it back again.

In John 10:17-18, Jesus says, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." Christ was given the authority over his death because the Father gave him this authority. In fact he always had this authority, because Christ is God! John chapter 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Christ was completely supreme over his death and resurrection and because of this supremacy over his death and resurrection it was a super-natural death and resurrection. By this I mean that it was different from every other death. Who else do you know that is able to say "OK, now is the right time for death", and then to say, "Now is the time to rise" and then take their life back again? There are countless times that the Gospels tell us that Christ could have died but his response is always this, "my time has not yet come."..."my time has not yet come."

You see Christ was, "...delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God..." We talked last week about God having a plan a willful plan, for the redemptive history of man and this plan involved Christ. It involved Christ living amongst man and him preaching the concepts of repentance, love and forgiveness and him even being delivered up by Judas and being tried by the Pharisees and then ultimately killed. God's willful plan involved Christ laying down his life for God's sheep and then Christ rising from the dead three days later. Christ's life, death and resurrection was not a quick fix by God, it was apart of a plan that God had before the foundation of the world to reconcile (or bring back into relationship) His children.

Christ was Supreme over His own death and resurrection because it was a "charge" that his Father gave him. And since it was given to him by his Father, his Father was glorified in him having supremacy over his death and resurrection.

God Bestowing on Christ
The Name That is Above Every Name

In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians he tells us that, "God has highly exalted him (Christ) and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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." (Philippians 2:9-11)

To be able to show you the significance of this name bestowing act of God on Jesus I need to share with you an Old Testament verse. The verse I have chosen is from Amos chapter 4 verse 2. It goes like this, "The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness...", "The Lord GOD". In the NIV this verse says this, "The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness..."

Both "Sovereign" and "Lord" (Capitol "L" lowercase "o", lowercase "r", lowercase "d") from either translation mean the same thing and they are the English translation of the Hebrew name (Hebrew, because the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew.) of God, Adonai - which is the most Holy name for God. So now you know that whether you are reading the NIV or the ESV, as we have read from this morning, or even the KJV; when you read "Lord" or "Sovereign" it is actually the transliteration of the Hebrew name of God - Adonai.

A side note:

"doing according to His will among the host of heaven (the Angels) and among the inhabitants of the earth

); so that none can stay His hand or say to Him, "What have you done?"

"the governor among the nations"

"only crowned head, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords"

Now here is how this all fits together. Here is how we continually see the unity of the Bible through the Old and New Testament. The name of God in the Old Testament, "Lord" (Capitol "L" lowercase "o", lowercase "r", lowercase "d") or Adonai or Sovereign is the same name that God bestowed on Christ in the New Testament, "the name that is above every name, 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." He was given the name Lord, Adonai, Sovereign this is "the name that is above every name". In the New Testament, "Lord", was written as Kyrios because the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Adonai is Kyrios. Christ was given the supreme title of Sovereign. And we see that the bestowal of this name, "the name that is above every name" was "to the glory of God the Father."

God was most glorified in giving His son the name Adonai. He pronounced Jesus Christ, "Sovereign" and it was to His glory. Now the importance of this pronouncement is found at the end of Chapter 3 in the book of Philippians, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord (the Sovereign) Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." In other words all things are subject to the Risen Sovereign Christ.

So God is most glorified through the bestowal of "the name that is above every name" Sovereign, the name Lord upon Christ because it pronounced that all things are subject to Christ's control.

The Most Glorious Gift of All: Sovereign Joy

What do I mean by Sovereign Joy is the most glorious gift of all? I mean several things when I say; Sovereign Joy is the most glorious gift. There is a multitude of meanings for Sovereign Joy. Let me give you a taste of what the Bible has to offer about joy.

Jesus' aim in all he taught was the joy of his people.

John 15:11

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Joy is what God fills us with when we trust in Christ.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

The kingdom of God is joy.

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Joy is the fruit of God's Spirit within us.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.

Joy is the aim of everything the apostles did and wrote.

2 Corinthians 1:24

Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy.

Becoming a Christian is finding a joy that makes you willing to forsake everything.

Matthew 13:44

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

Joy is nourished and sustained by the word of God in the Bible

Psalm 19:8

the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

Joy will overtake all sorrow for those who trust Christ.

Psalm 126:5

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

Psalm 30:5b

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

God himself is our joy.

Psalm 43:4

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Joy in God outstrips all earthly joy.

Psalm 4:7

You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

If your joy is in God, no one can take your joy from you.

John 16:22

You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

God calls all nations and peoples to join in the joy he offers to all who believe. No racism. No ethnocentrism.

Psalm 67:4

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.

Psalm 66:1

Shout for joy to God, all the earth.

The whole Christian message from beginning to end is good news of great joy.

Luke 2:10

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people."

Isaiah 51:11

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

When we meet Christ at his second coming we will enter into his indestructible joy.

Matthew 25:23

His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant... Enter into the joy of your master."

Joy in God is a commanded.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 33:1

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.

Psalm 32:11

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

One of my favorite theologians John Piper says this about our joy in God being a command. "It's commanded because what is at stake is not just our joy but the glory of God, the honor and reputation of God. If we do not rejoice in God - if God is not our treasure and our delight and our satisfaction, then he his dishonored. His glory is belittled. His reputation is tarnished. Therefore God commands our joy both for our good and for his glory."

So you see the bible has many things to offer to us about our joy but Sovereign Joy, Sovereign Joy is only one thing. It is the completed joy we have in the glorious gift of affection for the person and the accessibility of the person Himself - God, which we have obtained through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What Does This Mean For Us On Easter?

What does Christ being sovereign or supreme over his own death and resurrection mean for us on Easter? What does God bestowing on Christ "the name that is above every name", Lord, Adonai, Sovereign mean for us on Easter? What does it mean for us today to have accessibility to the glorious gift of affection for the person and the accessibility of the person Himself - God, mean for us today on Easter?

Christ being supreme over his own death and resurrection gives us the utmost confidence in our Risen Christ, not only was he supreme over them but is was apart of God's willful plan. It was no mere incident that Christ came and died and rose again. God's purpose for redeeming his children and giving himself the glory was something that was planned out before the foundation of the world. And this sovereign knowledge of God knowing how he was going to reconcile or bring back into relationship his children to himself should give us confidence that our God is in control. Our God of the Bible is Sovereign, not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament in bestowing upon the Christ "the name that is above every name", Lord, Adonai, Sovereign.

All this means that we have a God who "shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners (while we were still captured by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26)), Christ died for us. It means that we have a Glorified Risen Christ who has "power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." And therefore we have hope for the things to come. And a savoir to proclaim who has washed out sins clean with his redeeming blood!

It means we have access to this Sovereign Joy - Christ Jesus our glorified Lord who is the exact image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4bc).

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