The confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” is not the same as saying, “God is sovereign over the world.” Before Jesus ascended to the thrown that He said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). He did not humble Himself and die and rise again to receive an authority which He already had by virtue of His deity.

When we say, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” we confess that what God said in Psalm 2 has come true, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (v.6). God says to this King, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery”(v.8,9).

Saying, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” is akin to saying Obama is President, but, of course, completely different in terms of magnitude. I tell my son, “Jesus is king of the whole world.” That is what the confession means. Jesus (Yahweh saves, God the Son in the flesh) Christ (The Messiah–Prophet, Priest, and King–of God’s people) is Lord (the man who rules over the all nations). The One who loves us, died for us, and cleanses us–our Brother–is the one who rules the world.

That is why we can be confident no matter who the ruler of any particular nation is, because they are all on our turf, our inheritance.