Pastor Heinz Hiestermann, Pretoria
Anyone who has driven the road between Piet Retief and Paulpietersburg knows the landmark in this picture: ‘Jesus Christ is Lord … of all.’ This short sentence is a sermon in itself.
The first part comes from 1 Corinthians 12:3: ‘No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.’ The fact that Jesus is our Lord remains true also in the new year 2026. Even amidst all the uncertainties and the things that cause us fear, in sickness and pain, we are allowed to know that Jesus is Lord.
At Christmas, He became man for us. He is Immanuel, the God with us. In Baptism, we were united with Him. He took our guilt upon Himself on the cross. He rose for us, so that we may have eternal life. This fact will not change this new year. Jesus is our Lord, who has redeemed us, and through whom we have eternal life. +3
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 that no one can say this, ‘Jesus is our Lord’, except through the Holy Spirit, in a chapter in which he discusses the gifts of the Spirit. At the beginning of the chapter, through this sentence on the picture, Paul makes it clear to the Corinthians and to us that we have the Holy Spirit because we believe that Jesus is Lord. +1
Back then in Corinth, and today in many churches, it is claimed that one can only be sure of having the Holy Spirit if one possesses certain gifts, such as speaking in tongues or if God is speaking to us in some way. But that is not what Paul says. He confesses that whoever believes in Jesus has the Holy Spirit, and thus the gifts of the Spirit. +1
Paul names various spiritual gifts in this chapter, such as:
- The gifts to hold certain offices in the church
- The gifts of wisdom and knowledge
- Prophetic speech
- Speaking in tongues, etc.
Everyone should use the gift he or she has received for the building up of the church. The same Spirit gives us different gifts that we use in God’s kingdom. +1
I would like to highlight one gift of the Spirit—one gift we all have received. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes an entire chapter about the gift of love. At the end of the chapter, it says: ‘love is the greatest among them.’ All of us have received the greatest gift of the Spirit. +2
Let us use this gift of the Spirit this year by loving one another and using the gift of love in abundance in our families, in our congregations, in the synod, and beyond, by encountering all people with love.
For the second half of the sentence ‘Jesus Christ is Lord … of all’ reminds us ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Philippians 2:10-11).
We have received the Holy Spirit because we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This is what the first part of the sentence shows us. Yet the second part makes it clear that there are still many people who should hear the message of Jesus, so that they may confess with us that Jesus is Lord. +2
We can use the spiritual gift of love in the building up of God’s kingdom, by witnessing God’s love to everyone, for He desires ‘all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Timothy 2:4).
The sentence ‘Jesus Christ is Lord … of all’, reminds us that Jesus is also our Lord and God who has redeemed us through His death on the cross and His resurrection. He has made us his own in baptism, where we have received His Spirit and His gift of love. That will still not change in the year of 2026.
