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Priest and King, while the second speaks of His essential nature, for He was more than
man. He came in the flesh, but He left the glory to do so.
We remember, moreover, that the Apostle quotes Isa. 45: 23 in Philippians:
"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but
made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted Him, and given Him the Name which is above every name, that in the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father" (Phil. 2: 6-11).
It is not without significance that Philippians speaks of "the prize", while II Timothy
(which refers to "the righteous Judge") speaks of "the crown".
Returning to Rom. 14:, we read:
"For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead
and the living" (Rom. 14: 9 R.V.).
The Revised Text omits the words "and rose", but resurrection is necessarily implied
in the words "died and lived again", and in that capacity He is Lord of those who are
dead and who are living. He Who is Lord of life and death is the only One Who has the
right to judge the motives of those for whom He died, and who by grace are reckoned to
have died and risen again with Him.
It is to the Lordship of the risen Christ that the Apostle seeks to point the leaders of
faction, the men of party spirit, the judges, and those who tend to despise the brethren.
While the believer to-day may not be in danger of judging or despising so far as "meats"
are concerned, there are many who adopt the attitude here condemned regarding the
observance of the so-called "Lord's Day". Those of us who are free from the tradition
concerning the observance of either the Sabbath or the First Day of the Week, should
remember that we are called upon to respect the consciences of those who, though
"weak", "regard the day unto the Lord". It is not the first part of this sentence that
matters, it is the second part: "Unto the Lord." This we shall find the Apostle turns into
a spiritual principle in the next section (Rom. 14: 13-22, particularly verse 14).
However, we must let the Apostle speak for himself, and not introduce any doctrine
into the present section other than that which inspiration has indicted, namely, the
Lordship of Christ.
We should receive one another as Christ received us. We should act towards one
another in view of the fact that Christ is our Lord, ours and theirs, both dead and living.
And we must remember that, while every phase of the purpose of the ages necessitates
the death and resurrection of Christ, the Apostle draws particular attention here to the fact