You Are Not Your Own—You Are Owned

Getting Closer to Jesus: Think for a moment about the significance of the words found in John 1:3: “Jesus created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make.”

Now if you hold the Bible to be true—that it is God’s authentic, inspired, authoritative Word—then there is no more significant chapter in the Bible than John 1. And there are no words that have greater bearing on your life than what you find in verse 3.

“He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make.”

What does that mean for you simply, yet profoundly, this: You are not your own; you are owned. God created you, and as your Creator, he has a right to rule over you. You are not the god of your life. You are not the king of you. You have no rights of godship, no authority to sit on the throne of your kingdom, no grounds for demanding your way, getting what you want, fulfilling your wishes, achieving your dreams, or tickling your fancy.

Yes, you are owned. Therefore, self must be dethroned. Actually, it must be obliterated!

Since God created you, along with everything else that you see and don’t see, he therefore owns everything. Since he designed everything in the universe, then everything exists for his pleasure and his purpose. Moreover, John 1 tells us that since Jesus was with God from the beginning, and is God, and was the agent of creation, then he holds the deed of ownership over you. And that ownership is honored through his Lordship over your life. As Abraham Kuyper said,

There is not an inch of any sphere of life of which Jesus Christ the Lord does not say, ‘Mine.’

Now, the good news is that his ownership is not grievous or burdensome. God is no tyrant, even though he has every right to be. In fact, it is just the opposite with God: It is an ownership that is loving, generous, and gracious. John says this is clearly demonstrated in the life of Jesus, who came to earth in human form to reveal in living color the God who was previously revealed in his created order and by his written law (John 1:10-11) yet now is revealed as the God who is full of glory, grace and truth (John 1:14). Furthermore, to all who surrender and reorder their lives to God’s rightful ownership, he gives them the right to enter into a relationship with God in the same way that Jesus lived in relationship with God: as child with Father (John 1:12).

Yes, you are owned. And as self is dethroned, even obliterated, ownership becomes relationship. Then, through relationship, you will witness his glory, you will discover his truth and you will experience his grace. You will now be living in the loving care of the eternal Father as his dearly loved child.

Abraham Kuyper was right: “There is not an inch of any sphere of life of which Jesus Christ the Lord does not say, ‘Mine.’” If you claim Jesus as Lord of your life, then he holds the deed of ownership over you. And as you take steps to dethrone self and enthrone Jesus as your sole owner, you will personally and powerfully experience this beautiful reality declared throughout the Gospel of John: Light that can never be extinguished—the abundant life now and eternal life forever.

With that in mind, it is imperative that you realign everything about your life—words, relationships, thoughts, wishes, plans, actions, patterns—to the fact that Jesus is Lord of you. Everything else must become a distant second to that. Truly, since he created you, anything that doesn’t fall under his absolute Lordship over your life doesn’t deserve to exist at all. As William Barclay said,

The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self.

Obviously, you will need the help of the Holy Spirit to achieve complete surrender to his utter ownership—which is a subject that much of the rest of Scripture fleshes out. But as you take the step to dethrone self and enthrone Jesus as the owner of you, you will experience this beautiful reality of John’s Gospel: the light of life (John 8:12); a light that can never be extinguished—the abundant life now (John 10:10) and eternal life forever (John 3:16).

Take the Next Step: Perhaps you may want to join me in offering this heartfelt prayer, “Jesus, you are the rightful ruler of me. I surrender everything I am and trying to become to your Lordship. Take me over, clean me up, set me on a course that will only and always bring glory to you, and demonstrate your ownership of me to the world. I cannot do this on my own—obviously—so thank you for making this a reality by the same power that created me. In Jesus name, amen!”