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A Bible Dictionary’s accurate explanation of “Lord”
A Bible Dictionary’s Accurate Explanation of “Lord”
The following is the entire article “Lord” in Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (pp.398-399). The article is notable for never identifying Jesus as God by an erroneous conflation of the title “Lord” as applied to Jesus and “Lord” as applied to God. This mistake is avoided by paying due recognization to the fact that the title “Lord” can have several meanings, and is often applied even to human beings (e.g. one’s own father or ruler, or God’s human representative). Even though “Lord” was a title of Yahweh in the Old Testament, the Jews addressed human beings, even Caesar, as “Lord”. As the article observes, the resurrection of Jesus and his obedience to the Father were the decisive reasons he was given the title “Lord”; before he was raised, Jesus was addressed as “Lord” in the sense of "Rabbi" (teacher). But now Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, and elevated to a position next to God Himself.
The article “Lord” in Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (2010), pp.398-399:
One who has power and exercises it responsibly; used in respectful address to father (Matt. 21:29-30) or ruler (Acts 25:26); symbolized the Roman caesar’s position as absolute monarch; did not mean caesar was a god and was not used in cults devoted to worship of the caesars. When the early Christians confessed Jesus as Lord, they protested against the religious claims of the state but not against the rulership of the caesar as such. Jewish rebels denied the political authority of the caesar. Being exempt from the cult of the caesar, Jews could easily call the caesar “lord.” Christians had to dispute the caesar’s claim to be lord when that claim was understood to mean the caesar was divine. See Emperor Worship.
Nations around Israel often called their gods “lord ”. The Greeks did not see themselves in a slave/lord relationship. Their gods were subject to fate.
Marduk, the national god of Babylon, was called Bel, another form of Baal (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2: 51:44). From among humans, the king towered above and beyond all others. The god had transferred the administration of divine law to the king.
In the OT, Lord usually describes the essence of Yahweh: His power over His people (Ex. 34:23; Isa. 1:24), over the entire earth (Josh. 3:13; Mic. 4:13), and over all gods (Deut. 10:17; Ps. 135:5). Lord could stand parallel to the personal name of God, Yahweh (Ex. 15:17). Additional terms such as Sabbaoth (that is, Supreme Head and Commander of all the heavenly forces) underscored the absolute lordship of Yahweh (Isa. 3:1; 10:16,33). Lord used in direct address to God attested to the honor of God or His representative (2 Sam. 7:18-22,28-29; Josh. 5:14; Zech. 4:4).
About 300 B.C. adonai (Lord) became more frequently used than Yahweh. Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon do not use the name Yahweh.The title Lord was no longer an adjective modifying the divine name but a substitute for the divine name Yahweh.
In important NT passages, Lord appears in the sense of OT adonai as Creator of the world and Director of history (Matt. 9:38; 11:25; Acts 17:24; 1Tim. 6:15; the Book of Revelation). Since the NT and early Christians also called Jesus Lord, we have difficulty many times determining whether Jesus or God is meant by Lord (Matt. 24:42; Mark 5:19-20; Luke 1:76; Acts 10:14).
The two words, “Lord Jesus,” composed the first Christian confession of faith (1 Cor. 12:3; Rom. 10:9). The decisive reason for transferring the divine title Lord to Jesus was His resurrection from the dead. Before His resurrection, Jesus was addressed with the Jewish title of honor Rabbi (“teacher,” Mark 9:5; 11:21, for example). Luke always, and Matthew usually, translated this title into Greek as Lord. Jesus as the Messiah of Israel (Acts 2:36) was installed as Head of His church and Ruler of the cosmos by His resurrection (Col. 1:17; 2:6,10; Eph. 1:20-23). The resurrection changed the respectful student/teacher relationship of the disciples with Jesus into the believers’ servant/Lord relationship. God honored Jesus with the title of Lord as His response to Jesus’ obedient suffering (Phil 2:6-11). He has been seated at the right hand of God, which demonstrates the elevation of Jesus to the position of Ruler next to God Himself (Ps. 110:1; see Mark 12:35-37).
The church prays for His return: “Come, our Lord” (or in Aramaic maranatha, 1 Cor. 16:22; 11:26; Rev. 22:20). Jesus will give the judged and redeemed world back to the Father (1 Cor. 15:28).
The lordship of Jesus has ethical consequences. Calling out to Jesus with the title Lord is not enough for salvation. Such calling must be accompanied by actions that correspond to the teachings of the resurrected, Crucified One and to His example (Matt. 7:21-22; John 13:14-15). The believer devotes self to serve others, even the ones in power, in voluntary service (Mark 10:42-45). Jesus Christ either joins people together, or He separates them, when they deny His right to be Lord (Rom. 16:18, 1 Cor. 1:2,10-13).
God has fully empowered the resurrected Jesus to send out His Spirit (Acts 2:33). The Lord is the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17). This does not signify a total identifying of Jesus with the Spirit of God (compare 2 Cor. 13:13), but it testifies to the inseparable unity of the Lordship of God with the sending of Jesus and with the work of the Spirit. See Christ; God; Holy Spirit; Messiah; Jesus; Rabbi; Resurrection.
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