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Yahushua is Lord. A simple yet profound statement that we must embrace if we are to be saved:
Romans 10:8-9 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Yahushua as Lord, and believe in your heart that Yahuwah raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confessing Yahushua as Lord means that we are obedient to him. Indeed, Yahushua questioned why those who called him Lord didn’t obey him.
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The word confess here means more than just a recitation of words, but a heart and mind that agree with his authority over our lives. Thus, confessing Yahushua as Lord means that we are obedient to him. Indeed, Yahushua questioned why those who called him Lord didn’t obey him.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Some assume or have been taught that because Yahuwah and Yahushua are both called Lord it is proof that Yahushua is also Yahuwah. Does being Lord mean he is deity? To answer these questions, let’s begin by looking at the definition of the word lord.
The Definition of Lord
The word Lord in Greek is kurios, meaning lord, master, owner, and sir. It comes from the root word for authority and thus depicts one who is in authority. It is used of both Yahuwah and humans. Here are several instances of those who were called kurios (and how the word is translated) in the New Testament:
- Yahuwah (Lord), Luke 1:32
- husband (master), 1 Peter 3:6
- father (sir), Matthew 21:30
- slave owner (master), Matthew 10:24
- landowner (owner), Matthew 20:8
- the Roman emperor (lord). Acts 25:26
- a government official (sir), Matthew 27:63
- a term of respect when addressing a stranger (lord), John 12:21
Therefore, as we can see, the Lord is not in and of itself a designation for deity.
LORD vs Lord
In the Old Testament, the word adon in Hebrew means lord, and it can be used of both men and Yahuwah. It is similar in meaning to kurios in the Greek. But unlike Greek, Hebrew has a way to differentiate between lord in the general sense of human authority, and Lord when it refers to Yahuwah. The word adonay (also spelled adonai), means Lord, and it is used exclusively of Yahuwah. On the other hand, the word adoni, is used exclusively of human lords. For example, note how the word lord is used in the following passage when Gideon unwittingly addresses an angel:
In the Old Testament, the word adon in Hebrew means lord, and it can be used of both men and Yahuwah.
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Judges 6:13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord [adoni, used of men], if the LORD [Yahuwah] is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD [Yahuwah] bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD [Yahuwah] has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Believing the angel to be a man, Gideon respectfully refers to him as adoni, the word used exclusively for human lords. The MacArthur Study Bible agrees by noting that adoni, is used of man.1 So we see that the Hebrew language can differentiate between a human lord (adoni) and the divine Lord (Yahuwah, adonay), whereas the Greek and English languages cannot.
Regrettably, most Bible translators have added to the confusion by substituting the word LORD for Yahuwah, Yahuwah’s proper name. In the previous passage, we saw that the LORD was used three times. However, in each case, the Hebrew text says Yahuwah. Scholars say this substitution was made because of a “later Jewish belief ” that the name Yahuwah was “too holy to utter.”2 Martin Luther, the 15th century reformer, in his German translation of the Bible, is said to be the first person to use all capital letters to visually differentiate LORD (as a substitution for Yahuwah) from Lord or adonay. Unfortunately, for English readers, LORD has, in a sense, become Yahuwah’s name, thus helping to create the misunderstanding that Lord is a designation for deity.
Is Lord a divine title for Yahushua?
This brings us to the question: Does referring to Yahushua as Lord indicate that he is Yahuwah? Thankfully, Scripture provides us with an answer. On the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up among the crowd and began to preach that the crucified Nazarene was the Christ (King). What’s more, Peter said this man, whom Yahuwah attested to by working miracles through him, had been exalted to Yahuwah’s right hand:3
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that Yahuwah has made him both Lord and Christ—this Yahushua whom you crucified." (Acts 2:36)
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Acts 2:33 and 36 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of Yahuwah, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear…36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that Yahuwah has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Yahushua whom you crucified.”
Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared that Yahuwah had made Yahushua Lord and Christ. In other words, Yahushua was not intrinsically Lord, but because Yahuwah highly exalted him to His right hand as the Christ (King), he is also Lord. Paul provides us with specific insight as to why Yahushua received such an honor:
Philippians 2:8-11 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, Yahuwah highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Yahushua EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Yahushua Christ is Lord, to the glory of Yahuwah the Father.
Paul writes that Yahushua’s exaltation was because of his obedience to Yahuwah's will, even unto death. The apostle writes nothing about Yahushua being exalted because he is a deity. One cannot be exalted to a position one already occupies, especially Yahuwah. Furthermore, Yahuwah has given Yahushua the name–the authority–that is above every name so that everyone will bow to Christ (King) as Lord. This act of exaltation results in glory to Yahuwah the Father without mentioning the supposed Godhead or the Trinity.
Yahushua also attests to this delegation of Yahuwah’s authority:
Matthew 28:18 And Yahushua came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
While Yahushua has been designated “Lord of all,” he is still in subjection to Yahuwah, who is the Father.
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Of significance is the fact that the authority was given to Yahushua, meaning it wasn’t something he already possessed. Moreover, this authority doesn’t make him the supreme God because, while Yahushua has been designated “Lord of all,” he is still in subjection to Yahuwah, who is the Father:
1 Corinthians 15:27-28 For HE [Yahuwah] HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS [Yahushua’] FEET. But when He [Yahuwah] says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He [Yahuwah] is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him [Yahushua]. 28 When all things are subjected to Him [Yahushua], then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that Yahuwah may be all in all.
Even though Yahushua has been exalted to such a high position, he is still under Yahuwah’s authority, so Yahuwah Himself is supreme.
Some will say that when Yahushua was exalted to Yahuwah’s right hand, he was reclaiming his place of authority after having humbled himself at his supposed incarnation. However, this post-Biblical theory is not supported by Scripture. No New Testament author says that Yahushua “set aside his deity” or that “he returned to his throne” or anything remotely similar. What is corroborated by Scripture, however, is the fact that a human was exalted as Lord of all by his Yahuwah and Father.
Psalm 110:1 The Exaltation of a Human Lord
We briefly looked at Acts chapter 2, where Peter explains to the crowd that the risen Yahushua has been exalted as Lord. Let’s look at this passage more closely, for it will supply us with further clarity:
Acts 2:29-36 29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that YAHUWAH HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. 32 “This Yahushua Yahuwah raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of Yahuwah, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that Yahuwah has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Yahushua whom you crucified.”
In verse 34, Peter quotes Psalm 110:1:
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
Adoni is not to be confused with the word adonay, which is used solely for Yahuwah.
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The first LORD, written in all capital letters, is actually the Hebrew word Yahuwah and, as you know, it is Yahuwah’s name. The second Lord in the passage is the word Adoni, which, as we’ve discussed, exclusively denotes a human lord or master. Adoni is not to be confused with the word adonay, which is used solely for Yahuwah. Baptist seminary professor of Old Testament, Claude Mariottini, also makes note of the importance of King David’s choice of words and what they mean:
The word translated “lord” is “adoni” and should be translated “my lord.” The word is not “Adonai” which, if it had been used, would be a reference to Yahuwah.
In other words, King David prophesied that the LORD (Yahuwah) would invite one of his future descendants to sit at His right hand. As evidenced by the language (as well as the context of both Psalm 110 and Acts 2), Yahuwah did not invite Yahuwah (adonay) to sit at His right hand. Rather, He invited adoni, that is a human whom He made Lord. If the coming Messiah was to be Yahuwah Himself, David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would have identified him as adonay. But he didn’t. Yahushua attests that this human lord is the Christ. And we have already seen that Peter declares Yahushua to be the fulfillment of this prophecy. Some might argue that Yahushua was a Yahuwah-man and thus either adoni or adonay would be appropriate. However, this fourth-century theory of Yahushua having dual natures is never mentioned or explained in Scripture.
That the exalted Lord would be a human is also seen in Daniel’s prophecy, where he records a vision that one like a Son of Man, that is a human being, was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom by Yahuwah.
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That the exalted Lord would be a human is also seen in Daniel’s prophecy, where he records a vision that one like a Son of Man, that is a human being, was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom by Yahuwah.5 If Yahushua were Yahuwah, he would not need to be made Lord, nor be given dominion, glory and a kingdom as they would inherently be his. Moreover, Oxford University professor, Charles Bigg, cites Psalm 110:1 as proof that the apostles did not believe Yahushua to be Yahuwah:
We are not to suppose that the apostles identified Christ with Jehovah [Yahuwah]; there were passages that made this impossible, for instance, Psalm 110:1, and Malachi 3:1.6
Use of the term Lord and its application in Scripture can at times be confusing for readers of the English Bible. Tradition may tell us that when Yahushua is called Lord, it is indicative of deity. However, word choice, definition, usage and context say otherwise.
We indeed have a risen Savior who has rightfully been exalted to Yahuwah’s right hand and made Lord because of his sacrificial obedience. For this reason, every knee will bow, and tongue confesses his delegated authority as Lord, to the glory of Yahuwah, the Father who gave him such an honor. However, he is still in subjection to his God and ours. Yes, Yahushua is Lord. But he is not Yahuwah.
1 The MacArthur Study Bible, John F. MacArthur, ed., p.344
2 “adonay,” The Complete Word Study Dictionary (Old Testament), Warren Baker, ed., (Chattaooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), p. 129
3 Acts 2:22-36
4 Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament (blog) accessed 8-3-19, https://claudemariottini.com/2012/08/21/the-lord-said-to-my-lord/
5 Daniel 7:13-14
6 Charles Bigg, D.D., Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Oxford, in International Critical Commentary on Peter and Jude, (T&T Clark, 1910), p. 99.
This is a non-WLC article. Source: https://onegodworship.com/jesus-is-lord/
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
