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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. THE THEOLOGY OF LORDSHIP
A. The Meaning of the Terms
1. Jehovah
2. Adon
3. Adonai
4. Kurios
B. The Lordship of the Messiah
1. The Messiah Is the Lord of the Old Testament
2. The Messiah Is the Lord of the New Testament
3. Conclusions about the Lordship of the Messiah
C. The Relationship of Lordship to Salvation
1. A Clear Definition of the Gospel
2. The Meaning of the Word “Lord” in Relationship to
Salvation
a. Lord Means “Master”
b. Lord Means “Jehovah”
c. Kurios Means “God”
d. What it Means to Accept Jesus as Lord
(1) Romans 1:1-4
(2) Romans 10:9-10
(3) Acts 2:36
(4) I Corinthians 12:3
(5) Philippians 2:8-11
Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit
you at my right hand,
Until I make your enemies your footstool.
~ Psalm 110:1 ~
|
This study on
the Lordship of the Messiah will be discussed in three major
sections: first, the theology of Lordship; second, making
the
Messiah Lord of one's life; and third, the application of
the Lordship of the Messiah to some specific areas.
I. THE THEOLOGY OF LORDSHIP
The first major section is the theology of Lordship. We will
discuss this in three areas: first, the meaning; second, the
Lordship of the Messiah; and third, the relationship of
Lordship to salvation.
A. The Meaning of the Terms
In order to understand what is meant by Lordship, we need to
discuss four specific terms.
1. Jehovah
First and foremost is the term Jehovah. In Hebrew that name
is comprised of four Hebrew letters, which correspond to the
English letters YHVH. In most English translations, this
name of God is translated as LORD, with all four letters
capitalized. In others, the word Jehovah is used.
This name for God, LORD or Jehovah, is used in the Hebrew
Bible a total of 6,832 times and has five specific aspects.
First, the root meaning is “to be.” It emphasizes God as the
eternal, self-existing One (Ex. 3:14). Second, it emphasizes
God as a covenant-keeper especially in His relationship to
Israel, because God is related to Israel by covenant (Gen.
15:12-21). The third aspect emphasizes God as the unchanging
One (Mal. 3:6). The fourth aspect emphasizes God's
righteousness and emphasizes Jehovah as the Judge because of
His righteousness (Gen. 18:25-26; Ps. 11:4-6). The fifth
aspect emphasizes God's love in that, as Jehovah, He is both
the Redeemer and Savior of the sinner (Is. 63:7-9; Jer. 31:1
6). This is a product of Jehovah's love.
2. Adon
The second specific term used in the concept of Lordship is
the Hebrew word Adon which is translated three ways in
English Bibles: “master”; “lord,” when used of a human
being; and “Lord,” with a capital “L” when used of God.
Whereas YHVH or Jehovah is translated with all four letters
capitalized – LORD, Adon is translated with only the first
letter capitalized – Lord.
The word Adon is used of both God and man. It is used of man
more than three-hundred different times in the Hebrew Bible
and carries seven different aspects: first, it is used of a
man as being the lord of his wife (Gen. 18:12); second, it
is used as a polite address, like the Old English
my lord
(Gen. 23:6); third, it is used as the lord of a slave (Gen.
24:12); fourth, it is used as the lord of property (Gen.
42:30); fifth, it is used as the lord of the house (Gen.
45:8); sixth, it is used as a title of veneration (Num.
11:28); and seventh, it is used as a court term (I Sam.
26:17).
However, it is also used of God, and thirty times it is used
in conjunction with the term Jehovah or YHVH, emphasizing
His special Lordship (Ex. 34:23; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 97:5;
114:7; 135:5; 136:1-3; Is. 1:24; 3:1; 10:16, 33; 19:4; Mic.
4:13; Zech. 6:5). These usages of Adon in conjunction with
Jehovah show five different aspects of meaning: first, Adon
emphasizes God as a master; second, God as Lord; third, God
as sovereign; fourth, that God is owner of this world; and
fifth, that God is the One in control of this world.
3. Adonai
The third specific term is the Hebrew word,
Adonai, which is
built on the second one. It is a plural form meaning “my
Lords,” emphasizing God as a master. Whereas the singular
Adon is used of both God and man, the plural Adonai is used
only of God. It is used a total of 449 times: 135 times it
is used all by itself; 315 times it is used with the name
Jehovah; 310 times it is Adonai Jehovah and 5 times
Jehovah Adonai.
These usages have three different aspects: first, the fear
of the Lord is the source of wisdom (Job 28:28); second, it
emphasizes God's ownership of the world (Ps. 8:1-9); and
third, it emphasizes God's claim of absolute obedience (Mal.
1:6). By way of application to Lordship concepts, the name
Jehovah emphasizes our dependence upon this Lord and the
term Adonai emphasizes the obedience that this Lord requires
from us.
4. Kurios
The fourth specific term is the one main Greek term used: Kurios. In classical Greek, it was used in three ways:
first, to emphasize someone as being an owner; second, as
one being in full authority; and third, as one who has
lawful power of disposal. It was never used of the Greek
gods whatsoever.
In the Septuagint, it is used as the Greek equivalent to
Jehovah 6,156 times
of the 6,832 times that Jehovah appears. It is also used to
translate the terms Adon and
Adonai.
Kurios is used for both
God and man, and it is also used of another Hebrew term,
Baal, emphasizing ownership. The New Testament follows both
the classical and Septuagint usages; it expresses the ideas
of obedience and submission, and it is the address of
respect. It is used of the ownership of an animal (Lk.
19:33) and ownership of a slave (Lk. 16:3; Mat. 13:27;
25-26; Acts 16:16-19). It is used as a court term (Mat.
27:62-63) and of a husband as the lord of his wife (I Pet.
3:6).
B. The Lordship of the Messiah
The second area of the theology of Lordship is the Lordship
of the Messiah. Concerning the Lordship of the Messiah per
se, three points should be made.
1. The Messiah Is the Lord of the Old Testament
The first point concerning the Lordship of the Messiah is
that He is the Lord of the Old Testament. This is obvious in
three different ways.
The first way is that in the Old Testament God referred to
Himself as the I AM, and
Yeshua (Jesus) refers to Himself as
I AM. (Jn. 8:58; 18:5-6).
The second way this is obvious is that many “Jehovah
passages” in the Old Testament are applied to Yeshua in the
New Testament. For example, in Psalm 102:12, 25-27 God is
addressed as Jehovah; these verses are quoted in the New
Testament in Hebrews 1:10-12 and are applied to Yeshua.
Another example is Isaiah 6:5, where God is addressed as
Jehovah; John 12:41 applies that verse to Yeshua. It is
clear that Jehovah in the Old Testament is often the same as
Jesus in the New Testament.
The third way this is obvious is that the Old Testament
Hebrew terms Adon and
Adonai are also applied to Yeshua in
the New Testament. For example, in Deuteronomy 10:17 God is
addressed as Adon or Adonai, and this verse is quoted and
applied to Jesus in I Timothy 6:15. Isaiah 6:1, 8-10 are
applied to Yeshua in John 12:39-40. Isaiah 53:1 is applied
to Jesus in John 12:38. Psalm 110:1 uses the term Adonai,
which is applied to Yeshua several times in the New
Testament (Mat. 22:41-45; Mk. 12:35-37; Lk. 20:41-44; Acts
2:34-36; Heb. 1:13). Clearly, then, Jesus is the Lord of the
Old Testament.
2. The Messiah Is the Lord of the New Testament
The second point concerning the Lordship of the Messiah
contains twelve facets.
The first facet is that the Greek term
Kurios is the Greek
word that corresponds to Jehovah, Adon, and Adonai in the
Old Testament. Kurios is applied to Yeshua in the New
Testament in all the various shades of meaning that are
found in the Old Testament. In fact, Kurios is used of
Yeshua 747 times.
The second facet is that He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Rom.
10:12; Eph. 4:4- 5).
The third facet is that He is the Lord of glory (I Cor.
2:8).
The fourth facet is that He is the LORD of LORDS (Rev.
14:14; 19:16).
The fifth facet is that because He is Lord, all angels are
in subjection to Him (I Pet. 3:22).
The sixth facet is that because He is the Lord, He is the
head of humanity (Rom. 14:9; I Cor. 11:3).
The seventh facet is that because He is Lord, He exercises
headship of the universe (Eph. 1:21 2).
The eighth facet is that because He is Lord, He is also the
head of the church (Eph. 1:22, 23; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:19).
The ninth facet is that because He is the Lord, He is the
lord of the sabbath (Mat. 12:8; Mk. 2:28).
The tenth facet is that He is the Messiah Lord (Mk. 1:3; Lk.
2:11; 3:4). In fact, the common rabbinic name for the
Messiah was “King Messiah,” and this rabbinic concept is
reflected in referring to Yeshua as “Lord Messiah” in the
New Testament.
The eleventh facet is that He is also known as the Lord God
(Lk. 5:8; Jn. 20:28).
And the twelfth facet is that He is also the Lord of the
believer (Jn. 13:13 14; II Cor. 4:5; 12:8; Eph. 6:9).
3. Conclusions about the Lordship of the Messiah
The third point is some conclusions concerning the Lordship
of the Messiah. Based upon the fact that He is the Lord of
the Old Testament and Lord of the New Testament, there are
seven specific conclusions about the Lordship of the
Messiah.
First, He is the Creator. Because one must be Lord to be the
Creator, He is the Creator. That is why John 1:1-3
emphasizes that all things were made through Him and without
Him there would be nothing that now exists, for He is the
agent of creation.
Second, He is the Covenant-Keeper. The primary meaning of
the term Jehovah is to emphasize God as the Covenant-Keeper
and that is what He is. He will make sure that all God's
covenants are indeed fulfilled.
Third, He is self-existent. Because another key meaning of
the term
“Jehovah” emphasizes God as the self existing One, so Yeshua
is self existent. His existence is not dependent on any
other element.
Fourth, He is Master. A master is someone who must be
obeyed. The fact that He is our Master means that we must
obey Him; we must render our obedience to Him.
Fifth, Yeshua is Owner. He is the Owner of the world because
He created the world. He is the Owner of all humanity
because He created all humanity. But He is also the Owner of
every believer in a special way because of re-creation in
that we are a new creature, a new creation in Him by virtue
of regeneration. Because He is our Owner, He has the right
to place us and to deal with us as He so wills.
Sixth, He is the Ruler. As Lord He must be Ruler, and this
points out that He is our sovereign Ruler and can do as He
wills.
And seventh, He is central to everything. He is central to
the universe, central to human existence, central to our
faith, and central to our salvation.
C. The Relationship of Lordship to Salvation
The third area of the theology of Lordship is its
relationship to salvation. The issue is this: must there be
a commitment to the Messiah as Lord of one's life in order
to be saved?
Many say, “Yes, for a person to be saved he must make a
commitment to the Messiah and make the Messiah Lord of his
life. If he does not make the Messiah Lord of his life then
he is not saved.” There are some good men who actually teach
this. For example, Arthur Pink writes: “Those preachers who
tell sinners that they may be saved without surrendering to
the Lordship of Christ are as erroneous and dangerous as
others who insist that salvation is by works.”
A second example, also from Pink, in his work entitled
Studies on Saving Faith, states:
| In most instances the modern evangelist
assures his congregation that all any sinner has
to do in order to escape Hell and make sure of
Heaven is to receive Christ as personal savior,
but such teaching is utterly misleading. No one
can receive Christ as the savior while he
rejects him as Lord. Therefore, those who have
not bowed to Christ's scepter and enthroned Him
in their hearts and lives and yet imagine that
they are trusting Him as savior are deceived. |
I might point out that those who do not believe that the
Messiah must be accepted as Lord of one's life in order to
be saved do not teach that a person can be saved by
accepting Yeshua as savior and rejecting Him as Lord. What
they are saying is that the unbeliever does not really have
that concept in mind. This will be discussed in more detail
later.
A third example of those who teach Lordship salvation is
from John Stott: “I am suggesting therefore that it is as
unbiblical as it is unrealistic to divorce the Lordship from
the saviorhood of Jesus Christ.”
Fourth, J. I. Packer writes this:
“Or will it leave them supposing that all they have to do is
trust Christ as a sin bearer not realizing that they must
also deny themselves and enthrone Him as their Lord? The
error we might call only believism.”
Another example of Lordship salvation is:
“If one does not give over the control of his life to the
Lord when he receives Him as Savior, he cannot be saved.”
Perhaps the most common example is the Four Laws booklet:
the fourth law says that we must individually receive Yeshua
as Savior and Lord, then we can know and experience God's
plan for our lives.
1. A Clear Definition of the Gospel
To resolve the issue of Lordship salvation, there must be a
clear definition of the gospel. There are two options in
dealing with the question: is salvation by grace through
faith alone, or is it faith plus the commitment of one's
life to the Lordship of the Messiah? One of these two
options has to be a false gospel. By way of definition of
the gospel, the issue of Lordship salvation allows only two
options: is one saved through faith alone, or is it faith
plus the commitment of one's life?
In the Scriptures there are examples of uncommitted
believers, people who are obviously saved but not committed.
One example is in Acts 10:14. Peter was a believer. He had
certainly made the Messiah Lord of his life in various
facets, but he had a hard time submitting to the Lordship of
Yeshua in the issue of going to the home of a Gentile, and
in the issue of killing and eating unkosher or unclean
things. Another example of an uncommitted believer would be
Barnabas in Acts 15:39; yet, as with Peter, the lack of
commitment was temporary. A better example would be the
converts of Ephesus in Acts 19:18-19. These are clearly said
to be believers, but they are uncommitted believers. Their
lack of submitting to the Lordship of the Messiah was
continual and willful, unlike Peter and Barnabas where it
was merely temporary and momentary. There are examples in
the New Testament of saved people who lacked commitment in
one or more areas of their lives, where it was obvious that
Yeshua was not the Lord of their lives in those specific
areas.
2. The Meaning of the Word “Lord” in Relationship to
Salvation
In trying to resolve the issue, one must take into
account the meaning of the word “lord.” As pointed out
earlier, the term “lord” has a number of different facets
and aspects. Even if we limit the aspect of Lordship to
salvation, there are variations in the concept within
Scriptures. In discussing the aspect of the Lordship that
saves, three things should be noted.
a. Lord Means “Master”
First of all, the expression “Lord” in the title “Lord
Jesus” means more than just becoming the master of one's
life. It is not simply Lord Jesus in the sense of “Master
Jesus.” Rather, the term “Lord” emphasizes Jesus as God, and
so the term “Lord Jesus” emphasizes Him as the God-Man.
Jesus emphasizes His humanity. Lord emphasizes His deity. So
Lord Jesus means He is the God-Man.
I Corinthians 12:3 states that no man can say:
Jesus is Lord [except of]
the
Holy Spirit. Unsaved men may say it in
the sense of “master,” but Lord also means “the sense of
being God,” and one can recognize the deity of Yeshua
without being willing to make Him sovereign over a
particular matter, as Peter did in Acts 10:14. One can
accept Yeshua as God, but that does not mean he is making
Him the Lord of every aspect of his life. Peter knew about
the deity of the Messiah, he believed it, and he accepted
it, but he failed to make Him the Lord of his life in that
one area at that point of time.
Accepting the Lord Jesus is to accept Him as the God-Man and
not as the sovereign over every area of our lives. When the
Bible says that the unbeliever must believe on the Lord
Jesus the Messiah, it simply means he is accepting Him as
the God-Man. That is what he is believing and accepting when
he is saved. He is not making Him, at that point, the
sovereign over every area of his life. The issue for
salvation, then, is Lord Jesus as the God-Man, not Lord
Jesus as the Master-Man.
b. Lord Means “Jehovah”
The second thing to note is that the Messiah must be Lord in
the sense of Jehovah in order to be qualified as Savior, for
only God can save. However, His personal Lordship over the
individual's life is not a condition for salvation.
c. Kurios Means “God”
The third thing to note is that the Greek term
Kurios has the
meaning of “God,” which was something new with the
Septuagint. In the New Testament, the term Kurios is used of
God, of a husband, of a master, of a Roman officer, or
simply as the title “Sir.” The Lordship over a believer is
only one aspect of Kurios. This one aspect alone cannot be
made a condition of salvation.
d. What it Means to Accept Jesus as Lord
So, must the Messiah be master of every area of our lives in
order to be saved? Is that what it means to accept Yeshua as
Lord, or does it mean merely to accept Yeshua as the God-Man
because He must be both God and man to qualify as Savior?
There are five key passages that speak to this issue.
(1) Romans 1:1-4
| Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore
through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his
Son,
who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord. |
In these verses, Paul clearly spells out the gospel. He
points out the humanity of Yeshua by referring to Him as the
Son of David. He also points out the deity of the Messiah by
calling Him the Son of God. In these four verses, he pointed
out the humanity and the deity of Yeshua. This is what
saves. What saved the believing Romans was the fact that
Yeshua was both God and man; His Lordship emphasized His
deity, not His mastership over everyone's life.
In fact, Paul does not even discuss Yeshua as Lord of one's
life until he gets to Romans 12. But he discussed the
Lordship of Yeshua in the sense that Yeshua is God and that
is what one believes when he accepts Yeshua as Lord – that He
is the God Man, not that He is the Lord over every
individual aspect of our lives.
(2) Romans 10:9-10
| because if you
shall confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
shall believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the
heart man believes unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
|
According to these verses, in order to be
saved, we must confess Jesus as Lord. This is not Lord in
the sense of becoming a master in every facet of our lives,
but rather Lord in the sense of deity. We must confess the
Lordship of Yeshua. The term Lord emphasizes His deity, and
the term Jesus emphasizes His humanity, so what must be
confessed is the God-Man for salvation. We own Him as the
God-Man in order to be saved. We do not own Him as the
master of our lives in order to be saved.
(3) Acts 2:36
Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that
God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye
crucified.
This verse declares that the Father
made him both Lord and Christ or the Messiah. The term
Lord emphasizes the deity;
the term Christ means “Messiah,” which emphasizes His
humanity. Again, we own Him as the God-Man in order to be
saved.
(4) I Corinthians 12:3
Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the
Spirit of God says, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say,
Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.
We know that people
can mouth the words: Jesus is Lord without owning Him as the
Lord God. Again, this verse emphasizes that Yeshua must be
both God and man to qualify as Savior.
(5) Philippians 2:8-11
| and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the
cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto
him the name which is above every name; that in the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things
on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. |
Here again, we must confess Yeshua
the Messiah as Lord in the sense that He is God, not in the
sense that He becomes the master of our lives at the time
that we are saved.
These five passages which are often used to teach Lordship
salvation do not, in fact, teach that. The aspect of
Lordship that saves is His deity. Indeed, Yeshua must be God
in order to be able to save us. When we accept Him as our
Lord, at the time of salvation, we are accepting Him as God
our Savior. We are not making Him Lord of our lives and
committing every aspect of our lives at that point. It
requires some spiritual growth before one attains that goal.
Let me close the discussion about the relationship of
Lordship to salvation by drawing an analogy. The two terms
“Jesus” and “Lord” have various facets. For instance,
“Jesus” points to His real humanity, that died for our sins.
The name “Jesus” emphasizes His humanity as the example of
our life (I Pet. 2:21; I Jn. 2:6). The name “Jesus” implies
the Second Coming (Acts 1:11; Zech. 12:10). The name “Jesus”
has these various aspects. Do we have to believe all these
aspects in order to be saved? No, we have to believe only
the first aspect to be saved: that He, as a man, died for
our sins. The term “Lord” also has various aspects. It could
mean “God” or “creator” or “king” or “sovereign.” Do we need
to believe all of these facets to be saved? Again, the
answer is “no.” Only the first point is necessary for
salvation: to believe that He is God.
When we own Him as Lord, we own Him as God, and that is what
saves us. We do not own Him as master in every facet of our
lives at the moment we believe. That is something which may
happen after salvation, but is not part of it.
All
scriptures are in the American Standard Version unless otherwise
noted.
This study will continue
in our next Shofar with Part II. Making the Messiah Lord of
One's Life, and Part III. Applications of the Lordship of
the Messiah to Specific Areas. ~ editor
RECOMMENDED
READING
If you enjoyed this Bible study, Dr. Fruchtenbaum recommends the
following messianic Bible studies (mbs):
mbs 011: The Suffering Messiah of
Isaiah 53
mbs 012: The Messiah of the Old
Testament
mbs 013: What the New Testament
Says About Jesus
mbs 014: Why Did the Messiah Have
to Die?
mbs 025: Jesus' Right to David's
Throne
mbs 028: The Olivet Discourse
mbs 032: The Baptism and
Temptations of Jesus
mbs 035: The Three Messianic
Miracles
mbs 036: The Three Sabbath
Controversies Between Jesus and the Pharisees
mbs 044: The Transfiguration of
Jesus
mbs 052: The Names and Titles of
the Messiah
mbs 054: The Incarnation
mbs 056: The Triumphal Entry
mbs 060: The Upper Room discourses
mbs 062: The Feasts of Israel
mbs 063: The Deity of the Messiah
mbs 065: The Servant of Jehovah
mbs 067: The Seventy Sevens of
Daniel
mbs 070: The Death and Burial of
the Messiah
mbs 075: The Resurrection of the
Messiah
mbs 078: The Present Work of the
Messiah
mbs 094: The Sermon on the Mount
mbs 127: The Birth and Early Life
of the Messiah
