The Wednesday Word ~ 10 December, 2025 A.D.
What a Magnificent Name, Part II
The Greek word for Lord is ‘Kurios’ and means quite literally ‘Supreme Authority’. In the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) this word was consistently used to translate the four-letter Hebrew name for Yahweh. The Christians, knowing the usage of this word Kurios, in scripture, refused, therefore, to swear an oath of allegiance to the Roman Emperor. People were required to declare, “Cesar is Lord.”
You see, in the AD 90s, the Emperor Domitian ruled over Rome and insisted he be worshiped as God. The Roman state saw this declaration as an affirmation of political loyalty, but the Christians saw it quite differently. They saw this as an act of betrayal and idolatry. To them there was but one Kurios --- Jesus! There could be only one supreme authority. Since there is no authority higher than that which is supreme, the Christians knew that to declare the Emperor as the Kurios (the Lord) would be to declare Him as God. They refused to do so and paid with their lives.
There are those, however, who point out that the term ‘kurios´ can be used of anyone in a position of authority. It can, in fact, refer to anyone who is a leader. Property owners are called “Lord” (Matthew 20:8). Heads of households are called “Lord” (Mark 13:35). Husbands are called “Lord” (I Peter 3:6). This is true, but when the apostles used the term Lord, they were declaring Jesus to be much more than a leader, they were declaring Him to be God. The apostles urged their listeners to call upon the name of the Lord, the sovereign supreme authority. In Romans 10:9 Paul declared,
“...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus... you shall be saved.”
Then in Romans 10:13, Paul backs up this declaration by quoting from the Old Testament,
“For whoever will call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Joel 2:32).
It is remarkable to note that when Joel 2:32 is quoted in both Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13, the “LORD" in question is identified as Jesus. This is even more significant when we remember that the Jewish faith had always taught that the people should call upon the LORD. But when we reach the pages of the New Testament, we see Jewish Christians insisting that people must call on the name of Jesus. Their conviction concerning Jesus was that "there is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
The early Christians were persuaded that to call Jesus Lord was to call him Yahweh. This being so, we should remind the cults that they cannot make the acknowledgement, “Jesus is Lord” because these three words are a confession of Christ’s supreme deity!
For the Jews, being confronted by the confession of the Lordship of Christ was something greater than acknowledging Jesus as a leader or property owner. It was a confession that the Sovereign God of the Old Testament had visited the earth and had walked among men. This same Jesus with whom they had eaten and shared daily life was none other than Yahweh!
We cannot over-emphasize this:
The people of Israel were raised to call upon the LORD (Yahweh). Take, for example, Psalm 18:3, where the psalmist says, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies” (see also Psalm 55:16, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 116:2, Psalm 116:139).
Now, in the New Covenant, they are being told to call upon the name of Jesus. Jesus is the Lord upon whom they are to call. This is make-or-break time! Truth like this cannot be greeted with neutrality. If Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, then call Him LORD. If He is not, call Him teacher, the son of David or a prophet, but don’t call Him LORD. If He’s not God, He’s a fraud!
And that´s the Gospel Truth!
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