Contents
God will be the LORD again
I am the first and the last
Christ was made the Lord after He endured the cross, but only until the LORD’s Day.
This truth is stated several times in the Bible. Paul said that after Christ endured the cross, God gave Him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Therefore, when Christ rose He told the disciples, “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). The Apostle Peter said, “that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). And Paul said, “for us there is one God, the Father . . . and one Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:6). And again, Paul said, there is “one God and Father of all,” and “one Lord” (Ephesians 4:5-6).
Therefore, it should not be surprising that throughout the New Testament, the Apostles only called Christ “the Lord” except when referencing Old Testament passages, or when calling God, the “Lord” of creation.
The Apostle Paul only called Christ the Lord, according to the Brown–Driver–Briggs Lexicon
Many have recognized that the Apostle Paul only called Christ the Lord in his writings. He never, ever, called God the LORD, except in reference to Old Testament passages. Paul uses the expression “Lord” 299 times.
The Brown–Driver–Briggs Lexicon of the Greek and Hebrew text in its entry of “Kurios” (d) says that this is true, but questions 1 Corinthians 3:5: “as the Lord gave each one,” supposing a relation to God who gives the increase, in verse 6. However, we see no reason to question this verse, the Lord adds (Acts 2:47), and God gives the increase. Of the 299 uses of the phrase “Lord,” Paul’s message is entirely consistent.
“The Lord” in the Gospels
Of course, Christ was called “Lord” many times before His crucifixion, by His disciples and others, because Lord simply means “Master.” God was also called the LORD many times before Christ’s crucifixion.
“The Lord” in other New Testament Books
After Jesus was crucified, and before the LORD’s Day, God was never called “the LORD” except in reference to Old Testament passages, or when calling God, the Lord of creation.
To prove this for yourself, you have to look through 728 instances, and 670 verses. These are easily sorted using a program like “E-Sword.” E-Sword considers Hebrews to be written by Paul.
If you take out the Gospels and the letters of Paul, that leaves only 179 occurrences to consider. Most of these are in the Book of Acts.
| Uses of “Lord” in the KJV | |
| Acts | 110 |
| James | 15 |
| 1 Peter | 8 |
| 2 Peter | 15 |
| 2 John | 1 |
| Jude | 7 |
| Revelation | 23 |
| 179 |
If you make the reading of these passages in a good Bible like the NASB, you should find that God is only called the LORD in quotations or references to Old Testament passages, as in the following:
Acts 2:20, 21, 25, 34; 3:19 (Hosea 6:1, 3); Acts 3:22; 4:26; 7:30, 31, 33, 37, 49; 13:47, 15:17; 17:24
James 5:11
1 Peter 1:25; 3:12
Jude 5, 9, 14
We discussed Acts 2:39, and 47 in Chapter 23. You will find an instance, in Acts 4:23–30, where the congregation calls God “Despota,” which means “Master,” or “sovereign Lord,” a word that is used only ten times in the New Testament. In verse 29, they continue their prayer and call God “Lord” (Kyrie) in the normal fashion, but as “Lord” of creation. Also in Acts 17:24, in speaking of God, Paul calls Him “master” or “Lord” of creation.
The conclusion is that of the 500 occasions in which the Apostles used the expression “Lord” after Jesus’ resurrection there are no occasions where God is referred to as “the Lord” (ho Kurios) except in reference to Old Testament passages. There are only two verses, where God is called “Lord” (Kurios), as the “Lord” of creation.
The LORD in the Book of Revelation
This is where it gets very interesting, for we will find that the Apostle John never calls Christ the Lord in the LORD’s Day, or thereafter!
| Christ is the Lord | God is the LORD | |
| Revelation 1:7 -4:1
“in the Spirit in the LORD’s day” |
1:8, 10 | |
| Revelation 4:2 -5
“Come up here and I will show you what takes place after these things” |
4:8, 11 | |
| Revelation 6
“Seven seals” |
6:10, uses “Despotas” to God as in Acts 4:24 | |
| Revelation 7-10 (none) | ||
| Revelation 11:1-14 | 11:8 | |
| Revelation 11:15-19
“Then the seventh Angel sounded” |
11:15,17 | |
| Revelation 12 -13 | ||
| Revelation 14:1-5
“the Lamb with 144,000” |
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| Revelation 14:6-20 | 14:13 | |
| Revelation 15-16
“seven plagues which are last, because in them the wrath of God is finished” |
15:3,4, 16:7 | |
| Revelation 17 – 18 | 17:14 | 18:8 is the judgment day, “in one day” ie 1,000 years her judgment has come. |
| Revelation 19:1-10
“the sound of a great multitude in heaven” |
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| Revelation 19:11 – 20:8 | 19:16 | |
| Revelation 20:9 – 22:17
The Judgment and thereafter |
22:5, 6 | |
| Revelation 22:18- 21 | 22:20, 22:21 | |