Calvin Miller once spoke of the challenge that school teachers faced in the counterculture of California in the 1960s. Seemingly all of a sudden, little children—the children of hippies—started appearing in classes with the most exotic of names: Peace, Moonbeam, Star, Rainbow, and the like. Teachers had to adjust and, above all else, had to avoid showing surprise at these strange names.

One school teacher was prepared, then, to find among her students a little boy named “Fruit Stand.” It was written right there on the little name card the kids wore: Fruit Stand. So the teacher decided to embrace it outright. “Good morning, Fruit Stand!” She said to the boy. Then, throughout the day, she warmed to the name: “Yes, little Fruit Stand? You have a question?” “That is right, Fruit Stand! That is the correct answer!” “Of course, Fruit Stand, you may go to the restroom.” And on and on it went

He was a sweet little boy, and the teacher was sad to see him go. Even so, at the end of the day, he lined up with the others to be led out to the buses. The teacher came to little Fruit Stand, patted him on the top of his head, said, “I will see you tomorrow Fruit Stand!”, then turned his name placard over so that the bus driver would be able to see where he was to be dropped off.

And there, on the back of his name card, it said…Anthony.

What I love about the Apostles’ Creed is the way that it names Jesus then turns His name card over so we can see what is written on the back. And what is written on the back is powerful and provocative and incendiary, for on the back we read: “Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” We have sought to answer the question, “What does it mean to call Jesus ‘Christ’?” We then sought to answer the question, “What does it mean to call Jesus ‘Son of God’?” Now we will attempt to answer the question, “What does it mean to call Jesus ‘our Lord’?”

This last title, “Lord,” must be understood. To say that it is pervasive in the New Testament is to make an understatement, for as James Leo Garrett writes:

Whereas “Lord” is used 139 times in the New Testament of God the Father, it is used 489 times of Jesus. The latter usage occurred in all books except Titus, and 1, 2, and 3 John.[1]

So what does this important and very-present word “Lord” mean?

To say of Jesus “our Lord” is to say that Jesus is God with us.

We must first appreciate the profound weight of the word “Lord.” In the scriptures, as in modern English, the word does not necessarily carry divine connotations. Yet, by the first century, it could quite easily do so.

The great name for God in Israel is/was YHWH, normally pronounced Yahweh, though early Hebrew had no values. In time, the Jews preferred to say adonai instead of YHWH in an effort to honor the divine name. This would become, in Greek, kyrios and, in English, Lord. Garrett explains:

After their Babylonian captivity the Jews were accustomed to make a verbal substitution when reading and pronouncing the covenant name of God in Hebrew, the name “Yahweh.” Out of reverence for the divine name they uttered “Lord” (adōnāy) when reading in the Hebrew Bible the word Yahweh. Among Greek-speaking Jews the term uttered was the Greek term, ho kyrios (the Lord). To these Jews, therefore, lordship was equivalent to deity, for only Yahweh was properly to be called kyrios. Against such background and usage Jews of the day of Jesus heard the affirmation, “Jesus is Lord.”

Likewise, Alister McGrath writes:

When the Old Testament Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into Greek, the Greek word kyrios—“the Lord”—was used to translate the sacred name of God. Thus, the historian Josephus tells us that the Jews refused to call the Roman emperor kyrios, because they regarded this name as reserved for God alone. Long before the New Testament period, the word Lord thus came to refer to God himself.[2]

James Leo Garrett Jr. quotes Gustav Adolf Deissmann as saying, “It may be said with certainty that at the time when Christianity originated ‘Lord’ was a divine predicate intelligible to the whole Eastern world.”[3] And there are times when “Lord” is applied to Jesus in just such a way. Consider Mark 12.

³⁵ And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ ³⁷ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

Something powerful is happening in this passage. Jesus is showing that the Messiah, who is Jesus, is more than just the son of David. He is, in fact, much more! And to demonstrate this Jesus points to the words of David himself from Psalm 110: “The Lord said to my Lord…” Jesus is saying here that the “my Lord” to whom “The Lord” speaks is none other than “the Christ,” the Messiah, Jesus Himself. So the Messiah is not merely the son of David. He is, in fact, Lord!

It is quite evident that not every usage of “Lord” in the New Testament when applied to Jesus is divine. Sometimes it appears to be simply a term of respect, even great respect, that nonetheless comes short of the divine title. But in Mark 12 and elsewhere Jesus is clearly arguing that He is the Lord, that is, elevated above mere humanity. He is man, yes, but also Lord.

When the Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,” this is the sense in which it is being used. And to say this is powerful, to say the least, for it is claiming that in Jesus God is with us.

I once read of a pastor who abruptly stopped a wedding he was conducting just before the couple exchanged vows, took the surprised groom by the shoulders, turned him to face him, and said loudly, “Scott! Scott! Scott! Think about what you are about to say!” Then he turned him back and calmly asked him to repeat the vows after him. The shaken groom did so. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will do something of the same with us when we recite the creed. I pray he will grab us by the shoulders, look us in the eye, and loudly say, “Church! Church! Church! Think about what you are about to say!”

It is no small thing to call Jesus “Lord,” church! Tremble when you do so. Tremble and rejoice!

To say of Jesus “our Lord” is to express our faith in Him.

It is also a proclamation of saving faith! When we say “our Lord” we are not merely trying to assert something. We are trying to make a heart cry of faith! He is “our Lord”! We believe in Him! This is our confession of faith, which is why we have all baptized people say it: “Jesus is Lord!”

Paul, in Romans 10, writes:

⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This confession, “Jesus is Lord,” is the basic and fundamental confession of our faith. Paul links it to the entirety of Christ’s person and saving work by connecting it to the resurrection in verse 9. Meaning, “Jesus is Lord,” is no isolated and detached line. It stands alongside all that Christ is and all that He has accomplished. We confess it, because:

¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The mouth, here, is revealing the content of the heart. “Jesus is Lord” is an expression of faith and of conviction. It is right and good that that the Creed has us say “our Lord,” for that too communicates both personal and corporate faith.

¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In verse 13, Paul is quoting from Joel 2:32, which is why most of that verse is in quotations. Something important is happening in verse 13. By quoting from Joel 2, Paul is making a bold statement about the deity of Jesus, for Joel is speaking of YHWH God in Joel 2:32. This is linked to verse 9.

• “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” (v.9)
• “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13 / Joel 2:32)

“Jesus is Lord” is a cry of faith, not a repetition of a bit of information. It is a saving cry, because it believes. “Jesus is Lord” is the very heartbeat of the church!

To say of Jesus “our Lord” is to say nothing if these are simply words detached from love and obedience.

And yet, saying “Jesus is Lord” means nothing if it is merely a statement of fact devoid of faith. I consider the following words from Matthew 7 to be some of the most frightening words in all of scripture. Listen:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

“Lord” is not a magical formula. It is a cry of faith or it is nothing, even if verbalized in the context of the people of God. One may say “Lord” and do many things in the name of the Lord and still not know the Lord or be known by Him.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Writing for Christianity Today in 1981, John Stott wrote:

To confess that “Jesus is Lord” has ethical as well as theological implications. The counterpart of his lordship is our discipleship, and authentic discipleship involves bringing all our thinking and living under his authority.[4]

It is tempting to segue into the debate about faith and works at this point, but these twin truths must be held together: (1) salvation is wholly of the grace of God on the basis of the work and merit of Jesus Christ (and not our own works!) received by faith and (2) the faith that receives Jesus Christ will evidence itself in “doing the will of the Father.” It has been said that “Faith alone saves but faith that saves is not alone.” This is true. So we are not teaching “works righteousness.” We simply cannot save ourselves! No, we are teaching true faith and true faith believes and follows. Which is simply another way of saying that salvation is not a matter of a magic formula, saying “Lord! Lord!” without actually trusting in or knowing Jesus Christ. No salvation, is truly trusting that Jesus Christ is your Lord and receiving Him as Lord of your life.

“I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord…” Think about what you are saying!

And let us be clear of this: this cry “Jesus is Lord!” will be ultimately recognized and confessed by the nations! In Philippians 2, Paul writes:

⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Yes, all will indeed confess that Jesus is Lord! But, at that point, it will not be a confession of salvation for all. At that point it will be too late for those who have rejected. It will be a confession of faith for those who have believed. It will be a woeful recognition for those who have rejected. Regardless, He is Lord of Heaven and earth!

William Barclay writes:

To call Jesus Lord is to say that human categories are too small to contain him…To call Jesus Lord is to affirm that he is our absolute owner…To call Jesus Lord is to affirm that he is our absolute master….To call Jesus Lord is to affirm that he is our absolute king…to call Jesus Lord is to affirm his absolute deity…[5]

And to this we say, “Amen!”

 

[1] Garrett, James Leo, Jr. Systematic Theology. Vol. 1 (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers) Logos Edition.

[2] McGrath, Alister. I believe (p. 40). IVP. Kindle Edition.

[3] Garrett, James Leo, Jr. Logos Edition.

[4] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1981/june-12/cornerstone-jesus-is-lord-has-wide-ramifications.html

[5] Barclay, William. The Apostles’ Creed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), p.54.