The LORD vs the Lord

Yes!

Revelation 19:16) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

MEE

 

In most Bibles, when you see the all caps "LORD" it means that the original Hebrew was the unspeakable, holy name of God - YHWH - which you may also hear referred to as Jehovah or Yahweh. Now since the New Testament was written in Greek, you don't come across this Hebrew term. So that's why you don't see the all caps "LORD" in the NT.

 

What about the "angel of the LORD"? Should not his words also be red-letter?

 

The phrase "the LORD" in the OT is typically found where the Hebrew reads "Yahweh", which means "Eternal", or "Self Existent". Also, when you see "the LORD God" in the OT, it's typically a translation of "Yahweh Elohim" or "Adonai Elohim", meaning "the Almighty One" or "the Eternal One". It's how the Hebrews referred to as God, or as Jesus and his followers referred to as God the Father.

In the NT, we see two common usages for "Lord". In Matt 1:20, we see the phrase "an angel of the Lord". The word here is the Greek "kurios", meaning "master", which is a greek reference a person of authority, but was also used to refer to God by authority (as opposed to the greek "theos", which is the Greek reference to God as deity). A master of the house was also called kurios. Matthew is referring here to the One who sent the messenger (angel). In other places, where Jesus is the teacher, he, too, is referred to as kurios. Rabbis would also be called kurios by the greeks.

We forget that, while we use the word "Lord" to refer to deity, when the KJV and predating bibles were being translated, the word "Lord" in Old English was a word referring to the master of a servant, or the one of authority (as in, Master of the house). Using "Lord" to refer to God the Father and Jesus the Son is fixed in our verbage, even though the former Old English meaning has practically disappeared from use.

 

HisMercy, you've asked the wrong one to explain 'three persons' in the Godhead. I've never believed in anything other than one God, with three manifestations; still being but just one God.

I'm not allowed to discuss the doctrine of the trinity/oneness on this board; although there is but one God. The trinity is still a mystery to me.

MEE

 

Because of the unity of the Father and Son, YHWH refers to both. Whatever is spoken regarding the Father in the OT applies to the Son. God is Father (meaning creator, as well as spiritual father of the faithful, or the chosen nation of Israel), and this would include the Word. Of course, in the NT, where Jesus is shown in the flesh, there is more of a distinction between the functions of the Father and Son.

 

I always best understood the trinity in a couple of ways.

1 "what" in divine essence
consisting of
3 "whos" in harmonious distinction

or

steam, liquid, and ice = all three 100% H2O, but all three with distinctions between the others; while still remaining perfectly 100% H2O.

Some folks use the 'egg' as an analogy.

One egg, made up of three parts: Shell, White, & Yolk.

There are subject-object distinctions between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit showing their individuality and uniqueness within the Godhead; but they are all comprised of the same eternal, divine, perfect essence that solely they have; and they are always in 100% harmony, agreement, and resolve within the divine Godhead.

 

As far as the 'LORD' or YWHW of the OT; if you take the time to study the NT; and the many passages it quotes from the OT, you will find that there are dozens of OT scriptures that refer to YWHW that show His divine, eternal, creator, Godly deitiy nature; that are also requoted and applied in the NT.

To one person.

Jesus Christ. God with Us.

Again, showing that Jesus is YHWH.

These types of studies, is one of the best tools for sharing the truth of Jehovah and Jesus with those who belong to the JW Watchtower society; and who do not know the real Jesus; and who have been taught to make a distinction between Jehovah and Jesus.

 

Yes. In the OT when you see LORD it is YHWH - the highest name for God.

From John 1 we know that when the LORD is "seen" in the OT - it must be Christ - since in fact no one has seen the Father.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Very true.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Of course, the Holy Spirit is also apart of the Godhead. But the topic was "LORD vs Lord" regarding the father and Son, so that's what I addressed.

I liked the analogy that God is "referenced" the the Father, seen in the Son [Word] and experienced in the Holy Spirit. That would explain why many of those references to "God" refer to the Father.
Also, the "source/light/heat" analogy is good, and even somewhat used by scripture.

 

There is no question that in the NT we often see something like "God AND our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" specifically identifying two members of the trinity. Sometimes this shows two titles for Christ and sometimes it is a reference to the Father and the Son.

But in the OT references to LORD (YHWH) you see applied to both the Father and the Son in the NT - it is clear that both are included at one time or another under that one title in the OT depending on the context.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Good point. Add to that the fact that Jesus tells us to pray to the Father. The NT generally (but not always) referrs to the Father as Pater (father) and Theos (God), while it generally referrs to Jesus as Christus (Messiah) and kurios(master, Lord).

In the OT, I always presume it's the Father, since the Son had not yet been sent.