January 2 – The LORD,
the Lord, Christ
Psalm 110:1 –
"The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my feet until I make your
enemies a footstool."
Ephesians. 1:2 –
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ."
Colossians. 3:11 –
"Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings."
Throughout this
devotional book [created in 2016], this is the only time that you
will see the words "LORD" and "Lord". While I
am not a Hebrew or Greek scholar,
I have enough lay knowledge to question the usage of the archaic
translations "Lord" and "LORD" in the Old and New
Testaments. Tradition alone is not good enough to keep using words
that are outdated at best, and incorrect translations, at worst.
In the 1500s and
1600s of England, the common word "lord" was widely used as
a respectful title, either meaning "Sir", or "Ruler",
the latter meaning carrying over into modern English in one of the
few common English words with "lord" in it: "landlord".
"Landlord" means the owner of a rental property, or at the
very least, the manager thereof. There are two Hebrew words, which
have traditionally been translated "LORD" (all caps) and
"Lord". The former word is the Hebrew word (transliterated
as) "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". (The word
"transliterated", by the way, means the taking of a
"foreign" word and forming it directly into a local word,
e.g., the Greek word "angelos" coming into being as the
English word "angel".) Yahweh is the title used by God in
Exodus 3, when he spoke with Moses from the unburnt burning-bush.
The word means "I am that I am"; "I will be what I
will be"; and/or "the self-existent one". In other
words, it means "the Eternal One", the being who has always
existed, and always will exist, apart from anything that was created.
This is a meaning that can be understood today. The latter word is
the Hebrew word (transliterated as) "Adonai", which means
"ruler" or "master", two modern English words
that can be easily understood in context. Therefore, because I
believe that titles matter, I always substitute these English titles
or transliterations when I read or write Bible verses, instead of
using the archaic tradtional translations. In Biblical Greek, the
word (transliterated as) "kurios" means "sir, ruler,
or master", depending on the context. This Greek word has been
tradtionally translated "Lord", which I do not use.
For the longest time, I
also had trouble with the title "Christ" being used as a
name. There is a reason to use the title of "Christ" as a
name. The Greek word (transliterated as) "kristou" means
"the Anointed One", which directly corresponds with the
Hebrew word (transliterated as) "mashiach", which
corresponds to our English translation "Messiah". It has
traditionally been translated as a transliteration: "Christ".
The name of Jesus was not a unique name during his time on the
earth. The verse from Colossians above mentions a person who had two
names – Jesus and Justus. Philippians 2:9-11 gives us the answer
to any dilemma that may arise from the use of a common name:
"Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the hightest place and gave
him the name that is above every name – that at the name of Jesus,
every knee should bow....and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord (Master), to the glory of God the Father." I am not
sure from this verse whether the name Jesus itself has been exalted,
or whether the "new" name of Jesus + Christ is the exalted
one. What matters is that we differentiate between a Jesus who is
the Christ, and one who is not. After all, there are many Jesuses in
the Hispanic world, which is why Hispanics always say "JesuCristo"
when they refer to the Jesus of the Bible.
Some might argue that the
word "Christ" as a title has morphed into a name. That
concept is okay with me, whether it be true or not. (The name/title
"Christian" follows this thinking.) It does not take away
from the title and meaning itself – "the anointed One".
Now, when one was anointed, oil was poured over the head as a
symbolic gesture of God pouring his spirit onto a person for special
usage, e.g., as a special leader, or as a prophet. Moses was one
such person; as a matter of fact, he prophesied that someone like him
would arise from among their brothers (Deuteronomy 18:18). We Christians
recognize Jesus as this person, this "anointed One", this
Messiah, the one that the Jewish people allegedly were always looking
for thereafter. Because "anointed one" was recognized as
someone special, I might refer to this person as "the chosen
one" because he was the only one to be the "most High,
anointed one". We know from many other Bible verses that Jesus
was actually God in the flesh, also making him the "most High,
anointed one", or "the chosen one".
The upshot is this:
I will not be using the English word "Lord" whatsoever,
when referencing God or Jesus. I may use the English word "Christ",
or "anointed one", or even "chosen one". I
believe that the original meanings have more impact as words. I also
believe that no respect toward God is lost in this endeavor; on the
contrary, I believe that more respect is given to God, as his
character traits are more fully divulged.
The verses at the
beginning of this explanation can thus be rendered:
Psalm 110:1 – "Yahweh
says to my master: Sit at my feet until I make your enemies a
footstool."
Ephesians 1:2 – "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Ruler Jesus, the Anointed One."
If you disagree, or are more comfortable using the traditional English words, that is also fine. The important thing is that, whatever words we use to represent God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we know what the meanings are, and that our devotion to God is not diminished due to the words that we use.
