G2962 Kyrios Lord
<p>Theological Dictionary of the New Testament:
The Septuagint (the early Greek version of the Old Testament) uses kýrios for the divine name Yahweh in an effort to bring out its meaning. In the religious sphere kýrios is reserved for God. In this sense it is used regularly, i.e., over 6,000 times, and except in a few instances always for Yahweh in such forms as kýrios theós, kýrios ho theós, and ho kýrios theós.
The witness to God as Lord shows that, as the Creator, God is the exclusive holder of power over humanity and the cosmos. The term Lord states in practice who God is and what he means for us as the one whose personal will intervenes with all the force that is the distinctive mark of the name Yahweh.</p>
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In Phil. 2:6ff. the name kýrios is given to Jesus as the response of God to his obedient suffering. It implies a position equal to that of God. That the risen Jesus is Lord is stated also in Rom. 10:9; Acts 2:36, and for parallels cf. Heb. 2:6ff.; Matt. 28:18, and the use of Ps. 110:1 (Acts 5:31; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25ff.; Col. 3:1; Eph. 1:20-21). In 1 Cor. 11:3 the world is related to God only indirectly through Christ its Head. In Col. 2:6, 10 Christ the Lord is the Head of all authority and power. In 1 Cor. 15:28 the Son exercises the lordship of God the Father in order to subject all things to him. In Rom. 14:9 lordship over humanity is central as the lordship of the crucified and risen Lord (5:6; 6:4, 9; 1 Cor. 1:23-24: Gal. 3:13, etc.). The gospel is the gospel of Christ and involves being crucified with him or baptized into him. Paul comes to Rome with the blessing of Christ, and the church is one body in Christ. Believers serve the Lord (Rom. 12:11), stand or fall before him (14:4ff.), and are to walk worthy of him (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27). It is the Lord who comes (1 Th. 4:15ff.), from whom Paul is absent (2 Cor. 5:6ff.), who gives powers to his servants (2 Cor. 10:8), and whose work is being done (1 Cor. 15:58). This Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). As there is one God, the Father, so there is one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 8:6). It is through him that all things are, and that Christians exist as such. There is no set pattern for the alternation of Christós and kýrios. Often we find combinations such as ho kýrios Iēsoús or ho kýrios hēmṓn Iēsoús (Christós). The use of the name Jesus gives emphasis and solemnity to the formula, and the personal pronoun stresses the personal relationship, which as that of the whole church implies the interrelationship of Christians (Rom. 15:30; 1 Cor. 1:2) but also their separation from others (Rom. 16:18).
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One Volume.
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