Donald W. Parry
Jesus Christ Is the Lord
Donald W. Parry, “Jesus Christ Is the Lord,” in The Jesus Christ Focused Old Testament: Making Sense of a Monumental Book (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022), 65–66.
The significant name lord (Hebrew = Jehovah) occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is that lord, as the New Testament writers make clear. Over and over again they denominate Jesus Christ as “Lord.”
The expressions Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus, and Jesus Christ our Lord are all formulaic or conventional expressions. Lord Jesus Christ, for instance, is set forth several dozen times in the New Testament.
Twice John the Revelator testified that Jesus Christ is the “Lord of lords” (Rev. 17:14; 19:16), and Paul wrote of three significant doctrines—Resurrection, Atonement, and eternal life—regarding Jesus Christ the Lord: (1) “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom. 14:9); (2) “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11); and (3) “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).
Biblical scholar John McLaughlin summarized, “Jewish Christians certainly would have equated Jesus with Yahweh [the lord]. Other OT texts and concepts referring to Yahweh are also related to Jesus in the NT. For example, He is called ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ (Rev. 17:14; 19:16; cf. Deut. 10:17; Ps. 136:3; Dan. 2:47), and the ‘day of the Lord’ is used in reference to Jesus’s return (2 Pet. 3:9–10; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14–18). Jesus is also the Lord of creation (Heb. 1:10–12; Ps. 102:25–27). In light of such texts, the credal formula ‘Jesus (Christ) is Lord’ (1 Cor. 13:3; Phil. 2:11; cf. Rom. 10:9) is an assertion of his divinity.”
Jesus Christ Is the Lord
| Scripture | Reference |
|---|---|
| “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” | Mark 16:19 |
| “And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.” | Luke 24:3 |
| “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.” | Luke 24:34 |
| “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.” | John 20:25 |
| “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” | John 20:28 |
| “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” | Acts 2:36 |
| “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” | Acts 4:33 |
| “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” | Acts 7:59 |
| “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” | Rom. 1:7 |
| “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” | Rom. 10:9 |
| “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” | Rom. 13:14 |
| “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” | Rom. 16:24 |
| “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” | 1 Cor. 1:9 |
| “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” | 1 Cor. 8:6 |
| “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” | 2 Cor. 4:10 |
| “For he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” | Rev. 17:14 |
| “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” | Rev. 19:16 |