Our God Is Adonai — The Lord Our God

In the New Testament, the shortest, most succinct confession of faith is Jesus is Lord. In his letter to the Romans Paul writes, “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.” (Romans 10:9, ESV). In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul says this, “Therefore I want you to understand that ... no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3, ESV).

In antiquity, in general use, the term "lord" was a courtesy title for social superiors. I just finished binging on Downtown Abby which depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era of England. And so I still have ringing in my ears Mr. Carson, the head butler, with his deep resonant voice saying, “Yes, my Lord Crawley, or “No, my Lady Mary.” This is simply how you spoke to your social superiors.

In Jesus’ day, the term “Lord” carried religious overtones. After Roman Emperor Octavian defeated Mark Antony in battle, the Roman Senate gave Octavian the title of "Augustus" — meaning majestic or venerable. From that time on Roman emperors were considered divine and began to be venerated, i.e. worshiped. By the time Emperor Tiberius began to reign Roman coins bore the image of the Emperor and the motto “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus.” By the time of Emperor Domitian every citizen in the empire had regularly bow before an image of the emperor, offer a pinch of salt and confess “Kaiser kurios — Caesar is Lord.” Without this confession, a person was an outcast to society and was subject to punishment. What’s a Christian to do if Jesus is Lord?

In the late 1st-century a pastor named Polycarp was asked to decide who was Lord. Was it Caesar or Christ? Polycarp, was a disciple of the Apostle John. Once arrested, Polycarp was brought before the Roman proconsul who pressed him and encouraged him to denounce Christ. He refused time and time again. The proconsul threatened to throw him to wild beasts of the arena, yet he remained steadfast in his confession of Christ. Eventually the Romans begged the question, “what harm is there in declaring Caesar as lord?” His response was the catalyst to his impending death. Polycarp reasoned with them, “eighty and six years have I called Jesus Lord, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” He died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake

It was natural for the early Christians to call Jesus Lord because that was the primary name by which they knew God the Father. Two centuries before Christ, when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek — we call it the Septuagint — Kurios, the Greek word for Lord, was used for the divine tetragrammaton YHVH. God’s personal name is “I am, that I am.” We pronounce it Yahweh or Jehovah (which is the Latinized version). But the Jews, believing the name so sacred that mortals shouldn’t pronounce it, substituted the word Lord, for Yahweh. This is why, to this day, when you see the word Lord in all caps in the Old Testament, we know that’s a reference to the personal name of God. When the disciples began to discern that Jesus was God come in the flesh, it was an easy transition to call him Lord.

I. OUR GOD IS ADONAI

1. the God of the Bible is more than just a powerful cosmic force

a. He is Lord and Master

1) Elohim tells us that God is the Supreme Creator

2) El-Shaddai tells us that God is the All-powerful God

3) El-Elyon tells us that He is The God Most High

4) El-Olam tells us He is The Everlasting God

b. Adonai tells us that He is Lord

2. its first occurrence in Scripture occurs in this evening’s text and is part of Abraham’s prayer to God

“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:1–6, ESV)

a. Abraham is addressing God as Lord (Adonai) while asking him about an heir

b. thus we get the compound title Elohim-Adonai — Lord God

3. the title implies dominion on God's part and submission on our part

A. THE GOD OF THE BIBLE IS THE OWNER AND LORD OF HIS DOMINION

“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.” (Isaiah 40:25, ESV)

1. one of the great barriers to discovering God is man's rebelliousness and our rejection of God's authority

ILLUS. In Downton Abby you regularly catch a glimpse of the Crawley family’s servants in the kitchen. Some of the younger servants chafe at the idea that these people are socially superior to them. What right do they have to be called “Lord” or “Lady” like they’re so “high and mighty”?

a. most humans struggle with authority

ILLUS. That struggle is revealed very early in life. One of the very first words children learn after mamma or daddy is “no” and very soon after that comes the possessive pronoun “Mine!”

2. we are all born with the mistaken idea that we are the owners of ourselves

ILLUS. William Ernest Henley end his poem Invictus with those famous words.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

3. the name Adonai changes all of that

B. JESUS IS LORD

1. in the New Testament Jesus is called Savior 20 times, but he is called Lord over 700 times

a. that alone give us clue about what the early church thought about Jesus

b. they thought that he was God in the flesh and worshiped him as such

2. Jesus is Lord and if he is Lord he deserves to be our Lord and not merely our Savior

a. in reality he can’t be your Savior if you don’t call him Lord

ILLUS. One of the great spiritual sagas of our day is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Lewis masterfully uses allagory to give us a glimps of what God is like. In The Chronicles of Narnia Aslan is the great and mysterious creator of a universe that lies in another dimension. Aslan appears as a great and powerful lion. Narnia is an island kingdom whose creatures have fallen into enslavement by the forces of evil. The creatures long for the freedom promised to them ages before. It is a freedom which can only be secured by Aslan's victory over the forces of evil.

Aslan brings four children from our world to Narnia and works through them to call the creatures loyal to him to join in battle against the evil ones. In the process Aslan sacrificially allows himself to be taken captive, to suffer humiliation, and to die. Yet all is not lost. Aslan arises from the dead, and he and the children and the good creatures of Narnia win the victory. Lewis' recurrent theme throughout the series is that, "Aslan is not a tame lion."

Through five more volumes Lewis develops this theme. The creatures of Narnia suffer a variety of problems. Time after time Aslan come to the aid of his creatures. Aslan shows great affection in his care of those who obey him. but gives no merciful consideration to those who oppose him. Aslan is both feared and loved.

This powerful lion acts as he will, when he wills, in the way he wills. Frequently, his creatures grow impatient with him because they cannot understand his ways.

In the last volume of the series, Aslan brings together his loyal friends from many of the earlier adventures. They enjoy a communal meal. Narnia is perfected. Victory is secured.

3. our Christ, like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, is great, and good, and loving, but also to be feared because he is Lord, and will not tolerate any rivals

a. one of the most distressing parables that Jesus told is the story of the separation of the Goats from the Sheep at the end of the age.

1) when the goats are separated out they are distressed because they were convinced that they were sheep

2) they even call Jesus Lord

“Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’” (Matthew 25:44, ESV)

b. the answer is subtle, but it’s there and it revolves around the Lordship of Christ

“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (Matthew 25:45–46, ESV)

4. those who call Christ Lord will treat the people around them like they would treat Jesus if he were here

“You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (John 13:13–16, ESV)

Is Jesus your Adonai? Is he the one to whom you give your highest allegiance? Is he the one who directs your life?