Dr Paul Allen

English: By Rembrandt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” ( Psalm 110:1 ) The 110th Psalm is one of the most significant of the so-called Messianic Psalms, prophesying of Christ a thousand years before He came. Its very first verse should completely settle the question as to whether or not the Old Testament teaches that there is only one person in the Godhead since it recounts an actual conversation between at least two Persons of the Godhead. This first verse is quoted, in whole or in part, at least five times in the New Testament and was even used by Christ Himself ( Matthew 22:41-46 ) to prove His own deity. Two of the Hebrew names for God are used: “ Jehovah said unto Adonai . . . .” The name Jehovah is used again in verses 2-4, and Adonai in verse 5. God, in the person of Adonai, has gone to Earth on a divine mission to save His people but has been repudiated by His enemies...

English: Saint Polycarp (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Philippians 2:5–11 “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord , to the glory of God the Father” (vv. 10–11). At age eighty-six, Polycarp , the second-century bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the apostle John, was brought to the Roman authorities and ordered to confess that Caesar is lord. Though doing so would have saved his life, Polycarp refused and was murdered, inspiring others to remain faithful. Considered apart from Polycarp’s story, it was not unusual to refer to Caesar as kurios, the Greek term for “lord.” In the original Greek, kurios can mean simply “sir” as a polite and slightly exalted way of referring to another human being. Or, it can refer to a master of many slaves or servants. However, neither of these meanings were in mind when Rome applied the title kurios to the emperor. Instead, kurios signified divinity when used of...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." ( Job 28:28 )   This key phrase, "the fear of the LORD" ( Yahweh ), occurs in a distinctive pattern in the Old Testament . There are 14 occurrences in the book of Proverbs and seven in the other books, or a total of three times seven altogether, both of which are important Bible numbers.   As we see from the verses in Job preceding our text, when God made man He told him that true wisdom is "the fear of the Lord" ( Adonai --the only use of  Adonai  with this phrase). Unfortunately, Adam and Eve sought wisdom in the tree of knowledge instead ( Genesis 3:6 ) and soon were hiding themselves in fear. The psalmist testifies: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" ( Psalm 111:10 ). The final occurrence of the phrase is also in a wisdom context. "And wisdom and knowledge shall be the...

Image via Wikipedia The LORD said to my Lord, “sit at My right hand …” (Ps. 110:1). One way that we gain a deeper understanding of the God we worship is by knowing the meaning of His various titles or names. We have already briefly looked at Yahweh and its personal implications concerning God’s relationship to His creation. Today we will look at the most frequently used title in the Old Testament , which is Adonai . The Jewish people were acutely conscious of violating the first commandment and abusing the name of God, Yahweh, so they commonly substituted the title Adonai in their worship. Adon means steward, administrator, or Lord. The addition of ai to adon intensifies its meaning, changing it to mean the supreme Lord of all. Adonai, therefore, emphasizes the sovereignty of God. In the New Testament , the most frequently used title for Jesus is Image via Wikipedia  Kurios, which is the Greek translation of Adonai. The New Testament writers chose this title deliberately...

Image via Wikipedia "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands." ( Hebrews 1:10 )   The primary name for God in Scripture is the majestic name Jehovah , occurring nearly seven thousand times. The early Jews were reluctant to use that name, for fear of using it lightly ( Exodus 20:7 ), and substituted the word  Adonai  (meaning Master or Lord) in its place.  Our English versions have followed suit, using the term "Lord" for Jehovah (all caps to distinguish it from Adonai, or Lord). Thus the name Jehovah appears only four times in the King James, and causes us at times to miss the full impact of the passage.   This is especially true in the New Testament quotations from Old Testament passages which used the name "Jehovah," for which "Lord" has been substituted. Now, in the English versions, the name "Lord" appears. If "Jehovah" (i.e., deity) were rea...