"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:1).
As we consider the God we worship, let us turn our attention today to His majestic lordship. In Psalm 8:1 we see the word 'Lord' used twice. The first time the word is in all capital letters, and translates the personal name of God: “Yahweh.” The second time, the word translates a different term: Adonai.
The word adon originally meant “administrator or steward,” according to Hebrew scholars. It was a title given to a person in a position of authority. An “adoni” held the position of lord over a house or manor, or over some other group of people.
What happens when the suffix “ai” is added to “adon” to form the word adonai? The majority of scholars believe that the suffix intensifies the meaning of the word, so that adonai means “high lord, supreme lord, lord of all.” From this, we see that Adonai is the title of God that calls attention to His sovereignty.
In the New Testament, the most frequently used title for Jesus is Christ, which means “Messiah.” The second most frequently used title is Kurios, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Adonai: the Lord. The New Testament writers consciously applied to Jesus a title that they knew was reserved only for God. Notice how Paul puts it in Philippians 2:9–11: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God is a person, and we have a personal relationship with Him. He is also, however, the sovereign Lord of all. When we go to church on Sunday, we say to Almighty God, “You are the Lord, and I am Your servant.”
A political phrase of colonial America read, “We serve no sovereign here.” Somehow this attitude has pervaded American Christianity as well. Examine your faith today for areas where you are unwilling to submit to our sovereign Lord. Consider also what ways you should be more dependent upon Christ.
