Kingdom Principles

Kingdom Principles

KING AND LORD Although I have been speaking about lordship from the context of earthly kingdoms, everything I have said so far applies with even greater validity to the Kingdom of Heaven and its King. We have already seen that God is the King of heaven and earth by divine right of creation; He is King of all because He created all. And because every king is automatically a lord, the King of all is also the Lord of all; He owns everything because He made everything. The Bible, the constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven, plainly identifies God as King and Lord of all. One of the most common Hebrew words used to refer to God in the Old Testament is adonai , which literally means proprietor or owner. It is usually translated “lord.” The personal name for God, Yahweh, although difficult to translate with complete accuracy, carries the same idea of master, owner, or lord. This biblical picture of God as Lord is further enhanced by the fact that in most Bible versions, the personal name Yahweh, wherev er it occurs, is replaced with the word “Lord.” This is in keeping with an ancient Jewish tradition where devout Jews so respected and honored God’s name that they would not even speak it or read it aloud to ensure that they did not inadvertently violate the Third Commandment by misusing His name. Instead, they substituted the word adonai , or “Lord.” So over and over the truth is hammered home: God is the Lord…God is the Lord…God is the Lord. This truth is reiterated even in the most basic confession of faith for a Jew, recited every morning:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

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