Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 6/17/2007

Question
Hello again. I think you and Schultz are kind of my "go to" guys to ask questions. Whenever the Jewish scribes went to Alexandria to translate the Hebrew uhhh...Bible into the Septuagint, they did a very peculiar thing (to me anyway). Whenever they came across one of God's names (the only I know of are YHWH and Adonai) they would write "kurios" in the place of His names instead of "theos". Kurios means "lord, possessor, owner, exc." It was used extensively to refer to someone as lord. Theos means god. For some reason, these very intelligent men decided not to use this word in the place of God's names. I'm not saying they made a mistake or anything. Now I'm not sure, but is it confirmed among other historians that the when the Apostles (including Paul) were brought up, were they taught out of the Septuagint at all? Maybe not when they were growing up, but at one part of time before the book of Romans was written? I ask this because whenever Paul wrote in Romans 10:9 (this is from the NIV):

"That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God rose Jesus from the dead, you will be saved."  

he may have been ascribing Jesus as God in that way. Either that OR, I think he may have meant "Confess Jesus is Lord in the sense of being the owner, possessor, lord of the universe (i.e. everything)." Which could it be? Could it be both? You see my friend, I am struggling to know whether or not I am saved. I am looking into this so that I can be sure what to say and believe to be saved. I have asked God to reveal to me also that it is true. I have been plagued with doubt for sometime now, and am working on it alot. I think another good indicator that that probably does mean to confess "Jesus is [God]" is when the Christians who were going to die in the Colisseum had to say "Caesar is [god]", but they would say "Jesus is Lord (God)". So I guess I have more than one question. They are:

-Did the Apostles (mainly Paul) study the Septuagint at one time in there life before the book of Romans was written?
-When is the earliest account of Christians having to "confess" that Caesar was Lord or be punished. Was this going on before, during, and/or after Romans was written?
-How do we know Jesus is God based on the Bible?
-Is Romans 10:9 saying "Jesus is [God]" or "Jesus is Lord"? (both?)
-Were the Christians who had to confess "Caesar is Lord", were they "confessing" "Caesar is [God]" or "Caesar is Lord"?

Thank you again and God Bless <><.


Answer
Hello Joe,
Thank you for your questions. They have sent me to some of my reference books to confirm things before replying. Parts of the New Testament quote from the Septuagint. Luke and the writer to the Hebrews quote the most, Matthew the least. The Septuagint was known and widely used among Greek speaking Jews at the time. Paul was a very educated man, educated at the feet of Gamaliel. Although primarily a Hebrew scholar there is little doubt that he would have been well aware of the Septuagint.
With regard to the second part of your question I cannot find evidence (though it may be my books are insufficiently thorough) of Christians suffering in the way you describe until the reign of Nero, the fire in Rome being AD 64. Most scholars put a date on Romans between AD 57 and 59. I think it is reasonable to suggest that whilst the tendency to deify Caesars (which had begun in the East) was happening before and during Paul's writing of Romans the widespread orthodoxy of Caesar as Lord (other than using the term as a simple acknowledgment of authority) came later.
We can get bogged down in looking for precise translations and trying to find a key verse that proves Jesus' divinity. For me the absolute evidence is from the way the Jewish leaders reacted to the teaching of Jesus. John's Gospel highlights this most clearly. The Yahweh name of God which is best translated 'I AM' runs right through the Gospel including the seven I am sayings of Jesus. For me the clearest example of the point I am making is in John 8:48-59. When Jesus said 'before Abraham was born I am' his audience knew exactly what He was claiming which is why they wanted to stone Him.
The context of Romans 10 is, of course, Paul's desires for the Jewish people. The statement is simply 'Jesus is Lord' and there are no limitations placed on that Lordship by Paul. If he was thinking about the Jews when writing then the clear meaning he had in mind was 'supreme one' or 'ultimate and complete Lord'. For me this means that divinity is being declared here but it is an active context, not just that He has divinity in Him but also that all must give account to Him.
The answer to the last part must depend upon the context each time. I live in England. Our senior judges are supposed to be addressed as 'my lord'. Although I think it pompous I could say those words if it meant only that I was recognising the judge's authority within the court. If it implied a wider authority I could not say it. I guess early Christians too had to consider context. To say Caesar is Lord and mean he had governmental authority is one thing but to suggest that Lordship meant devotion and worship would be something else. It was Nero in particular that seemed to be demanding the latter.
I hope all this is of some help.
Before finishing I would like to point out that salvation is by grace (the undeserved favour of God) through faith and is therefore a gift to be received, not something we can earn.
May God continue to bless and lead you.
Stuart Woodward.