2 P 31s on the one hand Avith Ja S'- »• i" on the other). fjLaKpoOvfila in the sense of 'longsuffering' has
for its synonym dvoxvi in the sense of 'patience,' vTTo/xouri. The difference between fiaKpodvfila and dvoxv (Ro 2* 3-^) seems to be that in dvoxv the idea of the temporariness of the suspension of punish- ment is given with the word as such, whereas ytta/cpo- Ovfiia, so far as the word is concerned, might be never exhaysted. As to iirojjiovn, this differs from /xaKpodv/xia in having an element of positive heroic endurance in it, whilst the patience called fiaKpo- OvfiLa is a more negative conception which denotes the absence of a spirit of resistance and rebellion. As stated above, /xaKpodvfila occurs of God at least once in the sense of ' patience ' ; vtvoixovt] is nowhere ascribed to God. Oebs riys virofj.ov7js (Ro 15^) is not ' the God who shows patience,' but ' the God who gives patience' (cf. Ro 15'^ He IS-", IP 5'"). It is predicated of Jesus in 2 Th 3», He 12i- \
Geerhardus Vos.
VOL. I —45
LORD. — In the AV the word 'lord' generally represents the Greek Kvpios, with the exception of Ac 4^\ 2 P 2\ Jude^ and Rev e^", where it stands for deairdrrji. In the last three passages the RV renders 'master.' On the other hand, there are cases where Kvpios is rendered ' master' both in the AV and the RV— e.^. Ac 16i«- 1», Eph G^- ». As a common noun the word 'lord' is not of very frequent occurrence. It is used of the Roman Emperor (Ac 252«) ; of a husband (1 P 3^) ; of the heir of a property (Gal 4^) ; and of the angelic powers (1 Co 8% But usually it is applied either to God or to Christ, and comes to be used almost as a proper name.
1. The name applied to God.— In the LXX K^'pios is employed consistently to represent 'Jin, which the Jews substituted in reading for the name m.T, and hence it became the general designation of God. We meet with it frequently in the NT in this application, sometimes expanded into the title Ktjpioi 6 6e6$, or even Kvpios 6 debs 6 iravroKpaTup (Rev 48 11", etc.). God is addressed as Kvptos in prayer (Ac 1"^). The title is used predicatively of Him in Ac 17^^ {'Lord of heaven and earth '). In such phrases as ' even as the Lord gave ' (1 Co 3^), ' if the Lord will' (4i« ; cf. Ro V W^), 'chastened of the Lord' (1 Co IP^), the reference is probably to God rather than to Christ. Naturally it is God who is referred to where the term occurs in quota- tions from the OT, as Ac 3", Ro 4* 9-"-, 2 Co 6"'- ; though, as we shall see, there are occasions where such quotations are interpreted as referring directly to Christ. The reference is likewise to God in various phrases which recall OT associations, such as ' tlie Spirit of the Lord ' (Ac 5**), ' the fear of the Lord' (93'), 'the hand of the Lord'(lpi). In Rev., with one or two exceptions, the title refers to God — e.g. 4^- 1' IV^- " 191 — though on occasions Christ, in contrast to the kings of the earth, is called ' King of kings and Lord of lords' (IT^^ 19i«). St. Peter, St. James, and Hebrews seem to use the term indillerentiy for God or Christ. In the Pauline Epistles the term usually designates Christ, but there are occasional exceptions, and we must determine from the context whether God or Christ is to be understood. Thus, e.g., in the phrase ' the word of the Lord,' i.e. the gospel (1 Th P), we should certainly expect 'the Lord' to refer to Christ, yet the phrase recurs in the following chapter in the form ' the word of God ' (2'^). So ' the Lord of peace ' (2 Th 3'®) corresponds to ' the very God of peace' (1 Th 5^) ; and I Co 3*, where some take Kvpios to apply to Christ, is proved by v.^ to refer to God. Rut indeed it is difficult to say with certainty in many cases who is intended, and sometimes St. Paul ascribes the same function now to God and now to Christ {e.g. 1 Co 7" com- pared with 2 Co 10"). Some {e.g. Crerner and Godet) Avould lay down the rule that in the NT Kvpios is to be understood as referring to God only in the OT quotations and references (so also Lietz- mann, so far as St. Paul is concerned) ; but it is evident from some of the cases already quoted that such a canon cannot be consistently observed.
2. The name applied to Christ. — For the most part, however, the term is employed in the NT to designate Christ.
(1) The subjection of the believer to Christ. — The simplest instance of the use of the word ' Lord ' for Christ is in the Gospels, where it describes the relationship of Jesus to the disciples. In this sense it occurs in Ac 1" as a form of address of the Master, and in the phrase frequently recurring throughout the book — 'the Lord Jesus,' e.g. P' 4^^ 8'®. But such employment of the term is innocent of the doctrinal implication that attaches to it as generally employed in the NT. We meet with it in various forms — sometimes simply Kvptos or 6 Kvpios,