According to the inspired Scriptures, the risen heavenly Jesus is the believers’ only Master and Lord:
“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into sensuality and who deny our ONLY Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (ton MONON despoten kai kyrion hemon ‘Iesoun Christon).” Jude 1:4
Interestingly, the majority of Greek manuscripts actually describe Jesus as our only sovereign God and Lord!
“… and denying our only Master, GOD, and Lord, Jesus Christ (ton monon despoten THEON kai kyrion hemon ‘Iesoun Christon).” World English Bible (WEB)
The notes provided by the New English Translation (NET) are helpful in explaining why this passage is quite significant, in fact remarkable, in affirming the Deity of Christ:
tc Most later witnesses (P Ψ 5 88 1175 1611 1735 2492 M sy) have θεόν (theon, “God”) after δεσπότην (despotēn, “master”), which appears to be a motivated reading in that it explicitly links “Master” to “God” in keeping with the normal NT pattern (see Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim 2:21; Rev 6:10). In patristic Greek, δεσπότης (despotēs) was used especially of God (cf. BDAG 220 s.v. 1.b.). The earlier and better witnesses (P א A B C 0251 33 81 323 436 442 1241 1243 1739 2344 al co) lack θεόν; the shorter reading is thus preferred on both internal and external grounds.
sn The Greek term for Master (δεσπότης, despotēs) is the same term the author of 2 Peter used (2 Pet 2:1) to describe his Lord when he prophesied about these false teachers. Since δεσπότης is used only ten times in the NT, the verbal connection between these two books at this juncture is striking. This is especially so since both Peter and Jude speak of these false teachers as denying the Master (both using the same verb). The basic difference is that Peter is looking to the future, while Jude is arguing that these false teachers are here now.
tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are SINGULAR, personal, and common (i.e., NOT PROPER NAMES), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1. (NET Bible https://netbible.org/bible/Jude+1; emphasis mine)
This is where it becomes rather astonishing.
The Greek rendering of the Old Testament, typically referred to as the Septuagint (LXX, the translation of the seventy), identifies YHWH as the believers’ one and only Lord. It even translates the Hebrew words YHWH and Adonay as despotes, in confirmation that YHWH is the only sovereign Lord God.
I include the Greek words employed in the Septuagint version (LXX) of the Hebrew Bible:
“And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, ‘Rise up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are Yahweh (kyrios monos). You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down to You.’” Nehemiah 9:5-6
“And Abram said, ‘O Lord Yahweh (despota kyrie), what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’… And he said, ‘O Lord Yahweh (despota kyrie), how may I know that I will possess it?’” Genesis 15:2, 8
“Therefore the Lord (kyrios), Yahweh of hosts (ho despotes sabaoth), The Mighty One of Israel, declares, “Ah, I will be comforted concerning My adversaries, And I will avenge Myself on My enemies.” Isaiah 1:24
“For behold, the Lord (ho despotes), Yahweh of hosts (kyrios sabaoth), is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water,” Isaiah 3:1
“Behold, the Lord (ho despotes), Yahweh of hosts (kyrios sabaoth), will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are high in stature will be cut in pieces And those who are lofty will be made low.” Isaiah 10:33
“Then I said, ‘Alas, Lord Yahweh (ho despota kyrie)! Behold, I do not know how to speak Because I am a youth.’” Jeremiah 1:6
“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord Yahweh (ho despota kyrie)! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, “You will have peace”; whereas a sword touches the throat.’” Jeremiah 4:10
“So now, O Yahweh (despota kyrie), please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”” Jonah 4:3
What this shows is that Jude has basically described Christ as the one and only Adonay YHWH (monos despotes kyrios) that became flesh!
ADONAY YHWH BECOMES FLESH
This leads me to my next point.
Christ speaks of the time when he would personally send forth prophets that would prophesy in his name. Jesus further warned against those who would call him “Lord, Lord,” while failing to obey his commandments:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord (kyrie kyrie),’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord (kyrie kyrie), in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23
“Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord (kyrie kyrie),’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46
“On account of this, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,” Matthew 23:34
To say that these are all remarkable assertions would be putting it mildly since the Hebrew Bible proclaims that true prophets are sent forth by YHWH to prophesy in his name, and not in the name of some other god!
“Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of Yahweh your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God; let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ And Yahweh said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it will be that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ Now you may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:15-22
“‘So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon,” for they prophesy a lie to you; for I have not sent them,’ declares Yahweh, ‘but they prophesy a lie in My name, in order that I may banish you and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” Jeremiah 27:14-15
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams which you dream. For they prophesy a lie to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares Yahweh.” Jeremiah 29:8-9
“And it will be that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.” Zechariah 13:3
Even more remarkable is the fact that the phrase Jesus employed, “Lord, Lord (kyrie kyrie),” is found in the LXX in reference to YHWH himself. This expression is used as the Greek translation of the Hebrew phrase Adonay YHWH/YHWH Adonay!
I again include either the Greek phrase or the entire Greek rendering from the LXX so the readers can see this for themselves:
“And it happened when it had completed eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, ‘Lord Yahweh (kyrie kyrie), please pardon! How can Jacob rise up, For he is small?’” Amos 7:2
“May those who hope for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord Yahweh of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,” Psalm 69:6
“Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord of hosts (kyrie kyrie ton dynameon), be ashamed on my account: let not them that seek thee, be ashamed on my account, O God of Israel.” Psalm 68:7 LXX
“But as for You, O Yahweh, O Lord, deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;” Psalm 109:21
“But thou, O Lord, Lord (kyrie kyrie), deal mercifully with me, for thy name’s sake: for thy mercy is good.” Psalm 108:21 LXX
“O Yahweh, O Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.” Psalm 140:7
“O Lord God (kyrie kyrie), the strength of my salvation; thou hast screened my head in the day of battle.” Psalm 139:8 LXX
“For my eyes are toward You, O Yahweh, O Lord; In You I take refuge; do not pour out my soul to death.” Psalm 141:8
“For mine eyes are to thee, O Lord God (kyrie kyrie): I have hoped in thee; take not away my life.” Psalm 140:8 LXX
This again reinforces the fact that Jesus is that very YHWH God who became a human being for our redemption!
There’s simply no way of getting around this revealed truth of the God-breathed Scriptures.
Unless noted otherwise, scriptural citations taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
FURTHER READING
The Binitarian Nature of the Shema [Part 7]
Jesus, the Lord God who sends forth the prophets
Jesus Is indeed God Incarnate Which Is Why He Is Able To Forgive Sins! Pt. 2
JUDE TESTIFIES THAT JESUS IS YHWH ALMIGHTY!
Jesus Christ: The Lord God Who Saved and Punished Israel During the Exodus
The Quran Confirms that Jude Identifies Jesus Christ as God in the Flesh!
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