The Bible refers to the Lord in many different ways, which from the text seem indistinguishable and interchangeable. Understood in the internal sense, though, there are important differences.
To some degree, the meanings all start with “Jehovah,” which is the Lord’s actual name. It represents the perfect, eternal, infinite love which is the Lord’s actual essence, what he actually “is.” As such it also represents the good will that flows from the Lord to us, his desire for us to be good and the urgings toward good that go with it. “God,” meanwhile, represents the wisdom of the Lord and the truth that flows from the wisdom to describe the love. There are others, of course, which will be discussed separately.
The term “the Lord” is very close in meaning to “Jehovah,” and in many cases is interchangeable (indeed, translators have a tendency to go back and forth). When the two are used together, though, “the Lord” refers to the power of the Lord’s goodness, the force it brings, where “Jehovah” represents the goodness itself.
In the New Testament, the name “Jehovah” is never used; the term “the Lord” replaces it completely. Swedenborg offers two reasons for that. First, the Jews of the day considered the name “Jehovah” too holy to speak or write. Second, they would not have been able to grasp the idea that the Lord – who was among them in human form at the time – was in fact Jehovah Himself.
This does ultimately lead to a difference in the two terms by the end of the Bible. Thought of as “Jehovah,” the Lord is the ultimate human form and has the potential for assuming a physical human body; thought of as “the Lord” he actually has that human body, rendered divine by the events of his physical life. That’s how we know him in this day and age, which is why we use the term “the Lord” on this website.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2921
- ‘My lord, you are a prince of God in the midst of us’ means the Lord as regards Divine good and truth with them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a lord’ and of ‘a prince of God’, and from the meaning of ‘in the midst of us’. The fact that the expression ‘lord’ is used when good is the subject is clear from the Old Testament Word, for there Jehovah is sometimes called Jehovah, sometimes God, sometimes Lord, sometimes Jehovah God, sometimes Lord Jehovih, sometimes Jehovah Zebaoth, and always for a hidden reason which cannot be known except from the internal sense. In general when the celestial things of love, that is, when good, are dealt with, the name Jehovah is used, but when the spiritual things of faith are dealt with, the name God is used. And when both together are dealt with, the names Jehovah God are used. When however the Divine power of good, that is, when omnipotence is the subject, Jehovah Zebaoth (or Jehovah of Hosts), and also the Lord, are used; so that the names Jehovah Zebaoth and the name the Lord have the same sense and meaning. From this also, that is to say, from the power of good, men and angels are called ‘lords’, and in the contrary sense those are called servants or slaves who have no power at all or else have a power received from their lords. From these considerations it becomes clear that here ‘my lord’ in the internal sense means the Lord as regards good, which in what follows below will be illustrated from the Word. ‘A prince of God’ however means the Lord as regards the power of truth, that is, as regards truth, as becomes clear from the meaning of ‘a prince’ or ‘princes’ as first and foremost truths, dealt with in 1482, 2089, and from the fact that the phrase ‘a prince of God’ is used, for the name God is used when truth is dealt with but the name Jehovah when good is dealt with, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822. As regards ‘in the midst of us’ meaning among them or present with them, this is clear without explanation.
[2] That in the Old Testament Word the names Jehovah Zebaoth and the name Lord have the same sense and meaning is clear in Isaiah,
The zeal of Jehovah Zebaoth will do this; the Lord has sent a word into Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. Isa. 9:7, 8.
Elsewhere in the same prophet,
A mighty king will have dominion over them, said the Lord, Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 19:4.
In Malachi,
Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says Jehovah Zebaoth. Mal. 3:1.
More plainly, in Isaiah,
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Woe is me! For I am cut off; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah Zebaoth. And I heard the voice of the Lord. Isa. 6:1-3, 5, 8.
From these places it is evident that Jehovah Zebaoth and the Lord have the same meaning.
[3] But ‘the Lord Jehovih’ is used more particularly when the help of omnipotence is sought and prayed for, as in Isaiah,
Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovih will come with might, and His arm will exercise dominion for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will pasture His flock like a shepherd. Isa. 40:9-11.
For further examples of this use of ‘the Lord Jehovih’, see Isa. 25:8; 40:10; 48:16; 50:4, 5, 7, 9; 61:1; Jer. 2:22; Ezek. 8:1; 11:13, 17, 21; 12:10, 19, 28; 13:8, 13, 16, 18, 20; 14:4, 6, 11, 18, 20, 21; Micah 1:2; Ps. 71:5, 16; and many other places.
[4] What is more, in the Old Testament Word ‘the Lord’ entails the same as ‘Jehovah’, that is to say, ‘the Lord’ is used when good is dealt with, and therefore also the Lord is distinguished from God in the same way as Jehovah is from God; as in Moses,
Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deut. 10:17.
In David,
Confess the God of gods, for His mercy is for ever; confess the Lord of lords, for His mercy is for ever. Ps. 136:1-3.
[5] But nowhere in the New Testament Word, neither in the Gospels nor in the Book of Revelation, is Jehovah used. Instead of Jehovah the name the Lord occurs – for hidden reasons to be dealt with below. The fact that in the New Testament Word the Lord is used instead of Jehovah is quite clear in Mark,
Jesus said, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your thought, and with all your strength. Mark 12:29, 30.
The same is expressed in Moses as follows,
Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deut. 6:4, 5.
Here it is evident that the name ‘the Lord’ is used instead of Jehovah. Likewise in John,
I looked, and behold, a throne had been set in heaven, with one seated upon the throne. Around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. Each had for himself six wings round about him, and was full of eyes within. They were saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God omnipotent. Rev. 4:2, 6, 8.
This is described in Isaiah as follows,
I saw the Lord seated upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 6:1-3, 5, 8.
In this case ‘the Lord’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah’, that is, ‘the Lord God omnipotent’ instead of ‘Jehovah Zebaoth’. The fact that the four living creatures are the seraphim or cherubs is evident in Ezekiel 1:5, 13-15, 19 and following verses; 10:15. That in the New Testament ‘the Lord’ is Jehovah is also clear from many other places, as in Luke,
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Luke 1:11.
‘An angel of the Lord’ is used instead of ‘an angel of Jehovah’. In the same chapter the angel told Zechariah regarding his son,
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Luke 1:16.
‘To the Lord their God’ is used instead of ‘to Jehovah their God’. Also in the same chapter, the angel told Mary regarding Jesus,
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David. Luke 1:32.
‘The Lord God’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah God’. Still in the same chapter,
Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46, 47.
Here also ‘the Lord’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah’. And again in the same chapter, Zechariah prophesied, saying,
Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. Luke 1:68.
‘The Lord God’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah God’. In the same gospel,
An angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:9.
‘An angel of the Lord’ and ‘the glory of the Lord’ are used instead of ‘an angel of Jehovah’ and ‘the glory of Jehovah’. In Matthew,
Blessed is He coming in the name of the Lord. Matt. 21:9; 23:39; Luke 13:35; John 12:13.
‘In the name of the Lord’ is used instead of ‘in the name of Jehovah’. There are many other places besides all these, such as Luke 1:28; 2:15, 22-24, 29, 38, 39; 5:17; Mark 12:10, 11.
[6] Among the hidden reasons why people called Jehovah the Lord were the following: If when the Lord was in the world they had been told that He was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, see 1736, they would not have accepted it because they would not have believed it. And there is the further reason that as regards the Human the Lord did not become Jehovah until He had in every respect united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, see 1725, 1729, 1733, 1745, 1815, 2156, 2751. These became fully united after the final temptation, which was that of the Cross; and it was for this reason that after the Resurrection the disciples always called Him Lord, John 20:2, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25; 21:7, 12, 15-17, 20; Mark 16:19, 20; and Thomas said,
My Lord and my God. John 20:28.
And as the Lord was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, therefore He also told the disciples,
You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If therefore I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers’ feet. John 13:13, 14, 16.
These words mean that He was Jehovah God, for in this instance He is called ‘Lord’ as regards good, but ‘Master’ as regards truth. That the Lord was Jehovah is also meant by the angel’s words to the shepherds,
To you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11.
‘Christ’ is used instead of ‘Messiah’, ‘Anointed One’, and ‘King’, ‘the Lord, instead of ‘Jehovah’ – ‘Christ’ having regard to truth, ‘the Lord’ to good. Anyone who does not examine the Word carefully cannot know this, for he believes that our Saviour was called Lord because this was an everyday expression that was used to offer respect to Him, as to others, when in reality He was so called by virtue of His being Jehovah.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4973
- ‘And he was in the house of his lord the Egyptian’ means to enable it to be introduced into natural good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lord’ as good, dealt with below, and from the meaning of ‘the Egyptian’ as factual knowledge in general, and from this as that which is natural, dealt with in 4967. The reason ‘being in the house’ means being introduced is that ‘house’ is the mind in which good dwells, 3538, in this case the natural mind. Moreover ‘house’ is used in reference to good, 3652, 3720. The human being has both a natural mind and a rational mind. The natural mind exists within his external man, the rational within his internal. Known facts make up the truths that belong to the natural mind, and these are said to be there ‘in their own house’ when they are joined to good there; for good and truth together constitute a single house like husband and wife. But the forms of good and the truths which are the subject at present are of a more interior kind, for they are suited to the celestial of the spiritual from the rational, which is represented by ‘Joseph’. Those suitable interior truths within the natural are applicable to useful purposes, while interior forms of good in the same are the useful purposes themselves.
[2] The expression ‘lord’ is used many times in the Word, but unless a person is acquainted with the internal sense he assumes that ‘lord’ has no other meaning than what the word has when used in ordinary conversation. But ‘lord’ is used nowhere in the Word other than in reference to good, as is similarly the case with the name ‘Jehovah’. When however reference is being made to truth, ‘God’ and also ‘king are used. This then is the reason why ‘lord’ means good, as may also be seen from the following places: In Moses,
Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deut. 10:17.
In David,
Confess Jehovah, confess the God of gods, confess the Lord of lords. Ps. 136:1-3
In these places Jehovah or the Lord is called ‘God of gods’ by virtue of Divine Truth which goes forth from Him, and ‘Lord of lords’ by virtue of Divine Good which exists within Him.
[3] Similarly in John,
The Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings. Rev. 17:14.
And in the same book,
The One sitting on the white horse has on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:16.
The Lord is called ‘King of kings’ by virtue of Divine Truth, and ‘Lord of lords’ by virtue of Divine Good, as is evident from the individual expressions used here. ‘The name written’ is His true nature, 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006. ‘His robe’ on which it is written is the truth of faith, 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763. ‘His thigh’ on which likewise that nature is written is the good of love, 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575. From this too it is evident that by virtue of Divine Truth the Lord is called ‘King of kings and by virtue of Divine Good ‘Lord of lords’. For more about the Lord being called King by virtue of Divine Truth, see 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581.
[4] From this it is also plain what ‘the Lord’s Christ’ means in Luke,
Simeon received an answer from the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:26.
‘The Lord’s Christ’ is the Divine Truth that goes with Divine Good, for ‘Christ’ is one and the same as Messiah, and Messiah is the Anointed or King, 3008, 3009, ‘the Lord’ in this case being Jehovah. The name Jehovah is not used anywhere in the New Testament Word, but instead of Jehovah, the Lord and God are used, see 2921, as again in Luke,
Jesus said, How can they say that the Christ is David’s son when David himself says in the Book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand? Luke 20:41, 41.
The same appears in David as follows,
Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand. Ps. 110:1.
It is obvious that Jehovah in David is called Lord in the gospel, ‘Lord’ in this case standing for the Divine Good of the Divine Human. Omnipotence is meant by ‘sitting at the right hand’, 3387, 4592, 4933 (end).
[5] While in the world the Lord was Divine Truth, but once He was glorified, that is, had made the Human within Him Divine, He became Divine Good, from which Divine Truth subsequently goes forth. This explains why after the Resurrection the disciples did not call Him Master, as they had before, but Lord, as is evident in John 21:7, 12, 15-17, 20, and also in the other gospels. Divine Truth – which the Lord was while in the world and which subsequently goes forth from Him, that is, from Divine Good – is also called ‘the Angel of the Covenant’, in Malachi,
Suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the Angel of the Covenant in whom you delight. Mal. 3:1.
[6] Because ‘Lord’ is used to mean Divine Good and ‘King’ Divine Truth, therefore in places where the Lord is spoken of as having dominion and a kingdom ‘dominion’ has reference to Divine Good and ‘a kingdom’ to Divine Truth. For the same reason the Lord is called ‘Lord of the nations’ but ‘King of the peoples’, for ‘nations’ means those governed by good, ‘peoples’ those governed by truth, 1259, 1260, 1849, 3581
[7] Good is called ‘lord’ as against a servant, and ‘father’ as against a son, as in Malachi,
A son should honour his father, and a servant his lord. If I am a Father, where is My honour? And if I am a Lord, where is the fear of Me? Mal. 1:6.
And in David,
To be a slave JOSEPH was sold. The word of Jehovah tested him. The king sent and released him, he who had dominion over nations set him free and placed him as lord of his house and as one with dominion over all his possessions. Ps. 115:17, 19-22.
Here, as is evident from each individual expression, ‘Joseph’ is used to mean the Lord, ‘lord’ in this instance being the Divine Good of the Divine Human.
True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 81
81
Chapter 2
The Lord the Redeemer
THE previous chapter was on God the Creator, and also included material on creation. This chapter is on the Lord the Redeemer, and also includes material on redemption. The following chapter is on the Holy Spirit, and will also include material on divine action.
By “the Lord, the Redeemer” we mean Jehovah in his human manifestation. In what follows, we will show that Jehovah himself came down and took on a human manifestation for the purpose of redeeming.
We speak of “the Lord” rather than “Jehovah” because Jehovah of the Old Testament is called “the Lord” in the New, as you can see from the following passages. In Moses it says, “Hear, O Israel, Jehovah your God, Jehovah is one. You are to love Jehovah God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5); but in Mark it says, “The Lord your God is one Lord. You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Mark 12:29-30). Likewise in Isaiah it says, “Prepare a way for Jehovah; make a level pathway in the solitude for our God” (Isaiah 40:3); but in Luke it says, “I will go before the face of the Lord to prepare the way for him” (Luke 1:76). There are other instances elsewhere.
Furthermore, the Lord commanded his disciples to call him Lord [John 13:13]. Therefore this is what he was called by the apostles in their letters, and afterward what he was called in the apostolic church, as is clear from its creed, called the Apostles Creed.
One reason for this change of names was that the Jews did not dare to say the name Jehovah, because of its holiness. Another reason is that “Jehovah” means the underlying divine reality, which existed from eternity; but the human aspect that he took on in time was not that underlying reality. The nature of the underlying divine reality or Jehovah was shown in the previous chapter, 18-26, 27-35.
Because of this, here and in what follows when we say “the Lord” we mean Jehovah in his human manifestation.
The concept of the Lord has an excellence that surpasses all other concepts that exist in the church or even in heaven. Therefore we need to adhere to an orderly sequence, as in the following, to make this concept clear:
- Jehovah, the Creator of the universe, came down and took on a human manifestation in order to redeem people and save them.
- He came down as the divine truth, which is the Word; but he did not separate the divine goodness from it.
- In the process of taking on a human manifestation, he followed his own divine design.
- The human manifestation in which he sent himself into the world is what is called “the Son of God.”
- Through acts of redemption the Lord became justice.
- Through these same acts he united himself to the Father and the Father united himself to him, again following the divine design.
- Through this process God became human and a human became God in one person.
- When he was being emptied out he was in a state of progress toward union; when he was being glorified he was in a state of union itself.
- From now on, no Christians will go to heaven unless they believe in the Lord God the Savior and turn to him alone.