In One Lord…
In the Nicene Creed the complete phrase reads, “I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ…” In the Apostle’s Creed, the corresponding phrase reads, “I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord.” Why was it important to add “in one Lord”?
It was important because we need to affirm that there is one Lord, and only one Lord in our lives. And that Lord is Jesus.
In the Old Testament, when it was written in Hebrew, God was referred to as YHWH, which is how he revealed himself to Moses. When those scriptures were translated into Greek, that (unpronounceable) name was translated as Kyrios, which in English is Lord. From that time on, God, in what we would today would call the Old Testament was referred to as Lord. We see this in the Psalms where David writes, “The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.” (Psalm 110:1 NABRE)
In Jesus day, the name, “Lord“, was used to refer to God. In the New Testament many of the people who came to him for healing called him Lord. “At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, “Lord” expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.” CCC 448. Even if they didn’t understand at the time just what that meant, they knew that he was more than just another ordinary man.
By the time the Gospels were being written, Jesus had died and risen, and the name “Lord” took on an even deeper meaning. When St. Thomas sees the risen Christ, he cries out, “My Lord and my God. (John 20:28 NABRE) It was after the resurrection that they really understood that all the power, authority, and majesty of God the Father also belongs to Jesus, the only Son of the Father.
Since then, the Church continues to underscore the Lordship of Jesus in every prayer she offers. She understands, as all Christians do, that the only power or person to which we should submit our freewill to is God, the Father and his beloved Son, Jesus. “The Church…believes that the key, the center, and the purpose of the whole of man’s history is to be found in its Lord and Master.” CCC 450
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