TEXT: "And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God."-Acts 10:4

These three words: the LORD; the Lord; and the lord, are used, in the Bible, to refer to different persons and at different time. The first word(LORD), which is spelt in all capital letters, is used when referring to God the Father, Genesis 2:4. The second word(Lord), which has the first letter in capital, is used when referring to God the Son, Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:21. And the third word(lord), which is spelt in all small letters, is used when referring to any other person apart from God the Father or God the Son.

The difference between the LORD and the Lord was made even clearer when Jesus asked the Pharisees what they think about Christ? And whose son is he? They answered the son of David. Jesus said to them, how then did David, in the spirit, call him Lord, when he wrote, " The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Matthew 22:44.

However, the word LORD, and the word Lord, are sometimes used interchangeably between the God the Father and God the Son, Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Mark 12:29, 30.

Meanwhile, the third word(lord) is a title used to refer to any one, especially the wealthy, influential, etc. In the book of Luke chapter sixteen, Jesus was speaking about a rich man and his steward, who was accused of wasting his goods. And in verse eight, Jesus said the Lord commended the unjust steward. The lord, that was mentioned in verse eight, was not referring to Jesus Christ, but to the rich man mentioned earlier in the narrative. Jesus could not have commended an unjust steward, this will contradict his teaching on being just.

Furthermore, Jesus said we should call no man father and or master, Matthew 23:8-10. But, we do have fathers and masters today. What then did Jesus mean? What he meant was that, the fathers on earth are the earthly fathers, while the Father in heaven is the heavenly Father, Matthew 6:9. And also the masters on earth are earthly masters, while the Master in heaven is the heavenly Master. The difference is made clear with the use of the capital and the small letters of the words: the earthly fathers and the heavenly Father; the earthly masters and the heavenly Master.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Pastor K. C.