The most quoted or alluded to passage of the Hebrew Scriptures in the writings of the Apostles is Psalm 110:1, which reads:
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Psalm 110:1, NASB)
Here, David prophetically recorded a statement from the LORD to his [David’s] Lord.
The fact that our English translations use “lord” to refer to both God and David’s Lord can be confusing, but the Hebrew of this verse makes a distinction between two.
The first \”LORD\” in the Hebrew is actually the Tetragrammaton — the four-letter Hebrew name of God (\”YHVH\”).
The second \”Lord\” in this verse is actually the Hebrew word \”adoni,\” which literally means \”my lord.\” The word \”adoni\” is usually used in the Bible to refer to human superiors, such as kings.
The interesting thing about this Psalm is that the writer himself was the king of Israel: David. This verse is telling us that David foresaw a time when he himself would have a superior, placed above him by God.
Jesus, the son of David, is actually David’s superior! David’s superior, the Messiah, however, is not the LORD God because it was the LORD who placed Jesus in that exalted position.
Jesus has been highly exalted but his exalted position was granted to him by God and it is for God\’s glory. Paul said in Philippians:
“…God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, NASB)
Why did God exalt Jesus to this glorified position? Because of his obedience; because he obeyed God throughout his life and obeyed Him to the very end, giving his life up for us on the cross.
As a result of Jesus’ obedience and humility, and as a result of Jesus dying for us, God raised him to His own position. Jesus is so highly exalted that God accepts worship of Jesus as king as worship to Himself!
This helps to explain why the Apostles always include the name of Jesus when offering praise to God. Jesus is our lord and our king, the one who died for us.
So, as we worship him, all praise and glory goes to our Father in Heaven, who is indeed the only true God! [John 17:3]