LONG-SUFFERING. Long-suffering is the demonstration of patience and endurance when one is being provoked or injured.
With Reference to God. In the OT long-suffering literally means slow to anger, a disposition to delay wrath (Exod. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15). The NT usage also relates long-suffering to wrath (Rom. 2:4-5; 9:22; 1 Pet. 3:20). J. Horst observes that long-suffering does not mean the complete end of God's wrath. "In biblical usage [long-suffering] does not imply renunciation of the grounds of wrath. What it does mean is that alongside this wrath there is a divine restraint which postpones its operation until something takes place in man which justifies the postponement" (Kittel, 4:377). So, in God long-suffering is placing patience or endurance alongside wrath.
In Relation to Man. Paul identifies long-suffering as a Christian character trait by listing it as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is further referred to in 2 Cor. 6:6; Eph. 4:2; and 2 Tim. 4:2. In the NT sense, long-suffering literally means "long of mind" or "long of soul," as opposed to shortness of mind or soul. Related to man, long-suffering is patience with others—an even temper under provocation. Yet that which distinguishes it from steely self-control is love. It is patience sustained by compassion and understanding.
See fruit of the spirit, christlikeness. For Further Reading: Metz, Studies in Biblical Holiness,191-96; Kittel, 4:377. james L. porter
LORD. The title or name is descriptive of one who owns or controls as a master. He is the one in full control, hence a person of high authority, power, and position.
In biblical literature "lord" is a translation of a variety of Hebrew words referring both directly and indirectly to God and Christ. The Hebrew word for God in His essential being is Elohim. The word Yahweh (Jehovah), designating His relationship to man, is at once grounded in man's experience and God's Lordship, as in "Thus has Yahweh spoken."
The Greek Kurios is most frequently translated "Lord" but also has other meanings. Many English translations, e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, RSV, use capital and small capital letters—Lord—for Kurios when it is a translation from the Hebrew Ado-nia (which in turn represents Yahweh).
In late Judaism the Lord (Kurios) was perceived
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as the One who could legally dispose. God's Lordship was seen in His creating and sustaining the universe. It was He their Lord who had brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Hence He had a legitimate claim on His covenant people. He was for them the One God who had the power, right, and authority to dispose over all things.
In the NT, Lord (Kurios) is the name for God in quotations and reminiscences of the OT where the Septuagint is usually followed. The same word, Kurios, which is translated "Lord" to refer to God or Christ ("The Lord said unto my Lord" [Luke 20:42]), has also secular meanings variously translated "master," "lord," "owner," and "sir," as a form of polite address.
Jesus addressed God His Father as "Lord of heaven and earth" (Matt. 11:25). Here Jesus recognized His Father as the uncaused divine will while at the same time evincing that His own voluntary subservience to the divine will was in no way either indicative or productive of a lack of willpower.
This attitude of Jesus to His Father gives insight into the early confession where the title and name, Lord, was ascribed to Jesus. According to Paul, "Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil. 2:11, nasb). His Lordship is the consequence of His humble obedience freely chosen. "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (v. 8, nasb).
See JEHOVAH (YAHWEH), CHRIST.
For Further Reading: GMS, 328-32; Kittel, 3:1039-95.
Joseph H. Mayfield
LORD'S DAY. This is Sunday, the first day of the week, the special Christian day of worship.
The term appears in the NT only in Rev. 1:10 where it provides the temporal setting of the revelation given John on Patmos. Despite its appearance in this apocalyptic context, it is doubtful that the "Lord's day" (Kyriake hemera) refers to the eschatological "Day of the Lord" (always he hem-era [tou] Kyriou). The term in other early Christian literature (e.g., Didache 14.1; Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Magnesians 9.1; Justin Martyr's First Apology 67.7; Epistle of Barnabas 15.9; and the Gospel of Peter 9.35; 12.50) always refers to Sunday (and exceptionally more specifically to Easter Sunday).
The pagan term "Sunday" is certainly of later origin than the Jewish "first day of the week" (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), and the equivalent "eighth day" (cf. John 20:26 and later Christian usage)—and probably later than the specifically Christian designation, the "Lord's day."
The fact that Christians created a new name for only one day of the week suggests its importance, but not necessarily the significance of the specific designation, "Lord's day." The expression may imply that Sunday (1) as a day belongs to the Lord in some special way; (2) was inaugurated and observed on the Lord's authority; (3). weekly anticipates the eschatological Day of the Lord; or, with greater probability (4) serves as a weekly memorial of Jesus' resurrection; and (5) is the special day on which the "Lord's supper" (Kyriakon deipnon [1 Cor. 11:20]) was celebrated.
Scripture nowhere specifically commands the transfer of the day of worship from the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord's day. Nevertheless, probably from the very earliest days of the post-Easter Christian community (cf. references above for "first day") but certainly by no later than a.d. 150 0ustin Martyr's First Apology 67), the Lord's day was the chief day of worship,the climactic focal point of which was the Eucharist. Thus the decree of the Roman Emperor Constantine in a.d. 321, making Sunday a public holiday, did not change but merely recognized and officially sanctioned a long-standing Christian customary practice.
See sunday sabbatarianism, law, worship.
For Further Reading: Corlett, The Christian Sabbath;
Jewett, The Lord's Day: A Theological Guide to the Chris-
tian Day of Worship; Latourette, A History of Christianity;
Richardson, "Lord's Day," IDB, 3:151-54; Rordorf, Sun-
day: The History of the Day of Rest and Worship in the
Earliest Centuries of the Christian Church; Wiley, CT
3:143-50; Beckwith and Scott, This Is the Day: The Bibli-
cal Doctrine of the Christian Sunday in Its Jewish and Early
Church Setting. george lyons
LORD'S PRAYER. The prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 is referred to nowhere in the NT as "The Lord's Prayer," unless one counts the appellation "Abba, Father." The title is most probably a result of Jesus' introductory words, "Pray then like this" (Matt. 6:9, rsv); "When you pray, say" (Luke 11:2, rsv).
In the early centuries of the Church, the Lord's Prayer was a part of the worship service. Cyril tells us that in Jerusalem the prayer was used at the end of the Eucharistic prayers before the Communion. This leads to the conclusion that the privilege of public use of the Lord's Prayer was reserved for the full members of the church. The candidates for believer's baptism learned the Lord's Prayer either shortly before or immediately after baptism. Thereafter they prayed it
LORD'S SUPPER—LOST LOST SOUL daily, for it was an integral part of their identification as Christians.
The prayer is composed of an address, six petitions, and a closing doxology. Although it was not unusual for Jewish prayers to be addressed to God as Father, it is remarkable that in the OT God is addressed as Father only 14 times, all of which were very important. Jesus' instructing His disciples to call God "Father" is the more astounding when we examine the word for "Father" in Jesus' spoken language, Aramaic. The Early Church fathers Chrysostom, Theodor, and Theodoret, who came from Antioch and had Aramaic-speaking nurses, tell us that abba was the address of the small child to his father. The Talmud confirms it: "The first words for a child when it learns to eat wheat [i.e., when weaned] are: abba, imma = dear father, dear mother." Abba was an intimate family word, and Jesus gives His disciples a share in this privilege of addressing God as Abba. Encompassing the scope of the Good News, Jesus empowers the disciples to speak to their Heavenly Father literally as the small child speaks to his father, in the same confident and childlike manner.
The first three petitions of this prayer (two, in Luke) have a very similar meaning. To hallow God's name, to pray for the Kingdom, and for the doing of God's will, all reflect the living hope of the Church that God as Sovereign will prevail.
In the remaining three petitions, the verbs move from the passive to the active voice. In the context of the eschatological hope expressed in the first three petitions, it is not unlikely that the request for "daily bread" suggested a share in the Messianic banquet. However, a closer, more practical reference is quite probable. The example of the manna in the OT suggests that the bread for the new day would be sufficient for that day only. It is quite possible that this is a reflection of Jesus' concern for the every-day needs of His disciples and means simply "the day's ration."
The fifth petition, a request for forgiveness of debts/sins, is difficult to interpret in the context of the prayer alone. Yet the tenor of the entirety of Jesus' teaching suggests that any person who is not willing to forgive others, is not ready to be forgiven.
Many explanations of the final petition are strained attempts at exonerating God from leading the believer into sinning. The simple truth is that peirasmos primarily means a testing, not enticement to sin. The biblical idea is one of putting men to proof, and such trials are to be expected. The meaning is: "Do not allow us to be overcome in our testing."
The final doxology is a liturgical addition which returns to the eschatological theme of the first three petitions, thus rounding out the prayer; but it is not in the oldest Greek NT manuscript.
It would be well for the contemporary Church to recapture the use of this prayer in its liturgical practice, especially the sense of privilege at being allowed to pray, "Our Father."
See PRAYER, FATHERHOOD OF GOD, ADOPTION.
For Further Reading: 7DB, 3:154-58; "The Lord's Prayer in Modem Research," Expository Times, vol. 71, no. 5 (Feb., 1960): 141-46. W. STEPHEN GUNTER LORD'S SUPPER. See holy communion.
LOST, LOST SOUL. In the present tense a lost soul refers to an unregenerate person who is deprived of the presence of God. In an eternal perspective a lost soul is one who has been judged sinful and sentenced to eternal punishment.
Biblical Terms. Both OT and NT terms, abad and apollumi (or apollud), literally mean "To destroy, kill, or lose oneself." The implication is strong. Being "lost" is the result of one's own actions. The NT word apollud is the basis for Apollyon (Rev. 9:11, Thayer), a name for Satan, meaning Destroyer. Hence, Satan is the destroyer, and a "lost soul" has taken action to permit himself to be destroyed by Satan. Figuratively, the biblical use of "lost" depicts the struggle between life and death for a soul. The prodigal son (Luke 15:11 ff) and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom (16:19 ff) are examples of the figurative conflict which is related to lostness in the NT.
As Spiritual Death. The lost soul experiences a spiritual death during this life. Spiritual death is a loss of God's presence, the separation of the sinner from God. Spiritual death is caused by the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit, as David indicated by his prayer of repentance, "Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from Me" (Ps. 51:11, nasb). The lost soul not only experiences the loss of God in spiritual death, but the lost soul also experiences the loss of the present pleasures of spiritual life: love, joy, and peace.
As Eternal Death. The ultimate experience of the lost soul is eternal death, i.e., to be lost eternally. At the final Judgment the willful separation of spiritual death is pronounced fixed and unalterable. Jesus declared that the lost soul would depart into an everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, and that
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the lost soul would experience this as an eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41, 46).
Universal. The state of being lost is universal: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). Paul restated the universal lostness of mankind: "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:12; cf. Ps. 14:3).
Remedy. The Bible also states the remedy for the lost soul. "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:34-35).
See SALVATION, REDEEMER (REDEMPTION), ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, SOUL WINNING, EVANGELISM.
For Further Reading: Anderson, Our Holy Faith,
144-78. James L. Porter
LOVE. Both Hebrew and Greek have a rich vocabulary regularly translated into English by the word "love." In the OT, these words range from a root primarily denoting passionate love but also family affection and friendship, a root denoting tender mercies, to a root denoting steadfast loyalty. Though not as diverse as the range in classical Greek, the NT usage includes the dominant agapad and its cognates, philed and its cognates, and the rarely used stergd and its cognates. Each of these words also has a theological usage. Eros never occurs in the NT.
The exceedingly rich theological usage of "love" has its basis in the character of God: according to the Scriptures, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Unlike the human expression of love, God's love does not need an object to exist, since it is His very essence. "God is eternally love prior to, and independently of, his love for us" (Cranfield, A Theological Word Book of the Bible, 135). This essential character is the only sufficient explanation for God's love to man.
Without doubt, it is God's love for man which is the major theme of the OT and NT alike. His love for Israel is seen in her election, His covenant graciously given to Israel, and His mighty, redeeming acts on her behalf. But His love is supremely demonstrated in the life and death of Jesus. Paul, noting the gracious nature of God's offer of reconciliation to man, writes: "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8, rsv). On the Cross, the God whose holiness exposes the utter sinfulness and unworthiness of man, from His being of love himself provided all that was necessary to end the alienation and estrangement that man's self-love had caused. Only when one grasps the graciousness of God's love for us can we gain a proper perspective of our love for God and our fellowman.
Man's love for God is a reflection of God's love for us in that the origin is in the response to His love rather than an emanation from our own being. The human condition of sinfulness precludes the possibility of pure love springing from our being, since sin has so infected man that his attitudes and actions are selfish, not loving. Even the highest human love has the character of enlightened self-interest insofar as it is a human motivation. The love which does exist in the world alienated from God is evidence of the prevenient grace of God, even if it is not seen as such by the world. In sum, love is dependent upon God's grace and is impossible apart from it. "We love," says 1 John 4:19, "because he first loved us" (rsv). Consciousness of this utter dependence upon God's grace is the state of the redeemed and becomes more acute as the Christian grows. With the presence of the Holy Spirit, love becomes the basis of the Christian existence. It is this fact which makes obedience to the commands of Jesus into a joyous response to God's love, not an onerous burden.
The inescapable corollary of one's love to God is love for one's neighbor. Jesus and the NT writers alike insist that love for God must find its expression not only in personal piety but in loving action for others (1 John 3:18). "Hate, disobedience, mere profession in words without deeds, pride in one's 'experience', all point to a fundamental hypocrisy" (Johnston, IDB, 3:176). True, this love is costly and is often imprudent. It is never to be a thinly disguised self-interest; rather, it is to be "an uncalculating loving kindness" (ibid., 170).
Our love for God and neighbor is the only fitting response to the love of God given to us. But we cannot love in such a fashion without a heart made clean (Mark 7:21), a point with clear ethical overtones. Love, then, is inextricably bound up with Christian holiness, for the truly loving individual is the one who is totally and single-mindedly devoted to the holy God. The loving individual is the one whose highest goal is the complete obedience of the disciple, whose every action springs from the love of God spread abroad in his heart, and whose life is controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. No wonder Wes
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LOVE AND LAW—LUTHERANISM
ley used the biblical phrase "perfect love" so often in describing the holy life. See agape, great commandments, perfect love.
heart purity, fruit of the spirit.
For Further Reading: Cranfield, A Theological Word
Book of the Bible; Johnston, "Love in the NT," IDB; Lewis,
The Four Loves; Wiener, "Love," Dictionary of Biblical
Theology; Nygren, Agape and Eros; Wesley, A Plain Ac-
count of Christian Perfection. KENT BROWER
LOVE AND LAW. The summary of Paul's discussion of law and love in Rom. 13:8-10 by "It [Love] is the only law you need" in TLB, not only goes beyond what Paul says, but betrays a grave misunderstanding, which leads straight to situational ethics, if not to antinomianism. What Paul is saying is that love alone can fulfill the moral law from the heart—fulfilling the law's spirit and intention, not just the letter—because it is in the very nature of love to desire to do good and not harm. What Paul is not saying is that therefore all laws are superfluous, since love is wise enough always to infallibly know what will be harmful. This would be a non sequitur. The impulse to seek another's welfare is not in itself knowledge as to what constitutes that welfare, or how it is to be secured. Love does not automatically provide information nor assure sound judgment. The guidance of law is needed to inform the mind in order that love may be directed into modes of self-expression which God has already declared to be proper for the achievement of love's objective. What love will not do—as long as love for persons is governed by love for God—is to despise law or set it aside.
See law, law and grace, love. new morality, antinomianism, law of liberty freedom.
LOVE FEAST. The Gospels make reference to Jesus' participation in fellowship at a meal on several occasions. Luke and John especially highlight the theme of table fellowship in their accounts of the appearances of the resurrected Jesus. The memory of such moments was most likely the motivation for the Early Church's practice of regularly sharing a common meal. The desire to celebrate their religious fellowship, and their commitment to care for the poor among them, prompted the Jerusalem Church to eat their meals together (cf. Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 6:1-6). Most probably their common meals included the observance of the Lord's Supper. This latter practice seems to have been carried on in at least one of Paul's Gentile congregations (cf. 1 Cor. 11:17-34). The observance of the love feast was widespread until the time of Augustine. The Eastern Orthodox church persisted in the practice, which was taken up by the Moravians, from whom John Wesley borrowed it for his Methodists.
See church, koinonia. feet washing, eucharist. For Further Reading: Baker's DT,333-35; IDB, 1:53-54; Wesley, Works, 8:258-59. hal A. cauthron
LUST. See desire.
LUTHERANISM. Lutheran was originally a nickname used derisively of the followers of Martin Luther. It later came to distinguish these from Protestants of the Reformed branch which was led by John Calvin, and Protestants of the "radical reformation" or Anabaptists. Lutheran, in time, lost its derisive tone, and Lutheranism became the proper designation for the structural spiritual heritage of Martin Luther.
The doctrinal basis for Lutheranism is broadly the pivotal doctrines of Protestantism: justification by faith, the universal priesthood of believers, and the authority of Scripture. More particularly, Lutherans are informed and influenced in their doctrine by a series of traditional documents. These include Luther's Longer and Short Catechisms, both produced in 1529; the Augsburg Confession, written by Philip Mel-anchthon (1530-31); The Schmalkald Articles, written by Luther for a general council in 1537; and the Formula of Concord, published in 1577 in the interests of Lutheran unity.
Lutherans recognize two sacraments. The Lord's Supper involves the "real presence" of Christ but does so without philosophical speculation about a physical change in the bread and wine. The Lord's Supper and baptism are means or channels of grace and thus not just memorials or signs. Baptism is for infants and adults alike and marks the reception of the grace of regeneration through the Holy Spirit.
Worship is liturgical and centers on the altar. Lutherans observe festivals and seasons of the historic church year. In some Lutheran churches certain Catholic forms of worship have been retained but in a simplified form and with an altered understanding of their significance. Medieval traditions of art and beauty were not rejected by Lutheran worshippers as they sometimes were in Reformed Protestantism. In fact, where Luther's influence spread, the place of religious music in worship was firmly established, and European Lutheran churches are often resplendent with works of art.
The local congregation is the basic unit of gov-
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ernment in the Lutheran church. While the church rejects the hierarchy of espiscopacy (although bishops are not unknown in European Lutheranism), it also rejects the looseness of denominational bonds as in Congregationalism. Congregations unite in synods, territorial districts, or conferences. General unions are national or international and serve either as legislative or consultative bodies.
Lutheranism began with Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Roman Catholic church. Under the political protection of the elector of Saxony, Luther protested against the usurpation of authority over conscience by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church. What had begun as an attempt to reform proceeded to become outright rebellion, taking sometimes a secular form as in the Peasant Wars and Peasant Rebellion. From Germany, Lutheranism spread throughout Europe and the Baltic States. Its influence came to be especially strong in Scandinavia.
Lutheranism in America is accounted for chiefly by immigration from Scandinavia and Germany. The first permanent Lutheran residents to arrive in the United States came from Holland and landed on Manhattan Island in 1623. Present membership in Lutheran churches is nearly 12 million in more than 17,000 congregations.
See protestantism, consubstantiation, justification, priesthood of believers, biblical authority
For Further Reading: Our Church and Others(Concordia); The Lutheran Catechism. DANIEL N. BERG