The God of Jesus as the Origin of High Christology

The God of Jesus is the same as the Father of Jesus. Even before creation, Jesus, as the Son, adores and worships his God and Father (The Word was with God, John 1:1b). To have a God over you is to have someone you worship by always obeying, by always doing what is pleasing is to him.

I am first and foremost telling you to believe the God of Jesus, of what he (i.e. the God of Jesus, the only true God) tells everyone about Jesus:

The God of Jesus himself is the one who makes it known to everyone that Jesus is God. The God of Jesus makes it known that everyone should worship this God (i.e. Jesus).

According to the New Testament, the God of Jesus himself is the one who makes it known to everyone that Jesus is God. The God of Jesus makes it known that everyone should worship this God (i.e. Jesus).

• The New Testament shows us that the God of Jesus, the Father, acknowledges that Jesus is God (Hebrews 1:8). It was not Jesus but rather, it was God the Father himself who told to all angels they should worship Jesus, whom the Father declared to be God in verse 8. The God of Jesus, the Father, wanted all angels to worship this God (i.e. Jesus) in verse 8. Therefore, not worshiping Jesus as God is disobedience to God the Father.
• Then, the God of Jesus, who is God the Father, gives to Jesus the name above all names (LORD/Lord, not just ''lord'', Adonai, not adoni, based on context) by applying to him (to Jesus) Isaiah 45:23 (''every knee bends to me'' i.e. to Adonai) so that everyone --- in heaven, on earth and under the earth --- worship Jesus as Adonai to the Glory of the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11). This is how the God of Jesus ''highly exalted'' Jesus as Lord (Adonai). Therefore, not worshiping Jesus as Adonai is disobedience to God the Father.

Do you obey the Father?

The Bible is consistent in that what God the Father wants (all creatures to worship Jesus as Lord God) is obeyed by Jesus and by everyone else:

• John 20:28-29, the God of Thomas, Jesus Christ, is giving a blessing to those who will believe in the same even without seeing him.
• The Lord of Joel 2:32 is God and this Lord God was identified as Jesus in 1 Corinthians 1:2 (everyone in every place who call on the name of the Lord Jesus) and Romans 10:9-13 (because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved).

The First Christians Worshiped Jesus

Sacrifice 

Revelation 14:4 New Revised Standard Version 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb,

Revelation 20:6 New Revised Standard Version

6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.

1.The Old Testament shows that no one else received sacrifice except Yahweh. That differentiates Yahweh from any other being.

2. Sacrifice is a very strong evidence for "worship" at the highest order. And in other heathen religions, sacrifice is only offered to a god by priests. So, in the ancient world, priests always always offer sacrifice to a god(s)/God, never to any human.

3. Christians are offering sacrifices to both God and Christ. In Revelation 14:4 , 20:6 this is explicit.

4. Revelation 14:4, 20:6, priests offer sacrifices to both God and Jesus. Sacrifice in the Old Testament is exclusively offered to a god, never to a man. Israel obviously offers sacrifices to Yahweh alone. Thus, here in Revelation 14:4, 20:6, Jesus is shown to be the Lord God.

1 Chronicles 29:20 says that the people worship YHWH and the king (προσεκύνησαν Κυρίῳ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ). YHWH is not literally present in the area. The Israelite king was sitting on his throne and there was no visible YHWH besides him. Revelation is explicit as to what worship is given, it's given by priests. That's offering/sacrifice given to two figures present at the scene: Father and Jesus jointly. Also, Revelation 14:4 had them offering first fruits to the Father and the Lamb, that is again sacrifice offered to them both as a unit. And they were all both equally present at the scene. How are all these compare to 1 Chronicles 20:6?

In Revelation 20:6, priests are serving God and Christ. Priests always serve only deities (never humans) in the Old Testament. Revelation 20:6 is explicit that Christ is not only human but also God together with the God he is with, the Father. In the text, the priests serve them both as a unit, as a single recipient of worship based on grammar. Jesus is the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets and also the Almighty, as indicated also in Revelation. It is not 2 Gods being worshiped in the text but 1 God (the Father) and 1 Lord (Christ), the pattern followed by the earliest churches as recorded in Paul's letters where the Father and Jesus were both equated to the 1 Lord God of the Jewish Prayer Shema Yisrael (For us there is one God, the Father....and one Lord, Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Lord our God, Lord is one, Deuteronomy 6:4).

Revelation 20:6

William Henry Simcox: τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. The strongest proof, perhaps, in the book of the doctrine of Christ’s coequal Deity. (The Revelation of St. John the Divine, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges) source: http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/revelation-20.html

Romans 16:5

Romans 16:5 

Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. 

Albert Barnes: Who is the first-fruits - One who first embraced Christianity under my preaching in Achaia. The “first-fruits” were a small part of the harvest, which was first gathered and offered to the Lord; Exodus 22:29; Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 2:12; Deuteronomy 18:4. In allusion to this, Paul calls Epenetus the first-fruits of the great spiritual harvest which had been gathered in Achaia. source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/romans-16.html

The earliest Christians presented their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God and to Christ which was their spiritual worship: 

Romans 12:1 New Revised Standard Version

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 New Revised Standard Version

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.....15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

The same Greek word for acceptable in Romans 12:1 is used for pleasing in 2 Corinthians 5:9 in reference to the Lord Jesus. 

1 Corinthians 6:13 New Revised Standard Version

13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

1 Corinthians 7:32, 7:34 New Revised Standard Version

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. 

Philippians 1:20 New Revised Standard Version

20 It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.

Ephesians 5:10 New Revised Standard Version

10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 

Romans 14:7-8 New Revised Standard Version

7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

On Romans 14:7-8 

1. Murray Harris: Nowhere in the New Testament is the absoluteness of the Lord's ownership of his douloi depicted more clearly than in Romans 14:7-8 (Slave of Christ: A New Testament Metaphor for Total Devotion to Christ, page 112).

2. Charles Hodge: It is very obvious, especially from the following verse, which speaks of death and resurrection, that Christ is intended in the word Lord, in this verse. It is for Christ, and in subjection to his will, that every Christian endeavors to regulate his heart, his conscience, and his life. This is the profoundest homage the creature can render to his Creator; and as it is the service which the Scriptures require us to render to the Redeemer, it of necessity supposes that Christ is God. source: http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hdg/romans-14.html#1

Prayer

Acts 7:2, 7:30-33, 7:59-60 (NRSV)
Then the high priest asked him, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen replied:
“Brothersand fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground....59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

The dying Stephen's prayer to Jesus alludes to the dying Jesus' own prayer to the Father in the gospels. This shows Stephen regarded Jesus as the OT Lord God. Also, in the same chapter, Stephen spoke of the same Lord as the God of Glory who appeared to Abraham. In 1 Corinthians 2:8, Jesus is the crucified Lord of Glory, the same Lord spoken of in Joel 2:32 whose name everyone calls on in the same letter in 1 Corinthians 1:2. In Acts 7:3, Jesus is the God of Glory who appeared to Abraham, Jesus is that Lord God in Joel 2:32 whose name everyone calls on in the same book in Acts 2:21, Acts 2:38, and Acts 22:16. Romans 10:12 has Jesus as Lord of all and Acts 10:36 also has Jesus as Lord of all. Both Paul's letters and the book of Acts apply the same text , an OT YHWH text, Joel 2:32 (3:5 LXX) to Jesus, identifying him as the one Lord God of the OT.

Note

1. An angel-appearance or man-appearance isn't a theophany if the angel or man that appears isn't God. When the God of Glory appeared (Hebrews 7:3) ---as an angel who was identifed as the Lord (Hebrews 7:30-33) and who was specifically identified as the Lord Jesus in the same chapter (7:58-59) ---he really did appear to Abraham and conversed with him (cf. John 8:56-58).

John 14:14
14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Acts 1:24-26
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." 26And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles

Acts 8:22
"Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you

1 Corinthians 1:1-2

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

2 Cor 12:8-10
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

James 1:1-8
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 John 5:14-15
14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

Singing together hymns, psalms and a new song

Singing together hymns, psalms to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16). In the Bible, singing together hymns, psalms to the Lord is called ''offering sacrifice of praise to the Lord'' (Hebrews 13:15). ''For us there is one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6). In Revelation 5:9 and 14:3, everyone sings a ''new song'' to both God and the Lamb (the Lord Jesus). In the book of Psalms, people only sang a ''new song'' to God (Psalm 40:3, 96:1).  

The Greek word ''proskuneo'' is usually translated into English as ''worship'' (etymologically means ''acknowledging of worth''). This meaning of worship is indeed in the Bible. To worship God means to acknowledge his worth because of what he has done. In Revelation 4:11, everyone is acknowleding that God is worthy to receive glory, honor and power because he created all things. In Revelation 5:9, everyone is acknowledging that the Lamb (Jesus) is worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because he was slain and by his blood he ransomed people for God etc. They were singing this as a ''new song'' to Jesus. In Revelation 5:13, every creature is giving ''blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever'' to both God and the Lamb. Jesus' death on a cross is the reason why he's being worshiped but the worship he receives the same kind of religious worship God himself receives. This deviates from the Old Testament worship practises. Honoring God through singing psalms and a new song to him in the Old Testament is normal and expected but honoring God and the human Jesus through singing psalms and a new song to them is something unprecendent in the judaisms of the ancient world. 

The 24 elders specifically worshiped Jesus the way the Lord God is worshiped i.e. via a new song and offering of incense (prayers). Only YHWH is worshiped through a new song and incense (prayers) in the OT.

Revelation 5:9-10

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, 

Psalm 96:1
New Revised Standard Version

Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Note

1. In Revelation 5, the reasons for worshiping them are different but the kind of worship given to both God and the Lamb are the same ("blessing, honour, glory and power for ever") plus it is described as a "new song" which is what exactly the psalms are addressing Yahweh in the OT.

Answering a Unitarian who insist that Jesus was not worshiped as God in Revelation 5: 

You insist that because the reasons differ, the worship also must differ but the biblical text indicates that while the reasons differ, the worship offered is identical in Revelation 5.

Every knee bends

"every knee bends to me'' ( i.e. to the Lord God", based on context of Isaiah 45:23 LXX) every knee bends in the name of Jesus and every tongue confesses Jesus is Lord to God the Father's glory" Philippians 2:10-11). Paul applies the OT "YHWH text" to Jesus and the Father in Philippians 2:10-11, equating Jesus and the Father to the 1 Lord God of Isaiah 45.

Note

1. The Greek word usually translated into English as ''worship'' is ''proskuneo'' which means ''to kneel down [before someone]''. The phrase ''every knee shall bow'' (''every knee should bend'', NRSV, ) is found in Isaiah 45:23 in the Septuagint (καμψει παν γονυ - ''kamse pan gony'') and in Philippians 2:10 in the Greek New Testament ( πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ - ''pan gony kamse''). This phrase is the very definition of ''proskueno''. People do proskuneo to kings, angels, God etc. It's not exclusive to God. In Philippians 2:10-11, all created things worship Jesus as Lord and the Father as God, affirming that Jesus as Lord and the Father as God are both uncreated since all created things worship them both. 

2. Paul believed that Jesus had a prehuman existence both ''in the form of God'' and as ''equal with God'' (as Lord) prior to becoming in the likeness of men/found in the form as a man (Philippians 2:6-7). Paul believed that Jesus, as Lord, was Creator [of all created things] together with the Father in 1 Corinthians 8:6.

Did Thomas address the Father as ὁ θεός μου in John 20:28?

 A Unitarian said that in John 20:28, Thomas said to Jesus ''my Lord'' and Thomas said to the Father ''My God''.

My response: 

If you have seen him, you have seen the Father.

That is in John 14:9 and it's not even about the physical appearance of Jesus! it's about works based on context (vv. 9-11) [1]. Thus, it has nothing to do with John 20:29 which has Jesus blessing those who believed even if they did not see his resurrected physical body!

If you insist that the Father is seen in Jesus' risen body in John 20:28, then, to be consistent in your logic the Father is seen crucified since Jesus is seen crucified, that the Father is seen dead since Jesus is seen dead and so forth.

John 20:28 explicitly states that Thomas is speaking to Jesus alone as evident by the singular pronoun in the text [2]. 

John 20:28 explicitly states that Thomas is saying ''my God'' to Jesus alone based on grammar.

There is no evidence that the Father is being addressed as ''my God'' in John 20:28. The Unitarian's alleged contextual argument from John 14:9-10 is an example of eisegesis (the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas). 

Notes

[1] Seeing the actions/works of Jesus is equal to seeing the Father. In this case, the Father is seen in the works, not in the literal appearance of Jesus. 

If Jesus were working, and Scripture says that the Father himself, dwelling inside Jesus, is working in Jesus, it means that Jesus is not performing his miracles alone. Jesus did perform the miracles but the Father also performs them ''inside Jesus'' (''The Father is in me...'' John 14:11b). In the same verse, Jesus also performs his miracles ''inside the Father'' (''...and I in the Father'', John 14:11b). The mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son is explicitly stated in John 14:10-11 and it refers to their works in that they do the exact same thing. This mutual indwelling is not literal (neither the Father literally is inside Jesus nor Jesus is literally inside the Father). 

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. John 14:10

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves - John 14:11

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” - John 5:17

Summary: Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father (meaning, the Father and Jesus doing together the same works). - John 14:9-10

 [2]  John 14:9 says that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father's works in him based on context (vv. 10-11). This is entirely different from saying ''my God'' to Jesus whose literal body is seen in John 20:28-29. Thomas was not addressing the Father inside Jesus in John 20:28. Thomas did not say ''my God'' to the Father in John 20:28. The author explicitly writes the pronoun αὐτῷ which in context explicitly has Jesus (not the Father) as the antecedent.

In John 20:28, based on John 14:9-10, Thomas sees the work of the Father in Jesus (i.e. raising Jesus from the dead) but there is no indication that the Father is being addressed as ''my God'' in the text. Thomas was speaking to Jesus alone in the verse. Based on the grammar of John 20:28, Thomas did not say to the Father ''my God''. Thomas only said ''my God'' to Jesus alone, the only antecedent of the singular pronoun in the same verse. 

Thomas said to Jesus ho kyrios mou (''my Lord''). Thomas did not only say ho kyrios mou to Jesus. Thomas adds: kai ho theos mou ('' and my God''). Based on the grammar, Thomas said to Jesus alone the 2 phrases ho kurios mou (''my Lord'') and ho theos mou (''my God'') conjoined by the conjunction kai (''and''). The text has a singular pronoun auto (''him''). 

There is no evidence that the Father is being addressed as ''my God'' in John 20:28. The Unitarian's alleged contextual argument from John 14:9-10 is an example of eisegesis (the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas). 

John's Jewish Concept of Divine Sonship

 Jewish concept of divine sonship in John's gospel

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 1:1 Greek NT: Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]

ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 1:12 Greek NT: Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]

ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 20:31 Greek NT: Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]

ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύητε / πιστεύσητε ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστὶν ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.

Prologue of John:

The Word was God (John 1:1)

In him was life (John 1:4)

Believe in his name (John 1:12)

Epilogue of John:

That you may believe 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God

that by believing you may have  

life in his name (John 20:31)​

The inclusio in the Gospel of John reveals that "Belief in Jesus as both God and Son to have Life" is the gospel's purpose. 

In Psalm 82:6, the "sons" of Most High God are called "gods" by the Most High himself. This is explicit biblical evidence that it is possible to be both "god" and "son of god" simultaneously. Jesus quoted this psalm and regarded it as scripture in John 10:34 ("you are gods"), applying to himself the title "Son" in v. 36.

Jesus is God because he is the Son of God, just like the people in Ps. 82:6 are gods because they are sons of god (Most High). The big difference is that Jesus' divine sonship does not only refer to his relationship with god the Father in regard to holiness. It also includes his preeminence above all creatures because they are all created through him, as the Son: "by his Son, he created the universe" (Heb. 1:2). god the Father himself testifies that His Son is Creator: "You, Lord, have laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands" (Heb. 1:10) and also, "For us, there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things" (1 Cor 8:6) and again, "all things were made through him (i.e. the Son of his beloved, v 13) and he is before all things" (Col. 1:16-17). John himself testisfies that the Son is Creator: "Nothing was made without him", all things having been made through him (John 1:3)

Notes
1. inclusio - In biblical studies, inclusio is a literary device based on a concentric principle, also known as bracketing or an envelope structure, which consists of creating a frame by placing similar material at the beginning and end of a section.
2. According to majority of scholars (both Jewish and Christian), the gods who are sons in Psalm 82 refers to the angels. The evidence for this is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) and the Jewish Targums which are all its ancient witness. In the Targum, it says in v. 6 "you are like the angels", referring to humans. In the Hebrew Bible, it says "you are gods" even in the Masoretic text.
3. It doesn't matter who specifically the sons (who are gods) in Ps 82:6. What matters is that these sons are gods according to the Most High god himself. The Most High said: "you are gods"). Jesus being both god and son of god isn't a Christian invention but originates from a very ancient Jewish belief. John utilised exactly these biblical Jewish sources to convey his christology in his gospel.

 One Lord, Jesus Christ: Paul's ''Kyrios Christology''

(Christ Pantocrator (Greek: Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) ,

 A Byzantine icon of Jesus Christ, circa 5th century A.D. source )

There is no distinction in the Greek text. The 2 occurrences of kyrios in Psalm 110:1 have the same generic meaning of ''lord''. In the Masoretic text, there's a distinction between the first lord and the second lord in regard to the titles because the first lord is Adonai (literally, ''My Lords'', when ascribed to YHWH, it becomes ''My Lord'' or simply ''Lord'') whilst the second lord is Adoni (literally, my lord). The distinction between ''LORD'', ''Lord'' and 'lord'' in English is that ''LORD'' is often used as written substitute for the Tetragrammaton YHWH in the Old Testament English translations. On the other hand, ''Lord'' is often the written substitute for the divine name in English translations of the New Testament and ''lord'' simply refers to any superior, or one who has authority over another/others (master/ruler/husband (Abraham)/angel etc.). As far as i know, all English NT bibles have Jesus as ''Lord'', affirming his being true God.

There are NT texts saying that Jesus was made Lord, was highly exalted, was given all power in heaven and earth etc. [1]. However, in earliest NT texts (Paul's letters), Jesus Christ was already Lord, during the creation of all things and prior to his (Jesus') incarnation. Paul also believed that Jesus had chosen to empty himself of his lordship in order become like a slave which meant Jesus wanted to serve not to be served during his ministry on earth.  The risen Jesus becomes Lord again when God the Father exalted him (Jesus) above every creature in heaven, on earth and under the earth. 

Jesus, as Lord, created all things

1 Corinthians 8:6 New Revised Standard Version

6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Paul identified Jesus as Creator of all things and as the one Lord mentioned in the Greek Shema Yisrael [2].

Jesus emptied himself of lordship

Philippians 2:6-7 New Revised Standard Version

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,

Mark 10:45 New Revised Standard Version

45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Jesus is functionally equal with God because he, like God, is Lord. Both God and Jesus rule over all creatures. Jesus was ''Lord'' [kurios] but he (Jesus) chose to empty himself, specifically by taking the form of a ''slave'' [doulos]. That is to say, Jesus vacated his throne as Lord in order to become like a slave (a slave is one who serves; a servant). Jesus ''came to serve'', as Mark puts it. 

Jesus becomes Lord again.

Philippians 2:9-11 New Revised Standard Version

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 97:9 Brenton Septuagint Translation

For thou art Lord most high over all the earth; thou art greatly exalted above all gods. 

Paul applied to Jesus the same exact word ''ὑπερυψόω'' (elevate above/ highly exalt/ greatly exalt) which LXX translator applied to the ''Lord'' in Psalm 97:9. God gave ''the name above all names'' or ''title above all titles'' to Jesus. The name/title in the context is ''Kyrios'' (''Lord''). (v. 11). See Acts 2:36 (''God made Jesus ''Kyrios'' (''Lord'')). 

The ancient Jews used ''Kyrios'' (''Lord'') as an oral/verbal substitute for the divine name. In the Septuagint (ca. 3rd cen. C.E.), ''Kyrios'' (''Lord'') is also used as written substitute for the divine name. In these copies, Kyrios is written anarthrous (''without the definite article'') indicating that the title Kyrios is being used as a proper name, not as a common noun. 

Notes

[1]   

• God gave to Jesus all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)
• God put all things under Jesus' feet (1 Corinthians 15:26-27)
• God highly-exalted Jesus (Philippians 2:9a)
• God made Jesus Lord (Acts 2:36)
• God gave to Jesus the name above all names (Philippians 2:9b) so that every knee , Paul adds: ''in heaven, on earth, and under the earth'', will bend in the name of ''Jesus''. 
• God seated Jesus at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named (Ephesians 1:20-21)

1. God put all things under Jesus' feet, obviously exempting God and Jesus (they aren't including in the all things). 

2. 1 Corinthians 15, all things are not subject to God. all things will be subject to God after Jesus subjects himself to God because God himself subjects all things to Jesus. 

3. 1 Corinthians 15 does not say/ never said that Jesus' lordship/kingdom/dominion/rule will end. Luke 1:33 explicitly said that Jesus' kingdom ''has no end''.

4. All power [over all creatures] in heaven and on earth. Jesus does not have power over everyone in heaven. He has no power over God the Father who gave him power. ''all power in heaven'' refers to ''all creatures in heaven i.e. the angels''.

5. Every knee (in 3 different locations: heaven, earth and under the earth) will bend in the name of Jesus. These are the knees of all creatures in heaven, on earth and under the earth. 

Matt 28:18, 1 Cor 15:26-27, Phil 2:10-11, all of these NT texts indicate that Jesus, as Lord, is uncreated. 

[2]

Romans 11:36 New Revised Standard Version 

33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him,  to receive a gift in return?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 8:6 New Revised Standard Version

6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Paul applies the two different titles (''God'' and ''Lord'') to one figure in Romans 11:36. In the context, verse 34, Paul quoted Isaiah 40:13 from the Septuagint, identifying the ''Lord'' as the God of Israel. Paul also applies the two prepositional phrases (''from whom are all things'' and ''through whom are all things'') to one figure in Romans 11:36.  In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul applies the two different titles  (''God'' and ''Lord'') of Romans 11:36 to two different figures (''the Father'' and ''Jesus Christ''). Paul applied ''God'' to the Father and ''Lord'' to Jesus Christ. Paul also applies the two prepositional phrases  (''from whom are all things'' and ''through whom are all things'') of Romans 11:36 to two different figures, applying ''from whom are all things'' to the Father and ''through whom are all things'' to Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Paul also was detailed in 1 Corinthians 8:6 in that he modified the divine titles  (''God'' and ''Lord'') with the adjective ''one'' (Greek: heis): ''one God'' and ''one Lord'', which alludes to the Shema Yisrael in Greek (''Lord our God, Lord is one''). In this case, Paul equated both the Father and Jesus Christ to the Lord God of the Old Testament, identifying each of them as legitimately one Lord God. 

Both Romans 11:36 and 1 Corinthians 8:6 speak of the creation of ''all things''. Since we're talking about all things in the context of creation, ''all things'' in Romans 11:36 and 1 Corinthians 8:6 refers to ''all created things''. Paul believed that the Father and Jesus Christ are equally uncreated. 

Acts 17:24 New Revised Standard Version

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,

God is Lord precisely because he created all things. Jesus Christ, together with the Father, created all things so that's why Jesus is Lord in 1 Corinthians 8:6. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul applies to Jesus the divine title ''Lord'' and the prepositional phrase ''through him are all things'' of Romans 11:35-36, identifying Jesus as both God and Creator.

proto-orthodox Christology in Earliest NT texts (the Pauline Corpus)

Paul applies the Shema to ''the Father'' and ''Jesus Christ'' in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Paul did not say that the Father and Jesus Christ are the ''one Lord God'' which would conflate the two figures (modalism). What Paul did is to conflate the two numerically distinct figures (Father and Jesus) to the one figure of the Shema (the Lord our God, the Lord is one).

Paul is alluding the Shema in 1 Cor 8:6. Paul applies the 2 different titles in it ( κυριος and θεος) with its adjective εις to 2 different persons (πατρος and Ιησους) in 1 Cor 8:6. In other words, Paul identifies each person as the Lord God. In orthodox Trinitarianism, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, they're not three Gods but one God. Paul's way is proto-orthodoxy. He successfully equated the Father and Jesus with the OT Lord God without conflating their distinct personalities. In 1 Cor 8:6, Paul was able to distinguish the Father and Jesus as 2 persons with the use of different divine titles (Lord/God) indicating the same deity and different prepositions indicating the same function (from him/through him are all things). 2 numerically distinct persons with each of them fully/very God, only differing in words used. John approached orthodoxy already: The Word was "with God" and was "God" at the same time (John 1:1).

The phrases ''heis kyrios'' and ''heis theos'' are absent in the Septuagint. These were coined by Paul himself, deriving them from the Greek version of the Shema. 

First clause of the Shema:

Hear O Israel, The Lord our God 

1 Corinthians 8:6

[one] God [the Father]

In 1 Corinthians 8:6a, Paul used the word heis (one) from the second clause of the Shema. Paul coined the phrase ‘’eis theos’’ (one God) so that the adjective heis (one) modifies theos (God). Paul omits the phrase (Hear O Israel), and the word kyrios (Lord).Then he adds ‘’the Father’’.

Second clause of the Shema: 

The Lord is one 

1 Corinthians 8:6

one Lord [Jesus Christ] 

In Deuteronomy 6:4, the adjective eis (one) is in the predicate case conjoined to the noun kurios (lord) by the copula estin (is). In 1 Corinthians 8:6b, Paul omitted the verb estin (is) and coined the phrase ‘’heis kyrios’’ and adds ''Jesus Christ''.

Paul applies the Shema's 2 divine titles (''Lord'' and ''God'') with its adjective ''one'' to 2 persons (''the Father'' and ''Jesus Christ'') in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Paul did this to equate both the Father and Jesus Christ with OT Lord God. 

Paul used two different divine titles (''Lord'' and ''God'') found in the Shema and applied each divine title to two different figures: the Father and Jesus Christ. Paul applies the divine title ''God'' to ''the Father'' and the divine title ''Lord'' to ''Jesus Christ''. This shows that Paul believed that the Father and Jesus Christ were the same Lord God spoken of in the Shema while also believing that the Father and Jesus Christ were two numerically distinct figures (which later generations of Christians would call ''persons''). This is proto-orthodoxy.

Paul consistently applies to Jesus the divine title ''Lord'' and to the Father the divine title ''God'' in his epistles. This practise stems from the application of the Shema to the Father and Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:6.

• “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah.”  Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2b; 1 Thess.1c; 2 Thess. 1:2; Philemon 1:3
• “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Messiah Jesus our Lord.” 1 Tim.1:2b; 2 Tim.1:2b

Paul held onto a belief that can be characterised as "Semi-modalism" (not modalism per se) or "proto-Orthodox" (proto-Trinitarianism) when later concepts were used to relate to (not to interpret) his christological/theological beliefs.

Another historical explanation is the concept of "Syncretism" wherein two deities "merged" to become a single god. This is common concept in the Ancient Near East (ANE). For instance, the Egyptian god Amun-Ra is the syncretism of the god Amun and the god Ra.

In ancient Israelite beliefs, Jewish scholar and Semitic language professor Benjamin Sommers spoke of the "divine fluidity" of Yahweh wherein he can "fragment" his one self into many bodies on earth so that God was really present in the rock (betyl), or that he really appeared to people and was called an angel in the OT etc. these small-scale incarnations of Yahweh in the OT were distinct from Yahweh who's in heaven. But they're all the same Yahweh.

Then we have the Two Powers theology (Alan Segal, James Mcgrath et al.) in the first century A.D. which held that Two Yahwehs (one in heaven and one visiblel in the earth) coexisted. This was not considered a heresy in Judaism until the latter part of the second century A.D.