In support of the thesis that Jesus is the referent for “Lord” (κυριος) in Rom 10:13, Carl Judson Davis presented the following evidence:
Romans 10.13 and Joel 2.32[3.5]a
In Rom. 10.13, Paul quotes Joel 2.32[3.5]a in support of his statement, “ . . . the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him’ Inv. 13, some scholars debate whether κυριου refers to God, as in the Old Testament, or to Jesus The telling feature pointing to a reference to Christ in το ονομα κυριου is v. 14 which asks, ‘But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?’ Since chs. 9-11 explain Israel’s failure to attain a righteous standing before God, ‘they’ in 10.14 includes those Jews who have failed in God’s plan (see too 10.12). The Jews had heard of Yahweh. Since 10.11 and 9.33 connect belief with Jesus, he is the one on whom the Jews have not believed and called. Also, Paul explicitly states that confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ is an essential element in one’s salvation, and v. 12 further connects κυριος, belief, invocation, and calling on the name of the Lord.
However, the question still remains over the referent of κυριου in v. 13: there are two ways of understanding the verse as an invocation of Jesus. The first is to understand το ονομα as a reference to Jesus and κυριου as a reference to God. On this view, Jesus is ‘the name’ of God and κυριου is a possessive Genitive. The second is to understand the whole phrase το ονομα κυριου as a circumlocution for τον κυριον. Two factors tell against seeing the verse the former way. First, where Paul elsewhere uses the phrase, ‘calling on the name of the Lord’, he explains κυριου with ‘Ιησου (1 Cor. 1.2). Secondly, there is little evidence that Paul understood το ονομα as a separate christological title.
Unlike Acts 2, Paul gives no supporting argument for the propriety of his application of this verse to Jesus. He simply assumes that the Roman church, which he did not establish, will not object to this application. This is a very telling assumption for it confirms the widespread usage of this verse for Jesus in the 50s. Moreover, he implies that both Jesus and Gentile Christians call on the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10.12). Therefore, this practice must have been well established in Christianity before Paul uses it here.
The broader context of Rom. 10.13 offers several clues as to how Paul was thinking of Jesus when he applied Joel 2.32[3.5a] to him. Jesus’ function in Romans 10 is the one to whom all must call in order to have a righteous standing before God. In the context of Rom. 930-10.21, Paul faults unbelieving Jews for failing in God’s plan because they pursued the law as if by works they could attain a righteous standing before God (9.31-32a). Paul’s point in Romans 9 and 10 is that only God can bring about a righteous standing for sinful people (10.3). The significant point then is that a righteous standing comes through invocation of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus as Lord is ‘Lord of all’ an idea which many Jews and pagans took as applicable only to God. Carl Judson Davis, The Name and Way of the Lord: Old Testament Themes, New Testament Christology [Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 129; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996], 129-31)
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