Jesus is Lord – and God

St. Paul repeatedly affirms the divinity of Christ in his letters (see Colossians 1:15; 2:9, Romans 9:5, for example), but in one other passage in his letter to the Romans he explicitly does so using a verse from the Book of the Prophet Joel.  The passage, Romans 10:9-13, ends with verse 13:

“For, ‘every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:13 RSVCE

This verse is a direct quotation from the Book of the Prophet Joel:

“And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered…” Joel 2:32a RSVCE

Here is verse from Joel as we find it in the Greek Septuagint and the original Koine Greek of the verse from Romans:

Καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, σωθήσεται·Joel 2:32a

And 

 πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. Romans 10:13

The Koine Greek word used for “Lord” in both the Letter to the Romans in the New Testament and the Book of Joel in the Septuagint is Κυρίου, the genitive masculine singular of κύριος, kurios. In the Book of Joel, and indeed throughout the Septuagint, κύριος is used to translate the Hebrew יְהוָ֖ה, YHWH (“Joel 2:32 Interlinear”), which of course is the Divine Name used in the Hebrew Scriptures for God.  

So it is crystal clear that St. Paul is identifying our Lord with YHWH when we read the entire passage:

⁹ because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. ¹¹ The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. ¹³ For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Jesus is Lord – and God!

Works Cited

Brenton, Lancelot C. L., translator. The Septuagint Version: Greek. Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1851.

“Joel 2:32 Interlinear.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/interlinear/joel/2-32.htm. Accessed 29 July 2026.

Tischendorf, Constantin von, et al., editors. Novum Testamentum Graece. Giesecke & Devrient, 1869–1894.