I want to address the both of “Yutes,” Bob-Carabbio and RestlessWanderer. I think you're both due for a good dousing.
To answer the question, I think it of significance to open your Bibles to 1 Cor. 8:6, where the Shema is clearly in reference (1 Cor. 8:4).
Some have taken 1 Cor. 8:6 and argued that lords are a subordinate (and earthly) class of beings distinguished from gods, who are their heavenly counterparts. Thus, it is argued that the “Lord” Jesus (1 Cor. 8:6b) is in a completely different class than “God” the Father (1 Cor. 8:6b). So to argue that 1 Cor. 8:6 speaks of Jesus as “Lord” directly contradicts the notion that Jesus is “a god.”
There are massive contextual problems for those who suggest that lords are the earthly representatives of their heavenly counterparts (the gods). For one, the works (or actions) of the “one Lord” (1 Cor. 8:6b) are placed in direct juxtaposition with God the Father’s (more on this below). Therefore, it is not plausible that this “one Lord” is then seen as an “earthly representative” to the “one God” in heaven, especially when He is being referred to as “Lord” in the context of creation. Moreover, in Romans 11:36, Paul speaks of God the Father as the one “from” whom, “through” whom, and “for” whom everything exists. These three prepositional phrases express God’s causation of all things in three ways: as the efficient cause for (“from whom”), the instrumental cause (“through whom”), and the final cause (“for whom”). In 1 Cor. 8:6, Paul assigns two of the causal functions to the Father, and one to Christ. If this “one Lord” is the subordinate earthly representative of the “one God,” why then does this “one Lord” participate in this one God’s work as dictated in Romans 11:36? Paul does not make this kind of distinction between gods in heaven and lords on earth, as the text specifically dictates in 1 Cor. 8:5, “For even if there are so-called
gods, whether
in heaven or on earth… .”
1 Corinthians 8:6
εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν
one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we for Him
καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι'αὐτοῦ
And one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through Him
Notice the parallelism: Paul begins by stating that just as there is only “one God,” there is also “one Lord.” It is the “one God… from whom are all things,” and “we for Him” which is placed in juxtaposition to the “one Lord… through whom are all things” and “we through Him.” 1 Cor. 8:6b presents a balanced structure resembling 1 Cor. 8:6a.
Jesus’ work in creation is coextensive with God the Father’s. All things that subsist in the category of “creation” — and without exclusion — are “from” the Father. If it exists within the category of “creation” then it is “from” the Father. That means, all things in creation, without exclusion to any created thing. If Jesus is “created,” he falls into that category. Yet, according to Paul, absolutely everything (“all things”) that are “from” the Father, came into existence “through” the Lord. The parallelism between 8:6a and 8:6b does not allow for one to distinguish between the “all things” that are “from” the Father, and the “all things” that are “through” the Lord Jesus, as if they are two distinguishable categories. If 8:6a’s reference to “all things” means that absolutely everything in existence is “from” the Father, then it necessarily follows that 8:6b’s reference to “all things” likewise means that absolutely everything which came into existence “from” the Father did so “through” the one Lord. By placing Jesus’ work in creation in juxtaposition with God’s, this therefore, implies Jesus’ eternality, which is a trait that uniquely belongs to God. Paul places Jesus in this role as joint participant with God the Father in His eternal being and the duo’s joint venture in bringing forth all creation. Simply put, according to Paul, it is the one Creator — the “one God, the Father, from whom,” and the “one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom” — are “all things.”
1 Cor. 8:6b is a polemic against the “many lords” (v. 5) which entails that only “one Lord” exists and He alone is unique. Paul is here drawing upon an allusion to Deut. 6:4, which served to highlight the uniqueness of the “one Lord” of the OT against the polytheistic context that surrounded Israel. This is further evidenced in the latter half of Paul’s argument, specifically in 1 Cor. 10:21-22.
The question raised in 1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (“Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?”) is an allusion to the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:21, “They have provoked me to jealousy with what is no god”), the very place Paul alludes to (cf. Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 31) when he speaks of Christ as “the Rock” (1 Cor. 10:4). Further, Paul’s utilization of δαιμόνιον (“demon”) in 10:20-21 (“…they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons”) directly alludes to Deut. 32:17 LXX (“They sacrificed to devils and not to God; to gods whom they knew not…”). And of course, Paul’s reference in 10:20-21 to “the Lord” (1 Cor. 10:22) is a reference to Jesus. The “cup of the Lord” and “table of the Lord” are a reference to the Lord’s Supper
(cf. 1 Cor. 11:27-28,
10:16-17). There is an interesting parallel found in Malachi 1:7-12, where the expression—“the table of the Lord”—is used for the altar which the prophet Malachi warned against defiling, something the Corinthians were also warned against by Paul. In addition, there is a referential connection being made between 1 Cor. 10:22 (“provoking the Lord”) and 1 Cor. 10:9 (“testing Christ”). This reference to “testing Christ” in 10:9 (“nor put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes”) is an allusion to Numbers 21:5-9. Paul alludes to the OT a number of times throughout the discourse as well (many of which I have not even mentioned), but the point I’m building on is that 1 Cor. 10:4–22 is gushing from the seams with allusions from the Pentateuchal narratives, specifically those regarding idolatry.
This all goes to show that Paul’s reference to Jesus as “Lord” is not mere usage, but is deeply rooted in it's historical Jewish context. In 10:14-21, it is covenant loyalty to the “one Lord” which stands in contrast to pagan idolatry.
Let that sink in.