What's in a name? The Names of God

Names of God • Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago

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Introduction

The God of Scripture is known by many things. From the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament, He continually reveals himself by different names according to what the Scriptures tell us.

The ‘names of God’ in the OT in particular is vast, with there being no less than 12 distinct ‘names’. Chief among them is ‘Yahweh’, which seems to be God’s preferred personal name. Most other names are extensions or combinations of ‘Yahweh’ with another word in the Hebrew language.

Additionally there is the more generic term ‘elohim’ which literally means ‘god(s)’ and can refer to more than just Yahweh. However, when referring to Yahweh, usually the first part of the word, ‘El’ is combined with another word to create a more personalized name. (i.e. El Shaddai).

Finally, we have ‘Adonai’ which literally means ‘Lord’. It can apply to God or humans, and most English translations will differentiate by capitalizing ‘LORD’ so we know the difference. Adonai and Yahweh are often used interchangeably.

We’ll take a closer look at several of these over the coming weeks, but today we’re going to focus on ‘Yahweh’.

The God of Your Fathers

God first ‘reveals’ himself as Yahweh to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14-16 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,”

The name ‘Yahweh’ appears several times in Genesis, but it’s here that God really makes himself known to his people the Israelites for the first time.

The meaning of ‘Yahweh’ isn’t entirely clear - the Hebrew words seem to be ‘I am’ or ‘I will be’. Hence the phrase, ‘I am who I am’.

But what does it mean for God to be ‘I am’?

I think the ambiguity of the meaning highlights the mysterious greatness of who God is. He transcends all things. He simply is.

But it doesn’t just point to his transcendence - I think the name Yahweh points to his power as being the one who causes other things ‘to be’, which is another way you can understand the Hebrew phrase.

In the creation account of Genesis when God says, ‘Let there be...’ and then, ‘there was...’ the word we translate as ‘be’ and ‘was’ is the same word - and it’s the same root word that we get ‘Yahweh’ from.

So in a sense, God is telling Moses (and his people, and us) that he’s not just any ‘god’ - He is the God of all creation - the God that brings all things into being.

It also has a future sense of, ‘I will cause to be that which I cause to be’ - and in the context of Moses, God was telling the people that Yahweh was going to free them from slavery. This was a problem that He was going to fix and he could count on it - because He is the one who causes things to be.

This tells us something of the character of Yahweh that is eternal - what he promises to do, He will do. And He can do anything. He causes all things according to His own will and purpose. And so His name reflects that.

Yahweh became the standard name by which the Israelites called and knew their God. We kind of take this for granted, but gods do have names that distinguish themselves from other gods. This is still true today with polytheistic religions, and it certainly was true of the ancient world that Scripture was written in.

Every nation in the ancient world had their own ‘god’ or ‘goddesses’ that they worshipped. Israel was no different - which is why it was important that Israel’s God have a specific name: He wasn’t just any god, He was Yahweh.

This is why we often see ‘Yahweh’ followed up with ‘the God of Israel’ throughout the OT. The Israelites may have viewed Yahweh as the ‘only God’ or ‘God of gods’, and creator of all things - but He was chiefly ‘their’ God.

He himself says as much several times throughout the Torah. Like in Leviticus 26:12 “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

The whole point of the covenant was that Yahweh was their God and their God alone. And they were His people.

This is still true - Yahweh is still the God of Israel. But with the inauguration of the New Covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ, ‘Israel’ is no longer exclusively Jewish. Jesus Christ, both Jew and Gentile (everyone) is allowed to become a ‘child of God’ and join the ‘New Israel’ - the Church.

It’s no surprise that the name ‘Yahweh’ became very holy, and eventually the people stopped saying it altogether to avoid the blasphemy of mispronouncing it or ‘taking the Lord’s name in vein’.

This is why to this day, there every instance of ‘Yahweh’ in the original Hebrew is actually missing it’s vowels. It’s ‘YHWH’. This is known as the Tetragrammaton, which is Greek for ‘The Four Letters’.

Over time, the this fear of speaking Yahweh’s name eventually led to it’s replacement with the words for ‘the Lord’. Hence why to this day most English translations will translate ‘YHWH’ as ‘the LORD’.

It’s worth noting that in some older translations (like the KJV) you’ll find the word ‘Jehovah’. This was actually a translation mistake.

The scribes who copied the OT would blend (in Hebrew) the Tetragrammaton of YHWH with the vowels of ‘Adonai’. This was meant to create an unpronounceable word that would be a visual reminder not to even try to say ‘Yahweh’.

However, the first English translators didn’t know this, and simply transliterated it into ‘Jehovah’ by mistake. But it stuck, which is why even today terms like ‘Jehovah-Jirah’ are still commonly said. Most modern English translations have fixed this error though and so you probably won’t find the word ‘Jehovah’ in them.

There is a bit of irony in that Jehovah’s Witnesses adamantly claim that the only ‘proper’ name for God is ‘Jehovah’ and they chastise the use of other ‘wrong’ names for God.

Besides a cool history lesson, what can we learn from this? Easy: God is Holy, and His Name should always be treated as such. ‘Blasphemy’ doesn’t get used in the Christian community as much as it does in other religious groups - probably because we have a high tolerance for it, especially among unbelievers - but it is something that should be taken serious by believers.

I think the prohibition on actually saying ‘Yahweh’ demonstrated a classic legalistic ‘you missed the point’. They may have been avoiding mispronouncing God’s name - but were their lives really demonstrating the holiness of the God they refused to say out loud. In other words, were they avoiding ‘blasphemy’ with more than just ‘lip service’.

The same is true today - we may make it a point not to use the LORD’s name when cussing or elsewhere (which is good) - but are we also accurately representing His character and His holiness. If we claim that Christ is our God, but then don’t act like Christ - how is that not taking His name in vain?

The Great I Am Takes on Flesh

For the most part, when people hear ‘Yahweh’ they think of the Old Testament. That is where God’s name is found the most. But the Bible doesn’t end with the OT, nor does God’s revelation to humanity.

The New Testament tells us about how Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah that Yahweh promised to His people through the Law and the Prophets. Jesus Christ is His Son.

The Lord Jesus is Yahweh incarnate. He is God in the flesh. And it’s clear from the Scriptures that the apostles believed this, and so did their disciples and the early Church. Jesus is God.

Speaking of names, Matthew tells us that Jesus’ birth by a virgin was to fulfil Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Matthew then adds that Immanuel means ‘God with us’ (notice the ‘el’ at the end).

Mark and John both open their Gospels by telling us that John the Baptist was the one who was prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

At first glance, John may be the focus of this prophecy, but if he is who Isaiah is talking about, then the implication for who Jesus is is even more clear: Jesus is ‘the Lord’ and ‘our God’ whom John prepared the way for.

One of my personal favorites is in Luke 8, which Jesus heals the demoniac. The man naturally wants to come with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go home and ‘declare how much God has done for you’. See the man’s response in Luke 8:39 ““Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.”

The healed demoniac knew that Jesus is God, and declared as such.

There are countless passages that prove this, but when it comes to the name ‘Yahweh’ specifically, this is extremely important: Jesus Christ claimed to be Yahweh by invoking His name - yes, the very name that people in His day avoid saying out loud for fear of blasphemy.

Jesus calls himself ‘I am...’ in every Gospel account, but this is especially true in John where John gives seven very specific instances of Jesus claiming to be the ‘I am’:

John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

John 10:7 “So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 15:1 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”

Many will try and argue that Jesus didn’t actually claim to be God - but he very clearly did by invoking the name that God had revealed to Moses that day at the burning bush: ‘I am what I am’.

Other explicit claims are in John 8 where the Lord Jesus is having a back and forth with the people on His identity. This ultimately leads to him claiming to have known Abraham because John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

Or in Mark when Jesus walks on water, Mark 6:50 “for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.””

Typically this is translated as ‘it is I’ because of English grammar, but the phrase in Greek is, ‘Take heart; I am. Do not be afraid.”

Again in Revelation 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,”

It’s also hard to deny the claims of the Lord Jesus, when even his opponents plainly thought that he was claiming equality with Yahweh, like in John 8:59 “So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” (This happened immediately after the Abraham incident.) or John 5:18 “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Again, at his trial, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that the high priest believed what Jesus was claiming was equality with God and therefore blasphemous and worthy of death:

Luke 22:70-71 “So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.””

Mark 14:61-64 “But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.”

Matthew 26:63-66 “But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.””

Conclusion

Of all the names of God in Scripture, the name Yahweh is central and the most important. ‘The Great I Am’ is the God of Israel, and He is our God. He is who He is, and He does what He does. He is the beginning and the end.

OCC President Matt Proctor once said, ‘If God is the Great I Am, then that means that I am not.’ He is everything, and in comparison, we are nothing. And yet, He makes us something - He makes us his children through His Son Jesus Christ.

Yahweh revealed himself ‘at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,’ He is spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2) - And His Son is Yahweh incarnate. This is why the Lord Jesus deserves to share every name that God the Father has. Jesus Christ is the Great I Am, and therefore can rightly be called, ‘The King of Kings and LORD of Lords’. Amen.

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