God Told Us His Name
Standing at a burning bush, Moses asked the question every thinking person has asked: What is his name? (Exodus 3:13). God did not refuse to answer. The Creator of heaven and earth told a shepherd what to call Him.
That is grace. You cannot know a person who will not tell you his name, and God could have stayed a nameless power behind the stars. Instead He introduced Himself, again and again, in the moments His people needed Him most.
In Scripture a name is more than a label. It says who someone is. When God proclaimed the name of the LORD to Moses, He went on to describe His mercy, grace, patience, and justice (Exodus 34:5–7). So the name of the LORD means God Himself as He has made Himself known. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee (Psalm 9:10). The better you know the names, the better you know the One you are trusting.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three Persons, and that He has revealed Himself truly in His names. Those names are holy, and we are to speak them with reverence. We believe that Jesus Christ bears the divine Name as truly as the Father does, for He is God.
God Himself as He has made Himself known. His names are not human guesses about Him. They are His own self-revelation, and each one shows us something true of who He is.
When you say God, Lord, or Jesus, do you stop to think about what those names mean, or have they become words you use without thinking?
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For Deeper Study
- Names of GodAmazon Nathan StoneA Moody Bible Institute teacher's warm, classic study of the Hebrew names. It uses the popular compound names, including some Scripture does not print as titles, so read it alongside this article.
- Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of ChristAmazon Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed KomoszewskiEvangelical. A clear, thorough case that the New Testament gives Jesus the honors, attributes, names, deeds, and seat of God.
- Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's WitnessesAmazon Ron RhodesEvangelical. A practical guide to the Witnesses' arguments, including the divine name, with kind ways to answer.
- Jesus and the God of IsraelAmazon Richard BauckhamAn Anglican New Testament scholar, for advanced readers. He argues that the first Christians placed Jesus within the unique identity of the God of Israel.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Attributes of God
God's holiness, love, justice, wisdom, power, and faithfulness are not parts of God but true descriptions of who He is.
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