Theological Term of the Week
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 9:43PM names of God
The names for God found in scripture, which he revealed to us to teach us who he really is.
- Three names of God in scripture:
Yahweh: God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD [Yahweh], 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. (Exodus 3:15 ESV)
Elohim: In the beginning, God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)
Jealous: [Y]ou shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God … . (Exodus 34:14 ESV)
- From the ESV Study Bible Study Resources, Biblical Doctrine: An Overview :
- From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof:
God offers his name as a personal introduction and as a window into his character. This is why David says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you” (Ps. 9:10). To know his name is to know he is trustworthy. God’s act of naming himself is a profoundly gracious act of accommodation and engagement.
Among the many names for God in the Bible, there is none more important than Yahweh (translated “Lord”), a name that was revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:15). Linguistically related to the verb “I am,” Yahweh is packed with theological import. It most likely communicates God’s self-existence, independence, self-sufficiency, eternality, and unchanging character. These transcendent qualities are powerfully complemented when God also tells Moses to refer to him as “the God of your fathers” (Ex. 3:15). God is both majestic and intimate, the great, eternal “I am,” the God who knows his children by name and keeps his covenant promises. Christian worship, discipleship, and preaching must maintain both healthy fear of the Lord and freedom and confidence in his presence.
While the Bible records several names of God, it also speaks of the name of God in the singular as, for instance in the following statements: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” Ex. 20:7; “How excellent is thy name in all the earth,” Ps. 8:1; “As is thy name, O God, so is thy praise,” Ps. 48:10; “His name is great in Israel,” Ps. 76:2; “The name of Jehovah is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe,” Prov. 18:10. In such cases “the name” stands for the whole manifestation of God in His relation to His people, or simply for the person, so that it becomes synonymous with God. This usage is due to the fact that in oriental thought a name was never regarded as a mere vocable, but as an expression of the nature of the thing designated. To know the name of a person was to have power over him, and the names of the various gods were used in incantations to exercise power over them. In the most general sense of the word, then, the name of God is His self-revelation. It is a designation of Him, not as He exists in the depths of His divine Being, but as He reveals Himself especially in His relations to man. For us the one general name of God is split up into many names, expressive of the many-sided Being of God.
Learn more:
- GotQuestions.org: What are the different names of God and what do they mean?
- Blue Letter Bible: The Names of God in the Old Testament
- Don Fortner: The Names of God
- J. Hampton Keathley III: Names of God
- Louis Berkhof: The Names of God
- Andrew Jukes: The Names of God
- John Gill: Of the Names of God
- Herman Bavinck: The Names of God
- John Piper: Eight Sermons on the Names of God (audio)
Related terms:
Filed under God’s Nature and His Work
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