GOD HAS A NAME (Series: What's in a name?)

Mark 10:17 – 22 one thing thou lackest

John 5:14 sin no more

Mark 12:28 – 34 not far from the kingdom

Series: WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Week 1: God Has a Name

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-3// 3:14

Big Idea: In John’s gospel, Jesus made seven declarations all beginning with the words “I am.” This is the same declaration that God made in the Old Testament as well. Together, these statements offer a multi-faceted view of Jesus, and the ways he impacts everyday life; our struggles, fears, and questions, as well as our hopes and dreams.

“Father, we want to see you better and better with each passing day. And we have come to believe that we see you most clearly by looking at Jesus, the one who showed us exactly what you are like. Open our eyes to see the glimpses of truth you have for us this day.”

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-3// 3:14

2:1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Introduction

Today we’re embarking on a jounery together through to get a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what he means to us.

The series What’s in a Name is a comprehensive look at the I AM statements of Christ in the New Testament, which like most things, traces its roots back to the Old Testament.

In Greek, the language of the New Testament, “I am” is “ego eimi”—and that’s the way each of the seven statements begins in John’s gospel. But, as I mentioned, the roots of this phrase go back to Exodus 3:14, where God introduces himself to Moses with the expression “I am that I am.” It is rendered in Hebrew—which has no vowels in its alphabet—as YHWH, usually pronounced Yahweh. Later in Israel, the name Yahweh was considered too holy to even pronounce, so God was simply referred to as “The Name,” in Hebrew “Ha Shem.” Some rabbis taught that the name could not be pronounced, only breathed. In keeping with the tradition, English translations of the Bible usually render Yahweh as “The LORD,” in all capital letters.

The name also became a way to connect with God personally—yes, God has a name—and it was used throughout Israel’s history to convey that God always was, always is, and always will be. But the name is not just about God’s stoicism, his “is-ness” sitting silently and passively like a giant, cosmic Buddha statue impervious to what’s happening around him. “I am” also connotes action as the “First Cause,” the One for whom there is no prior cause, the One who makes things happen according to our deepest needs. This becomes clear in the story of Moses’ encounter at the burning bush. Which is where our journey begins today.

Let’s look at Moses’ background. He was born in Egypt when it was unhealthy to be Jewish boy. This was more than 400 years after Joseph had brought his extended family to Egypt during the great famine. For a while they prospered, but eventually were enslaved by a Pharaoh “who did not remember Joseph.” They continued to multiply in numbers that made Pharaoh nervous, so he gave the order for all male babies born to the Hebrews to be thrown into the Nile and drowned.

After a miraculous turn of events (explain), he grows up in the palace as the grandson of the Pharaoh himself. But as a young man, he had an identity crisis, and he remembered who he really was. Heb. 11:24-25 (NIV) “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”

Moses’ Had Good Intentions (2:11-15)

One day, he kills an Egyptian for mistreating one of his people, the Hebrew slaves. His intentions were good, but he tried to accomplish God’s purposes in his own power.

Afterwards, even his own people didn’t trust him. Moses was asked in Exodus 2:14 “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” . So God had to humble Moses, to show him the limitations, the complete inadequacy, of his own strength and ability. So he sent him to the back side of the desert to tend sheep for 40 years. While there, he has a life-changing encounter with God’s presence in a burning bush. (Ex. 3:1-10)

Moses’ Had Objections (3:11ff)

“Who am I…?” Have you ever used that one? It’s great because it gets you out of the assignment but you still sound humble. Interestingly, God never answers that question.

He just says, “I will be with you.” I.e., “This is not about you, it’s about me. It doesn’t matter who you are; it only matters who I am.” Let that sink in for a moment. *

Second objection: “Who are you…?” (3:13-15) Moses asks God, “What is your name? If the people ask me which God I’ve been speaking to, what shall I tell them?”

The descendants of Abraham living in Egypt had only a distant memory of the God of their forefathers. After 400+ years, they probably had adopted many of the polytheistic worship practices of their Egyptian neighbors. They needed to be re-introduced to Elohim, the God Most High. So, when Moses asks for God’s name, God answers, “I am that I am.” In Hebrew it comes out Yahweh, which is a form of the verb “to be.” “Tell them, ‘I Am’ sent you.”

Well, okay, but, what kind of a name is that? That name reveals four very important things about God:

First, Yahweh is the only one of his kind. We use names to distinguish someone from others of their kind. But there are no other “gods” but God alone. There isn’t anyone like I AM.

Second, Yahweh’s existence has no extension in time. God is eternal, and lives outside of time, in the eternal now. There has never been a time when God did not exist, and there will never come a time when God ceases to exist. God always IS. Scripture says there is coming a time “when time shall be no more.” But God will continue to BE. Everything else in the universe has limits, including time itself. But not God. God is the First Cause, the Unmoved Mover, the Great I AM.

Third, Yahweh is always the same. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. “As Thou hast been, Thou forever shalt be. Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Fourth, Yahweh is the One with the power to act on the people’s behalf. He is the One who makes things happen according to our greatest need.

So, Jesus’ use of the expression “I Am” would have been an unmistakable signal to his hearers. They knew the ancient significance of the words, even in Greek, “Ego eimi;” Jesus was explicitly identifying himself with God and bearing God’s presence on Earth.

The theological term is Incarnation, “enfleshment,” but we need to back up even further to fully grasp what that means.

Diagram of an Hourglass (You may consider having an actual hourglass to help make the illustration come to life)

This diagram is an attempt to show the big picture of our growing, unfolding understanding of God and the various forms God has taken to reveal his mystery to us.

At the top of the hourglass are ideas of God too big for the human mind to grasp: The Triune God, the pre-existent Christ, the Logos spoken of by John at the beginning of his gospel. We start with the Trinity, with God as love and relationship. Then creation happens in, through, and for the pre-existent Christ, the second person of the Trinity.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth.” (Col. 1:15-16)

This grew into the notion of the eternal Wisdom of God that was eventually going to leap “down” from heaven into our human and time-limited realm. This Wisdom is personified in Proverbs as a woman, and is a beautiful, compassionate abstraction of Divine Reality, but not yet personal and relatable.

Prov. 3:13-18 Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.”

Next, in the book of Daniel, the pre-existent Christ moves toward greater personification with the idea of the “son of man.” This is the phrase Jesus most frequently used to identify himself and is likely based on a verse from Daniel’s prophecy. (Dan. 7:13-14 NIV) “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

The Son of Man is one who sums up the whole. And Jesus fully embodies this identity in himself. It’s also why Jesus could say, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

So, The Great Mystery at the top of the funnel is gradually reduced to a single human being. Jesus comes forth from the Father into the world to say, “This is what God is doing. Look at me; I am what God is saying and doing. And I’m the whole process, from beginning to end.” Jesus reveals the whole pattern of creation and human history in condensed form. Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we know ahead of time that the final chapter is always resurrection. Even though so much of life is filled with suffering, disappointment, disillusionment, absurdity, and death, God will turn all of our crucifixions into resurrections. Look at it in Jesus, believe it in Jesus, love it in Jesus, and let it take shape in your own soul! This is the glorious Good News that we have to share with the world!

Then, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the hourglass shape starts expanding again. Jesus said, “Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) Paul actually refers to Jesus as a second Adam, the progenitor of a whole new race of people on earth. (1 Cor. 15)

As told in Acts 1:9-11, angels appear next to the disciples as they gaze after the rising figure, and ask, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? “. Most of historic Christianity has been doing just that ever since, straining to find the historical Jesus “up there.” Where did he go? The whole point of the Incarnation and Resurrection is that the Christ is here—and always was!

We’re busy looking for Jesus up there and He should be in here! But he was transformed into the universal, omnipresent Body of Christ. In his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the crowd, “God has made him both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36) Jesus told his disciples before his death, “It is good for you that I go away. Unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) I like to ask people who are eagerly awaiting the “second coming” of Christ, “Where do you think he is now?” *

The final book of the Bible promises us a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1), not an escape from earth. But we have been focused on “going” to heaven instead of living on earth for God.

And then Paul’s wonderful declaration in Phil. 2:9 (KJV), “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:”

Also in Eph. 1:9-10 (NIV) “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

Conclusion

Next week will be another brief introduction, this time to John’s gospel itself. we’ll look at the “I Am” statements. That’s where this journey is taking us.

For now, spend some time this week contemplating the hour-glass shape of God’s work in the universe. Where are you and I in the hourglass? Does that change the way we live in the here and now? It’s mind-blowing and life-changing at the same time!

The Great Mystery of the universe gradually became a single point in time (Incarnation). Then the Life of the Ages began expanding outward again to include you and me, and eventually, all of creation! Hallelujah!