The name of God

Introduction:

Pastor Rick has taught us for three weeks straight helping us go through the purpose of the Ten Commandments and leading us through the first. In this, God has revealed who He is and that we are commanded to worship Him and Him alone.

We are not to replace Him,

and we are not to reduce Him to images, idols, or our own ideas of who He is.

Next week, we will come to the Third Commandment,

where God commands His people not to take His name in vain.

But before we can understand how God’s name must not be misused, we must first understand what His name is and what it reveals about Him.

this is important to examine closely because it’s not automatic for all of us.

In many cultures today, names do not feel especially important.

In many of the cultures represented in this room, names are often chosen because they sound nice or honor a family member.

Many people do not even know what their names mean.

I was named after my father, and I am honored by that legacy,

but the meaning of my name itself has never really shaped my life.

But Scripture does not treat names this way.

As we saw when studying Exodus,

names in the Bible carry weight and significance.

I can relate to this through my Chinese name.

Mrs. Lilly gave Whitney and I our names.

mine, Wang Chuan Li,

means protector and spreader of truth.

Whitney’s is wang Wei Ning.

It gives ideas of peace.

Biblically speaking, to know a name is to know something true about a person,

their character,

authority,

and relationship to you.

And that brings us to God.

The God of the Bible is not named by human beings.

He is not discovered,

defined,

or labeled by us.

He reveals Himself to us!

If God had not spoken, we might know that a god exists,

but we would not know who He is or how He relates to us unless He spoke to us in His word.

So this morning, I am thankful for the wisdom of PastorRick because it was his idea that before we address the commandment itself, should look at how God has revealed Himself by name.

The message today will not have a lot of pauses in the teaching for practical applications.

we always try to figure out how to make the sermon connect to your life,

but here’s the thing,

we are today talking about the God of the universe and what He has chosen to reveal about Himslef.

Every part of this sermon is practical because every part of this sermon should spur us to Praise.

so if you are not one who naturally enjoys getting into the detailed specifics of names, and original languages,

I urge you to listen carefully any way,

constantly trying to learn or be reminded of how to better understand God so we can better worship God.

we will do this by understanding His Impersonal names,

His personal name,

and Jesus taking this name upon Himself thus showing He is God.

I. God Revealed Through Impersonal Names

I know that is plural, but due to time, we are only going to look at one of these names, but know there are many more. The one we will focus on this morning is Elohim.

We see this title uses When God first begins to reveal Himself in Scripture all the way back in Genesis 1.

Elohim functions as a title, not yet a personal name.

It is a word that refers to deity in a general sense.

The Hebrew word for god.

In fact, Scripture itself sometimes uses this same word to refer to the false gods of pagan nations who are not truly God at all.

But suprisingly, that is the word God uses for Himself in the opening verse of scripture.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

With that statement, Scripture makes clear that this God is not simply another god.

Sure, others may call themselves by this name,

But God is revealing Himself as not just another of many gods but as the uncreated Creator.

Elohim is the God who exists before all things,

because He created all things. He created time itself at the moment of creation.

and as the chapters unfold, we see that Elohim is the God who rules over everything He has made.

Nothing limits Him.

Nothing rivals Him.

Nothing exists apart from His will.

You catch that Hutong?

You want practical application this morning, meditate on that truth.

Nothing limits Him.

Nothing rivals Him.

Nothing exists apart from His will. that is a God worth worshiping this morning!

Calm down

But we also see something else important here. Simply using the word “God” does not automatically identify the true God. Many cultures believe in gods. the people at the time of Moses were polytheistic believing in and worshiping multiple gods.

Today, we have Muslims, Orthodox Jews, Hindus, and many more examples.

Many other people speak about God in vague or generic ways.

But the Bible immediately distinguishes the true God not by calling Him something different at first, but by showing what He does.

This God creates.

He speaks, and reality obeys.

He gives order where there was none. He brings order out of Chaos.

Life exists because He wills it to exist. he breathes life into us!

Unlike the false gods of the nations, who are dependent,

limited,

and imagined,

THIS God is eternal,

sovereign,

and self-existent.

This distinction matters deeply as we approach the Third Commandment.

If “God” is merely a general idea,

If He is

flexible,

familiar,

Or undefined,

then His name will inevitably be treated lightly.

It becomes easy to attach His name to our own desires,

opinions,

or agendas.

It becomes easy to create god in our own image shaping Him as we think He should be.

It then becomes easy to speak His name without reverence at all.

But Scripture does not allow us to start there.

The title Elohim being connected with creation reminds us that the God who will later draw near is first the God who reigns supreme.

And only once that foundation is laid does God choose to reveal Himself by a name that is not merely true, but deeply personal.

That is where we turn next.

II. God Revealed Through His Personal Name

We do not have to wait fr before God reveals His personal name to us in scripture.

As early as Genesis 4,

We see God’s personal name being used.

Genesis 4:26 (ESV)

26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Speak to the slide. They were not worshiping God as someone distant, but by His very name.

Later, we see Abraham builds altars and calls on the name of the LORD as he walks by faith.

Isaac and Jacob do the same.

But we begin to see even more of the greatness of this personal name of God in

Exodus 3.

The story goes that…

Moses encounters God in the wilderness at the burning bush.

God calls Moses by name,

commissions him to return to Egypt,

and promises to deliver His people.

But Moses hesitates.

He knows the people will ask a question he cannot yet answer.

“When I come to the people of Israel and say to them,

‘The God of your fathers has sent me,’ and they ask me,

‘What is His name?’

what shall I say to them?”

Here, God reveals His name in a way that defines who He is and how He will act.

“I AM WHO I AM.”

God tells Moses “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

This is the name Yahweh.

At its core, Yahweh means “I AM” or “I WILL BE.”

It communicates self-existence, independence,

and power.

God is not named by something outside Himself.

He does not derive His identity from creation,

from history,

from some mythic creation story,

or from human recognition.

He simply is.

Is that not something we can worship God for this morning Hutong?

But this name also looks forward.

“I WILL BE” signals that God will prove who He is

through what He does

and that will never change.

He will be faithful to His promises.

He will be present with His people.

He will act in history to save,

to judge, and to redeem.

He is saying….

“I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt.”

“I am Yahweh, who keeps covenant.”

“I am Yahweh, who will be with you.”

His name becomes inseparable from His saving work.

To speak His name is to remember His faithfulness.

To call upon His name is to trust that He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever.

I have been worshiping God for two weeks by simply meditating on how He never changes.

This is such an encouraging and strengthening attribute of God and it is taught in His very name!

So I hope you can begin to see Hutong why His very name is holy.

Yahweh is not a generic label. it can be used for no other god or created being.

It is God’s covenant personal name, the name by which He binds Himself to His people.

And because of that, God’s people are to treat this name with the deepest reverence.

Over time, Israel became so careful with God’s name that they avoided pronouncing it aloud.

Instead, when reading Scripture, they would substitute the word Adonai, meaning “Lord.”

We see the reverence effecting even our current English Bibles.

When you see LORD written in all capital letters, it is translating the personal name Yahweh.

Some look back on this as superstition but I see it as reverence.

They understood that God’s name was not to be spoken lightly, casually, or carelessly.

Now, maybe they took it a little too far, even to the point that we now do not fully know the actual pronunciation of His name.

There is even debate on the correct pronunciation, and I don’t want to get into that here.

But even I in this sermon am taking extra care to not throw around His name too much.

I have intentionally taken time to choose when to say the name and when to say things like “His name”.

every time I have said His personal name this morning, it has been intentional and with reverence.

I do this because although I do not believe we should go as far as never saying His name, I do believe an attempt at reverence is incredibly important when dealing with a Holy God.

But as I said in small group Tuesday, I believe we have lost a lot by replacing His personal name with LORD.

When I read LORD, I don’t read it with the same awe and reverence as I do when I read YHWYH.

So I do encourage you, when you are reading your Bibles and see LORD in all caps, take a moment and recognize that this is the personal name of God being spoken.

The great I AM.

Before God ever commands His people not to take His name in vain,

He first reveals what that name means.

He shows that His name is holy because He is holy.

His name is faithful because He is faithful.

His name is worthy of reverence because He alone is God.

And only when we understand that, only when we see who Yahweh truly is, are we ready to hear the weight of the commandment that follows.

But there is another name that God reveals Himself in, and that is in the very name of Jesus.

III. God Revealed Through Jesus Christ

Many will try to say that Jesus never claimed to be God and this was simply made up by Constantine to help unify His power.

But this can only be said from a place of ignorance of God’s name and authority, because Jesus clearly claims both.

The New Testament does not present Jesus as merely someone who speaks about God but as someone who IS GOD.

Hebrews makes this clear.

Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Jesus was there in the beginning creating the world with the Father.

So it is important that we take the time to see how Jesus is truly God, and makes this claim.

We do not have time to give every example, but here are just a few.

a) Jesus Acts in His Own Name

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus does what no prophet ever dared to do, He speaks and acts in His own authority.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly contrasts His words with earlier revelation:

Matthew 5:21–22

(ESV)

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

jesus is saying He has the authority to bring clarity to the words of God.

When Jesus forgives sins, the religious leaders immediately recognize the implication:

Mark 2:5–7 ESV

5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

They understood Jesus was claiming to be one with the Father.

This was blasphemy if not true.

We also have…

b) The “I AM” Statements

Jesus does not merely describe God, He uses the very language of His name.

I want us to examine two passages together and see if you can catch the clear and intentional parallel.

Exodus 3:14 ESV

14 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.’ ”

John 8:58 ESV

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

and if you think I am just reading to much into Jesus’ words, the crowds understood the meaning the same way.

John 8:59 ESV

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Why did they cast stones at Him?

Because they believed that He was calling Himself God!

This was an incredibly serious sin that could not be ignored, yet it was not a sin at all because it was true.

C) Jesus Condemned for Bearing the Divine Name

The New Testament is clear about why Jesus was put to death.

Jesus declared in John 10:30

John 10:30 ESV

30 I and the Father are one.”

Their response was to pick up stones to kill Him.

When Jesus asked why they were trying to kill Him, they replied in verse 33.

John 10:33 ESV

33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

This explains the charge that followed Him to the cross. When Jesus stood before Pilate, the leaders insisted:

John 19:7 ESV

7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”

Jesus was crucified not for vague teaching or moral reform,

but for claiming the divine identity.

The name revealed to Moses as I AM is now spoken and embodied by Jesus Christ.

Have you heard people use Jesus name in vein?

Or even use it as a curse word?

It breaks my heart every time I hear this…

Because it is by this name that we are saved!

It is by this name that the guilt of our sin is forgiven.

It is by this name that our shame is turned to Honor.

It is by this name that comes power to cast out all fear.

it is by that name that we are called to worship!

Calm down

The God who created as Elohim, the God who saved as Yahweh, has now revealed Himself in Christ.

And when we speak the name of Jesus, claim the name of Christ, or bear that name before the world, we are taking upon ourselves the holy name of God Himself.

That is why the Third Commandment carries such weight.

And that is why God’s name must never be taken in vain.

That is why we will be spending next week going in more detail about not taking His name in vein.

So again Hutong, I ask are we going to worship Him this day!

This week!

I hope this has encouraged you to see more of the greatness and Glory of God this morning and that it carries over into your worship of Him this week

so let’s go ahead and put this into practice. In a second, I’ll have you get into groups of 3-5. take turns just simply worshiping God for who He has revealed to us in His name.

Later the worship team will come up and lead us in worship through song. Feel free to continue in prayerful worship or stand up and sing your worship as a joyful noise.