· Theology Proper ·

Lecture Nineteen:  The Existence of God

TH330 Systematic Theology I · Moody Bible Institute · Dr. Richard M. Weber

I. The Biblical “Name”

“[A] name in Bible times was more than an identification; it was descriptive of its bearer, often revealing some characteristic of a person.”  (Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, 57)

II. Elohim

A. The Usage of the Name “Elohim”

Ex 12:12.  God says, “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egpyt.” (Cf. Gen 35:2, 4; Ex 23:24)

Ex 18:11.  Jethro says, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods…”

Gen 1:1.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

B. The Meaning of the Name “Elohim”

1. The Derivation of the Word

2. The Significance of the Plural Form

a. “Elohim” Could Be a Polytheistic Plural

to suggest that the Hebrews came out of a polytheistic background and held onto that. However, Hebrews didn’t evolve from a polytheistic background.

b. “Elohim” Could Be a Trinitarian Plural

Could be suggesting that God is trinity.

c. “Elohim” Could Be a Majestic Plural

·        could be suggesting God’s majesty over all things.

Gen 1:1.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Jon 1:9.  Jonah says, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”  (Cf. Isa 45:18)

Ps 50:6.  “And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge.”  (cf. Isa 58:11)

C. “Elohim” as Part of Compound Names

1. “El Shaddai” – God of the mountain?

Gen 17:1.  “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.”

Gen 28:3.  “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of people.”  (cf. Gen 35:11; Ex 6:3)

2. “El Elyon” God most high

Gen 14:18-19.  “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.  He was priest of God Most High (El Elyon), and he blessed Abram…”

3. “El Olam”

Gen 21:33.  “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.”  (cf. Ps 100:5; 103:17)

4. “El Roi”

Gen 16:13.  “[Hagar] gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her:  ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”

III. Yahweh

A. The Origin of the Name “Yahweh”

Root Hebrew term for essence and existence. God is the God Who simply is.

B. The Revelation of the Name “Yahweh”

Gen 4:1.  “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”  (cf. Gen 4:26)

Gen 9:26.  “[Noah] said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem!”

Gen 15:2.  “Abram said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless…?”  (cf. v8; 12:8)

Ex 3:14.  “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM [or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE].  This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  “I AM has sent me to you.”’”

It was the sacred name of God, and they treated it with respect.

Ex. 6:3.  “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai) but by my name the Lord (Yahweh) I did not make myself known to them.”

C. The Sacredness of the Name “Yahweh”

D. The Significance of the Name “Yahweh”

E. “Yahweh” as Part of Compound Names

1. “Yahweh Jireh”

Gen 22:14.  “So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide (Yahweh Jireh).”

2. “Yahweh Nissi”

Ex 17:15.  “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner (Yahweh Nissi).”

3. “Yahweh Elohim Israel”

Judg 5:3.  “I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.”  (cf. Isa 17:6)

IV. Adonai – Lord, master.

Gen 40:1.  “Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egpyt offended their master, the king of Egpyt.”  (cf. Gen 19:2; 1 Sam 1:15)

Isa 6:8-11.  “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?’”  (Cf. v11; Josh 5:14)

V. God (qeoV; theos)

Its used to translate Elohim in the LXX.

Acts 17:23.  Paul found an altar in Athens with the inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD (THEOS)”

1 Cor 8:5-6.  “Even if there are so called gods (theoi), whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father…”  (cf. Acts 12:22; 14:11; 19:26-27; 2 Thess 2:4)

2 Cor 4:4.  “The god (theos) of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Rom 9:5.  Paul calls Christ “God (theos) over all”

Titus 2:13.  “[W]e wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God (theos) and Savior, Jesus Christ…”  (cf. John 1:1,18; 20:28)

VI. Lord (kurioV; kurios)

A. The Usage of “Lord” 717 times in the NT

It’s a common greek term. Paul uses this often.

B. The Meaning of “Lord”

When used of God, kurios “expresses particularly His creatorship, His power revealed in history, and His just dominion over the universe…”  (H. Hietenhard, “Lord,” in The New International Dictrionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Cohn Brown, 2:514)

C. Christ as “Lord”

During His earthly life, Jesus is called Lord.

Thomas “My Lord and my God..” Kurios and Theos.

Matt 8:6.  The centurion said, “Lord, … my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

Acts 2:36.  “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Phil 2:10-11.  “[A]t the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

“To an early Christian accustomed to reading the Old Testament, the word ‘Lord,’ when used of Jesus, would suggest His identification with the God of the Old Testament.”  (S. E. Johnson, ‘Lord (Christ)’ in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 3:151)

Rom 10:9.  “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

“Any Jew who publicly confessed that Jesus of Nazareth was ‘Lord’ would be understood to ascribe the divine nature and attributes to him.”  (William G. T. Shedd, Romans, 318) ny Jew that used it as Paul did, would show Jesus as Lord.

VII. Master (despothV; despotés)

A. The Meaning of Despotés

B. The Usage of Despotés

Luke 2:29.  “Sovereign Lord, as you promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.”

Acts 4:24.  “Sovereign Lord … you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”

Rev 6:10.  “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

VIII. Father

Eph 1:2.  “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Cf. 1 Thess 1:1)

James 1:17.  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…”

2 John 4.  “It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”

Matt 6:9.  Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray:  ‘Our Father in heavne, hallowed be your name…’” (cf. Eph 2:18; 1 Thess 3:11)