Who do Men Say that I am?

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” Matthew 16:13-20

Before we look at who we say Christ is, I think that it is important look at who God says He is?

We serve a Living God, and yet we act so often like Sunday morning Christians. If we really believed that we serve a Living God wouldn’t that affect the way we live daily? Wouldn’t we want to share the good news of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross with everyone we meet?

Let’s start where all great stories start, at the beginning, and see who God says He is. We are going to move quickly now as we have much to cover and little time with which to do it.

In Genesis chapter 1 the name used for God is Elohim, and this is significant because of the Hebrew meaning for the word would translate out to “He who is the object of fear or reverence,” or it could translate “ He with whom one who is afraid takes refuge.” This name for God is used thirty two times in Genesis chapter one, and twenty-five hundred times in the old testament.

This is significant, because it tells us about the character of God. He spoke creation into existence, He spoke life into existence; through His very being He has shown Himself to be the object of fear and reverence.

As John W. Gregson states in his thesis God Reveals Himself through His Names: “The word Elohim repudiates atheism for it claims and it demands the existence of God. It separates God from a material creation thus refuting materialism. Furthermore, it abolishes pantheism for it necessitates a personal God.”

The second name of God that we see used in the Bible is Yahweh.

Yahweh or Adoni- meaning The Self Existing One, The Unchanging One (I AM that I AM) (The Great I AM) or He Who Lives. We see this name first used in Genesis 3:23 “therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”

This is the same name that God reviles Himself by when confronted by Moses after being told to go back to Egypt to bring the Children of Isreal out of slavery in Exodus 3:14 “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.””

It is the name that the seraphims’ cried out in Isaiah 6:3 “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”” “Holy, holy, holy, is Adoni Elohim. Here the seraphims’ are crying “Holy, holy, holy, is “The Unchanging ONE, He Who Lives, He who is the worthy of reverence.”

Within just these two names of God He has Identified Himself as worthy of reverence, and a shelter for those who are afraid; He has identified Himself as Self-Existing having never been created, but being the living unchanging creator.

When God told Moses in Exodus 3:14 “I AM who I AM.” He was telling Moses I will be for you who I need to be. The children of Isreal are never recorded as asking Moses who sent him; because of this I believe that when Moses ask of God what to tell the children of Isreal when they ask who sent him, that he is asking for himself, who is sending me, and the answer that God gave him was enough. I AM (The Living One) and I am sending you.

There are so many names for our God that tell through His character who He is, and while we do not have the time to go through them all, there are a few more that I would like to touch on.

EL SHADDAI- All-Sufficient One, Almighty, The Source of Everything.

EL OLAM- God of the Ages, The Everlasting God.

JEHOVAH - JIREH- God Who Provides.

JEHOVAH - RAPHA- God the Healer.

JEHOVAH - M’KADDESH- Jehovah Sanctifies.

JEHOVAH SHALOM- Jehovah Our Peace.

All of the names of God to this point have been names of power, names of compassion, and names of serenity. However not all the names of God are this way. God cannot be a God of love only, this would make Him a passive pushover. To be a true God of love there has to be an element of justice and judgement, but there also has to be forgiveness.

JEHOVAH - GMOLAH The God of Recompenses:

First seen in Jeremiah 51:56 “for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the Lord is a God of recompense; he will surely repay.” This name is seen again in the new testament in Hebrews 10:30 “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

JEHOVAH - MAKKEH- The LORD that Smites Thee:

We see this in Ezekiel 7:9 9 “And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.”

With in the last two names of God that we have looked at we see within recompense that God is a God of justice, and within MAKKEH we see a God who will deal out judgment.

Throughout the Old Testament we see God both deliver the children of Israel, and punish the children of Israel; though throughout it all God takes care of His people.

As a punishment for their disbelief and failure to trust God, the children of Israel wonder for 40 year in the wilderness, but throughout all that time God provides mania from heaven and water. He never leaves His people wanting, He constantly provides, right up to the day that they enter the promised land, even through all the times that they fail Him.

An old Scottish divine once wrote, “(holiness) is the balance of all the attributes of Deity. Power without holiness would degenerate into cruelty; omniscience without holiness would become craft; justice without holiness would degenerate into revenge; and goodness without holiness would be passionate and intemperate fondness doing mischief rather than accomplishing good.” Holiness gives to Jehovah God His grandeur and majesty, and more than anything else constitutes His fulness and perfection.”

Through all the names of God we continue to build a picture of the character of who God says He is. Now we are going to look at the person of Jesus, who being fully God was also fully man and suffered all the pain, sorrow, and temptations that we face on a daily basis. We are going to briefly look at how God is reviled through the person of Jesus.

We are going to start back in when His earthy life is prophesied. Isaiah 9:6-7 “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

According to the Webster dictionary the word Wonderful means: MARVELOUS, ASTONISHING, and we see in Luke 2:47 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

In Luke 24:13-35 we see Jesus as a counsellor (road to Emmaus), in Mark 4:38-41 we see Jesus as a Mighty God (Jesus still’s the water in the midst of a storm), in John 1:1-5 we see Jesus as the Everlasting Father (Before Abraham I was), and in Mark 11:7-11 we see Jesus as the Prince of Peace (The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem), and we see the increase and endlessness of Jesus’ kingdom in Acts 7:55,56 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”

I think we can say that we have validated Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophesy in Isaiah, and Jesus makes clear from any doubt His status when he says in John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”” Jesus has not only made His clam as God, but through His life he lived out thought His actions the character of the names of God.

So here is my question to you; who do you say that God is? Who do you say that God is through your life? We call ourselves Christians, a word meaning little Christ. In Acts 11:26b “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” It originated as a derogatory term, but it held as we are admonished to be like Christ. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” Does our life, does the way we live out our lives show Christ? or are we trying to imitate the latest celebrity fashion? Who we model our lives after is who/what we worship. We say we know who Jesus is, we say we follow Him; who does the way you live your life say that Christ is? If Christ is in us, and we are in Him, it should show. That is my challenge for you today, What does your life say about your God?