Names of God--Jesus, Christ, Immanuel, Word

NAMES OF GOD-JESUS, CHRIST, IMMANUEL, WORD Spring Valley Mennonite; November 7, 2021; Luke 1:31, Acts 4:12, Philippians 2:5-11, Isaiah 7:14, John 1:1, 14 Our study of the names of God have primarily been in the Old Testament. As we move into the New Testament, we observe the fulfillment of the prophesies of the promised Messiah in the person of Jesus. Building on the Old Testament, the New gives us much more revelation about God. The fullness of the Godhead, what we call "the Trinity", hinted of earlier in the plural names of Elohim and Adonai, is fully revealed as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are the three major names of God, each fully God, yet distinct in person. We will leave the study of the Holy Spirit for a later time and limit our study to the Lord Jesus Christ. While I have been aware of numerous names for the second person of the Trinity, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of His names in the New Testament. I found one list of His names which contained 115 different terms! Time will prohibit the study of all of these, but it made me wonder at the great number. One conclusion is the absolute magnificence and broadness of the person of Jesus and His preeminence in our relationship with God. He is the ONE WAY to God: Jesus told His disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Me." God the Son dominates the New Testament, and His primary God-given name is: I. JESUS When David Trubek with Chosen People Ministries spoke here at Spring Valley, he referred to Jesus as Yashua, the Hebrew name for Jesus. "Jesus" is the English transliteration of Yashua. If you put the emphasis on the first syllable of the word Yashua, you hear "Joshua." Joshua has the meaning of "YHWH is salvation", or "Savior." There are many parallels between the Old Testament Joshua and Jesus. The name Yashua or our English "Jesus" was chosen by the Father and was communicated first to Mary by the angel Gabriel, recorded in Luke 1:31, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." Later, Joseph was given the same information: Matthew 1:20-21, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." "Jesus" means Savior, something which mankind desperately needs, for we are absolutely helpless when it comes to solving our sin problem. Because of God's absolute holiness, sin condemns each of us to eternal death, eternally separated from God, tormented in the fires of hell. "The wages of sin is death," and anyone who sins must die eternally as payment for their sin. "For all have sinned" so everyone of us must die-OR a substitute must take our place. Jesus came to earth for the main purpose to die in our place to pay the penalty for our sin and restore the close and loving relationship with our Heavenly Father. He is Yashua-Joshua-Jesus, "Jehovah is salvation." One of the terms for Jesus' payment for our sin is "substitutionary atonement." This name "Jesus" has amazing power. We realize that "name" means so much more than simply saying the word. The name Jesus is not magical without belief and faith in all He is and did. To believe in His name is to trust in Him alone for salvation. He alone is the all- sufficient payment for our sin. In Peter's bold sermon to the very ones who crucified our Lord, Peter proclaimed, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Only Jesus died for our sin. Only Jesus opens the way to heaven. Only Jesus restores the relationship with God lost in Eden. People may be offended at the exclusiveness of this claim. They may ignore the claims of Jesus. They may put their faith in any number of other religious figures, but there is a day of judgment coming where every man, woman, boy and girl will kneel in homage before Jesus Christ acknowledging that He is Lord. to Philippians 2:5-11 as we find there the description of that sobering, yet glorious day. (Turn and read) All humanity, believer and sceptic alike will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no one else. He is Lord. Another designation for the Son of God which needs explanation is: II. CHRIST Christ is the Greek "Christos" which means "anointed." It is more of a title, not purely a name. In the New Testament, we find the term "Christ" is linked with the Old Testament teaching of an expected Messiah, an anointed leader who would deliver Israel from their enemies, exalt the nation to world dominance, and set all things right. These were not empty promises, and at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus will rule the world from His throne in Jerusalem. All the promises made to Israel will be fulfilled Jesus was the "Anointed One." Anointing in Hebrew culture was a practice of commissioning for a significant office and involved pouring pure olive oil over the head. The priests of Israel were anointed, as were objects involved in Israel's worship like the altar and Tabernacle. Kings and Prophets were anointed. We remember how Moses anointed Aaron as High Priest, and how the Prophet-Judge Samuel anointed the first two Kings of Israel, Saul and David. The use of the word "Christ" affirms that God had chosen and commissioned Jesus as the Savior. Jesus is the promised Messiah, first prophesied of in Genesis 3:15 of One who would deliver a blow to the head of Satan, while Satan would bruise Messiah's heel. Isaiah 7 and 11 speak of a ruler from the lineage of King David Who will come and establish an eternal kingdom. The Gospels quickly identify Jesus of Nazareth with the Old Testament promise of the Messiah. When Andrew met Jesus, he went to his brother Simon Peter saying, "We have found the Messiah." The woman at the well in John 4 said to Jesus, "I know the Messiah is coming, (He who is called Christ)" to which Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am He." This was the core of the Apostle Paul's teaching, as we see in Acts 18:5; as his ministry developed in Corinth "...Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." A third significant name given to our Lord is: III. IMMANUEL The name of Immanuel is linked with the virgin birth of Jesus, prophesied in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." From our study of the names of God in the Old Testament, we hear in Immanuel the last syllable of "El" (Imman-u-el). This is the abbreviated form of Elohim. Immanuel means "God with us." When Joseph was in turmoil over his engagement to Mary, wondering what he should do about his pregnant wife-to-be, the angel reminded him that a virgin would conceive and bear a son who would be the Son of God, God with us, Immanuel. This prophesy was one of 34 distinct prophesies of the Messiah found in Isaiah that were fulfilled in Christ's first advent. Before the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, God was the invisible God, with only His shekinah glory visible at various times, like at Sinai and in the Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temple. Of course, His miraculous works were very evident, as was His creative genius. He spoke to selected Kings and prophets and appeared as the Angel of the Lord for brief encounters. But Jesus, God the Son, took on humanity, human flesh-we call this the Incarnation-and walked among us. Jesus told Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Hebrews 1:3: "He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature..." Jesus prayed in John 17, "O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them." This verse has been summarized: "Jesus is the one who reveals the Father to us. If we want to know what the Father is like, all we have to do is look at Jesus. If we want to know how the Father cares for people, we can look at how Jesus ministered to them. If we want to know the Father's will for our lives, we can listen to Jesus' words and know they reveal the Father's truth. Jesus revealed the nature of the Father in his actions and his words. And, Jesus continues to reveal the Father to us. He is the one through whom the fullest revelation of the Father comes. Let's look to Jesus if we really want to know the Father."1 This incarnation is further explained by the title of: IV. THE WORD In the first chapter of John's Gospel, in verse 1 we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Continuing in verse 14: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." "Word" is the Greek "Logos" which is amazingly rich in meaning. Logos has the basic meaning of Revelation, something revealed. In Greek philosophy, Logos was "the principle and pattern that gave the world or cosmos its character and coherence2" John is saying that Jesus is the Revelation of God; Colossians 1:15 states "He is the image of the invisible God." John creates a parallel with Genesis 1:1, which states "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." At the beginning of time, the Word-or Jesus, as verse 14 states (the Word became flesh)-Jesus was with God, and the Word was God. Continuing with the parallel with Genesis 1, John states that "All things were made by Him..." Colossians 1:16: "For by Him all things were created." and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Nelson's Bible Dictionary makes this observation about the Logos: "Through the incarnation of Christ, God has come to dwell in our midst. Through the life and ministry of Jesus, a unique and final revelation of God has been given-one superior to the revelation given through the Law and the Prophets. In Christ, the Word of God, God's plan and purpose for mankind is clearly revealed"3 Jesus clearly, as the second person of the Trinity, was in intimate fellowship with God throughout eternity past. Although Jesus enjoyed the splendor and joys of heaven and intimate fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, He willingly gave this up to come to earth and take on humanity. Philippians 2 explains that though "equal with God, took the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Jesus is the Word, the Living and full human revelation of God. He is God with us. He is the Messiah promised throughout the Old Testament. He is the way, the truth, and the life. It is in the name of Jesus that we are saved. It is in the name of Jesus that we make our requests made known to God. It is because we believe in Jesus Christ, Immanuel, the Living Word that we have the assurance of eternal life. I know of a name, A beautiful name, That angels bro't down to earth; They whispered it low One night long ago, To a maiden of lowly birth. Refrain: That beautiful name, That beautiful name, From sin has power to free us! That beautiful name, That wonderful name, That matchless name is Jesus! ! Website devotional on John 17:25-26 Heartlight.org 2 Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). In Harper's Bible dictionary (1st ed., p. 572). San Francisco: Harper & Row. 3 Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., & Harrison, R. K., Thomas Nelson Publishers (Eds.). (1995). In Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2