Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

This evening we begin our study of the names of God.

Put up chart on the screen.

I have prepared a chart for you, a comprehensive list of names in both the O.T. and N.T.

When we end this study, I hope you will have each name filled in, giving you a chart to keep at home for your personal study.

I did not include Scripture references, for there are far too many.

However, if you want, you can write the references or any other personal notes on the back of each page.

We will begin with the most common name for God.

It is the name “Elohim.”

There are four names by which God revealed Himself to man early in Scripture and human history.

All four are found in the early chapters of Genesis.

They are “God” (in Hebrew, Elohim), “LORD” (in Hebrew, Jehovah), “Almighty” (in Hebrew, El Shaddai), and “Most High” (in Hebrew, El Elyon).

As we will see, each of these names reveals some distinct attribute or characteristic of God.

In addition to these, we also have three other equally significant names.

However, the difference is this.

These three names give a description of God’s relation to certain things or people rather than emphasize His nature.

The three names are “Lord” (in Hebrew, Adonai), “The Everlasting God” (in Hebrew, El Olam), and “Lord of Hosts” (in Hebrew, Jehovah Sabbath).

The first four names tell us what God is.

These names of God have always provided rest, refuge, and comfort to God’s people.

Many Psalmists use these names repeatedly.

Indeed, one Psalm gives all four names in just two verses.

Psalm 91:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord (Jehovah), He is my refuge and my fortress: My God (Elohim); in him will I trust.

Why so many names for God?

The answer is simple.

God is so wonderful and magnificent that a single name cannot fully speak of all that He is.

Thus, each differing name contains something about Him.

An excellent example of this would be King David.

To honestly know David is to know him as a Shepherd, a Warrior, a King, a Prophet, a Poet, and a Musician.

Each of which David indeed was gives us a unique understanding of David’s character.

In much the same way, each name of God reveals a little more about His glory.

He is the God, the Maker, the Judge, and the Savior of all, who in and of Himself is also Love, Power, and Wisdom.

All of which He reveals Himself to man so that we might know His nature and His relationships to those who know Him not and those who know Him personally.

And so, over time, God revealed Himself to men.

He has also revealed Himself to His children so that we might grow to be like Him.

For this reason, a study of God’s names does much for us.

If nothing else, this study will help us learn more about Him so that we might be more like Him.

In the end, I believe that our analysis will lead us to cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD God, Almighty, Most High, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory!”

Our study must then begin with the first name under which God revealed Himself to man.

It is the name “God” or, as in the Hebrew, “Elohim.”

It is the only name listed in the first chapter of Genesis.

A name that is repeated throughout the entire chapter continuously.

Long before man’s creation, it was God who willed into existence our entire universe.

He created both the heavens and earth.

When the earth was utterly void and without any form existing in total darkness came God’s spoken Word.

God created first His light, then life, and then man in His image.

We must consider and understand several peculiarities connected with “Elohim.”

In Hebrew, the name “Elohim” is a plural noun.

It is first and primarily used in Scripture to describe the One true God.

However, it is also used in a much lower sense regarding other gods and lords that the unbelieving heathens feared and worshiped.

Let’s consider its primary use, and it will help us better understand how it was applied to heathen gods and idols.

"Elohim” Signifies a Triune God.

Here are some examples.

Isaiah 45:5 (KJV 1900)

5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, There is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Isaiah 45:22 (KJV 1900)

22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else.

Genesis 1:26 (KJV 1900)

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 3:22 (KJV 1900)

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Genesis 11:7 (KJV 1900)

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

Isaiah 6:8 (KJV 1900)

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Remember now thy Creator [“Creators” in the Hebrew] in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

Job 35:10 (KJV 1900)

10 But none saith, Where is God my maker [“makers” in the Hebrew], Who giveth songs in the night;

Proverbs 9:10 (KJV 1900)

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy [“Holy Ones” in the Hebrew] is understanding.

Isaiah 54:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For thy Maker [“Makers” in the Hebrew] is thine husband [“husbands” in the Hebrew]; The Lord of hosts is his name; And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Isaiah 6:3 (KJV 1900)

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV 1900)

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Thus, the significance here is that God is one but three.

His name is plural yet is often connected with singular verbs and adjectives, signifying His plurality and singularity simultaneously.

“Elohim” Signifies a Covenant Relationship

“Elohim” is formed from the Hebrew word “Alah.”

“Alah” literally means to swear.

God describes Himself as One Who stands in a covenant relationship that is ratified by an oath by His very name.

If you recall, Genesis 1:1 gave us this first name of God.

He was “Elohim” long before men knew Him as “Jehovah.”

Thus, by His name “Elohim,” we know that God had already had a plan for man long before he was created.

And, it would seem, based on Genesis 3:4-5, both the Serpent and Eve knew “Jehovah” by His name “Elohim.”

Even then, God had already provided men with the understanding that He is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and a God of covenant relationships.

And, as “Elohim” (the God of a covenant relationship), He expresses these relationships.

His Relationship within the Godhead

Now, I will not spend a lot of time on this point.

My reason is this.

None of us can ever truly comprehend the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Suffice it to say is this.

His name, “Elohim,” declares the plurality of God.

He is three persons, but yet one.

He has certain relationships, both in and with Himself as God, that can never be dissolved or broken.

It is indeed the great mystery of the Trinity.