What is in a Name?

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 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.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Now,...

Deuteronomy 5:11 ESV

“ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

Of all the Commandments modern society deeds inconsequential, the Third Commandment is perhaps judged the most trivial. Even the Fourth Commandment is still held in great esteem in Europe, because Europeans recognize the importance of having one day in seven for rest. However, it is almost impossible to get through a day without hearing God’s Name profaned. For example, the other evening Lorna and I were watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel. In this show some amazing archaeological discoveries were being made. At each discovery, the geologist on the team would say, “Oh my God!” She was reducing God’s holy Name to a mere exclamation mark.

Perhaps you may be thinking at this point, “Come on Pastor, isn’t this being a little legalistic?”

Actually not. There is more to God’s Name than most people realize. The consequences of using God’s name in a profane, that is a common way, are more severe than you realize. My goal this morning is to show you that misusing God’s Name is no mere peccadillo.

The first thing we need to understand is that a person’s name represents them.

God’s Name Represents Him

In America, many parents give little consideration as to the meaning of their child’s name. When they picked that name, they placed other considerations first. For example: is that name “popular”, do they like how that name sounds, or does it fit some naming convention. For example, in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The seven Pontippee brothers were giving Biblical names, in alphabetical order: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank (for frankincense), and Gideon.

This is not at all how it is in other cultures, especially ancient biblical cultures. In these cultures, the meaning of names was taken very seriously, even to the point that a person’s name would be changed in later life in order to correspond to who they were. For example, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham because he would become the father of many nations. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter because his confession of Jesus as the Messiah was the rock upon which Jesus would build His church.

You are aware that God has revealed Himself to us in Scripture by the use of many Names. This morning, I want to focus on the most import three:

First, is God’s covenantal name—Yahweh. This name applies to all three members of the Trinity. It is the Divine Name given to Moses in our first Scripture lesson. In that passage, Moses wanted to know what he is to tell Israel when they ask him, “who sent you”. God’s answer was, “tell them I AM sent you”. Yahweh means “I AM”. This name communicates to us that God is not like any other being. All angelic and human beings are creatures. This is even true of even the powerful fallen angels that are behind every false religion. Even though they are called “gods” (with a small g), they are not self-existent. There was once a time in which they were not. They can experience change. They are not necessary.

God however, is self-existent. God does not change because He is perfect in every way. He is necessary for everything else, but nothing is necessary for Him. I now this all sound philosophical, but actually as we will see in the second point this is very practical. In fact, it is the most practical theological truth there is!

The second name of God I want to focus on is the name “Father”. This name is associated with the First Person of the Trinity. When we read the word “God” in our Bibles this is who it is normally referring to. For example:

2 Corinthians 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

Clearly there is a distinction between the Father and the Son, in this verse. I chose this verse because it beautifully highlights for us why the First Person of the Trinity chose to reveal Himself to us as a Father. He is “Father”, because He is full of love towards His children. This name teaches us that when we think of God, we are to think of a person who loves us like a father.

The third name I want to highlight is the name “Jesus”. The angel explains to Joseph why the child born to Mary should be called “Jesus”:

Matthew 1:21 ESV

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus means “Savior”. Of all thing things Jesus is, He is preeminently “Savior”!

As I was explaining the meaning of these three Names, I am sure you can see that I have already begun speaking on the second point, that is...

God’s Name Reveals God’s Attributes

An attribute is a quality that a person possess. For example, we can say that Elon Musk is a savvy businessman. The attributes of God are many, this is why He has revealed Himself to us in so many names, but for now, I want to focus of the three names I have already introduced. The Name Yahweh speaks to God’s strength. In the book of Proverbs, we read:

Proverbs 18:10 ESV

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

What a beautiful and powerful word picture is being drawn for us in this proverb. In the ancient world, fortified towers were built as a place of refuge. If an enemy was seen, the people would run and hide themselves in the tower for safety. According to this Proverb, Yahweh is like a strong tower, when trouble comes, the righteous person runs and hides himself in God.

The Name Father speaks of God’s loving power. In a loving, healthy home, every child’s first “super hero” is their father. It is not just that our fathers love and care for us, but they protect us. “Our Father, who art in Heaven”. The opening words of the Lord’s Prayer are not a statement about location, but rather power! The God, who is our Father, sits upon the Throne of Heaven! The troubles that too big for us are not too big for our Heavenly Father. When life feels totally out of control, God the Father is in total control!

The Name Jesus speaks of His salvation. In Acts 3, Peter and John have just healed a man who had been lame for forty-years. Afterwards a large crowed gathered to hear them preach in the Temple. The Jewish authorities asked Peter and John, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” In response, Peter said:

Acts 4:12 ESV

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

There is no other Name that can save us other than the Name of Jesus!

Taken together, these three Names, Yahweh, Father and Jesus give us hope in any situation. There is nothing “common” with these Names at all. To misuse them. To reduce them to something that is “common” such as an exclamation mark or a curse make God small in our hearts and in the hearts of those who hear us. This brings us to the third and final point:

God’s Name Exposes Your Heart

According to Jesus, our words expose what is really in our hearts:

Luke 6:45 ESV

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

We have all used God’s name as an expletive, and most of us have done so thoughtlessly. I am sure all of you would not purposefully misuse God’s name. However, I want you to consider this, is not the thoughtlessly of our action exposing the real problem? Remember, when the Bible speaks of our “heart” is refer to the entire inner man—including our thoughts.

If God is God. If He is what His Names represent; then to not have Him as the center of our thoughts and emotions reveals that we have made God small. In other words, we have made an idol!

Yes, an idol!

You see, the Third Commandment is about verbal idolatry! God is not an exclamation point! God is not a talisman that we “curse” other people with. God is God!

Misusing God’s name does not just make God small in our own heart, it can make God small in other people’s hearts. I began my sermon today speaking about how our society considers the misuse of God’s name is inconsequential. Is it any wonder then that so many in our society live their lives as if God is inconsequential!

Brothers and sisters, if there “is no other name given among men by which we must be saved” other than the name Jesus, then we must be very serious about obeying the Third Commandment. Of all the Commandments, this is the commandment most closely associated with the work of evangelism. If the Great Commission is going to be fulfilled in our lifetime, we must learn to guard our lips.