NAMES OF THE LORD in the New Testament
The
LORD has revealed Himself through His Name.
Throughout the Scriptures, the LORD has chosen to reveal Himself to man
through several means:
God
has revealed Himself through Natural Revelation:
God revealed Himself in nature as we read in
Psalm 19 and Romans chapter 1.
Every man is without excuse because –
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3
God
has revealed Himself through Specific Revelation in His written Word:
Psalm 19:7-10
is a delightful passage that tells us how
profitable His written Word is – “The Law
of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the
eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances
of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desire are
they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the
honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping
them there is great reward.”
God
has revealed Himself through the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ:
God has even more specifically and wonderfully
revealed Himself through the incarnation of Jesus Christ –
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 We
also read in Colossians 2:9 – “For in
Christ was all the fullness of the godhead bodily.”
We learn from
Colossians 1:15-16 – that Christ . . .
is the image of the invisible God . . . “
that is, Jesus Christ is the visible
manifestation of the invisible God!
God
has revealed Himself through the declaration of His Holy Name:
The LORD has also chosen to reveal Himself in the
Old Testament and New Testament through the declaration of His Name.
(Exodus 33:19-20 and 34:5-6, John
17:26)
The
Name of the LORD is a DESCRIPTION of His character:
There are dozens if not
hundreds of Names associated with the LORD. Why would the LORD have so
many names? It’s quite simple really, if you want to know the LORD in
all of His fullness and glory, seek to know His Name(s). Each of the
Names is a description of another aspect of God’s goodness. Our
attempt in this study will be to reveal some of those Names which have
become so precious to those who know, love and worship the One Who is above
all others.
The
Name of the LORD is also a DECLARATION of His commitment:
The LORD commanded His
people to never take His Name if vain. Jewish people are so afraid of
offending the LORD of Heaven, that they will not even utter His Name.
From the surface, this may look like a great attempt to please the LORD and
never offend His holiness. But just the opposite is true. God
wants His people to know Him personally by His Name.
The
LORD first met with Moses at the burning bush on the backside of Mount Horeb
(Sinai). God commissioned Moses to go and deliver the people of Israel
from the severe bondage they endured in Egypt. You know the story.
You can read the full account in Exodus chapter 3.
But Moses made a valid point when he asked –
“Behold, when I come unto the children of
Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto
you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name? What shall I say unto
them?” Imagine that! Moses
didn’t even know who the LORD was! He knew that He was the
“God of our fathers”
but beyond that, he didn’t have a clue as to the
identity or even the character of God.
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He
said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me
unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you;
this is My Name forever, and this is My memorial
unto all generations.” Exodus
3:13-15
The ultimate sin of taking the LORD’s Name in
vain is to know it and not call upon Him when we have a special need.
Example: The LORD has revealed Himself as
Jehovah Jireh, “The LORD Who Provides.”
If we have a need for His provision and refuse to
call upon His covenant Name, we have surely taken that Holy Name in vain.
The God of Heaven wants us to call upon Him in faith as the Scriptures
declare – “Whatever is not of faith is
sin.”
The LORD is everything that His Name declares.
The Name of the LORD is truly a declaration of His commitment to His people!
Later, when the people were confronted with the walls of Jericho, I believe
that they lifted their voices in unity and called upon
Jehovah Sabaoth, “The Lord of Hosts or Armies”.
The walls fell and there was a great
victory as the Lord fought for the ancient people of Israel. During
this study, we will discover many of the wonderful Names of the Lord and
what those Names should mean to us when we are challenged by the problems of
life. The Names of God are a declaration of His eternal covenant with
His children! The Shepherd King of Israel declared –
“And they who know Thy Name will put their trust
in Thee; for Thou, LORD, has not forsaken those who seek Thee.” Psalm
9:16 David also wrote –
“Our help is in the Name of the LORD, Who made
heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8
Do
you know Him? Are you able to call upon His Name in faith? If
not, I sincerely hope you will know Him by the end of this fascinating
study.
When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He
informed them – “Hitherto have you asked
nothing in My Name. Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be
full.” John 16:24 The
importance of knowing His Name in prayer is expressed again in
John 14:13-14 – “And whatever ye shall ask in My
Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
ye shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it.”
The Name of the LORD is the
DELIGHT of His children:
To those of us who know
Him and love Him, the Names of God are the very foundation of our faith and
daily walk with Him.
It is
interesting, that the Name of the LORD is hated above all other names.
Satan, the enemy of God and man, despises that Name so much, that he
discredits it with every angry outburst of man.
And
yet, the Names of the Lord are precious to those of us who have come to know
Him by faith! I will begin our study with a brief list of some of the
Names of God, and then we will look at each one briefly.
“Jesus”
“Christ”
“Savior”
“Redeemer”
“Immanuel”
The “I AM’s”
listed in the Gospel of John:
“I AM the Bread of Life”
“I AM the Light of the world”
“I AM the Door”
“I AM the Good Shepherd”
“I AM the Resurrection and the Life”
“I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life”
“I AM the True Vine”
“Faithful and True”
“King
of kings, and Lord of lords”
This
is just a partial list of the wonderful Names of the Lord. We will add
more to the list as time permits.
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©2016 Discovery News
The Name of the Lord is a DESCRIPTION of His eternal character. The Name of
the Lord is a DECLARATION of His commitment to His people. The
Names of the Lord include the following plust many more: Jesus, Savior,
Christ, Redeemer, Immanuel, I AM, Bread of Life, Light of the world, Door,
Good Shepherd, Resurrection, Life, Way, Truth, True Vine, Faithful and True,
King of kings, Lord of lords.