Tag: names of God

Posted on

What’s in a Name?

I read about a boy who was learning to sail on Lake Michigan. His father was his instructor. The youngster had developed enough skill that his father permitted him and a friend to take out his 45 foot sailboat. If the winds were too strong, or if the weather was threatening, they would furl the sails and head for shore. His companion was not experienced enough to be of much help in a storm.

But if he sailed with his dad, he was not afraid of stormy conditions or heavy winds. His father had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and had survived five days of a hurricane. The boy knew his father was able to handle anything Lake Michigan could throw at them. “With him on board I had both companionship and confidence.”

That is the way it is with God almighty. Our creator wants to be our companion. He wants us to find our security in him. That is one of the benefits of meditating on scripture. The Bible reveals God to us. As we get close to him in prayer and the word, he gets close to us. This is theology made practical.

How may we understand God? How may we experience God? One way is to study the names of God that appear in scripture. In the Bible, a name usually denotes character. The names of God tell us what he is like. Carl Henry said that God’s name discloses his inner nature. Herman Bavink said, “In the biblical names of God our creator has introduced himself.”

For example, the name Elohim speaks of God’s power. The name Yahweh denotes his eternal self-existence. The name Adonai is used of his supreme authority. El Shaddai is a name that tells us that God is able, he is sufficient. Yahweh Jireh means, “the Lord will provide.” Yahweh Nissi means, “the Lord my banner” or flag of victory.

Yahewh Tsidkenu says that the Lord is our righteousness. Yahweh Ra’ah is “the Lord, my Shepherd.” Yahweh Rapha means, “the Lord who heals.” Yahweh Shalom is “the Lord my peace.” Yahweh Sabaoth means that he is the Lord of armies, the heavenly hosts. El Elyon tells us that he is the most high God. Yahweh Shammah means that the Lord is present with his people.

This is one way the Lord “introduces himself” to us. This is how he wants us to think about him. This is how he wants us to know him. He meets us in the different circumstances of our lives with exactly the aspect of his character that is suited for the occasion. With him as our companion, we do not have to fear the storms of life. He will be with us.

A college student approached A.W. Tozer with a question. He was troubled about how to understand the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Tozer answered, “Son, when you get back to college you’re going to find a lot of your friends gathered in a room arguing over Arminianism and Calvinism all night. I’ll tell you what to do.

“Go to your room and meet God. At the end of four years You’ll be way down the line and they’ll still be where they started. Greater minds than yours have wrestled with this problem and have not come up with satisfactory conclusions. Instead, learn to know God.”

J.I. packer said, “A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him.” One of the ways we may get to know him better is by the study of his names.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

Abraham’s God

Connie and I have been reading and discussing the saga of Abraham in the book of Genesis. We have been impressed by the man’s faith in the Living God. Responding to God’s call, he left his homeland and family and migrated to a new land which the Lord promised to give to him and his descendants.

One of the striking features of the story is his awareness of a personal God who spoke to him, guided him, corrected him when he was wrong, who blessed him materially, and who made an eternal covenant with him. We are told that Abraham believed in the Lord and the Lord “credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). He will do the same for us (Romans 4:23-24).

God revealed himself to Abraham as a living person. He has names by which he reveals himself. These names teach us about his nature and his purposes for Abraham and for us.

In Genesis 12 Abraham built altars of worship, “calling on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8, 13:4). In the new land, among people who did not know the Lord, Abraham demonstrated his faith in Yahweh, who would later explain the meaning of this name as “I am who I am,” the eternally self-existent God, the one who is the only God (Exodus 3:15).

After a successful military rescue mission to save his nephew, Abraham worshipped the Lord as God Most High and Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 14:19, 22). By these names and titles, Abraham testified that he was devoted to the supreme God who provided for all of his needs.

God identified himself to Abraham as God Almighty in Genesis 17:1. He intended to fulfill his promise to Abraham in spite of appearances to the contrary. Despite a long delay God Almighty would give Abraham a son through whom he would fulfill his covenant promise to bless all nations of the earth. The stress is on God’s power in the face of human helplessness.

Abraham’s prayer of intercession for the city of Sodom has much to teach us about approaching God. It was respectful and humble. Yet at the same time it was bold in expressing his desires. Abraham’s prayer in Genesis 18:25 was based on an understanding of God’s character, God’s authority and God’s willingness: “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham did not get what he asked for, but he trusted God to always do the right thing, even in judgment.

The name Eternal God is used in Genesis only in 21:33. Abraham invoked this name in worship, remembering that the God who made his unconditional covenant would keep his promises to him and to his descendants after him forever (Genesis 17:8-9).

Abraham’s God was, and is, the God of heaven (Genesis 24:7). He is also the God of earth. I think Abraham’s faith in this God is a beautiful and compelling example to us. He shows us that the transcendent God of heaven is not a remote abstraction beyond the stars, but he is also the God of earth who takes an active and personal interest in his people here.

As Connie and I have been reminded of Abraham’s faith, I have been praying for a greater faith in this living, personal God. Romans 4:20-22 says of Abraham: “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner