In our twentieth century Western culture, personal names are little more than labels to distinguish one person from another. Sometimes nicknames are chosen which tell something about a person, but even this is a poor reflection of the significance of names in the Bible. Unfortunately, to many the names God or Lord convey little more than designations of a supreme being. It says little to them about God’s character, His ways, and what God means to each of us as human beings. But in Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises. In Scripture, a person’s name identified them and stood for something specific. This is especially true of God. Naming carried special significance. It was a sign of authority and power. This is evident in the fact that God revealed His names to His people rather than allowing them to choose their names for Him. This is also seen in the fact that God often changed the names of His people: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel. Note also how this concept of authority and power is seen when Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel and his three friends.
There are a many places in scripture where just the name of God is used in reference to him. For example:
- Abraham called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8; 13:4)
- The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain (Leviticus 13:21; 22:2)
- To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God (Genesis 21:23)
This general reference refers to his whole Character and is a summary for everything he actually is. We see this is several places in the gospels as well.
- Salvation is found in his name. (John 1:12)
- Believers are to gather in his name. (Matthew 18:20)
- The Christian who bears the name of Christ will be hated. (Matthew 10:22)
There are also many places where we can read about and see a specific name of God. I would like to take one of today. I would like use the word Father today. Father is a distinctive New Testament revelation that we learn about from Jesus. Through faith in Christ, God becomes our personal Father. Father is used of God in the Old Testament only 15 times while it is used of God 245 times in the New Testament. It is Jesus who pushed this understanding for us and the other New Testament writers carried it further along. It was a brand new way of looking at how we relate to God. As a name of God, it stresses God’s loving care, provision, discipline, and the way we are to address God in prayer. These passages highlight several: (Matt. 7:11; Jam. 1:17; Heb. 12:5-11; John 15:16; 16:23; Eph. 2:18; 3:15; 1 Thess. 3:11).
For me personally, I think the best picture we can see is found in Luke 15 in the story of the Prodigal Son. The story goes like this. One day the younger of two Sons approached his Father and asked him if he could have his inheritance early before the Father died. Knowing that he could withhold the money from the son, the Father decided to let the Son go and make his own decision. A few days later the son takes off with his stuff and heads off to a distant land where he could live out his desire of wild living. Not long after he arrived in this land, he found that he had spent the entire inheritance and to add more trouble to his life, a severe economic crisis happens and a famine enters the land. In his desperation, he finds a job where he feeds pigs. Yeah, feeds pigs.
His situation is so critical that he longs to actually eat what he is feeding the pigs. It is in this desperation that his life takes a turn. His situation triggers a memory of his Father. There was something in the Father's face when the son left that must have said, “I love you and you can come back home. He begins the long journey home and when he nears the home, the Father sees him and runs down the road and embraces the son all the while kissing the son and pouring his love over him.
What a picture of who God is!! In the midst of the mess of our life, if we will come back to the Father, we can receive forgiveness and love. Do you know God in this way? Do you know that he is a loving Father who waits upon us to return and be restored. As you pray this week, I want to encourage us all to focus on God as our Father. The more we know him as Father, I believe will lead us to feel more comfortable in approaching him.
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