And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee, when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I am come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am has 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 has sent me unto you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Thus far, let's pray. Lord God, we thank Thee so much for Thy names, for the gift revelation contained in every name, for Thy wonderful self-disclosure, Thy revelatio, by which we may know Thee, may know Thy character, and may come to grasp what we need to grasp to live in comfort and die in peace. about Thee and about Thy salvation. Please, Lord, as we consider Thy names in this hour, give us a new appreciation. Give us a deeper insight. Give us a freedom to preach Thy names with relish and passion and commitment to Thy revelation. Be with us now, we pray, and help us in lecturing. Bless us in all our classes today, this week. Let Thy name receive all glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Well, today we want to look at the subject of the names of God, the names of God. The broad context of the whole question, who is God, which God progressively and cumulatively answers throughout the scriptures, is inseparable from his ongoing revelation about his names. By and large, scriptural revelation about God's names does not take place by man naming God, but by God naming Himself to man. Genesis 16, verse 13 is a notable exception. You remember where Hagar says, thou God seest me. She's actually giving, as it were, a name to God. And that's legitimate. But when we speak of the progressive revelation of God's names, we're thinking of names that he gives, names that he gives to himself as a gift to us. Now what is significant about God's names? Well, the significance is that the names are vehicles of revelation so that the names of God are God. They reflect the genuine character of God. And that is something that is very, very difficult for we moderns to fully grasp. We just had a few babies born in our congregation, and in at least one case, the parents named their child the particular name they gave for no other reason than the name sounded pretty. There was no content to the name that they were aware of. In fact, they didn't even know what the name meant. So, the name was just pleasant sounding. Well, that would have been unthinkable in Old Testament Israel. You either named your child after some prophetic pronouncement about what that child would be, or you name that child according to what you wanted that child to be. And maybe one reason why we feel so free today to name people, to name our children with almost meaningless names, or, in our Dutch background particularly, it was very strong that you named your child after your relatives, so you kept getting the same name coming back, It's extremely confusing in the family circle from generation to generation. And there was a whole pattern. In fact, still many people in our Canadian churches follow this pattern. You don't even really pick the name, because name one, you know, you've got to go by the bride's, the woman's father, and then name two, I think it's the husband's father, and then I think name three, it's the, you know, they go to grandmother or grandfather, and it gets real complicated. And people get very offended if you don't name your child according to that particular order. It's almost like a personal rejection. Now that too would have been unthinkable in Old Testament Israel. Now sometimes you notice that in Old Testament Israel that people name names that really were prophetically fulfilled and they're very appropriate. Other times, they're naming names that they wish were true, But the opposite proves true. I think the most notable one here is Absalom, which means son of peace in Hebrew. And of course, he was a son of war. Now, I wonder if in our English translations of our Bibles, if the names would also have been translated rather than left in the original. I wonder if we wouldn't have a whole different system of naming. our children today, I almost think so. But we've trivialized a name. A name is basically a label, something that sounds pleasant in our ears. But in former times, that name reflected who that person was to be. Now, you multiply that exponentially, infinitely, and this is what you have when you have the names of God. Every name of God is God. It tells us His character. It's a vehicle of revelation. Now, that has several consequences. things that we must understand. The first is, and I've got them listed for you, that every name is the gift of God. It's a gift of self-disclosure. God selects His names. Sometimes for very particular reasons, at very particular times, He seems to reveal those names. For example, when Abraham's in great need, Genesis 17, verse 1, God appears to him and says to him, I am God Almighty. There was a new name being revealed, God Almighty, walk before me and be thou perfect. So each name reflects God's gift, but each name also reflects God's being, the very being of God. That's why you get texts like this, Psalm 68 verse 4, Sing unto God, sing praises to His name. Say if you take my name, say, Joe. If you sing the praises of my name, there's a million Joes. How do I know you're talking about me? But God is an only God. There are no other gods. And you sing praise to His name, means you're singing praise to His being, because His name and His being are inseparable. So just as we say about His attributes, that the attributes are God, we can also say about the names of God, the names are God. And you find this language all the time in scripture. Let me just read you some text. Psalm 86 verse 11. Unite my heart to fear thy name. It doesn't say to fear God. Fear thy name. But it means fear God. Because the name is God. Psalm 100 verse 4. Give thanks unto him and bless his name. Psalm 111. Holy and reverend is his name. Malachi 4. To you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise. The New Testament does the same thing. But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. So you can believe on his name, you can trust in his name, you can fear his name, you can bless his name, you can praise his name, because, well, his name is God. Thirdly, God's name then, this is a natural outgrowth, reveals His character. His name, or His various names actually reveal His divine attributes. You see this in many places. Exodus 33 verse 19, I will make all my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord. It goes on and says that the name of the Lord is good. God's name as the good one is also reflective of his attribute of goodness. Exodus 34, verse 14, the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God. Isn't that an interesting one? There you have His name is jealous, his attribute is jealous. So you actually have whose name is jealous with a capital J is a jealous God with a small J. Isaiah 57 verse 15, the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy. but holiness is also his attribute. Attributes and names have quite a bit of overlap here, but the distinction is this. In these texts of scripture that identify his name with a particular attribute, that name is often set apart in a powerful way. Many names are not, strictly speaking, attributes, but those that are, it's done in kind of a graphic way, like this, the Lord whose name is Jealous. He's a jealous God. It shows you the tie-in, that God's name is always reflective of his character. Fourthly, God's names also signify God's authority. God's authority. A really good example of this is Deuteronomy 18, verses 18 through 20. I will put my words in his mouth, this is speaking about a prophet, and he shall speak all that I shall command him. My words, shall he speak, notice this, in my name. But that prophet that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, him have I not commanded. So God's name ascribes authority. Attach God's name to something. It's got divine authorization if God himself attaches it. Matthew 7 verse 22, Lord have we not prophesied in thy name? And of course Jesus refers to this often himself in terms of his own authority. I'll just give you one example, John 5 verse 43, but you could think of many others. I am come in my father's name and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, Him ye shall receive. What a condemnation that is of the people. I come in my Father's name, which is really the living God, the Yahweh, the creator of the ends of the earth, and you receive me now. If another come in his own name, which just reflects the essence at very best of a mere man, him ye will receive. So Jesus is really speaking here about a rejection of his own authority. And then fifthly, God's names reflect God's reputation, his own renown. And that's why you get texts like this, Joshua 7 verse 9. And what wilt thou do unto thy great name? Well, we all understand that as soon as we read it. This name is therefore wrapped up with God's reputation. Joshua 7 verse 9 is actually saying, what will you do with your reputation? But it's identified as your name. So your name is very much involved with your reputation. We even have some of that today. if we use your full name at least, which sets you apart from all other human beings, and we slander that name, you get very offended. So I could probably do several things that maybe weren't so nice, and you'd still say, well, all right, I wish you were a little different, but you're still my professor, I'll still have a little respect for him. But if I slander your name, if I went out of this room and talked badly about you and you heard about it and you had factual proof, you'd be crushed. You'd say, what did I do to have my name slandered? So the Bible speaks about names being cut off. It speaks about names rotting. speaks about ruining someone's name, speaks about good names and a good reputation that's far above rubies and all kinds of things. Reputation and names are bound up together. Well, much more so, that's true of God because He is His name. Nehemiah 9, verse 10, so didst thou get unto thee a name as it is this day. Get unto thee a name. Isn't that an interesting expression? Didn't God always have that? Well, of course God always had the name. But what Nehemiah is talking about is that among the people, because of God's actions, he built up a reputation and that is identified with his name. And if you think about it, even in our society, this is functioning all the time. It's functioning all the time. When you think of someone, even if it enters your mind, you think of a person. Subconsciously, you're thinking of all that you know about that person. And in your mind, There's a certain feeling you get about that person and a certain reputation that person has in your mind. Sometimes the reputation goes lower the more you get to know them. Sometimes the reputation goes higher. You come to appreciate them the more. And so our goal as ministers is to move our people to see God's name higher and higher and higher, to build God's reputation in the minds and souls of our people. That's why we've got to exalt God. We've got to love God. We've got to fear God. We've got to teach that from the pulpit. We've got to live that by example. because we ourselves as ministers can do a great deal of good or a great deal of harm to the name of God. That's in our power. And that's a scary thing, actually. But also it's a wonderful opportunity. And I think it's a great thing when people walk out of our sermons and say, What a great God we have. And just are filled with a sense of awe and worship. What we're really doing is we're magnifying God's name in our people, in God's reputation, in their mind. Not that you can ever magnify the essence of God. God is God. He can be no greater. but in having the people realize who he is, of course, there's a lot of progress that can be gleaned from a good preaching of God and of his names. So, I hope you understand now that this whole concept of the names of God, if you haven't understood it before, lies at the very core of what preaching is all about. It lies at the core of our religion. It's a fundamental thing. It has everything to do with the Old Testament concept of the fear of God, the childlike reverence and fear of God, what we think of the names of God. Now, these names didn't all spring on us overnight. I've already hinted that there was a progressive development in these names. I want to look at that next with you, our second main thought. We might say that the names of God come to us in four major stages. The first are the creator names. names like El and Elohim. Generic names, you might say, by which God is known as Creator. El and Elohim are two names that are generic, Semitic terms for God, which sometimes in the patriarchal period are intensified by their identification with a certain individual or a certain place, maybe, where God has manifest himself. By intensified, I mean usually a suffix that is added to specify. So, instead of saying El, Jacob called one place the El Bethel, where he set up an altar. So, he intensifies the word El. but really he's naming God, but he's attaching to God that special place. Now the word El, like nearly all expressions that are very common in the Old Testament, has been debated. It's been debated by Old Testament theologians, by Hebraic etymologists, Exactly what does that root mean? The one thing that all are agreed on is that the root L has something to do with the transcendence of God. God is above us. He's almighty. He's L. Icro, in his book, puts it like this. What is of primary importance in the name El is not the feeling of kinship with a deity, but the feeling of fear and trembling in the face of his overwhelming majesty. The name El teaches us that he's the Most High. He's the everlasting God. He's the God who is from age to age the Exalted One. And yet, what is characteristic of the biblical revelation is the way that the patriarchs use this word El in such a way that though God is high and exalted, he's also the one who identifies with them despite their frailty. The fact that Jacob could call on God as El Bethel where God had met with him. And you could glean other examples of this nature. It teaches us that the name El does not lock God up as a transcendent God and seal him away from humanity. He is transcendent, yes, but he's also available. He's also identifiable with humankind. Then secondly, there is the frequently used name for God, Elohim. Some scholars think that Elohim is the plural of Eloah, O-A-H, which, interestingly, the singular form, Eloah, is used almost exclusively in the Book of Job. Now, a great deal has been made of the name Elohim. and particularly because the singular verb is often used with what apparently is a plural name. And the conclusion drawn from that is that this plurality in unity is actually implicitly a revelation of the Trinity. Well, that sounds good, and I really want to believe that. I'm sure you do too. But we can't stretch this too far. Particularly when we remember that the word Elohim is also used of pagan gods in the Old Testament. We're not sure whether you can use Elohim in this sense. If you do so in the congregation, from the pulpit, don't make too much of it. It's also been suggested by some scholars that Elohim is some kind of plural of intensity, a plural of intensity, a stressing of the magnitude of God. He's so great. We speak of him in terms of plurality. Others say Elohim is a quasi-abstract way of expressing that everything about God is all that God ought to be and is all that God is. That's a form of intensity as well, I suppose. Willem van Gameren puts it this way, In the Old Testament Scriptures, when the title Elohim is used of the God of Israel, what is in view is the idea God is God's. He belongs to God. He is God. He's got everything. God is and has and possesses. Everything that is twisted in the pagan pantheons is unraveled in this truth of this God, who is like no other God. Some scholars even suggest that Elohim can be used within the context of the Old Testament as kind of a bridgehead to reach out into pagan cultures Much like Paul did in Acts 17. You can go to pagan people and show them that your God is Elohim. That is, He's everything that a God ought to be. Well, there's some ambiguity here, then, on some of these names. But you get the drift, I think, of the word El and the name Elohim. But we come now, then, to the second great category, second stage of name revelation, which, and I'm just, by the way, I'm just dealing with the major names here, of course. I don't have time to deal with all the individual names, much less all the individual names of Christ. There's 280 names of Christ in the Bible. Well, the second category then is the great name Yahweh. The great name Yahweh. All the names of God in the Bible, pale in significance, in the Old Testament's progressive revelation by comparison with its weighty and significant name used 6,000 plus times in the Old Testament and with its various combinations used 7,000 times in the Old Testament. So we might be prone to say If we want to ransack all that the Old Testament has to say about this name and really grasp this name, we've got 7,000 texts to study, which of course is exhaustless. Thankfully, there are certain places in the Old Testament where this name is revealed, that stand out head and shoulders. above a regular usage of the name, where you sense, even as you read it, that these are passages of primary importance in unveiling the name of Yahweh. Three of those particularly stand out. There is the Exodus 3 account, of which I've read a part to you, Exodus 3, 1 through 17. Then there is the Exodus 6 account, Exodus 6, 2-8, and then a long section which God reveals Himself as Yahweh from Exodus 33, verse 12 through 34, verse 14. So, the key book here in the Old Testament for revealing who Yahweh is, is indeed the book of Exodus. Well, what is in view in the divine revelation of the name Yahweh? Well, probably you know that scholars have talked about it in terms of what they call the Tetragrammaton. Tetragrammaton. and that refers to the fact that there are four letters in Hebrew that can often be put in the form of YHWH And then vowels have been supplied, of course, the A and the E to form Yahweh. No one knows if those vowels are correct, of course, because all we have is the consonants. So it's a reasonable, estimated, educated guess. But the Tetragrammaton refers to the four Hebrew letters. And they correspond, then, to Yahweh. And Yahweh is the name of the Almighty Father in heaven, commonly translated in our Bibles as Lord, King James Bible at least. with all capital letters but the last three letters in smaller form, sometimes translated, however, as God. Once in a while you'll see that as well with small capital letters, but usually Lord. The reason we see Lord and God is mostly due to a Jewish tradition. The Jewish tradition being that the name Yahweh was not to be spoken for fear that this highest name would be blasphemed. Now, though we appreciate the sense of reverence the Jews have for God's name in this regard, we at the same time, of course, as you know, declare that This is not the right approach, not to use the exalted name of God, because God wants His name to be exalted. So He wants it to be used. Psalm 68, verse 4, His name should be exalted. And certainly the third commandment forbids us from not using the name of God at all. We should use it. We shouldn't use it in vain, but we should use it. Now, how is this name, this Yahweh name, which, when God reveals it, connects it with the whole idea of His being? That's why I read to you the particular verses I did. The I am. The I am that I am. What are we to understand by these words, these semantic terms of the verb to be, in terms of the identity of God? So look again at verses 13 and 14 of Exodus 3. You see, God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shall thou say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent me unto you. We need to grapple. with what that means a bit. Now there are a number of ideas, a number of different scholars' ideas about the semantic and etymological ramifications of the I Am as the Yahweh identification of God. I'm going to give you four of them. All of them maybe perhaps have bits of truth, but none of them is fully satisfactory. And then we want to go on and look at some historical redemptive considerations of this name. The first is divine evasiveness. Some suggest that God's name of all names is deliberately evasive in character. Intended really to conceal more than to reveal. Have you ever tried to get to know somebody who says, well, I just am who I am. It's kind of a cop out. He's really hiding himself. He's saying, back off, I don't want to reveal my inside to you. And some people say, well, that's sort of what God was saying to Moses. I'm keeping myself to myself. I am who I am. But this view, in my mind, is just very contrary to the whole concept. Why would God use this name 7,000 times if he's trying to hide who he is? It seems strange to me to say that God is saying through this exalted, common name, mind your own business, keep your distance from me. I just am who I am. I don't want to reveal who I am. So there's very little, if any, truth in this position, in my opinion. The second scholarly idea is divine causation. Some have said, the I am that I am expresses the notion of divine causation. Because God is basically saying, I am the one who causes to be what is caused to be. Well, this is the view of a scholar named Albright. As someone has said, grammarians today have complained about Albright's dependence on a non-existent hyphal, a causative form of the verb to be, in this connection. Today this view has far less support than before it was associated with the name of Albright. So this view seems to be fading away. A more common view, thirdly, is that especially in the older writers, is that I am who I am just simply expresses the aseity, or you might say today, the independence or self-existence of God. An older Roman Catholic theologian who is in the Thomistic tradition by the name of Devoe, D-E-V-O-E, translates the name, I am he who exists. In some ways, he's encouraged by the Septuagint's translation, Haon, attracting the divine name to the metaphysical language of the Greek philosophers. And that's been precisely part of the problem as well, however, that some scholars complain that this whole idea that God is simply talking about his independence, his aseity, coalesces too much with the metaphysical character of Hellenistic philosophical thought. You know, the Hebrews tend to think concretely, and the Greeks tend to think abstractly and philosophically. And the contradiction here is that, well, the Old Testament scriptures are a Hebraic book, first and foremost, And to have a name of God that's 7,000 times, it seems to be abstract. It seems to be more Grecian-oriented. It seems contradictory. A fourth view is what might be labeled as divine futurism. The idea here is that what God is really saying is Moses, you go to the people, tell them that I am that I am has sent you, which really means I will be what I will be. I will be faithful to you. I will deliver you. Others detest this idea. They think it caves in to process theology. And Jorgen Moltmann, Bultmann always said, God is the one who meets us in the future. He comes to meet us in and from the future. He will be what He will be, and we're not even sure what He will be, but He's a changeable God, and He's in process. Well, all of these attempts maybe have a grain of truth. I mean, God is what he is and he will be what he will be, but certainly not in the approach of process theologians. And so, all of these views are flawed. And we can better turn to the scriptures themselves and look at historical redemptive approach and come closer to the truth Actually, if we look at these three passages in Exodus 3, 6, 33, and 34, and consider them in their actual context, we'll get a number of important clues as to the inner significance of this name. In other words, The best way to understand Yahweh is not to put the name under a microscope and study it and magnify it, but by placing this name in the actual context, in the flow of redemptive history into which it comes, and by seeing the merging of the giving of this name between word revelation, the words God is saying, and deed revelation, what God is doing in this context. And once we bring word and deed revelation together, contextually, we'll see that there are really three elements in this great divine name that we need to underscore. The first is, indeed, divine independence, divine independence, or divine aseity. The divine name, the name of all names, deliberately expresses divine independence. God is saying, I am that I am. There's no other like me. This is my himselfness, if you will. I am an altogether underrived being. All other being is derivative. All other being has a beginning. But I am who I am. My being is within my being. my being is independent of all other being for my being and of course this is something you want to look at even more deeply when we talk about the independency of God but the striking thing here is how the event or the deed revelation of God in Exodus 3 which God reveals himself to Moses in this burning but not consumed bush. It's amazing how the fire which burns in the bush is apparently independent of the bush for its energy. And so the bush is not consumed by the fire. And too often this has been ignored. This is significant. This is something special in the deed revelation. This miracle is a sign miracle pointing beyond itself to the very nature of the being of God himself. There is a fire that is utterly independent of the bush in the energy with which it burns. So unlike all other fire, this fire derives its energy from the fire. So paradoxically, the bush that is on fire is not consumed. So the energy involved in the fire is not derived from the bush, but from the fire itself. That is symbolic of who God is. God doesn't need anything outside himself. God is totally self-existent. Moses, come near. I am who I am. Gaze upon me, as it were, in the fire and see that I need nothing. I am who I am. The second is divine imminence. This too is hinted at by the phenomenon which draws Moses to the voice of God. The fire that is independent in the bush is still inextricably in the bush. There's an imminent relationship between the fire and the bush. And that imminent relationship is analogous to the way in which the transcendent God, who dwells in high and holy places, and whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, also dwells imminently with those to whom He is gracious. And the beauty of this picture of deed revelation, combined with the words God speaks to Moses, teaches us that the transcendent one is never a prisoner of his own transcendence. You can never box God in as someone who is wholly other. But God who is separate from his creation in one way, has been pleased to penetrate his creation in another way, so that he dwells among his own people and preserves them. He's the transcendent, imminent God. He's the fire that dwells in the bush. He comes to relate. He's imminent as well as transcendent. And of course, this is what the whole Bible reveals, not just this account. This is the picture of God everywhere, even already in paradise. God comes, the high and lofty one, comes into the creation scene, pre-fall, and walks with Adam and Eve. And then when they do fall, he comes again, doesn't he, and says, where art thou? God is an imminent, transcendent God. Thirdly, we understand this name Yahweh much better when we look at the concept of Divine Covenantal Redemption. Divine Covenantal Redemption. We must bring these two notions together and say, God transcendentally and imminently reveals himself through covenant and through redemptive covenant and that's underscored by the fact in Exodus 3 verse 6 that God who identifies himself as Yahweh in the same breath identifies himself in relationship to the covenantal dealings he has with with the fathers. Look at verse 6, which is the classic verse, where God says, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face. So what is happening here is that this portrayal, this combination of independence, transcendence, imminence, indwelling communion is rooted in this notion that God binds himself to his people and dwells among his people through these covenantal bonds. Covenantal bonds that he's already forged with their fathers. And so what God is doing, He's saying, I've revealed myself already to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and now in a fuller, clearer fashion, I'm revealing myself through the events of the Exodus, covenantally. What I've revealed in miniature form to the patriarchal family, I'm now representing in a magnified form as the living God coming down upon a whole people, the whole people of Israel, and bringing them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and stretching out my arm in mighty works of deliverance. And so that's why in that second account God says in Exodus 6, 6, verse 7, Exodus 6, 6 and 7, these are important words as well. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, I am the Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments, and I will take you to be for me a people, and I will be to you a God. You see the covenant language. And ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, the Yahweh your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." You see there, you have it all, don't you? I'm the Lord, the Independent One. I come down to my people. I make myself known imminently. I'm the one who redeems you and binds you to myself. I'll take you. You will be my people and I will be your God. So, when we think of the word Yahweh, we're not to define it narrowly in an etymological way only, but we're to look at it in this historic, redemptive context. It's not so much the semantics that define the term as it is the broad word-deed combination of revelation. And therefore, when we think of the word, We think of an unchangeable God who is independent, transcendent, imminent, covenantally faithful, a God who never changes. The I was who I was, the I am who I am, the I shall be that I shall be. And it's upon this God that we cast our souls and say, He says, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. We put all our confidence in him. He's faithful. He's the covenant establisher, the covenant keeper. So there's something very, very rich in this special name of God. And all of this is so Because of Jesus Christ, outside of Christ, this would not be possible. And that's my next thought here, you see. It's all because of Immanuel, which means God with us. Jesus Christ, in a sense, is the burning bush that is not consumed. God himself is with us. His name is Immanuel in Jesus. The transcendent becomes imminent in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ's whole ministry is really a revelation of God's name. That's why he says in John 17, verse 6, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. So, here's a place, one of many places, where we need to recognize that the work of Jesus Christ cannot be described in just one simple sentence, but only as a compound, complex sentence. Just as the interpretation of the atonement can never be satisfactorily expressed by only one theory of the atonement, but there's many diverse aspects of the atonement. Tributaries are the facets of atoning work that are accomplished by Christ on the cross. So this whole ministry is placed under this one rubric. I'm a revealer of thy name, O God. But there's a thousand tributaries. in Jesus carrying out that ministry. The one who's in the bosom of the Father has come. The one who's seen the Father face to face has come to manifest His name. And as Jesus comes to manifest that name, He takes, as it were, the supreme Old Testament name And through his own work, he provides for us a new, relatively new at least, but a much more profoundly revealed New Testament name, a consummation of God's name, which is especially the name Father. And in a Trinitarian way, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so Jesus inaugurates in his ministry the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He brings this combination of unexplained diversity of his ministry, coupled with the principle of unity, It says in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20, that through his incarnation and ministry and death and burial and resurrection, and now being on the point of ascension, that his whole work, his whole work, all that he's doing in all its facets is designed to reveal, to manifest God's name. And now we learn. clearer than we ever saw it in the Old Testament, that through the Messiah, the Son of God, becoming Son of Man, dying for sinners, the Yahweh, the transcendent, unchangeable, covenant-keeping, faithful God, is our God and our Father. So how do you pronounce the name Yahweh? Well, maybe it's providential we don't know exactly. Because really the way we pronounce the name Yahweh is Father. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So the Old Testament revelation of the names of God comes to its consummation in Jesus Christ who reveals really the Trinity through the Father. as it has never been revealed with such freedom and liberty before and so what happens is this just as Hebrews 1 verse 1 and the subsequent verses, the opening verses of Hebrews indicate to us that there are many things about the revelation of God and His Son that you can't understand If you have only an Old Testament in your hand, God in these last days has spoken in divers ways to us through His Son. Now once you know that, then you go back and you read the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament. You see these divers ways as you never could see if you have only the Old Testament. Like that Jewish boy that I sat next to on the boat going over to Long Island to see the Statue of Liberty, who was reading his Bible. And I said to him, have you ever read Isaiah 53? He said, oh yes, very familiar with Isaiah 53. Have you ever thought that this might be a revelation of the Messiah, the Messiah that's revealed in the New Testament? We're not to read the New Testament, he said. And no concept of who that Messiah really is. Had the Old Testament, but didn't have the New. And you see, when we don't have the New, we're incredibly blinded. Talk about seeing through a glass darkly, then it becomes very dark. And too often we We overestimate what the Old Testament saints know, I'm afraid, because, well, they didn't have the new to illuminate the old. Yes, maybe in some ways they knew more than what many modern scholars attribute to them. But this is the same thing with Jesus' names, you see. Once we have the name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Once we have the understanding of Trinity, the glorious Father name, coming through Christ and being applied to our soul by the Spirit, we worship God as Father. Once we have that, we look back at the Old Testament and we read the Old Testament differently as well. We see really He's been a Father to Israel all along. and he's preparing and building this progressive, historic, redemptive unveiling. He's been building this gift revelation of his names, culminating in this name of all names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ask you if you have any questions at this point. I think the way I would handle that, I'd have to study that more to answer that probably more fully, but I think that the so-called two creation accounts are actually pictures. Think of a photographer taken from different angles. if I perform a marriage in church, the photographer will go up in the balcony, in our church anyway, and take a shot from top down. And when you see it later in the book, the couple looks very distant, but it's kind of a neat look, it's a transcendent look, coming down, almost like coming down from the heavens. And then, I don't know how he does it, but somehow he'll take a shot, and they're saying their vows, It'll be very, very close up, very intimate. See every little expression on their face and it's like, wow, he's right there. He's standing like three feet away. And I think that's what's happening. Genesis 1, we're getting this picture from high up. God, Elo. or El, created the heavens and the earth. He's the exalted one. He did this the first day. He did that the second day. It's majestic. It's not too personal. But then in Genesis 2, you picture a God who's intimate, a God who's in covenant, a Yahweh God who comes close, creates man. Suddenly we're standing very close. We're seeing the rib taken out of Adam. And it's a whole different perspective. So that actually is a beautiful, beautiful picture of illustrating exactly what I'm trying to say. You know, the transcendency of God and the imminency of God coming together at all points in scripture. And the beautiful thing about this I think is that there's not a single religion in the world, other than Christianity, that has this combination. Islam has a transcendent Allah that can save you today, damn you tomorrow, and save you on Thursday, and damn you on Friday, and you just do your best and you hope for the best. And all the pagan religions, they only have a God that's a cow or something around you. Something that's imminent, but it's not transcendent, can't help you. Only in Christianity do you have a transcendent, imminent God, Yahweh, Father, Heavenly Father. All right, let's look then just a little bit longer at these names. Maybe we can finish this lesson today. I have a little excursus here that I want to bring to you on compound names. There are many names we're not going to cover here. You can look them up in dictionaries and books of theology. But as an excursus, I think it's good to consider just a few of the many compound names of God. The compound names of God are usually associated with certain adjectives or nouns or verbs. And one that occurs rather often, beginning in 1 Samuel, but only in the Old Testament, is Sabaoth, which is literally Yahweh Sabaoth. it's really a compound brought into one word the Lord of Sabaoth often translated the Lord of Hosts the Lord of Hosts a host is a multitude in scripture it refers either to a multitude of heavenly bodies like angels Genesis 2 verse 1 or to a multitude of people especially armies Genesis 21 verse 22. So that's why the word Lord of Hosts is often interpreted as either the Lord of the heavenly bodies or the Lord of the armies of Israel. Now, this phrase then indicates the vast power of God God has huge armies in heaven and on earth. If His power resided merely as the Lord of the armies of Israel, His power would be very limited. But He is the Lord of hosts, also of the hosts of heaven. So ultimately, We have here a term that magnifies the power of God. God is the commander of the angelic armies. These armies fight on Israel's side, so long as Israel is faithful to God, of course. And so throughout the scriptures, you find this incredible connection between the heavenly armies and the armies of Israel. You don't have to choose between them. Israel is faithful. God's armies of heaven are fighting for Israel on earth. And the comfort of that is for the believer today. When you walk in the ways of the Lord and you know the favor of God, you may know that God is almighty in your life, not only, but that even His angels are ministering to you. You've got the powers of the heavenly hosts on your side. What a comfort that name is, the Lord of Hosts. So even if you feel persecuted, even if you feel alone in the world, even if you feel deserted by men, you have the power of God with you. You have all you need. I remember not the Rev. El-Saud who is still alive, preacher in Chilliwack, but his father, Rev. Ari El-Saud, telling me the story that when he was in Nigeria on a dirty, dusty road, he saw a little old rickety pickup truck come by him. And on the side of the truck was written the words, God plus one equals maturity. And that really, really struck him and encouraged him because he thought to himself, even though I'm all alone here in Nigeria, actually he died in Nigeria, went to be the Lord in Nigeria. Though I'm all alone here in Nigeria, God is on my side, all the hosts of heaven are on my side. I really have majority power. I cannot be deserted. A name like Lord of Hosts is a very encouraging name to preach on, and many of these compound names actually make wonderful sermons just to preach on the names of God. In fact, we published, I forget the name right now, we published about three years ago a book just called The Names of God. And they're all sermons on these various names. El Elyon, El Elyon. is translated the Most High God. The Most High God. That's a divine name associated with Melchizedek in Genesis 14. The Moabite prophet Balaam also used it in Numbers 24. And he gives us the impression there that it was a very old name for God, known even before the calling of Abraham. The word Elyon simply means high. It can refer to the position of objects. It could be high, Genesis 40, verse 17, or to the exaltation of kings and nations, as in Deuteronomy 28, verse 1. So it's a metaphorical term that expresses the height of God. God is exalted. He's the king of kings. God is high. Like a king is high, a nation is exalted. God is exalted. He has dominion. He's high enough to have dominion over all things. So you can go to this God who's high and lifted up and trust that He's in control. over all things. He is the Most High God. If you become ministers of the Gospel, there'll be times you need this name. Times you'll feel weak, and lonely, and deserted, where you need the Most High God. You need to reset your vision, and know that your God is the Most High, and He will help you. He's exalted. Number three, scripture also mentions a number of compound names with Yahweh that commemorate various events in the history of redemption. Sometimes they're the names of altars or various places. You've got Jehovah Jireh, for example, Jehovah Jireh, J-I-R-E-H, the Lord will provide, in Genesis 22. where God provides a ram as a sacrifice in the place of Isaac. What a wonderful name this is, because it really ultimately speaks of Jesus Christ. As Abraham said, it's almost a play on words, but Abraham said to Isaac, the Lord will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And literally that happened. The Lord provided himself to be a lamb for a burnt offering. And so, in Jesus Christ, the Lord will provide for every need of his people. Then you have Jehovah Nissi. Jehovah Nissi. N-I-S-S-I. Which is really, the Lord is my banner. In Exodus 17, Israel prevails against Amalek as long as Moses' hands are raised. They win the battle because Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' hands until victory comes. And so we read in verses 15 and 16 of Exodus 17, Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is my banner. He said, for hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. So rather than holding up a banner extolling Israel's glory, Moses holds up his hands to God. The Lord is his banner. He doesn't need a physical banner because God is his banner. And Israel prevails by grace. So what an encouragement this is that you see the world with all its power and all its splashiness and its modernity and all its banners and its paraphernalia. But what we need is lifted up hands to the living God, crying out to Him, for He is our banner. He will strengthen us. He will help us. Then you have Jehovah or Yahweh. Shalom. Shalom. The Lord is peace. Gideon. You know the story. Gideon built an altar after God revealed Himself to him and said, Go forward. And he called the altar Yahweh Shalom. which, of course, points us to the prince of peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Messiah, finally, is also called Yahweh Tzikidnu, the Lord Our Righteousness, the Lord Our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23, verse 6. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. What a glorious name this is. God is so intent on redeeming His people and He's willing to transfer His righteousness to them and their unrighteousness to Him. Well, a great deal more could be said about these various names of God, but you'll get more of this in the biblical theology classes. Let me just close by giving you a few thoughts about the appropriate use of these names, just making it a bit practical. I've got two things I want to say. I want to speak about reverence, and I want to speak about gospel privilege. When it comes to the names of God, we are then to use these names reverently, reverently. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God, this is the Yahweh name, in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20, verse 7. To take his name in vain is to lift it up, to use it, to utter it, vainly, that is, pointlessly, or futilely, or falsely, or foolishly. We must take up his name, but we must do it with reverence, not foolishly, faultly, with fault, or pointlessly. There's a broad scope here to this. A broad scope. Because everything associated with God's name involves everything of God. It involves God's reputation as we've seen, God's authority, God's attributes, God's very being. And therefore, we're really called to reverence everything that is of God. And the third commandment forbids us ultimately to dishonor whatever dishonors God. So we must not profane God's name. We must not blaspheme God's name. These are all scriptural phrases. We must not despise God's name. We must not lightly esteem God's name. We must not pollute God's name. We must not defile God's name. But everywhere, we must reverence His name. That means we must reverence the things of God as well. We must reverence His day. We must reverence His word. We must reverence His people. There's a certain reverence we have, certain sacred reverence we must have for all the things of God. Then there are duties also involved here. Not only must we not misuse it, but we must use it by loving God's name and proclaiming God's name and esteeming God's name and magnifying God's name. Oh, there's so much detail here. And you could have a whole sermon just on this thought alone, but all the different ways to use God's name in a way that honors him. And then God enforces this in the third commandment by saying, I will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. So God takes his name very seriously. The unpardonable sin, did you ever think about this? The unpardonable sin is not rape, or adultery, or murder, but it's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, against the name of God. So God wants to enforce it, that we don't take His name lightly. We must flee from everything that would bring reproach upon His name. And then finally, we must notice, if we use his name rightly, the gospel privileges that are ours. We have the privilege, the incredible privilege, of drawing near to God as our Father. For believers, in a filial manner. After this manner, therefore, pray ye, Matthew 6, verse 9, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." You could say, Father, Father, or Dear Father, or Tender Father. What a privilege. Secondly, we should also address the Son of God in an evangelical manner as well. remembering that in Him alone we have salvation. So we read in Acts 2.21, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Kyrgios, meaning Jesus. Romans 10 verses 9 and 13, If you shall confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, Kyrgios, shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. John Owen has a wonderful section in his book talking about particular times where you should call upon the name of Jesus and the particular times you should call upon the name of the Holy Spirit when you come to God. Excuse me. When you come to God in prayer. This will happen to you sometimes in the pulpit too. The third thing you need to know is it's a gospel privilege to address the Holy Spirit. What a blessing it is sometimes to just simply say, Holy Spirit, teach me to pray. And to appeal to Him in the very areas where He ministers to us. It's a gift of heaven to be able to turn to each of the three persons of the Trinity, to turn to them collectively, but also to turn to their particular names individually and appeal to them and pray to them on the basis of those names. Actually, if you look upstairs in a book by James Large, spelled just like the word large, It's called 280 Names and Symbols of Christ. You just page through that and you just look at the names and you can just go from name to name and say, you know, I could really turn that name into a prayer. I could turn that name into a prayer. I could turn that name into a prayer. You can address God by his names in prayer, find great comfort. The names of God are a wellspring of comfort for his people. Any closing questions?