Yes! There is Good News! December 13, 2019

The God of the entire universe has a name and He warns us, in the third commandment, not to take it in vain. These things we began to take a look at in our previous article.

Moses asks God what His name is and God responds by telling Moses that He is “the All Existent One;” i.e. God tells Moses to say to the people that “I AM THAT I AM has sent me to you.” This episode takes place in Exodus 3:13-14. The reality of God’s name is that He is self-existent – He is life itself, and all living things get their life from Him. Isaiah, the prophet, calls Him “the living God” (as opposed to the pagan gods, who are made of wood and stone).

Some translators translate this four letter name of God (YHVH), as “the Eternal” but most translate it as LORD (with all capital letters).

OK, so let’s get to the gist of the matter! We know our Savior by the name of “Jesus.” But in Hebrew His name is really “Yahoshea.” We would pronounce it, in English, as Joshua. Our Savior’s name is derived from two words, “Ya” and “Hoshea.” The first part is the shortened form of God’s name “Ya.” The second “Hoshea” is derived from the Hebrew word for salvation – thus the true name for Jesus is actually “the salvation of YHVH” or “the LORD saves.” Sound complicated? Well maybe!! But I tell you this so you may see that when you are baptized into the name of Jesus, you are taking upon yourself the actual name of God.

Does one need to know all this in order to be saved? No! But it is important to see that when we take upon ourselves the name of the Son of God, we must not do so in an empty manner. The word “vain” has several nuances of meaning in the Bible; it can mean deceit, malice, falsity or emptiness. Some people feel that they should not use the word “God” with other “four letter” derogatory words, and they are correct! But the name of God is really attached to the life we lead as God’s children and as Christians. The negative attributes we present to the world around us truly brings an emptiness and deceit upon God’s name. His name is holy and we are to be holy as His representatives.

From one end of the Bible to the other we find the concept of God’s name being presented as much more than just the four letters that it is made of. My name is Bill. It consists of four letters and is only a syllable spoken to get my attention or to identify me. God’s name on the other hand is filled with His attributes and His personality!!

Let’s take a look at a few scriptures to show you what I mean. In Psalm 29:2 we read, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name.” His name has glory. In Psalm 33:21 we see, “In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.” His name is to be trusted. Psalm 52:9, “In your name I will hope, for your name is good.” There is hope in His name and it is good! Psalm 54:1 is interesting, “Save me, O God, by your name.. Here we find the lesson mentioned above concerning Jesus true name. In Psalm 83 the Psalmist asks (in verse 16) that men would “seek your name, O LORD.” And finally, in Psalm 124:8 we see that, “Our help is in the name of the LORD.”

This consideration of the name of God continues throughout the Bible. Perhaps next time we might put it all together and see what our duty is, so as to be “found blameless.”