Follow this link to hear a beautiful rendition of an old classic.

The most common and the most important name for God in the Old Testament is a name that in our English versions never even gets translated.  Whenever you see the word LORD in all capital letters in your English translation, you know that this name is behind it.  In Hebrew the name had four letters - YHWH - and may have been pronounced something like Yahweh.

The Jews came to regard this word with such reverence that they would never take it upon their lips, lest they inadvertently take the name in vain.  So whenever they came to this name in their reading they pronounced the word “adonai” which means “my lord.” The English versions have basically followed the same pattern.  They translate the proper name Yahweh with the word LORD in all caps.

This is not a very satisfactory thing to do, because the English word LORD does not communicate to our ears a proper name like John or Michael or Betty.  But Yahweh is God’s proper name in Hebrew.  The importance of it can be seen in the sheer frequency of its use.  It occurs 6828 times in the Old Testament.  That’s more than three times as often as the simple word for “God” (Elohim - 2600.  El - 238).  What this shows is that God aims to be known not as a generic deity, but as a specific Person with a name that carries his unique character and mission.

(Note: The word Jehovah originated from an attempt to pronounce the consonants YHWH with the vowels from the word adonai.  In the oldest Hebrew texts there are no vowels.  So it is easy to see how this would happen since whenever YHWH occurred in the text the word adonai was pronounced by the reverent Jew.)

The most important text in all the Bible for understanding the meaning of the name Yahweh is Exodus 3:13-15.  God has just commanded Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people Israel out of captivity.  Look at what Moses says to God in verse 13.

Now notice that God gives three answers to the question, “What shall I tell them your name is?”  Second, in verse 14 God says, “I AM has sent me to you.”  Third, in verse 15 God says, “Yahweh…has sent me to you…this is my name forever.”  So two facts persuade me that this text provides an interpretation of the name Yahweh. 

One is that the name Yahweh and the name I AM are built out of the same Hebrew word (hayah).  The other is that Yahweh seems to be used here interchangeably with I AM.  “I AM has sent me to you” (v.14).  “Yahweh…has sent me to you” (v.15). 

I think it would be safe to say that God’s purpose in this meeting with Moses is to reveal, as he never had before (Ex.  6:2), the meaning of his personal name Yahweh.  The key is in the phrase I AM and especially in the phrase, I AM WHO I AM.  So here is where we ought to spend a lot of time meditating.  What does it mean when you ask your God, Who are you? and he answers, I AM WHO I AM? 

There are a number of implications that are apparent in the divine name, I AM WHO I AM.  I hope to examine some of these in the days ahead.

In Psalm 9:10 the Bible says, “And those who know your name will put their trust in you.”  This Scripture says that people who know God’s name will trust him.  It is important to know the names that God is called by in the Bible. 

The reason knowing the names of God is important is that it will help us trust him with our daily affairs and with our eternal destinies because in scripture a person’s name often signifies his character or ability or mission - especially when the name is given by God. 

Adam names his wife Eve, because she is mother of all the living (Gen.  3:20).  God changes Abram’s name to Abraham to show that he had made him the father of many nations (Gen.  17:5).  God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah (Gen.  17:15).  He changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen.  32:28).  And when the Son of God came into the world his name was not left to chance: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

When our sons were born I wanted them to have names that were significant.  So I named the first one David, after an uncle of mine that had been influential in bringing me back to God but also after the greatest king of Israel, God’s champion.  The second one I named John, again after several Godly men that we had known that had impacted our lives, but also after the writer of the gospel that bears his name and the epistles and Revelation, a man who loved Jesus Christ and whom Christ dearly loved. 

It was in hope that I named them, hope that they would be like the Godly men they were named after.  Now there is a big difference between me and God (that is obviously a tremendous understatement).  When I name someone, I don’t have the power or the authority to make the person fit the name.  I gave names in the hope and prayer that my sons will become what their names imply. 

But God has the right and the power to cause anyone He names to become what the name implies.  The names He gives are sure indicators of the destiny of those He names.  And when He names himself, we may be sure the name is packed with who He is and what He intends to do.  God chooses names for the sake of revealing things about himself that will deepen our love for him and strengthen our faith. 

In the next several days I want to examine some of the names that Scripture gives us for God and think of the implications for these names.

In this video a secular comedian is standing before a secular audience and tells us how he would introduce Jesus Christ.

Theologian Erich Sauer has written:  “The present age is Easter time.  It begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer and ends with the resurrection of the redeemed.  Between lies the spiritual resurrection of those called into life through Christ.  So we live between two Easters, and in the power of the first Easter we go to meet the last Easter.”  The last Easter to which Sauer refers is, of course, the bodily resurrection of the saved.  Scripture speaks of that resurrection of the righteous in several places calling it the first resurrection.  The second is the resurrection of the unrighteous (John 5:29).  It is of the first resurrection that Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 15. 

The apostle has reminded the Corinthians that they already believed in Christ’s resurrection (15:1-11) and that logically they must also believe in their own resurrection and that of all saints, mentioning several disastrous and absurd consequences that would result if they were not raised.

Paul makes it clear that without the resurrection, Christianity is a farce.  In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 he plainly states that if Christ is not raised from the dead then our sins are not forgiven, there is no faith and if our hope is in this life only, we are those who are to be pitied.

In light of all that the Bible has to say about the necessity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Christian faith (Romans 10:9), it always amazes me that there are people who deny the resurrection but still claim to be Christians.  This article by Dr Albert Mohler tells of one such testimony.

The story is told of Harold Fortescue, a budding newspaper reporter, who was sent to cover a local social function.  It was his first assignment.  He expanded himself and submitted to his editor two dozen pages of typewritten oratory.  The editor did not even glance at it, but handed it right back with the words, “Cut it in half.” Crestfallen, Fortescue complied.  Again the editor handed it back with the dry comment, “Cut it in half again.” Grumbling under his breath the youthful reporter did as he was told.  When he handed in the finished article the editor handed it back once more.  “Now reduce it to a single page,” he said.  The horrified reporter ventured a protest.  His boss cut him off.  “Young man,” he said, “you have evidently overlooked the fact that when the Creator of the universe gives His account of Creation He does so in ten words: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”‘  

The first chapter of Genesis is one of the most God-centered chapters in the Bible.  God is mentioned by name thirty-two times in thirty-one verses.  Add to that the use of personal pronouns, and He is mentioned no less than forty-three times. 

Thus, on the very first page of Scripture the Holy Spirit brings us into the presence of God and keeps us there.  No wonder Satan hates this chapter! No wonder he has brought up his heavy artillery to discredit it in the minds of men.  Abandon Genesis 1-as unfactual and unreliable, as mere mythology, as a doctored-up copy of the Babylonian creation epic, as totally unacceptable to modern science-and Satan has won. 

If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted when He tells of creation, how can He be trusted when He tells of salvation? If what He says about earth in Genesis 1 can be questioned, then what He says about heaven in Revelation 22 can be questioned.  If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted in Genesis 1, how can He be trusted in John 3:16?

Someone has wisely said, “if you can believe one verse in the Bible you can believe it all” that verse is Genesis 1:1.  In our day scientific achievements like the Hubble telescope are allowing us to see like never before the awesome grandeur of our universe and reinforce for us the truth of Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” (ESV).

Strange things can happen in church as evidenced by the video below.

One of the great failings of the 21st century church is the failure to clearly proclaim the gospel.  Many churches and believers instead proclaim moralism and think it is the gospel.  This mistake is quite common in Southern Baptist churches and can be difficult for the average Christian to discern. 

Dr Albert Mohler has an excellent explanation of the difference between the gospel and moralism here.