After the Lord God gave the ten commandments, He made a very important statement, “… in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.” (Ex. 20:24b). Only in the place where the Lord God makes known His name, one has the possibility of worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth. From the very beginning, the Lord revealed His name to His own who knew Him. “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. “ (Gen. 4: 26).
Ex. 33:11 -23 shows forth the importance of the revelation of the name of God. Wherever the Lord speaks and shows grace to someone He also reveals His name. The Lord spoke to Moses face to face. He had the longing to see the Glory of God. Then the Lord answered, “And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee… “ God does not ever remain as the Unknown and the hiding One but He steps forward to make Himself known and reveals His name.
The revelation of the name of the Lord God cannot be overemphasised. To Moses the Lord gave the charge, “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, In this way ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee; The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Num. 6: 23-27).
God was never addressed with titles but He was spoken to in His name. Whether people called upon Him or acted for Him, they always did in His name. It happened the same way both in the Old and the New Testament periods.
It is the basic law of God, that He can only be met where He reveals Himself and makes known His name: “But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and there thou shah come.” (Dt. 12: 5).
Solomon expressed the same truth in his inauguration prayer, “… that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people
Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have built, is called by thy name.” (1 Ki. 8: 43b).
“ Therefore, my people shall know my name; therefore, they shall know in that day that I am he who doth speak; behold, it is I.” (Isa. 52: 6).
The same God of whom Moses said, “/ AM hath sent me unto you”, introduces Himself to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai as follows, “And God spoke all these words, saying, lam the LORD thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Ex. 20: 1-2). The prophet Isaiah emphasises the words the Lord spoke of Himself, “…/, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” (41:4). “lam the LORD (YAHWEH): that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to carved images.” (42: 8). “I, even I, am the LORD, and beside me there is no saviour. …ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.” (Isa. 43:11-12). “Thus saith the LORD, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first, and lam the last, and beside me there is no God.” (Isa. 44:6). “… lam the LORD who maketh all things” (Isa. 44: 24). “I AM the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me… lam the LORD, and there is none else.” (Isa 45:5-6). “…/am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens…” (Isa. 48:12-13).
All through the Old Testament, God’s people knew the name of the Lord and called upon the same. The transition to the New Testament is also clearly described, “… thou shall call his name JESUS (YAHSHUA) “ (Mt. 1:21). He was born the saviour, Christ the Messiah, the Lord (Lk. 2:11). The name connected with salvation was given to Him when being circumcised
(Lk. 2: 21).
It is important to recognise the way God revealed Himself in the New Testament as Father in heaven, as Son on earth, and by His Holy Spirit in His Church. It is equally important to know the name in which our redemption lies and the name in which we should approach God. There is only one place on earth wherein God revealed Himself for our salvation, that is in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Whoever wishes to find God must look for Him in that place where He could be found. Whoever wants to see Him must look at the place where He could be seen. Whoever wants to hear Him must know where He could be heard. It will be only there where He reveals and places His name. The only personal meeting place with God and humanity is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Why the scholars changed the name Yahweh to Jehovah and Yahshua to Jesus cannot be easily understood. The Hebrew letters for the name of the Lord YHWH must be the same in the Old and the New Testament. An arbitrary explanation cannot be permitted. The abbreviated form of Yahweh is Yah as El stands for Elohim. The word Hallelu-Yah means praise Yahweh; Isa-Yah means Yahweh is salvation: Yahshua means Yahweh Saviour; Isra-El means wrestling with God; Isma-El means God hears; Immanu-El means God with us, and so on. Wherever the Lord God reveals Himself there He also makes known His name and only in this name He can be worshipped.
The I AM found in the Old Testament is in reference to God. The same was used in the New Testament for our Lord. “/ AM the bread of life …” (Jn. 6: 48) “ I AM the light of the world” (Jn. 8: 12). To believe that our Saviour is the I AM is very important for He Himself stated, “7 said, therefore, unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins … Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (Jn. 8: 24+57-58). “7 am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (Jn. 10: 14). “7 am the resurrection, and the life … “(Jn. 11: 25). “7am the true vine …” (Jn. 15:1).
The expression I AM applies to our Lord in many ways as we have seen. If one compares the statements found in the prophet Isaiah with those in the New Testament then one could see how the same description of the Lord is being used both in the Old and the New Testament. It can be clearly identified that the same One is speaking always. “Fear not; lam the first and the last… “ (Rev. 1:17). “7 am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1: 8). Before Him was no one and after Him there shall be no one. There is only one Almighty.
The Son says, “7am come in my Father’s name…” (Jn. 5:43). “Father, glorify thy name… “(Jn. 12:28). “7have manifestedthy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world …” (Jn. 17: 6). As commonly practised, every one introduces himself to the person whom he meets by one’s name. In the same way, the Lord also introduces Himself to those who meet Him with His name. The best example is the apostle Paul. “And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest… “(Acts 9: 5).
“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me… And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it…” (Jn. 17:11+26). He still does it today. The name of the Father and the Son is the same — Jesus, actually Yahshua — YAHWEH Saviour. Wherever this name is not revealed in its divine significance people are kept in their religious and unscriptural traditions.
“After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name …” (Mt. 6: 9). “… as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Heb. 1: 4).
Eternal life is promised to us in His name (Jn. 20: 31). Also the forgiveness of sins is found in His name (Acts 10: 43). Whatever we receive from God comes to us through the name of Jesus Christ. No servant of God has ever used titles or a formula but always His name. According to the Scripture all that the believers do is to be done in His name. “And whatever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Col. 3:17).
The day will soon be, when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). When God will have accomplished His redemptive work it will be fulfilled what is written, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Rev. 21: 3-7).
