Listen:  150.2

There are MANY different names of God in the Bible but here are some of the better-known names:

God: Genesis 1:1 reads “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is the Hebrew word “Elohim” and it has reference to God’s power and might.

Jehovah: Genesis 2:4 declares “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven” (ASV). This name speaks of God’s nature as being “eternal.” He is the “self-existent One.”

I AM: Exodus 3:13-14 says “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them? And God unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” This name, like Jehovah, refers to God’s eternal existence. He never had a beginning and won’t have an end. He is the great I AM!

Almighty God: Genesis 17:1 states “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” This is the Hebrew word “El Shaddai” and it speaks of God’s ultimate power over all. He is “omnipotent!”

I would like us to consider one of His names that is most precious to everyone who has been born-again and are in the family of God. I’m speaking of the name “Father.” This name was not known to Old Testament believers, but was revealed through God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:18 reads “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” One of the main reasons the eternal Son became a Man was to declare God the Father; that is, to make Him known. Towards the end of His life the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father these amazing words in John 17:6, “I have manifested Your name to the men You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word” (NASB). Jesus’ passion, from the manger to the cross, was to glorify His Father and to manifest His name to all who had ears to hear. Very few souls believed the message that he brought, but those that did believe became children of God and thus God became their Father. John 20:17 informs us that just before Jesus ascended to heaven He gave this message to all who had believed, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father, and to My God, and your God.”   As wonderful as it must have been for Abraham to have God reveal Himself as the “Almighty God,” and for Moses to learn that He was the great “I AM,” it is even more wonderful to know Him as “Father.” Do you know God as YOUR FATHER?

In closing, let’s consider one more verse. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus spoke these words to the eleven disciples on the Mount of Olives, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV). Jesus came not only to reveal His Father to men, but to reveal the “Triune God.” The word “name” in this verse is singular, for it conveys the blessed truth that God is “one God,” yet “three Persons,” the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because men cannot understand this, they ridicule the idea that God is a “trinity.” But Jesus declared it and faith enables us to boldly say, “I believe it!” Praise God for this awesome revelation and praise be to Him for everyone that has, by His matchless grace, come to believe it!  (150.2)  (DO)