What is God’s name? We see in some scriptures He appears as Jehovah which is not a name but rather a description of His supreme being. Some say Jesus is the actual name of God.
There are many “names” for God (which we will consider later) that may be looked upon as “titles” instead of names. But in the Old Testament God has a special “PERSONAL name” that He revealed to Moses. In Exodus 6:2-3 we read, “And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am JEHOVAH. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty God; but by MY NAME JEHOVAH I was not made known to them” (DARBY). This teaches us that God did NOT reveal His personal name prior to Him revealing it to Moses. Now let’s look at Exodus 3:13-15 to see the first time God divulged His name to Moses, “And Moses said to 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, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said to 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. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. THIS IS MY NAME forever.” Though God first revealed His name to Moses, it is used many times throughout the Old Testament, yet in a majority of translations the word LORD is used in place of Jehovah.
We learn from these two passages that God’s “personal name” was JEHOVAH (it is translated YHWH in the Hebrew Scriptures), but that He also links that name with the words, “I AM.” We conclude then that God is “Jehovah, the great I AM” (the words “I AM” indicating that Jehovah is the “self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal One”). Though God first revealed His name to Moses, it is used many times throughout the Old Testament, yet in a majority of translations the word LORD is used in place of Jehovah. We said at the outset that there are many “names” for God which are actually “titles” rather than “personal names.” Here are a few of those “names” (using the New American Standard Bible):
*ELOHIM: “In the beginning God (ELOHIM) created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
*EL SHADDAI: “I am God Almighty (EL SHADDAI)” (Genesis 17:1).
*JEHOVAH-JIREH: “And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide (JEHOVAH-JIREH)” (Genesis 22:14)
*JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: “Therefore the Lord God of hosts” (JEHOVAH-SABAOTH)” (Isaiah 1:24).
When we come to the New Testament God gives even further revelations regarding His “name.” In John 17:6 Jesus said (in His prayer to His Father), “I have MANIFESTED YOUR NAME to the men whom You gave Me out of the world.” What “name” was it that Jesus manifested? Ah, He had revealed the name of “Father” to them! It took the coming of the “Son of God” to reveal “God the Father.” Thus we read these wonderful words in John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the FATHER, He has declared Him” (NKJV). This verse also speaks of Jesus as “the only begotten Son,” so He also revealed His name as “Son” to those who had ears to hear. And lastly, Jesus revealed another name of God; the Holy Spirit! In John 14:26 Jesus said, “But the Helper, the HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” The truth of the “Triune God” (the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT) was not revealed in Old Testament times, but when the Son became a Man (Jesus Christ), He revealed the NAMES of the Trinity. But though there are “THREE Persons,” they are still “ONE God,” and thus the three Persons of the Godhead are described under “ONE NAME” in Matthew 28:19, “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.” (296.1) (DO)