Knowing God...His Names (PART 1)

The Names of God (PART 1)

“In the beginning, God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Elohim

            In the beginning…. Scientists have tried to figure out what the “beginning” was for centuries. This subject has been a debate even amongst Christian groups as to if the six-day creation story was six literal days, or could it have been over a period of six thousand years. Some scientists have made claims that the world is millions of years old due to what they believe are million-year-old dinosaur artifacts, while most Christians reject the idea of the world existing for millions of years and prefer to hold to the belief that the world is no older than thousands of years to align with the biblical narrative. Regardless of the earth’s age, there was an Intelligence who had far superior abilities than any common man to bring the world to existence, and He is our Elohim the Creator.

            

            The name Elohim derives from the Hebrew language and is the first name of God mentioned in the Jewish text Tanakh. Elohim means God our Creator. Who else but a Supreme Being could have had the intellect to create the heavens, heavenly beings, sun, moon, stars, planets, and of course man in His image? Elohim’s mind is far past what we can understand and yet, we are able to see evidence of His divine creativity, preciseness, and attention to detail in how our bodies were designed that even the tiniest cell has great meaning. His artistry is evident when we look at the beauty in flowers, plants, trees, and even the colors of the fruit and vegetables that we eat. Everything around us is a constant reminder that Elohim exists, and He is the Creator of all things good in our lives. Getting to know Him as our Creator opens us up to knowing more about who He is. The Psalmist wrote: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful and I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).  Yes, we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made, and no one can compare to Elohim our Creator.  

Abba Father

“’Abba, Father,’ he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’”    

 (Mark 14:36).

            Many of us grew up with fathers who loved, cared, protected, and took great care of us. Our fathers were always there to watch over us and ensure that we were provided for physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. A father’s joy of seeing his son take off on a bicycle by himself for the first time, his daughter’s first day at school, his son making good grades on his report card, or walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding, are just some of the moments that nearly all fathers would agree were precious to them. Regardless of how old their children get, they treasure them in their heart and would willingly sacrifice themselves to keep them from harm and danger. Similarly, God is Abba, our Father who takes care of us even more than any of our fathers ever could. Even those who unfortunately did not have their fathers or a father figure in their life, God was and is their Father. The Bible says: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5).

 

            Abba looks after His children and cares for us in such a way that He was not willing for anyone to perish, so He sent Jesus to redeem us back to Himself. Abba wakes us up in the morning, watches over us at night, provides for our needs, and pricks our conscious to do what is right. He teaches us His ways, listens when we pray, talks to us in various ways, and shields us from danger. We have been adopted into His family and are joint heirs with Jesus. And yes, He even disciplines and corrects us when we go off the straight and narrow path because He loves us and we are His. The Bible says:”…My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son” (Hebrews 12:5b-6). We are special to the Lord and as our Father, He has unconditional love for us and lets us know that we His most treasured possessions.

Yahweh (YHWH) the I AM

“Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’

            Moses had been chosen to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. He was unsure of himself and was not confident that he could do what God was asking, nor did he think that the Children of Israel would believe him to be their chosen deliverer. Therefore, he asked God for the words to tell them in response to their asking who sent him. The Bible gives God’s response: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM Who I AM, This is what you are to say to the Israelites. ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14). God was letting the Israelites know that He was, is, and would always be their God and they – His people. 

            The name Yahweh was translated into the English Bibles as LORD in all capitals to distinguish it from the name Adonai which we will discuss later. Around 500 B.C. the Jews desired to protect the integrity of God’s name by avoiding its misuse. To accomplish this goal, they assigned the vowels from Adonai to YHWH to prevent readers of the Word from pronouncing it, but later, scholars, during the middle ages, began to pronounce the entire Name with both vowels and constants which resulted in the name Jehovah. The Germans have been credited with this transfer due to their j’s and w’ being pronounced as y’s and v’s. Nevertheless, Yahweh’s name holds true to being the I AM.

            Jesus referred to himself as I AM in John’s gospel, which we will go into at a later time. For now, let’s use Jesus’ seven I AM statements and relate them to Yahweh who is the I AM in His dealings with the Children of Israel. 

a.)    I AM the Bread of Life. “I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). When the Children of Israel had been freed from their Egyptian slave masters, Yahweh provided them with water from a rock and manna from Heaven to nourish their physical bodies (Psalm 78:15-16, 23-24).  

b.)    I AM the Light of the world. “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I AM the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). When Yahweh was leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt into various destinations throughout the wilderness, He led with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night so that they could see their way (Exodus 13:21).

c.)    I AM the Gate. “I AM the Gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. After the Children of Israel left Egypt, Pharaoh had a change of mind and decided to chase after them. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them, they cried out to Yahweh in fear and became hostile towards Moses because they did not see any way out of their situation. The Lord opened the symbolic gate to the Red Sea and provided a path for them to walk across dry land. Once they had crossed, the Lord closed the gate and the Egyptians who had also tried to enter drowned when the waters went back into their place (Exodus 14:21-28).

d.)    I AM the Good Shepherd. “I AM the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). When Yahweh chose Moses to deliver His children out of the land of Egypt, He was operating as their Good Shepherd who was sending His servant to lead them out of the land of captivity into the land of freedom where He would continue to look after them (Exodus 3:7-10). Moses stood as Yahweh’s representative of Him being their Good Shepherd where He led them to finer pastures.

e.)    I AM the Resurrection and the Life. “Jesus said to her, ‘I AM the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:26-27). The Children of Israel had been in a place of hopelessness while in Egypt, and their faith was dead. Nevertheless, Yahweh resurrected their lost hopes, dreams of freedom, and told Moses to have them to place the blood of a lamb on their doorposts prior to their departure from Egypt so that when the death angel came through, those with the blood would live. However, those who did not have the blood on their doorposts would have death in their homes (Exodus 12:1-13). The blood represented life for the Children of Israel but the Egyptians who were absent of the blood would see death from which there would be no resurrection during that time for them. Yahweh showed the Children of Israel that there was no situation that He could not bring back to life because He was and is the I Am.

f.)     I AM the Way, Truth, and the Life. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6). The Children of Israel had been enslaved for four-hundred years. There was no one other than Yahweh who had been able to free them from their bondage. The gods of the Egyptians were unable to rescue them, but Yahweh showed them through His love and deliverance that He was their Way to freedom. His words were Truth and their lives depended upon Him. Pharaoh could only offer them destruction by killing their male newborns and controlling them with the whip, but Yahweh had come to give them an abundant life through Him (Exodus 1).

g.)    I AM the Vine. “I AM the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As long as the Children of Israel remained faithful to Yahweh, they received His blessings, but when they decided to mummer, complain, and rebel, they were cursed and received their due punishment (Exodus32). Throughout Israel’s history, they kept going astray from the Vine who was their lifeforce. They chased after worthless gods and idols that were incapable of doing anything for them. Nevertheless, Yahweh kept trying to draw them back to Himself and restore them to the Vine.

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