Monthly Archives: February 2018

THE NAME OF GOD

 

What is meant by the phrase “The Name of God?” Exodus 20:7 says: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.”

The Name of God means at least these three things:

(1) His Authority: to act in someone’s name is to act in his authority, as in Esther 8:8, where the king gave Esther and Mordecai permission to write in his name, that is, with his authority.

(2) His Character: One’s “name” also represents his character, as in the saying: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,” Proverbs 22:1.

(3) His Identity: One’s name is used as a surname or distinguishing name in general, his parentage, who he is, as in Exodus 3:14-15.

(1) NAME OF GOD AS AUTHORITY

The Authority of God is infinite: He has all power in heaven and earth; He is omnipotent.

He is the Creator: Elohim, Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

He is the Lord of Hosts, Isaiah 47:4: “Our Redeemer – the Lord of Hosts is His Name.” These Hosts, Sabaoth, includes all military powers, human as well as angelic; also the heavenly hosts of the sun, moon and stars; and the hosts of all created things such as frogs, flies and locusts, Psalm 104:30-34. The word Sabaoth is also used in the New Testament, Romans 9:29, quoting Isaiah 13:19 and in James 5:4.

Jesus delegated the authority to act in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. To act in God’s Name is to act in the power of His authority.

(2) NAME OF GOD AS CHARACTER

The Name of God represents His character. What is His character?

God is Holy: Leviticus 19:2: “Say to the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

I Peter 1:14-16: “As obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as He Who has called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, (16) since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I Am holy.’”

To act in God’s Name, we must act in His holiness. Holiness is purity. No impure motives nor actions can be done in the Name of our Holy God.

God is Unity: Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel the Lord our God is One Lord.” He calls us to unity of body, soul and spirit in Jesus.  To act in the Name of God, we must be whole-hearted, not divided within ourselves, not double-minded.

Mark 12:29-30: “Jesus answered, ‘The first [commandment] is “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

(3) NAME OF GOD AS IDENTITY

God identified Himself by the name Jahweh, transliterated in English as Jehovah  “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” Exodus 3:15. He also identified Himself by many compound names:

Jehovah-Jireh, “The Lord will provide,” Genesis 22:14.

Jehovah-Raphaka, “The Lord that healeth thee,” Exodus 15:26.

Jehovah-Nissi, “The Lord our banner,” Exodus 17: 14-15; that is: the center and power of our cause.

Jehovah-Shalom, “The Lord is our Peace,” Judges 6:24.

Jehovah-Roi, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” Psalm 23.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “The Lord, our Righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6.

Jehovah-Shammah, “Jehovah is present,” Ezekiel 48:35.

Jehovah-Sabaoth, “The Lord of Hosts,” Isaiah 1:9 and many other references.

New Testament Names:

Our Lord Jesus Christ has in His very person all of the attributes of these names, and is the manifestation in the flesh of all of the names of God in the Old Testament. Some New Testament mentions of His Name:

Jesus, Matthew 1:21: Messiah, Savior, Deliverer.

Emmanuel, Matthew 1:23: “God with us,” quoting Isaiah 7:14, 8:8.

Elohim, John 1:1-2: The Creator, Genesis 1 and 2.

Adonai, John 13:13; Rev. 19:16: Lord and Master, sovereign Lord, King of Kings, Deuteronomy 10:17.

El-Shaddai, Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 3:20: All-sufficient One, Genesis 17:1.

El-Elyon, Luke 1:32, 35: Son of the Most High; Psalm 7:17.

El-Olam, Hebrews 13:8: The same yesterday, today and forever:  Genesis 21:35.

The NAME of Jesus: Authority, Character, Identity

“(9) Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him [Christ Jesus] and given Him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11.

REPENT

Repentance is the only cure for our nation.

Repent of what? Rebellion.

The root of all sin is rebellion against God. Rebellion brings the curses that God has already pronounced against sin. God’s promises of blessings are to the obedient. God chose Abraham and his seed because He knew that Abraham would teach his children obedience to God’s Holy Covenant. Those descendants of Abraham that rebelled against God were “cut off” from being a people.

The Great Rebellion

The US of A, as a nation, experienced the Great Rebellion in the post WWII era. It led on into the present state of abortion, homosexuality, adultery and fornication, resulting in perpetual wars, plagues of disease, fire, floods, storms, famine and death. By rebellion against God, we are destroying ourselves!

The Great Awakening

How to stop the plagues? Repent!

What is ‘repentance’? It is making a full acknowledgement of our sin, a complete and total sacrifice of ourselves by surrender to God’s will. It is described Biblically as crucifixion of The Flesh and rebirth by the power of the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak to your shame.” Multitudes in this US of A, with all of its Churches and religious rituals, do not even know That God requires REPENTANCE.

You Are What You Think

“You are what you eat.” This cliché sounds simple enough, but actually is very true of our physical bodies. But Solomon, one of the wisest of men, said that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, (Proverbs 23:7). We are, spiritually, what we think in our hearts. This is profoundly true of our moral and spiritual life. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we not allow evil thoughts to sicken and destroy our spiritual life, personal or national.

The daily newscasts are now exposing the prevalence of the violent and lustful nature of men in high positions, who are otherwise thought to be of sterling character. This is the direct result of the prevalence of lustful media, and entertainment that has dominated our culture in recent generations, not to mention the availability of pornography. Their minds have been filled with it and so they have become what they have allowed in their minds.

The Tsunami

This evil flood has come to prominence under the guise of “freedom of speech” but is actually the invasion of wicked and profane babblings into our homes, schools, and even some ‘churches.’ The Church, the Body of Christ, must rise up in the Holy Spirit to stop this tsunami of evil and to reclaim the powers of the air for Christ and His Kingdom!  The violence, crimes, and all manner of evil come from that which is put into the minds of the people.

Healthy Thoughts

We cannot allow the powers of darkness to poison the airwaves and hence the minds of the people with vile and ungodly thoughts. We can and must control what we allow our minds and those of our children to dwell on. Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Is It Impossible?

If we can control the purity of the food and drugs which are allowed in this nation, can we not also control the poison of immorality of every kind that is allowed on the airwaves and streets of our nation? Yes and no. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit of God working through a holy people united in His Divine Body. It must be done – it is a matter of Life or Death.

Why the Book of Leviticus?

Establish A Nation God’s Way

It was God’s will to live with His people from the time of the Garden of Eden, Genesis 2:8, all the way to the Book of Revelation 21:

Leviticus 26:11-12: “And I will set my tabernacle among you; and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.”

Revelation 21:3: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 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.”

The Book of Leviticus is the account of God’s instructions to Moses on how to establish a nation under God.

But sadly, the original nation of Israel did not keep the order of the instructions given in the Book of Leviticus, but turned from their loving Creator to worship idols and commit all of the forbidden sins that brought destruction, disease, death, famine, pestilence, war, and all of the other consequences that were described in the Book of Leviticus. In their state of rebellion, God could not dwell with them. Their disobedience brought the promised consequences, as described by the Biblical books of their history and the prophets.

But still a Holy Nation Was Promised

But through it all, God was true to His promise that He, Himself, would send them a Savior, Who would save them from their sins and the consequences of their sins. This promise was fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although the fleshly, sinful nation refused Him and was finally destroyed in the destruction of 70 AD, God had raised up a new nation in Jesus, His Body, the Church, which, in Christ, fulfilled all of the requirements for a nation of people with which He could be pleased to dwell. In Christ, the law is written in our hearts and it gives us the intuitive, natural desire and motivation to fulfill the commandments of the law. The law is no longer grievous.

The Schoolmaster

The original specific laws and statutes and ordinances were necessary for law and order in the fleshly nation. These were designed to teach them:“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith, but after that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The lessons to be learned from the “schoolmaster” are spelled out and made clear in the New Testament. For example, all of the Levitical ordinances of sacrifice are to teach us Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.,”

Galatians 2:19-20: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”