The Name Above All Others...
Philippians 3:10: That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death.
In this Epistle to the church at
1. That he might know Christ.
2. That he might win Christ. 3:8
3. That he might magnify Christ.
4. That he might be conformed to Christ.
5. That he might be found in Christ. 3:9
6. That he might rejoice in the day of Christ.
7. That he might be forever with Christ.
In this verse, we consider Paul's desire to know
Christ. The center column reference has it, appreciate. To know Him, is
to appreciate Him. To appreciate Him, is to know Him.
Jesus is the cornerstone of our existence. For
in him we live, and move, and have our being, Acts 17:28. Without Him we
could not exist: ...for without me ye
can do nothing, John 15:5 It is upon Jesus Christ that we build our life
for eternity: For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ.
Jesus, How do we
describe what He is to each of us? How do we begin to describe who He is and
what He is?
THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
First, let us consider His Name: JESUS. We are
introduced to Him by this name in Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a
son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins. From this we glean not only who He is but
also what He is. Jesus is the Greek transliteration for the Old Testament name
JOSHUA. Joshua, or Jehoshua, means “Jehovah is
Salvation.” This is the most common name the Lord is known by in the Old
Testament. It is employed about seven thousand times in the Old Testament where
you will find it translated “the LORD” in your Bible. It is taken from four
Hebrew letters with English equivalents of JHVH, or YHWH. When first written by
the scribes, they would employ these four letters which became known as the Nomen Tetragrammaton, or the name
of four letters. It was only later that vowels were added to make the name
pronounceable to either JeHoVaH, or YaHWeH.
Since this was the name of the God of the Old
Testament, and we find in Hebrews 1:3,4: Who being
the brightness of {his} glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much
better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they. And also Jesus said in John 5:43: I am come in my
Father's name.
And as the name JESUS is the equivalent
of the Old Testament name Jehovah, Jesus then is the name of God today.
A NAME ABOVE ALL OTHERS
Paul states in Philippians 2:9 and 10: Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of {things} in heaven, and {things} in earth, and {things} under the earth.
Peter informs us in Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. Jesus, in speaking of Himself in Revelation 1:8, stated: I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Obviously from such passages, as well as many others, the name Jesus is the most
important Name we can know today. From the first reference here, it becomes
obvious that if there were other persons in the godhead, and those other
persons had their own names, their names would be inferior to the name Jesus!
Not only would their names be inferior, but they would have to bow their knees
to Him, according to Philippians 2:10!
God was recognized by several names, or titles,
in the Old Testament. He manifested Himself to His creation by the name which
was applicable to the situation or need. Let's examine those names and see how
they compare with the name of Jesus or how those names find their fulfillment
in the Name of Jesus.
ELOHIM.
This is how we are first introduced to God in
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The
word “God” is “Elohim” in Hebrew. Every time you read
the word “God” in the Old Testament, it is derived from “Elohim,”
or “El.” The name “Elohim” means “The all‑sufficient
One who alone is creator.” This name is found 2,570
times in the Old Testament. It is found 32 times in the first chapter of
Genesis. “One mightier than all gods, God of gods. The
plural is used in Hebrew to enlarge and intensify the idea expressed by the
singular. Elohim is not the gods; but is the
strongest of all strong beings, the fullness of divine perfections, the sum of all powers of all imaginable gods. There is
nothing in this name either for or against the idea of a trinity.” (author unknown)
The name ELOHIM contains the idea of Creative
and Governing Power, or Omnipotence and Sovereignty. This is clearly indicated
by the fact that from Genesis 1:1 to 2:4, the word Elohim
alone is used 35 times.
It is Elohim who
creates the vast universe by His mighty power. It is He who speaks and it is
done.
Who brings into being what was not.
There is blessing and comfort in the great name
of God. It signifies Supreme power, Sovereignty, and Glory on the one hand,
“For thine (Elohim) is the
power, and the Kingdom and the Glory:” On the other hand, it signifies a
covenant‑relationship which He is ever faithful to keep. Thus He says to
us, “I will be to you a God (Elohim).” And we may
say, “My God (Elohim); in Him will I trust,” Psalm
91:2.
Now while the name “Elohim”
is in the plural, it is constantly accompanied by verbs and adjectives in the
singular. In the first verse of Genesis, for instance, the verb “create” is
singular.
Notice Deuteronomy 32:39: See now that I,
{even} I, {am} he, and {there is} no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I
wound, and I heal: neither {is there any} that can deliver out of my hand. Singular
pronouns are employed throughout.
Notice Isaiah 45:5,22: I
{am} the Lord, and {there is} none else, {there is} no God beside me: I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me: Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth: for I {am} God, and {there is} none else. Singular
pronouns employed.
But, when the name “Elohim”
is employed in reference to the heathen gods ‑ and it is found several
times referring to them ‑ it is accompanied with plural adjectives.
Note 1 Samuel 4:8: Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these {are} the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the
plagues in the wilderness.
Note Exodus 32:4: And he received {them} at
their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten
calf: and they said, These {be} thy gods, O
Can we see “Elohim” in
the name “Jesus”? Yes! For instance,
John 1:3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made. Or, what about Colossians
These verses verify that Jesus is Creator.
ADONAI.
This term is the Hebrew word for “Lord.” It is
employed 300 times in the Old Testament. It is translated into various words,
such as Master, Lord, Sir, etc. It is a term which speaks of position.
This term is applied to Jesus in the New
Testament as well. He is our Lord and our Master.
EL SHADDAI.
The word “EL” is translated “God” over 200 times
in the Bible.
The word “SHADDAI” (Almighty) is translated 48
times in the Old Testament. Putting the two terms together we have Almighty
God.
The word occurs first in Genesis 17:1: 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. The
name means “One mighty to nourish, satisfy, supply.” The Lord employed this
name when speaking to Abraham about the son promised to him and Sarah.
It is the word “EL” which is used in that great
prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 9:6: His name shall be called...the Mighty
(EL) God.
When we turn to the New Testament, we find that
Jesus employed this term in describing Himself to John in Revelation 1:8: I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
JEHOVAH.
This is the name used most frequently for God in
the Old Testament. It occurs about 7,000 times. (Someone said 6,823 times, to
be exact.)
Jehovah, as mentioned above, was originally
found only in the four letters, JHVH. The word “Jehovah,” used as the name of
God, according to three different encyclopedias, was not found prior to 1270
A.D. Before that only the four letters were employed.
Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew verb, havah, “to be” or “being.” It is almost identical to the
Hebrew verb, chavah, “to live” or “life.”
Thus we see the connection between life and
being. So when we see in our Bible the term LORD, we think in terms of Being or
Existence and Life.
We must think of Jehovah as the Being who is self‑existent; the One who in Himself
possesses essential life, permanent existence.
A noted Jewish scholar of the middle ages, Moses
Maimonides, said with regard to this name: “All the
names of God which occur in scripture are derived from His works except one,
and that is Jehovah; and this is called the plain name, because it teaches
plainly and unequivocally of the substance of God.”
Someone else said: “In the name Jehovah the
personality of the Supreme is distinctly expressed. It is everywhere a proper
name denoting the person of God, and Him only. The Hebrew may say THE Elohim, the true God, in opposition to all false gods; but
he never says THE Jehovah, for Jehovah is the name of the true God only. He
says again and again, My God, or my Elohim, but never
my Jehovah, for when he says my God he means Jehovah. He speaks of the God (Elohim) of
Psalm 83:18 states: That men may know that
thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth. No
other god was recognized by the name Jehovah. The God of Israel alone was known
by this name.
We see the meaning of the name especially in
regards to
The words could be rendered: “I will be that I
will be.” Its origin is exactly the same as that of Jehovah. Being...Existence.
And certainly denotes the One who will always be.
It is in the name “Jehovah” that the living God
reveals Himself to His covenant people as the unchanging God who remains
faithful to His word through the generations.
God's personal existence, the continuity of His
dealings with man, the unchangeableness of His promises, and the whole
revelation of His redeeming mercy gathers around the name “Jehovah.”
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS
To
Jehovah is righteous: Psalm 11:7: For the
righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance
doth behold the upright. Daniel 9:14: Therefore hath the Lord watched
upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God {is} righteous in
all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
The first requirement of those who should be His
witnesses is found in Leviticus 19:2: Speak unto all the congregation of the
children of
In Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim are heard crying
out: And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy,
holy, {is} the Lord of hosts: the whole earth {is} full of his glory.
It is Jehovah who sends man forth from the
garden because of his sin of disobedience, Genesis 3:23.
Note Habakkuk 1:12,13: {Art}
thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we
shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God,
thou hast established them for correction. {Thou art} of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest
thou upon them that deal treacherously, {and} holdest
thy tongue when the wicked devoureth {the man that
is} more righteous than he?
He demands righteousness. It is Jehovah who
looks on a corrupt world and says, I will destroy...
It is Jehovah who rains fire and brimstone on
It is Jehovah who says to Moses: Whosoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
But he is also a God of love as well, Jeremiah
31:3: The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, {saying}, Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee.
It is interesting to note that in the first
seven chapters of Leviticus, which especially sets forth the system of
sacrifice, Elohim occurs only once alone, and once
together with Jehovah; while Jehovah occurs 86 times.
The same is found in the 16th chapter concerning
the day of atonement, where only the name “Jehovah”
occurs, and that 12 times.
JESUS... When we look at the
meaning of the name Jehovah, “The self‑existing, unchangeable I AM,” and
compare this with New Testament scriptures, we can readily see that the Jehovah
of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.
John 8:24,28 and 58: In
each of these verses, Jesus employed the expression I AM.
John
John 11:26, Again, I AM.
John 18:5,8: They
answered him, Jesus of
It is also interesting to notice the connection
of the numeral seven (God's number of perfection and completeness), which
accompanies the name of Jesus in the New Testament. In Matthew (a name of seven
letters) we first come upon the name of Jesus in the first verse of this book
and the seventh word. The name “Jesus” is listed 700 times in the New Testament.
In Revelation 22:13,16, we find Jesus speaking of
Himself as: I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last. I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring
of David, {and} the bright and morning star.
The first seven names delivered in the New
Testament concerning Jesus are: Jesus; Son of the Highest; Son of God;
Emmanuel; Saviour; Christ; Lord.
The word “Emmanuel” means “God with us.” The
Jehovah (seven letters) of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ in the New
Testament.
COMPOUND NAMES
In the Old Testament, the name “Jehovah” is
often rendered as a compound name as God reveals Himself to His people
according to their needs.
JEHOVAH‑JIREH... This name is found in
Genesis 22:8‑14 where we have the story of Abraham offering up Isaac as a
sacrifice. As he prepares to slay his son, the Lord stays his hand and shows
him a ram caught in a thicket, which Abraham offers in his son's stead. He then
names that place Jehovah‑Jireh: The Lord will provide ‑ a sacrifice.
JESUS. It does not take much looking in the New
Testament to see this name being applied to Jesus. For instance, in John 1:29
we hear John the Baptist proclaiming about Jesus: Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus
Christ was the Lamb slain in our stead for our sins. Paul states in 2
Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made
him {to be} sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
JEHOVAH‑RAPHA... We find this name for
God in Exodus 15:26: And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice
of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt
give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of
these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I {am}
the Lord that healeth thee. This name means “The
Lord that Healeth.”
JESUS. Peter proclaimed in 1 Peter 2:24: Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye
were healed. The Jehovah who heals us in the New Testament era is Jesus
Christ.
JEHOVAH‑NISSI... This name was
proclaimed when
JESUS. The writer of Hebrews speaks of Jesus as: For
it became him, for whom {are} all things, and by whom
{are} all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10) Jesus is our
Captain, leading us to victories.
JEHOVAH‑M'KADDESH... This name is found in
Leviticus 20:7,8: Sanctify yourselves therefore,
and be ye holy: for I {am} the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes,
and do them: I {am} the Lord which sanctify you. This name means: “The Lord
our Sanctifier.”
JESUS. Jesus is the one who brings about
sanctification in our lives. The writer of Hebrews (10:10) states: By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once {for all}.
JEHOVAH‑SHALOM... This name is found in
Judges 6:24: Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom. This name means “The Lord our Peace.”
JESUS. Paul, in speaking of Jesus Christ, states in
Ephesians 2:14: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken
down the middle wall of partition {between us}.
JEHOVAH‑ROHI... This name is found
in Psalms 23:1: The Lord {is} my shepherd; I shall not want. Obviously,
David is saying this title means: “The Lord our Shepherd.”
JESUS. Jesus makes the claim in John 10:11 that He is
the good Shepherd: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
JEHOVAH‑TSIDKENU... This name is found
in Jeremiah 23:56: Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall
reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his
days
JESUS. Our righteousness is found in Jesus
Christ. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:30: But of him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption. Also, in Romans 3:25 Paul writes: Whom
God hath set forth {to be} a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God. Jesus Christ is our righteousness ‑ or, our right
condition before God is brought about through the Lord Jesus Christ only.
JEHOVAH‑SHAMMAH... This name is found in
the last verse of the last chapter of Ezekiel. The prophet had been writing
about that great time of the Kingdom Age when
JESUS. As it is often said, heaven would not be heaven if
Jesus were not there. Jesus is that which will make heaven heaven.
Well does John record in Revelation 22:3,4: And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name
{shall be} in their foreheads. Most assuredly the Lord will be present in
that New City called New Jerusalem, which will be the home of the Bride.
Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, is Jesus Christ, God manifested in the
flesh of the New Testament.