DO we make too much of “The Name?”
I fear we make too little…….
The Compound titles of Jehovah that describe Jesus Christ:
Psalm 83:18, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”
Jehovah El’ohim. “Self-Existent, Eternal Creator”
• In Genesis He was the Creator–Jesus Christ – all things were created by Him and for Him!
He was before time. There is no time with God. He was and is and is to come. John 1: 1-2, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
• Before you ever had a problem – he was God. Before you were sick – he was God.. Before you were broke – he was God. Before you ever went through the trials you went through HE WAS GOD. Jehovah El’ohim. 2500 times in the Word he is referred to as Jehovah El’ohim. Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord will provide.”
• In Genesis 22, Abraham led Isaac up the mountain.Genesis 22:14, “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” 2 Peter 1:3, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue”:
Jesus was our Provision on Calvary. Isaiah 1: 18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”. Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
Jehovah Adonai – “The Lord our Sovereign Master.”
• Teacher – Nicodemus – John 3:2, came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: Master of the Sea and Wind. Luke 8:24, “And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.” Devils. – Luke 9:1, “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” Disease. – Matthew 9:35, “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Death – 1 Corinthians 15:54, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
Jehovah Nissi –“The Lord our Banner.”
• In Exodus 17 Moses stood on the side of the hill as the Israelites battled the Amalekites. As long as his hands were in the air Israel would be winning. As soon as his hands lowered, they would start losing. Exodus 17:15, “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:”
Jehovah Shammah – “The Lord is there.”
• You can go to the cliff of the world’s highest mountain, He is there. You can go to the deepest cave, He is there. 2 Samuel 23: 11, “And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. 12But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever!
Jehovah Shalom – “The Lord our Peace.”
• Gideon needed a sign from God. He laid the cakes and flesh on the rock and smot it with his staff and fire arose. God spoke to him Judges 6: 23, “And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Isaiah 53: 5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” The Angels declared at his birth, Luke 2: 14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Jesus Christ the prince of peace!
Jehovah Tsidkenu – “The Lord our Righteousness.”
Jeremiah 23: 6, “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Romans 3: 22, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” 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 El Shaddai – “God Almighty.”
• Revelation 1:8 Jesus Christ is the ALMIGHTY!
Jehovah Raphi. – “The Lord that healeth thee.”
• 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.” Isa. 9:6!
When You say “Jesus” you have said it all! There is NONE OTHER NAME!
No wonder Acts 2:38 commands baptism to be IN THE NAME of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins!
1 Timothy 3:16
“And without controversy (dispute) great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Having garnered the original word meanings in Strong’s Concordance, 1 Timothy 3:16 can be expressed as:
“Without objection, of vital importance is the secret, which can only be revealed by God:
* God was shown openly in living flesh,
* Revealed to be righteous by the Spirit,
* Seen of angels,
* Made known unto the gentiles,
* Believed on in the world,
* Received up into glory.”
(Notice: all those stanzas are dealing in revelatory terminology)
The word “mystery” in 1 Timothy 3:16 is musteriou which means “some sacred thing hidden or secret which is naturally unknown to human reason and is only known by the revelation of God.” Paul tells us that mystery is a vital secret that can only be known by a revelation of God. Man had never seen nor known true holiness of life in all the history of mankind.
Notice that “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:” is concluded with a colon, thus signifying, an example or future explanation follows. The example or explanation of this great mystery is:
* God was shown openly (manifested, revealed, declared, proclaimed) in living flesh,
* Seen (made apparent to view) of angels,
* Made known (proclaimed, preached) unto the gentiles,
* Believed on ( understood, trusted) in the world,
* Received up into glory.
Therefore it may be said that:
The vital mystery is REVEALED by God manifest in living flesh. Just as the true nature of an individual is manifested by his actions [ by their fruits (works) shall ye know them], likewise, the nature of God was shown openly in living flesh.
This secret of the ages had been veiled in obscurity, glimpsed but never clearly seen, until God was manifest in the flesh, thus revealing Himself (His nature) to all that would truly “Behold the Lamb of God.”
This secret was vital because without an understanding of the nature of God man could never know God. It was the lack of knowledge of this vital mystery that confused and became a stumbling block to the Jews. “You being a man make yourself God,” was their stumbling in the dark retort to the Lord Jesus Christ. As frequently was the case, they had stated their confusion in terms of backwardness of truth. It was not a man making himself God, yea rather, God had made Himself a Man!
These blind leaders of the blind had rightfully sensed His humanity but failed to see that that living flesh was manifesting God! Here was the image of the invisible God—the express image of His person. “When you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Yet, they failed to see, having eyes they saw not. “Before Abraham was, I AM,” “Emmanuel, God with us,” Jesus declared, however they stumbled on in their darkness nevertheless.
Why? Why did they so miserably fail to see this obvious display of God in living flesh? How could they have been so blinded as to not detect the nature of God radiating from this human body that they sought to destroy? Why? Because of their misconception of the nature of God, therefore when He manifested His nature they failed to associate those actions with their idea of God. Not knowing His true nature, they did not recognize Him when He came. “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.”
Neither had God, as some tend to believe, changed His nature and stepped into the their world incognito. “I am God and I change not.” God’s nature was ever the same. It was the world’s conception of God that was in error.
The Jew had formulated a God that they only knew as far away, a God that set boundaries to prevent intimacy. A God of thunder and lighting and gross darkness, a God that clave open the ground and swallowed rebellious men alive. A God who hurled lighting bolts as javelins, a God who gathered the stars in His hand as trinkets of insignificance. A God who made the clouds His chariots and the earth His footstool. These were facets of God’s nature but not His complete revealed nature.
What they failed to see was His true holiness and their wretched sinfulness. Sin that had created a great gulf between man and God over which no man might pass. What they failed to understand was that man was without God and without hope in the world, doomed to an eternal damnation. And their greatest shortcoming was their failure to see and understand a God who loved them and would come to their rescue Himself!
While man could not cross the great chasm of sin to go to God—God robed Himself in living flesh (not divine flesh) and came to man! This WAS and ALWAYS had been His nature. “God is Love.” “And in the fullness of time, Christ died for our sins.” He came to manifest (make known) His nature!
The smoking mountain of Sinai could not MANIFEST this nature. It shook and quaked but it was lifeless stones, unfeeling sand and gravel, tons of earth without heartbeat or emotion. Even the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night could not MANIFEST God’s nature. They were only ensigns without life that went before the people as God directed. All the types and shadows of the Tabernacle were but lifeless gold and silver, shittim wood and fabric that could only be understood AFTER true discovery of the vital mystery—Jesus Christ!
The question, “What think ye of Christ?” presents a dilemma to any thinking person. If Jesus Christ was not all that He claimed to be, He was the greatest deceiver of all time. Either we must accept Him as God made manifest in the flesh or reject him as the one who claimed to be what he was not, and to accomplish what only God could do.
John declared of Him, “. . .He that cometh after me is preferred before me for He was before me” (John 1:15). John has set before us a paradox. One cannot be both a predecessor and a successor. Yet there was One who was exactly that—Jesus Christ. John the Baptist owed his existence to his parents. Jesus Christ, however, came into being by His own power and volition. John was stating that Jesus Christ is the First One, the Beginning of all things, and the Creator of all things.
As the “Son” He came later than I, says John, but as God, the Eternal Logos, He was before me, existing as the One and Only True and Living God. John also states in his writings that before there was a creation, God existed as Creator. And wonder of wonders, the Creator became the Creature of Mary’s womb! (John 1:1-4).
“And the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). John uses the term “flesh,” he does not say, “And the Word was made a body.” The word “flesh,” sarx in Greek, denotes a human bodily manifestation. It shows that God became fully man except for sin, for if He were a sinful man, He could not possibly atone for sin. The term “flesh” means that God in His human manifestation had a true human body that was capable of emotions, feelings, and all the limitations of the human flesh physically. He was conceived in the womb of a human mother (Luke 1:1; Matt. 1:18). He was brought forth in birth by her as the Supreme Sacrifice of God—the sinless Lamb! “God shall provide Himself a sacrifice.”
He, the Eternal One, was made fully man who possessed a natural human body and went to Calvary as the Lamb of God. He, who was made flesh, and walked among us, continued at the same time to be God Eternal in the heavens. The verb “was made” indicates an historical event in the past. It points back to Bethlehem, when the Son of God was born in a manger. Micah prophesied hundreds of years beforehand saying, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth …that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been of old, from everlastings” (Micah 5:2). “Of old” is the very word used in John 1:1 which is translated “beginning.” This, of course, could only be in reference to the One and only True and Living God. Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament!
When God came to the earth, He took upon Himself the form of a man, because that was the only way He could be seen of our physical eyes—“God was manifest in the flesh.” But that does not mean that He ceased to exist as Spirit, nor was God as Spirit in His totality limited to the human form of Jesus Christ. John declares that God and the Logos, the “Word”(the plan and expression of God), Jesus Christ (the plan and expression of God in flesh), irrespective of the fact that God took upon Himself a limited form so that He could be made visible to us. He was nevertheless God. Jesus Christ was perfect God and perfect man; and while He was perfect man, He never ceased to be perfect God. God is the visible Jesus and Jesus is the invisible God!
Jesus Christ is not merely “a” logos but “the” Logos. He was the Intelligence behind everything that was created. He is the One responsible for the creation of the world. He is the Intelligence, the Reason, and the Spirit responsible for all creation. He is “the” Logos. There can be none like Him—He is absolutely unique! This eternal, infinite Word was made flesh. Now flesh is finite, therefore, the Infinite was made finite. And this poses for our finite minds the greatest mystery—to ponder that God was made flesh and dwelt among us!
“Flesh”—human flesh, not divine flesh. The term “divine flesh” is an oxymoron. He that inhabited the flesh was divine while the flesh He indwelt was human (great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifest in the flesh). Jesus Christ obtained His flesh from His mother and His nature from His Father. This flesh was of human seed, “born of a woman,” yet of divine origin and edict. It was this flesh that became weary from the journey; it was this flesh that became hungry and ate; it was this flesh that became tired and slept; it was this flesh that hung and died on Calvary as the Lamb of God. “To this end came I unto the world.” This awesome act of God—coming in flesh—is truly a great mystery, and, even more so, a wondrous display of the Love of God!
Some of the Titles of Jesus Christ
ADAM: (1 Corinthians 15:45) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
ADVOCATE: (1 John 2:1) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
ALMIGHTY: (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.
ALPHA AND OMEGA: (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.
AMEN: (Revelation 3:14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
APOSTLE OF OUR PROFESSION: (Hebrews 3:1) Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
ARM OF THE LORD: (Isaiah 51:9) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
(Isaiah 53:1) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH: (Hebrews 12:2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION: (Hebrews 5:9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
BEGINNING OF CREATION OF GOD: (Revelation 3:14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
BELOVED SON: (Matthew 12:18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
BLESSED AND ONLY POTENTATE: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
BRANCH: (Isaiah 4:2) In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
BREAD OF LIFE: (John 6:32) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
CAPTAIN OF SALVATION: (Hebrews 2:10) 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.
CHIEF SHEPHERD: (1 Peter 5:4) And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
CHRIST OF GOD: (Luke 9:20) He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL: (Luke 2:25) And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
CORNERSTONE: (Psalm 118:22) The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
COUNSELLOR: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
CREATOR: (John 1:3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
DAYSPRING: (Luke 1:78) Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
DELIVERER: (Romans 11:26) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
DESIRE OF THE NATIONS: (Haggai 2:7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
DOOR: (John 10:7) Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
ELECT OF GOD: (Isaiah 42:1) Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
EVERLASTING FATHER: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
FAITHFUL WITNESS: (Revelation 1:5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
FIRST AND LAST: (Revelation 1:17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
FIRST BEGOTTEN: (Revelation 1:5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
FORERUNNER: (Hebrews 6:20) Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
GLORY OF THE LORD: (Isaiah 40:5) And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
GOD: (Isaiah 40:3) The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
GOD BLESSED: (Romans 9:5) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
GOOD SHEPHERD: (John 10:11) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
GOVERNOR: (Matthew 2:6) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
GREAT HIGH PRIEST: (Hebrews 4:14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
HEAD OF THE CHURCH: (Ephesians 1:22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
HEIR OF ALL THINGS: (Hebrews 1:2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
HOLY CHILD: (Acts 4:27) For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
HOLY ONE: (Acts 3:14) But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
HOLY ONE OF GOD: (Mark 1:24) Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL: (Isaiah 41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
HORN OF SALVATION: (Luke 1:69) And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
I AM: (John 8:58) Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
IMAGE OF GOD: (2 Corinthians 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
IMMANUEL: (Isaiah 7:14) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
JEHOVAH: (Isaiah 26:4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
JESUS: (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.
JESUS OF NAZARETH: (Matthew 21:11) And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
JUDGE OF ISRAEL: (Micah 5:1) Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
THE JUST ONE: (Acts 7:52) Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
KING: (Zechariah 9:9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
KING OF THE AGES: (1 Timothy 1:17) Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
KING OF THE JEWS: (Matthew 2:2) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
KING OF KINGS: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
KING OF SAINTS: (Revelation 15:3) And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
LAWGIVER: (Isaiah 33:22) For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
LAMB: (Revelation 13:8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
LAMB OF GOD: (John 1:29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
LEADER AND COMMANDER: (Isaiah 55:4) Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
THE LIFE: (John 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD: (John 8:12) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH: (Revelation 5:5) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
LORD OF ALL: (Acts 10:36) The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all
LORD OF GLORY: (1 Corinthians 2:8) Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
LORD OF LORDS: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
The One who was, and IS, and IS to come !