Developing a Passion for God

#5: The Major Names of God....and the

Perfections of God

The many names of God in the Scripture provide additional revelation of His character. These are not mere titles assigned by people but, for the most part, His own descriptions of Himself. As such they reveal aspects of His character.

1. To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him

(Genesis 21:33)  Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.). .

2. To take His name in vain was to dishonor Him:

(Exodus 20:7)  "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

3. Not to follow the requirements of the Law involved profaning His name:

(Leviticus 22:2)  "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.

(Leviticus 22:32)  Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy

4. Priests performed their service in the name of the Lord:

(Deuteronomy 21:5)  The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.

5. His name pledged the continuation of the nation:

(1 Samuel 12:22)  For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.

A. ELOHIM.

The Hebrew term elohim occurs about 2,570 times in the Old Testament. About 2,310 times it is a name for the true God. The first occurrence is in the first verse of the Bible.

Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

The meaning of elohim means strong, indicating a Deity of great power..the true God, that He is the strong One, the mighty Leader, the supreme Deity.

Elohim, a plural form, is peculiar to the Old Testament and appears in no other Semitic language. (in Genesis 1:1: being plural, we have God the Source of creation, Christ the power through the spoken Word, and the Spirit).

It is a majestic plural: the noun is consistently used with singular verb forms and with adjectives and pronouns in the singular affirms. This plural of majesty denotes God’s unlimited greatness and supremacy.

Relationships of  This Name

If this name of God means the Strong One and occurs in a majestic plural, one would expect that it would be used in relation to His greatness and mighty acts.

1. In relation to His sovereignty. Elohim is used to describe Him as the "God of all the earth" (Isa. 54:5), the "God of all flesh" (Jer. 32:27), the "God of heaven" (Neh. 2:4), and the "God of gods and Lord of lords" (Deut. 10:17).

2. In relation to His work of Creation. He is the Elohim who created all things (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:18; Jonah 1:9).

3. In relation to His judging. (Psalms 50:6) "And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge." (Psalms 58:11) "Then men will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.""

4. In relation to His might. works on behalf of Israel  (Deuteronomy 8:15) "He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock."

Compound Names

1. El-Shaddai.

Though the derivation of this word is uncertain, the most accepted one is that shaddai is connected with an Akkadian word that means "mountain." Thus this name of God pictures Him as the Almighty One standing on a mountain.

It was the name by which God appeared to the patriarchs to give comfort and confirmation of the covenant with Abraham:

(Genesis 17:1)  When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless.

(Genesis 28:3)  May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.

(Genesis 35:11)  And God said to him, "I am God Almighty ; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.

(Exodus 6:3)  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.

(Psalms 91:1-2)  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. {2} I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.".

This name is also often used in connection with the chastening of God.s people:

(Ruth 1:20-21)  "Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. {21} I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

2. El Elyon.

This name, "the Most High God" emphasized God.s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy. It was first used by Melchizedek when he blessed Abraham:

(Genesis 14:19)  and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.”

3. El Olam.

This name means "the Everlasting God," from an original form meaning "the God of eternity"

(Genesis 21:33)  Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.).

It emphasizes God’s unchangeableness:

(Psalms 100:5)  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

(Psalms 103:17)  But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--)

.and is connected with His inexhaustible strength

(Isaiah 40:28)  Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.)

4. El Roi, "God who sees" (Gen. 16:13).

Hagar gave this name to God when He spoke to her before Ishmael.s birth.

B. YAHWEH.

The second basic name for God is the personal one, YHWH, the Lord, or Yahweh. It is the most frequently used name, occurring about 5,321 times in the Old Testament.

It denotes Him as the active, self-existent One. This name was used by Eve (Gen. 4:1), people in the days of Seth (v. 26), and by Noah (9:26), and Abraham (12:8; 15:2, 8). But it was to Moses that the deep significance of the name was revealed. .

God said that even though He appeared to the patriarchs He was not known to them by His name Yahweh (Exodus 6:3) "...and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.")

The meaning of the name was not known in its fullest and deepest sense. This revelation came to Moses at the burning bush when God identified Himself as "I AM WHO I AM" (3:14), the principal idea being that God was present with the people of Israel.

Since Yahweh was God’s personal name by which He was known to Israel, in postexilic times it began to be considered so sacred that it was not pronounced.  Instead the term Adonai was usually substituted, and by the sixth-seventh centuries A.D. the vowels of Adonai were combined with the consonants YHWH to remind the synagogue reader to pronounce the sacred name as Adonai.

From this came the artificial word Jehovah. ..But all of this underscores the awe in which the name was held. There seem to be several facets included in the significance of the name Yahweh.

It emphasizes God.s changeless self-existence.

It assures God.s presence with His people.

(Exodus 3:12) "And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.""

It is connected with God’s power to work on behalf of His people and to keep His covenant with them, which was illustrated and confirmed by His work in their deliverance from Egypt (6:6).

Compounds with the Name

1. Yahweh Jireh, "the Lord will provide" (Gen. 22:14).

After the Angel of the Lord pointed to a ram to use as a substitute for Isaac, Abraham named the place, "the Lord will provide."

2. Yahweh Nissi, "the Lord is my Banner" (Ex. 17:15).

After the defeat of the Amalekites, Moses erected an altar and called it Yahweh Nissi.

3. Yahweh Shalom, "the Lord is Peace" (Judges 6:24)

4. Yahweh Sabbaoth, "the Lord of hosts" (1 Sam. 1:3).

This is a military figure which pictures Yahweh as the Commander of the angelic armies of heaven as well as the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45). The title reveals the sovereignty and omnipotence of God and was used often by the prophets (Isaiah and Jeremiah) to remind the people during times of national crises that God was their Leader and Protector.

5. Yahweh Maccaddeshcem, "the Lord your Sanctifier" (Ex. 31:13).

6. Yahweh Roi, "the Lord my Shepherd" (Ps. 23:1).

7. Yahweh Tsidkenu, "the Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6).

8. Yahweh Shammah, "the Lord is there" (Ezek. 48:35).

9. Yahweh Elohim Israel "the Lord, the God of Israel" (Judges 5:3; Isa. 17:6).

Strictly speaking, these compounds are not additional names of God, but designations or titles that often grew out of commemorative events. However, they do reveal additional facets of the character of God.

The Perfections of God..

If the question of earlier lessons was, can God be known? the question of this lesson is: can God be defined?

If a definition consists of "a word or phrase expressing the essential nature of a person or thing, "then God cannot be defined, for no word or even phrase could express His essential nature. No one could put together such a definition of God.

But if the definition were descriptive, then it is possible to define God, though not exhaustively.

In alphabetical order, here are fourteen of the perfections of God considered under (a) meaning, (b) scriptural statement(s), and (c) application and/or any problem involved.

A.     Eternity.

1. Meaning. The attribute of eternity means that God exists endlessly. His existence extends endlessly backward and forward (from our viewpoint of time) without any interruption or limitation caused by succession of events.

If God exists endlessly, then He never came into existence nor was He ever caused to come into existence. He is endlessly self-existent.

2. Scripture. God’s eternality is reflected in Psalm 90:2, "from everlasting to everlasting," and Genesis 21:33 where El Olam, the Everlasting God, comes from an original form which means "the God of eternity."

3. Question. What is God’s relation to the succession of events? As an eternal Being He sees the past and the future as clearly as the present; further, He must see them as including succession of events, and yet He is in no way bound by that succession.

4. A ramification. A comforting ramification of God’s eternity is the confidence that God has never, nor will He ever cease to exist; therefore His sustaining, providential control of all things and events is assured.

B.     Freedom.

1.Meaning. Freedom in God means that He is independent of His creatures and His Creation.

2. Scripture. When Isaiah asked the people who had directed the Lord or taught Him anything or instructed Him, he expected the answer, "no one," because God is free; i.e., independent of His creatures”

(Isaiah 40:13-14) "Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? {14} Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?")

3. Question. Is God restricted in any way if He is free? Usually the answer states that God is restricted only by His own nature; e.g., His holiness restricts Him from ever sinning. But how can we even use the word restriction in connection with perfection? There can be no restrictions in perfection.

4. An application. Being free, God is not obligated to us in any way unless He chooses to initiate an obligation. He does not have to do anything for us unless He chooses to do so. Consequently, we cannot put Him in our debt.

C.     Immutability.

1.Meaning. Immutability means that God is unchangeable and thus unchanging. This does not mean that He is immobile or inactive, but it does mean that He is never inconsistent or growing or developing.

2. Scripture. (Malachi 3:6) ""I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."

(James 1:17) "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Notice in the former verse immutability guarantees the preservation of Israel.

3. Problem. If God is immutable, how can it be said that He repents?

(Genesis 6:6) "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain."

(Jonah 3:10) "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.")

If there actually was a change in God Himself, then either He is not immutable or not sovereign or both.

Most understand these verses as employing anthropomorphism; i.e., interpreting what is not human in human terms. In the unfolding revelation of God’s plan there seems to be change. However, this can be said to be so only from the human viewpoint, for His eternal plan is unchanging as is He.

However, the expression may simply mean that God was sorry or grieved which eliminates any concept of change.

5. Ramifications in relation to us. Immutability offers comfort and assurance that God’s promises will not fail (Malachi 3:6) ""I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."

(2 Timothy 2:13) "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.").

Immutability reminds us that God.s attitudes toward sin, for example, do not change. Therefore, God can never be coaxed or compromised into changing.

D. Infinity.

1. Meaning. Infinity means that God has no bounds or limits. He is in no way limited by the universe nor by time-space boundaries. But it does not mean that He is somehow spread out through the universe, one part here and another there.

2. Scripture. Solomon acknowledged God’s infinity at the dedication of his temple .(1 Kings 8:27) ""But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!"), and Paul used this attribute of God to argue against the false deities of the Athenians in Acts 17:24-28.

3. Observation. Sometimes this attribute is labeled immensity. It differs from omnipresence in that it emphasizes the transcendence of God (because He is not bound by space), while omnipresence focuses on the immanence of God (because He is everywhere present)

4. Love.

1. Meaning. Like many Christian terms love is more often discussed than defined. Even the dictionary offers little help. Love consists of affection and also of correction. Babies are cuddled and corrected and both are true expressions of parental love. Furthermore, both are done by parents in the belief that they are doing the best thing for the child at the time.

Love seeks good for the object loved. What is good? In God it is the perfection of holiness and all that that concept implies. Love in God is seeking the highest good and glory of His perfections. This implies no selfishness in God as it would in human beings.

2. Scripture. The Bible directly states that "God is love" (1 John 4:8)  "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

The absence of the article before "love" (the verse does not say, God is the love) indicates that this is the very nature of God. The presence of the article before "God" (literally, the God is love) shows that the statement is not reversible; it cannot read, "Love is God" (as Christian Science asserts)

3. Applications. Since all the attributes are possessed by each Person of the Trinity, there must be some loving interaction (inconceivable to humans, to be sure) within the Trinity. God who is love allows Himself to love sinful people. That is grace (Eph. 2:4-8). That love of God has been poured out into the believer.s heart (Rom. 5:5).

In trials God shows His love toward His children (Heb. 12:6)...Paul points out that love is the principle that makes acceptable to God all deeds performed by man (1 Cor. 13). God’s love is both universal and personal (John 3:16; Gal. 2:20). God loves us in spite of who we are (Rom. 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10). He loves us because of who He is (1 John 4:8).

Whom should we love? (Matthew 5:44-45) "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, {45} that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

(Hebrews 13:1) "Keep on loving each other as brothers."

(1 Peter 1:22) "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

(1 John 3:14) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death."

(1 John 4:11) "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

4.      Some related words. Closely related to love are goodness, mercy, long-suffering, and grace. While distinctions are made, they are not exact.

Goodness may be defined as God.s benevolent concern for His creatures (Acts 14:17). Mercy is that aspect of His goodness which causes God to show pity and compassion (Eph. 2:4; James 5:11).

Long-suffering speaks of self-restraint in the face of provocation (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 3:15).

Grace is the unmerited favor of God shown to man primarily in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All of these concepts are related and stem from the love of God who is love.

5. A heresy. The heresy of universalism grows out of an unbalanced concept of the attributes of God. It teaches that since God is love He will ultimately save all people. But God’s perfection of love does not operate apart from His other perfections including holiness and justice. Therefore, love cannot overpower holiness and save those who reject Christ and die in their sins.

Furthermore, universalism in reality does not have a proper definition of love since it sees only the affection aspect of love and not the correcting aspect. Finally, universalism contradicts direct statements of Scripture:

(Mark 9:45-48) "And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. {46} {47} And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, {48} where "'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'")

F. Righteousness.

1. Meaning. Though related to holiness, righteousness is nevertheless a distinct attribute of God. Holiness relates to God’s separateness; righteousness, to His justice. Righteousness has to do with law, morality, and justice.

In relation to Himself, God is righteous; i.e., there is no law, either within His own being or of His own making, which is violated by anything in His nature. In relation to His creatures He is also righteous; i.e., there is no action which He takes that violates any code of morality or justice. Sometimes these two aspects of righteousness are called absolute.(in relation to Himself) and relative (in relation to His Creation).

2. Scripture. God’s absolute righteousness is declared in Psalm 11:7: "For the Lord is righteous" (see also Dan. 9:7). David also declared His relative righteousness (Ps. 19:9; see also Acts 17:31)

G. Simplicity.1. Meaning. The attribute of simplicity means that God is not a composite or compounded being. This has to do with His essence so that it in no way contradicts the revelation of the Trinity. But this attribute also reminds us that when we consider God as a Triune Being He is not divisible or composed of parts or multiple substances.

2. Scripture. "God is Spirit" (John 4:24). By contrast, for example, human beings are spirit and matter. In the Incarnation, of course, our Lord became flesh, but the deity of the God-man was always and only Spirit.

3. Ramifications. The simplicity of God underscores His self-existence (for there was no prior cause to form a composite being), assures us that God will never be anything other than Spirit, and enables us to worship in spirit; i.e., not in material ways.

H. Sovereignty.

1. Meaning. The word means principal, chief, supreme. It speaks first of position (God is the chief Being in the universe), then of power (God is supreme in power in the universe). How He exercises that power is revealed in the Scriptures. A sovereign could be a dictator (God is not), or a sovereign could abdicate the use of his powers (God has not).

Ultimately God is in complete control of all things, though He may choose to let certain events happen according to natural laws which He has ordained.

2. Scripture. God has a plan (Acts 15:18) which is all-inclusive (Eph. 1:11), which He controls (Ps. 135:6), which includes but does not involve Him in evil (Prov. 16:4), and which ultimately is for the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:14).

3. The problem. The sovereignty of God seems to contradict the freedom or actual responsibility of man.  But even though it may seem to do so, the perfection of sovereignty is clearly taught in the Scriptures so must not be denied because of our inability to reconcile it with freedom or responsibility. Also, if God is sovereign, how can the creation be so filled with evil?

Man was created with genuine freedom, but the exercise of that freedom in rebellion against God introduced sin into the human race. Though God was the Designer of the plan, He was in no way involved in the commission of evil either on the part of Satan originally or of Adam subsequently.

Even though God hates sin, for reasons not revealed to us, sin is present by His permission. Sin must be within God’s eternal plan (or God would not be sovereign) in some way in which He is not the author of it (or God .could not be holy).

Sovereignty/freedom forms an antinomy ("a contradiction between two apparently equally valid principles or between inferences correctly drawn from such principles"). .

Antinomies in the Bible, however, consist only of apparent contradictions, not ultimate ones. One can accept the truths of an antinomy and live with them, accepting by faith what cannot be reconciled; or one can try to harmonize the apparent contradictions in an antinomy which inevitably leads to overemphasizing one truth to the neglect or even denial of the other. Sovereignty must not obliterate free will, and free will must never dilute sovereignty.

I. Truth.

1. Meaning. Truth means "agreement to that which is represented" and includes the ideas of veracity, faithfulness, and consistency. To say that God is true is to say, in the most comprehensive sense, that He is consistent with Himself, that He is all that He should be, that He has revealed Himself as He really is, and that He and His revelation are.completely reliable

2. Scripture. God is the only true God (John 17:3), and thus cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and is always reliable (Rom. 3:4; Heb. 6:18).

3. Ramifications. Because God is true, He can do nothing inconsistent with Himself. His promises can never be broken or unfulfilled (see 2 Tim. 2:13), and the Bible, which is His Word, must also be inerrantly true.

J. Unity.

1. Meaning. Unity means that there is but one God who is indivisible.

2. Scripture. The unity of God was a major revelation in the Old Testament as epitomized in the celebrated Shema (from the first word, "Hear," in Deut. 6:4). The verse may be translated in several ways: "The Lord is our God, the Lord is One" which emphasizes the unity of God; or "The Lord is our God, the Lord alone" which stresses the uniqueness of God in contrast to the gods of the heathen.

The New Testament, even with its clear revelation of the Trinity, affirms the unity of God (Eph. 4:6; 1 Cor. 8:6; 1 Tim. 2:5). This means that the Persons of the Trinity are not separate essences within the one divine essence. God is One in number and uniqueness.

One important concluding thought about the perfections of God: they describe the only true God who exists. Man creates his own false gods whom he can manipulate and control. Christian people sometimes concoct a perverted or deficient concept of God for the same reason to be able to manipulate Him or not to have to face up to the true and living God.

But the only actual God who exists is the One who is revealed primarily in the Bible and revealed by these attributes or perfections of His being. To be able to know this living and true God requires a miracle of the gracious revelation of Himself. To walk in worship with that living and true God is the privilege of all who know Him.

Last time updated: Saturday June 28, 2008 01:01 PM