And those who know thy name will put their trust in the Thee, for thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.
Psalm 9:10
Scripture written in the original Hebrew and other Old languages, designates God with several Names. Through out the old Hebrew, faithful men of God were quick to make it clear they served one God, but descriptively, they described Him with numerous Names. Christians, may quickly understand this concept in the Three Names we use to describe His Nature as the Trinity*. The Trinity, are three distinct abilities that God had to be his all powerful self and still acheive oneness with mankind. - Three personalities of God.
Jesus himself most frequently referred to God as His Father. He referred to himself as the Father's Son. But He spoke often of the Spirit which made the ability of a Heavenly God be able to commune and interact with an earthly human being.
But in the Old Testament Scriptures, the writers shared the many ways God interacts with us by using God's names. We tend to use the three above most frequently: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit or the Trinity. But there are many other names of God and understanding them helps us understand the Nature of God and how he prefers to interact with us. How does God want us to visualize Him. What is His Character? What can we expect of Him when we pray? How should we approach Him and what should we call him when we pray?
God's Names give us assurance that when we pray according to his names, and in response to is Character, we are on track. We can therefore place confidence in knowing we are within His will. Jehovah was the name best known by most worshipers in the Old Testament. It was the most sacred of the Names of God and was not actually spoken or completely written out of respect and honor of the majesty of who God really is. There was a lot more awe inspired in the hearts of Israelites for God than the mere title "God" inspires in us today. When you spoke of Jehovah, (Yaweh), the most powerful being, the one true God. The only God. The amazing God. The God who was so great that words could not contain the whole scope of who God is. So when we use His other names, they most frequently begin with Jehovah and are followed by another word which attempts to explain one element of who God is and how He should be viewed.
Sometimes however the name begins with EL, generally which can be interpreted as "The One Who." Or just "The" followed by His Name. This sometimes denotes that He is "the only one" who fits the bill. Only God can be this individual, therefore the title. Here's the list which I first saw compiled by "Precept Ministries", in Chattanooga, TN. They believe that the Word of God is rightly divided when we take it "Precept by Precept." Which are my sentiments exactly.
Jehovah
The one true God
Yaweh
Lord, The God I serve, (Jehovah)
I Am That I Am
There is None Like Me, the First and Last,
The Beginning and the End
El Elyon
The Most High God
Elohim
Creator
Jehovah-Nissi
The Lord My Baner
Jehovah-Jireh
The Lord will provide
Jehovah-Shalom
The Lord is Peace
Jehovah-Sabaoth
The Lord of Hosts
Jehovah-Raah
The Lord My Shepherd
Jehovah-Rapha
The Lord that Healeth
Jehovah-Shammah
The Lord is There (in the Holy City)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
The Lord our Righteousness
Jehovah-Mekoddishkem
The Lord who sanctifies you (Jn. 17:19)
El Ehe All Suffiecient One
Adonai
Lord, Master
El Olam
The Everlasting God
Qanna
Jealous
El Roi
The God who sees
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*Unlike the names on the list, Trinity is not a word which was given in scripture as a name of God, but rather is the word which writers use now much as the writers of old, used the ones on the list, to describe "God in Three Persons."
Although Jesus described to us the three persons, he only said, I and My Father are one. And on other occasions, He introduced to his disciples that the Spirit of God would come to live with them in a new way, so that they could also be "one" with God, he could now live in them, to never leave or forsake their innermost being. The Trinity name very much denotes the God is with us concept, one the ancient men frequently did not understand. Men like David came closest because He accepted God's presence as constant, and close. But it was only after Jesus gave us access to God by the Spirit, was that Closeness able to become a Oneness. A new testament concept of the Nature of God.
Thank you Lord, for the names that are written in the Word that we may better understand who you are. May these names bring confidence to someone to be able to pray knowing who you really are. Rejoicing in Lord who really cares about our relationship, and describes how he would like for that relationship to be. Amen
It's Thanksgiving 2011, and I am thankful that God is My Heavenly "Father." It is marvelous that Jesus called our God "FATHER." The endearment term is ABBA which means daddy. I love to think of God as Daddy. Someone to look up to like a child with a beloved father. So today I add to the list:
ABBA
Father as an endearing term, Daddy
Today is Easter, March 2013, and as I praise God this morning since before the break of day, that when the Marys went to the tomb before dawn, they found it empty, for Christ had risen from that grave. He was Alive again. As I was re-reading this page, I realized I never got around to adding to the list the many names and titles given to Jesus. To I wish to add a few that come to mind this morning:
Jesus, Jeshua, Son of the morning, Son of God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, The Christ Child, Christ our Savoir, Friend, The Prince of Peace, Messiah, Redeemer, Master, King of the Jews, The Good Shepherd, The Bright and Morning Star, just to name a few...
