Following Judah's Lion

That Most Holy Name

Rom.10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Phil.2:9-11 - Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, 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.
God has many names throughout Scripture. Many, if not most, of those names are descriptive of His power and attributes. These Old Testament names are but a few:
Adonai-Jehovah -- The Lord our Sovereign
El-Elyon -- The Lord Most High
El-Olam -- The Everlasting God
El-Shaddai -- The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People
Jehovah-Elohim -- The Eternal Creator
Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider
Jehovah-Nissi -- The Lord our Banner
Jehovah-Ropheka -- The Lord our Healer
Jehovah-Shalom -- The Lord our Peace
Jehovah-Tsidkenu -- The Lord our Righteousness
Jehovah-Mekaddishkem -- The Lord our Sanctifier
Jehovah-Sabaoth -- The Lord of Hosts
Jehovah-Shammah -- The Lord is Present
Jehovah-Rohi -- The Lord our Shepherd
Jehovah-Hoseenu -- The Lord our Maker
Jehovah-Eloheenu -- The Lord our God
It is not a surprise that the infinite God has all kinds of wonderful names. He is far beyond our ability to comprehend, and His own revelation of Himself is what we know of Him. I would have to believe that His names could well be infinite. In Revelation He has a name which only He knows. It is quite the powerful mystery.
God reveals Himself to Moses by saying, “I AM that I AM”. We call that the tetragrammaton which is the term given to YHWY. But little by little God reveals Himself to fallen man through many names and many acts. But there is one name that God reserved for His Son, and it is that name which the Father honors above all others. That name is Yeshua, or Jesus.
Let us be completely honest. The concept of the Trinity is way beyond us. Oh we use simplistic object lessons like the three part egg, but in the realm of the spirit and the divine Godhead it is a profound mystery. Just thinking on it should place us in awe of this Great God, the Creator of all that is and ever shall be. Being an amateur astronomer I can tell you that there are things in the physical universe that are beyond our ability to understand. And that is the creation, so how much greater is the Creator Himself?
But although God reveals Himself in three persons, He reserves one name to elevate and through which redemption must come. Now this name, Jesus, is translated in many languages, but it does not change the fact that through the name of Jesus comes salvation.
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.
What a glorious name! There is power in that name. There is the power to save a lost soul who calls upon that name in faith. Man has complicated salvation and required all sorts of human works and religious ceremonies in order to be saved, but Biblically all a sinner has to do is call upon the name of Jesus. Why? Because that name represents Him who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. That name carries the everlasting gospel.
But sadly, that name has become a curse word. It is avoided in mixed company. It has been maligned, and in many cases it has given way to the more generic and politically correct term “God”. And when someone like Tim Tebow says, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” it makes headlines because the average person does not hear that kind of talk from his church going neighbors. Such is the pitiful state of western evangelicalism. The lost neighbor is much more likely to hear from his divorced and remarried Christian neighbor terms like “pro-life” or “traditional marriage” or “moral decay” than he is an open reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why have we become so reticent to use that glorious name in public? Why are we so shy about Him when He was so bold for us? The name of Jesus carries with it the mysteries of the Creator God since it was Jesus Who created everything. And Jesus Himself assured us that when we ask in His name the Father hears us. But so often we have made that name an epilogue to a short and benign prayer that seems to have less passion than ordering a Happy Meal through the drive through window.
Let us once again fall in love with that name and the One who bears it. People need to know we are not a moral club or a political fellowship or even an “I believe in God” group. We are believing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we not only believe in His death and resurrection, but we openly and unashamedly believe He will return one day!
Of course if we desire people to believe that we believe that, we are going to have to make some adjustments in the way we live.
Eph.3:14-21 - For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
May the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be praised, honored, and worshiped in front of all living creatures. And may the lives of those of us who claim to love that name shine as the stars of heaven for His glory alone!