Filed under: 2 -- God the Father
Who is God? – We Learn from the Name of God
We learn who God is and what God means to us from looking at the Scriptures and what it says about His name.
In Biblical times people believed that a person’s name provided insight into their character – that the meaning of your name defined who you were. In Acts 4:36 we read that the name Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement” and to someone of that time, they would have understood that Barnabas must be an encouraging man. The name “Jesus” means “God saves” which certainly says a lot about who Jesus was. Notice also how many people of the Bible have their name changed when great events occur that change their character. Saul becomes Paul in Acts after he turns from persecutor to disciple. And in Genesis 17:5, God Himself changes Abram’s name to Abraham to more properly suit who he will become. So, to people of the Bible, hearing someone’s name also meant learning something about them.
In Exodus 3:13-14, Moses asks God what His name is. All the pagan gods in different towns and regions had names that described what they did – gods that made the rain or the crops grow or blessed families with children. To worship those gods, people need to know their names. But the answer that Moses got from God was different than any name he had heard before. God answered, “I am who I am.” Then, the very strange message we read in today’s Bible (NIV), God tells Moses
“This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “
What an unusual name, I AM.
In ancient biblical texts, God’s name is spelled (translating from Hebrew to English letters) YHWH. These letters are very close in Hebrew to the verb “to be” which allows translation of God’s answer as both “I am” and “I will be”, or even, “I cause to become”. In class we discussed what this might mean – God being constant, always present, never changing. And God being and creating all things – not a god of rain or harvest, but of absolutely everything.
But consider the name YHWH again. In Hebrew and English, these letters are not pronounceable as a word – there is no vowel. But make the sounds of the letters, “yah – heh – wah – heh” and what do you hear? Nothing but your breath. That heh sound to me sounds just like inhaling. Maybe saying God’s name sounds like breathing. I love this idea – when we are breathing we are saying God’s name. Psalm 150, the very last psalm in the Book of Psalms, ends with
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Perhaps in every breath we are saying God’s name. Remember that names carry meaning? It is like God is saying through His name that He is the giver of all life. While we live, we constantly praise Him, saying His name. And when we stop saying His name, we die.
God is The One Who…
To learn more about what God is, we go to the Bible. Let us read Bible passages that described various qualities of God, looking into who He is and what He has done for us. Here are the scriptures to read and just a few of the qualities of God that we finddescribed there:
| Genesis 1:1-5 | God is creator of all |
|---|---|
| Genesis 2:18 | God cares that we are not alone |
| Genesis 17:1-7 | God chooses to be in covenant with us |
| Exodus 3:7-8 | God knows the sufferings of people and saves them |
| 1 Kings 19:11-14 | God comes to us in unexpected ways |
| Psalm 8 | God is majesty and glory |
| Psalm 139:1-14 | God knows us intimately |
| Isaiah 6:1-8 | God prepares and calls us |
| Isaiah 40:12-18 | God is incomparable |
| Hosea 11:1-9 | God has warm and tender compassion |
| Luke 15:4-7 | God searches for the lost and rejoices at finding |
| John 1:1-5, 16-18 | God will not be overcome by darkness; who gives grace upon grace |
| John 4:24 | God is spirit |
| 1 John 4:7-10 | God loves us enough to make a supreme sacrifice |
You probably found other ideas about God besides these in the text. Feel free to share them by posting your comments below (press the “Comments” link at the bottom-right of this post). There are probably no wrong answers, and God speaks to each of us differently through His Word, the Bible.
God, Our Father
In the four Gospels, Jesus refers to God as “Father” many many times. Not surprising, since we think of Jesus as the Son of God, then surely he calls God his Father. But looking at Luke 11:1-2 where the disciples ask Jesus how they should pray, Jesus tells us to call God our Father too. So this word “Father” must be worth exploring.
When Jesus called God “Father”, he frequently use the Aramaic word abba. This word means “Father”, but a more accurate translation that captures the deeper relationship expressed by abba would be the word daddy. Feel the difference between the words, the embrace of love and close relationship that is invoked when we say daddy. This is the relationship that Jesus invites us into with God. To open our hearts to Him and feel His perfect love.
Confirmands, parents, and mentors, if you have any thoughts please share them in the comments section below!
Pastor Glenn burtpc@hotmail.com
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