The Glory of the Name of the LORD Part 2 N.T.
“Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed by thy Name (Matt. 6:9)
In our last study we looked at the Glory of God’s name: “I AM THAT I AM” & “LORD” (Jehovah) (Ex. 34:6; 3:13-4). The profound nature of Names in the Bible makes it clear that God’s “Name” somehow reveals His character & encompasses all His attributes. There’s a lot of debate about what the LORD’s Name is & how to pronounce it. All agree no one knows for sure as the Jews didn’t preserve its pronunciation. But every English Bible for the last 400 years wrote it “Jehovah.” People are so focused on the revelation of “The LORD’s” Name in the Old Testament they are carelessly ignoring the Greatest Revelation of God’s Name that was revealed by the LORD Jesus in the New Testament.
I. JESUS MANIFESTED THE NAME OF GOD TO US
As Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father, Jesus said: “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world…” (John 17:6: Heb. 2:12). “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (17:26). “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name… (John 17:12; Heb. 2:12; Ps. 22:25).
Jesus also prayed: “the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, & thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:22-23). Jesus said: “I am come in my Father’s name (John 5:43; 7:18; 10:25; 17:6, 26; Heb. 5:5). As John the Baptist’s ministry was intended to reveal the Son of God to Israel (John 1:33-34), so Jesus’ ministry was intended to reveal God the Father to Israel (John 1:18; 10:25; 14:9; 17:6, 26; Matt. 11:27).
II. HOW JESUS’ NAME REVEALS THE NAME OF THE ‘LORD’
“LORD” in the O.T. is the Name “Jehovah” (YHVH) in Hebrew.
Jesus’ full name in Hebrew is “Jehoshua” and means “Salvation of Jehovah” or “Jehovah [the] Saviour.” “Joshua is a shortened form of “Jehoshua” (Numbers 13:16). Jesus is Jehovah come to earth as our Saviour (Isa. 43:11; 45:21). In English, the dictionary definition of Saviour with the Capital S and 7 letters always referred to God and when used of Christ revealed that Jesus is God. You could learn Jesus’ name in Hebrew is “Joshua” from the KJV translation in Hebrews 4:8 & Acts 7:45. The Old Testament “Joshua” is interchangeable with the New Testament name “Jesus.” Jesus also made known the Father when He revealed His own identity as “I AM.” (Ex. 3:14 with John 8:58). “I AM” comes from the same Hebrew root as “Jehovah” which is the verb “to be.” That is why only in Jesus can we experience the full Glory of God.
III. JESUS REVEALS GOD THE FATHER BY REVEALING
HIMSELF AS THE SON OF GOD
Jesus’ whole being & entire ministry is inseparable from the idea that He is the “only begotten Son of God” (Joh 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; I John 4:9).
- Prophesy reveals His Divine Sonship (Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Ps. 2:7; Isa. 9:6)
- His Divine Sonship is revealed at His birth (Luke 1:32, 35)
- His Divine Sonship is revealed at His Baptism (Matt. 3:17; John 1:34)
- His Divine Sonship was attacked by satan (Matt. 4:3, 6; Lk. 4:3, 9)
- His Divine Sonship is known by the demons (Matt. 8:29; Mk. 3:11)
- His Divine Sonship is supernaturally revealed to Peter (Matt. 16:16)
- Jesus is crucified for being God’s Son (John 19:6-7; Matt. 27:43)
- His Divine Sonship evident at the Crucifixion (Matt. 27:54; Mk.15:39)
- His Divine Sonship is revealed by His resurrection (Rom. 1:4)
- You must believe Jesus is the Son of God to be saved! (John 3:18, 36; 9:35; 20:31; I John 2:23; 4:15; 5:5; 2 John 1:9; Matt 10:32-33).
IV. THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY TEACHING JESUS GAVE US OF GOD IS THAT GOD IS FIRST & FOREMOST “FATHER.”
Jesus was sent to earth to bring mankind the greatest revelation of God that a human being can ever have (Heb. 1:2). “God was manifest in the flesh” (I Tim. 3:16)! “In Jesus dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9)! Jesus taught amazing truths about God, but there is one great Attribute of God’s glory that Jesus emphasized more than any other. What is that? That God is primarily & most importantly “Father.” Jesus called God “My Father” 57 times. He referred to God as “Father” 176 times. To claim to be God’s Son was to make yourself equal with God (John 5:18; 10:30-33; Phil. 2:6).
Illustration: A diamond has many ‘facets’ but only one ‘table.’
Looking through the table you see all its facets at their most brilliant. Thus God is “The Father of mercies” (2 Cor. 1:3); “The Father of glory” (Eph. 1:17); the “righteous Father” (John 17:25); the “holy Father” (John17:11); the sovereign ‘Father, Lord of heaven & earth’ (Matt 11:25; Lk. 10:21); the omniscient Father (Matt. 10:29-30); the good caring Father (Matt. 6:26). God wants us to know Him in His fullness as Father.
Illustration: Pastor Peter Lord
So what was the glorious Name of God that Jesus revealed to us?
If anyone would know what God the Father’s Name is it would be God the Son! Amazing by its absence is the fact that the Name “LORD” (Jehovah) is not found once in the N. T.? You find it in a Hebrew translation of the N.T. because Jesus’ name contains the Name of Jehovah in it. But God’s Name Jehovah is not found in any other translation on Earth. So what is the Name of God Jesus revealed to us?
THE NAME OF GOD JESUS REVEALED TO US: FATHER!
God only revealed Himself as Father 15 times in the Old Testament But nobody before Jesus in the history of Israel had addressed God as “abba.” “Abba” is like our English “daddy.” It is the intimate family word that a child used of his Daddy. Jesus came to make such an intimate loving personal relationship with God the Father possible for all who believe on Him as God’s Son. So the Name of God that Jesus revealed to his Disciples is “Father” & “Abba” [Dad or Daddy] (Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). God “glorified” His name “Father” (John 12:28). When talking of God, Jesus only used the name “Father” (Matt 11:25-27; 26:39; Mk. 14:36; Lk. 11:2; 23:34, 46; Joh 12:27-28; 17:1-25).
FATHER IS ONLY A NAME FOR A TRUE SON OR DAUGHTER
Illustration: Me & my sister’s relationship with my Father.
Father is not just a title. It is the name of relationship by birth!
Jesus brought us salvation through being ‘Born again’ of the Holy
Spirit (John 3:3-7)! God becomes our Father through the new Birth.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13)
We become sons of God by faith in Christ (Gal. 3:26). It creates an intimate filial relationship with God which will be perfected at Christ’s 2nd Coming (Rom. 8:23; I John 3:2). That is why we say that Christianity is not a religion but about having a personal relationship with God through faith in Christ (John 14:6). Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to experience the Sovereign transcendent God with the intimate love of our Heavenly Father! Illustration: John Sung
KNOWING GOD AS YOUR FATHER BRINGS PERSECUTION
When Jesus revealed God to be His Heavenly Father the Jews wanted to kill Him (John 5:18; 8:42, 54-59;). To this day baptism in the name of the Father, & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit often evokes persecution & violent hostility from unbelievers & people of other faiths (Matt. 27:39-43). Why? Christian baptism proclaims that you have established a very special & intimate relationship with the one true Trinitarian God (Matt. 28:19). If Jesus is the way & the Truth & the life then every other religious leader & religion is wrong (John 14:6)! And Jesus is returning to Judge the world in righteousness (Rev. 19:11-16). He alone determines our eternal destiny. People become jealous of your exclusive & profound relationship with The Heavenly Father which they themselves don’t experience & can’t understand (John 16:3; Matt. 27:18; Mk. 15:10; Jam. 3:14-16): until they come to Know Jesus in truth.
Why is this dual revelation of both the Father and the Son so important? So…“That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (Joh 5:23; 15:23-4; I Joh 2:23; 2 Joh 1:9).
Important Lessons:
- At the very center of all creation, of all time & eternity, of all life, is
an eternal Father Son relationship. The fact that God reveals Himself to us as “Father” means Family is of supreme importance to Him. He created Family as the most important unit of the human race (I Tim. 5:8).
- The family, with its structure of order, unity & diversity, involving
authority & submission, reveals the glory of God! Thus the world & satan attack it & seek the destruction of the family unit. The ultimate battle is against the One True God: His character & nature.”
- Many people grew up experiencing the loneliness & rejection of a
poor example for a father or even abuse from an evil father. Such experience does not have to hinder you from experiencing your heavenly Father’s life changing love & grace. Look at the liberating truth in John 17:24 & 26. Jesus prays: “I in them, & thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; & that the world may know that thou hast sent me, & hast loved them, as thou has loved me.” “I have declared unto them thy name, & will declare it that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, & I in them.” Do you see it? Jesus comes to live in us. And when He does He brings His own infinite supernatural love for the Father with Him (Rom. 5:5). You don’t have to first be able to love your earthly father before you can experience the love of & for your Heavenly Father! When Jesus Christ comes to live in your heart He brings all the infinite life changing resources of Divine love with Him! (Eph. 3:14-21)
- If God is first a foremost Father it will have a huge influence on
how we perceive the Church of Christ & our place in it. The Church is primarily a family. The most common tern for believers in the New Testament is ‘brethren’ (184 x’s). As a Family one of the most important characteristics of the Church is Love (John 13:35). To grow in love we must know, teach & live God’s eternal Truth (Eph. 4:15). So I commit myself to help the Church become the loving Family God created it to be! We can make our heavenly Father very happy (2 John 4; 3 John 4).