But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. - John 14:26
Nick Jackson
Throughout the Scriptures God has revealed Himself through His many names. It is by His name that we come to be able to relate to God for who He really is. Jesus taught us to pray to our Father in heaven and to "hallow His name" Matthew 6:9. We can only effectively pray to our Father by apprehending who He is through His name. All of His names have their complete fulfilment in Jesus the Messiah as He is "the fullness of the Godhead bodily" Colossians 2:9. So when we pray in the name of Jesus, we actually pray according to, and in agreement with, all the fullness of who God has revealed Himself to be, and so "If you ask anything in My [Jesus] name, I will do it" John 14:14.
The first appearance of the name "God Most High" is in Genesis 14:18-20 where this name is mentioned three times in the context of Melchizedek appearing before Abram. In Hebrew this name is El Elyon. El means God, God-like one, mighty one, strength. Elyon means an elevation, lofty; as a title 'the Supreme'. It also has the meaning of uppermost; highness, exalted, high in rank. It is derived from the verb 'alah meaning 'to ascend' [From Word Wealth in Genesis 14:18 in New Spirit Filled Life Bible].
From Genesis 14:18-20 we see that El Elyon:
• Blesses through His appointed Priest/King (v.18-19)
• Possesses heaven and earth
• Is to be blessed and praised (v.20)
• Delivers our enemies into our hands
El Elyon is referred to as the One "most high above all the earth...exalted far above all gods" Psalm 97:9. This name is linked to YHWH in Psalm 7:17, "And will sing praise to the name of YHWH Most High"; and YWHW Elyon is mentioned as the "great King over all the earth" in Psalm 47:2.
Jesus is the fulfilment and embodiment of El Elyon, God Most High.
• The blessing of the Most High God comes through His Priest/King. Jesus is that "priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" Hebrews 7:17,21.
• Jesus is the Possessor of heaven and earth. It is written that the Son of God has "the ends of the earth for His possession" Psalm 2:7-8 and Jesus, after rising from the dead, said "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" Matthew 28:18.
• Jesus is to be blessed! He is called "the blessed and only Potentate" 1 Timothy 6:15
• Jesus delivers our enemies into our hands! "Having made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [the cross]" Colossians 2:15
• Jesus is exalted far above all gods! He has been raised and is seated at God's right hand "far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named" Ephesians 1:21
• Jesus is the great King over all the earth. The Messiah was prophesied to be "the highest of the kings of the earth" Psalm 89:27 and He is now established as the "ruler over the kings of the earth" Revelation 1:5.
Jesus is El Elyon, God Most High, in flesh!
The word Shadday means all powerful, most powerful. Some people trace its origin to the word meaning 'mighty, unconquerable'. Some link it to a word meaning 'all sufficient, eternally capable of meeting His people's need'. Others link it to a word meaning 'mountain, strength'. [From Word Wealth in Psalm 91:1 in New Spirit Filled Life Bible]. As the Almighty God, He is the One who has all power and is able to supply all things necessary for our needs.
God spoke to Moses saying "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, as God Almighty [El Shadday], but by My name YHWH I was not known to them" Exodus 6:3. The patriarchs knew God as El Shadday. They did not have the revelation of His name YHWH. This was because God made covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shadday (Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 28:1-4, Genesis 35:11), whereas God made covenant with His people through Moses through His name YHWH.
God as El Shadday:
• Made covenant with the patriarchs, making promises to his Seed, and supplying all that is necessary to bring His plans to pass
• Brought forth the eternal destinies of the patriarchs, even changing their names to fit the destiny He had for them - Genesis 17:5, 35:10
• Gave profound blessings upon the head of Joseph - Genesis 49:25-26
• Has a voice like the sound of many waters - Ezekiel 1:24, 10:5
God made covenant through His name El Shadday to Abraham. God now makes His New Covenant through His name JESUS! He is the "Mediator of the New Covenant" Hebrews 9:15. Jesus fulfils the name of El Shadday by:
• Being the fulfilment of the covenant and promises made to the patriarchs - Galatians 3:16
• Bringing believers in Jesus into their eternal destinies, the "good works which He prepared beforehand for us to walk in" Ephesians 2:10
• Changing names (destinies) also, changing Simon to Peter to fit his destiny as a founding stone in the building of His church John 1:42
• Pronouncing profound blessings of the kingdom of heaven on those who come in the right attitudes - Matthew 5:3-10
• Being the "Almighty" "I am the Alpha and the Omega...the Almighty" Revelation 1:8,11
• Speaking with the voice of the Almighty - Revelation 1:15, Ezekiel 1:24
Jesus is El Shadday in the flesh!
The word Gibbor means powerful, warrior, strong one, valiant, brave man and has been translated as champion and has the sense of meaning a hero. God is revealing Himself as champion and hero of His people, the valiant and strong one who fights as a warrior for us.
As El Gibbor:
• "Nothing is too difficult for You...the Mighty God...YHWH of Hosts is His name" Jeremiah 32:17-18. YHWH Himself is the Mighty God
• He causes our "persecutors to stumble" as YHWH is known to be "a Mighty awesome One" Jeremiah 20:11
• YHWH is in the midst of us as "The Mighty One who will save" Zephaniah 3:17. He is the champion and hero of His people, delivering and saving us with great victories
• YHWH of Hosts is "strong and Mighty [Gibbor], Mighty in battle" and is known as the "King of Glory" Psalm 24:7-10. He is the King who wins every battle!
• The Son of God "will be called...Mighty God..." Isaiah 9:6.
• It was also prophesied "YHWH shall go forth like a mighty man [a Gibbor]...He shall prevail against His enemies" Isaiah 42:13.
Jesus is the Mighty Champion, the Hero and "Captain of our salvation" Hebrews 2:10.
Jesus fulfilled this name:
• He is the "great God and Saviour of us, Jesus Christ" Titus 2:13. Jesus is the Mighty One in our midst to save and deliver
• He is the One who is strong and Mighty leading His hosts to victory "And the armies in heaven...followed Him...out of His mouth goes a sharp sword...to strike the nations" Revelation 19:14-15
• He is the "King of glory" as He was called the "Lord of glory" who brings the rulers of the earth to nothing - 1 Corinthians 2:6-8
• He is the fulfilment of the prophecy in Isaiah to be the Son who is the Mighty God - The Son of God is El Gibbor in the flesh, being given to us
• He is YHWH in the flesh who came and prevailed against the devil as a man in the wilderness - Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus is El Gibbor, the Mighty God, in the flesh!
The word Olam means long duration, generally 'time out of mind', eternity. In other words, God cannot be calculated by our minds, He is outside of our thinking, He is God Everlasting. After Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, he "called on the name of YHWH, the Everlasting God" Genesis 21:33. It seems that the name El Olam is a good description of the name YHWH. He is the everlasting, eternal One, who is God. Moses also knew the awesome eternal nature of God by saying "Even from everlasting [olam] to everlasting [olam], You are God" Psalm 90:2.
It was prophesied concerning the Messiah in Micah 5:2 that He would be born in the earth in Bethlehem, but He would be "from everlasting [literally 'from the days of 'olam']". This prophecy came to pass in Jesus. He is the One from Everlasting. Jesus said "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life" John 6:54. By partaking of Jesus you partake of El Olam and you receive everlasting life!
Jesus is El Olam, the Everlasting God, in the flesh!
The word Nasa means to lift, bear up, carry, take. It is translated in many ways such as bear, carry away, forgive, lift up and many others. In Psalm 99:8 it says "You answered them, O YHWH our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives [El Nasa]". It is one of the attributes that describes God's manifest glory "forgiving [nasa] iniquity, transgression and sin" Exodus 34:7. It was also used of the Scapegoat on the Day of Atonement "the goat shall bear [nasa] on itself all the iniquities to an uninhabited land..." Leviticus 16:22. The revelation is that God forgives by carrying away and bearing our iniquities! He is the God who lifts up, takes away and bears all our iniquities!
It was prophesied in Isaiah 53:12 that the Messiah, the Servant, would be "numbered with the transgressors, and He bore [nasa] the sins of many". Jesus was the One who was "lifted up from the earth" John 12:32 and "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree" 1 Peter 2:24. It is in and through Jesus that we have "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" Ephesians 1:7 and "through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins" Acts 13:38.
Jesus is El Nasa, the God-Who-Forgives, coming in the flesh!
When Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah, was chased away, she found herself alone and desperate. The Angel of YHWH found her and spoke kindly to her. He promised her many descendants through her son Ishmael (Genesis 16:6-12). As a result of this encounter with God, Hagar "called the name of YHWH who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees: for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who sees me?' Genesis 16:13.
God has revealed Himself as the One who sees us. God spoke to the prophet Samuel "Do not look at his appearance or physical stature...for man looks at the outward appearance, but YHWH looks at the heart" 1 Samuel 16:7. The eyes of YHWH "run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" 2 Chronicles 16:9. God sees the invisible reality of who we are and what we are going through.
The apostle John saw Jesus as "a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God..." Revelation 5:6. The number '7' speaks of a complete and perfect number, thus, seven eyes speaks of perfect sight, knowing all things. Jesus sees everything. He sees everything by the Spirit of God. He knows all things that are in us "He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness...and equity..." Isaiah 11:3-4. The Messiah does not judge by appearances but "He knew all men...for He knew what was in man" John 2:24-25. Jesus was able to "perceive in His Spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves" Mark 2:8. Jesus sees the hearts of men.
Jesus is El Roi, the God-Who-Sees, coming in the flesh!
The patriarch Jacob had an awesome experience when he had to flee from his brother Esau. He met God in a dream and saw by revelation the house of God. He named the place of that experience Bethel [literally 'house of God'] Genesis 28:12-22. When Jacob returned there many years later he "called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother" Genesis 35:7. This is a wonderful revelation that God is the God of the house of God! He is the One building His house, He is in charge of His house and looking after His house.
When Peter received the revelation that Jesus was the "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" Matthew 16:16, Jesus was able to say to him, "you are Peter and on this Rock I will build My church" Matthew 16:18. Jesus is building His church.
Paul wrote to Timothy to say that "the house of God is the church of the living God" 1 Timothy 3:15. The Church that Jesus is building is actually the house of God! In revealing Jesus as the "Apostle of our confession", the writer to the Hebrews says that Christ Jesus "built the house", "He who built all things is God" and that "Christ is the Son over His own house, whose house we are" Hebrews 3:1,3,4,6. Jesus is building the house, He is God and He is the Son over the house which we are! Hallelujah!
Truly Jesus is El Bethel, the God of the House of God, coming in the flesh!
The word Emeth means stability, certainty, truth, trustworthiness, right and faithful. It is clear in the Old Testament that "YHWH is the True God" Jeremiah 10:10. Knowing Him as the True God is directly related to having been taught the word, the truth. At the time when Asa was king of Judah, a prophet was raised up who spoke "For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law" 2 Chronicles 15:3. To know the True God we must have the right teaching because "wooden idols are a worthless doctrine" Jeremiah 10:8 (1 Tim.1:3b). Knowing the True God brings certainty and stability to our lives.
Jesus said clearly "I am the...truth" John 14:6. When we receive the testimony of Jesus the Messiah we actually certify that "God is true" John 3:33. The apostle John wrote clearly that "the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" 1 John 5:20. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the True God! In knowing Jesus as the True God than we are to "keep ourselves from idols" 1 John 5:21. Jesus is the True God and any other so called 'god' is an idol, a worthless doctrine.
Jesus is El Emeth, the True God, in the flesh!
The names of God are clearly manifested in the name and person of Jesus. Apprehend Him, know Him and relate with Him according to His name. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" John 14:14