Do Christians worship a nameless God? In the last decade
much has been said about God. The Moslems talk of God, the Jews talk of God,
the Hindus speak of God, Buddhists speak of God and people in general speak of
God. On our coins and bills is printed the slogan "In God we trust".
Americans of all religious persuasions sing "God Bless America".
Jews, Christians and Moslems believe that there is but one God. The Moslem
people call God Allah. The Jewish people refer to God as Adonai rather than to
use the name as given in the Hebrew text. Christians refer to God in a number
of different ways. He is the Almighty, the Three in One, Jehovah, Lord, etc.
Maybe it does not matter what name we call Him as long as we respect and
reverence Him. That sounds like good reasoning in our sophisticated,
pluralistic society and many rest comfortably in this thought. It works quite
well until the Bible is opened up. For it is not possible to read the Bible and
to say honestly that it does not matter what name we give to God.
Let me give an example from the Scriptures. An often-quoted
passage states, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." This passage is quoted in Romans by Paul from Joel 2:32.
"Lord" is a pretty general term. It could hold still for Allah, the
Almighty, the Three in One, etc. However is that what Paul is quoting? Joel
writes, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD (i.e. Yahweh)
shall be delivered (i.e. saved)." Many people have become comfortable with
the Anglicized version of Yahweh - Jehovah. Personally the name Jehovah makes
me very uncomfortable. When I was growing up some of my family would call me
"Yohann". I have no idea why because my name is John. It bothers me
when someone who knows my name deliberately perverts that name into something
else. It is a given that no one knows for certain how the name of God is to be
pronounced. Yet there is no question that a specific name is given. The Jews
reverenced it to death. All that remained was four consonants and no one knew
how to supply the vowels in order to pronounce the name. You may be assured
that the pronunciation was not Jehovah. It may not be Yahweh, as I believe, but
I am convinced that it is as close as anyone can come. The point is not so much the exact
pronunciation as it is that this is His name. It is not Allah, Adonai, Elohim,
the Three in One or simply God. Most modern evangelicals consider Paul's
statement as referring to the name of Jesus Christ. That is, of course, an
interpretation based on doctrinal bias. Though this may very well be true to
say that whoever calls on the name of Jesus Christ will be saved, it is not
good exegesis of this passage. Paul's passage calls on the Scriptures to
validate his argument. Can we possibly maintain that it does not matter by what
name you call on God?
There are hundreds of places in the
Old Testament that insist on the name of God being Yahweh. The third
commandment often quoted when someone begins to cuss states, "Thou shalt
not take the name of the LORD (i.e. Yahweh) thy God in vain." The Shema of
Israel states, "Hear, O Israel, the LORD (i.e. Yahweh) our God, is one
LORD (i.e. Yahweh)." I believe that a better translation would be
"Hear, O Israel, Yahweh is our God - Yahweh is one." How can anyone read
this and be satisfied that the word "Lord" is sufficient? The
psalmist writes, "Not unto us, O LORD (i.e. Yahweh), not unto us, but unto
thy name give glory..." Consider passages such as Psalm 135. It is not
possible to overstate the importance of the name "Yahweh" in this
passage. It is truly unfortunate that the translators of the Bible have not
been sensitive to this. In the King James Version putting the translated word
in upper-case letters indicates the name. However, the reader does not know that
unless he/she reads the introductory remarks in the Bible. This is generally
passed over in reading. In the Old Testament the name, "Yahweh", is
central to understanding God's word. The New Testament, on the other hand,
cannot be used by itself to prove the case. Therefore, when the influence of
the Old Testament is diminished or when the Old Testament is viewed as little
more than a preface to the Christian scriptures then the name of God is lost.
How did
we arrive at this place?
Admittedly it is difficult to talk
about these things. I can hear someone now ringing the doorbell and asking,
"Did you know that God has a name?" I believe that the burden that
weighs so heavily on my heart in all likelihood also initiated the path of the
Jehovah's Witnesses and groups like the Assembly of Yahweh. For this reason I
consider these things humbly. Many cults have begun from legitimate
observations such as this. The founders of these groups recognized that God has
a name and that most have chosen to ignore it. Unfortunately they permitted
themselves to be deceived with its perceived implications. It is a sure bet
that Satan is lingering behind the curtains whenever believers imagine that
they must separate themselves from others. The often-used text "Come out
from among them, and be ye separate" is not referring to believers
separating from other believers. The context is "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers." It would be a grave error to define a believer
as one that uses the name of Yahweh or that belongs to an organization that
prides itself on using this name. The nameless characteristic of God in the
Christian Assembly did not develop overnight. It has a long and complex
history.
Its history actually begins before
the birth of Jesus. The name of Yahweh had become the sole jurisdiction of the
high priests even before the first century. The ineffable name was almost
reverenced to death. The reverence given to the name of God is to be commended
although it placed the name in an almost meaningless position. If no one dared
to speak the name then what was its function? Needless to say such reverence
eventually jumps to superstition. The name becomes an incantation for a select
few rather than a gracious privilege for the chosen people. I have no doubt
that Jesus used the name. Most certainly it was reverently and never in vain
(i.e. foolishly). This would prompt some of the religious leaders to consider
Him to be a blasphemer. Jesus emphasized God's name while instructing His
disciples. When asked about prayer Jesus said, "Our Father, who is in
heaven, Your name is holy..." Would His disciples wonder what is this name
that is holy? Jesus said that He comes in the "name of my Father" and
He prayed "Father, glorify thy name". What is the name of His Father?
Could we imagine that it is anything other than the name of God? I have no
doubt that His disciples understood this although they would not be familiar
with that name. Then there is the beautiful prayer of our Lord as recorded by
the apostle John. "I have manifested your name... keep through thine own
name... I kept them in thy name... I have declared unto them thy name, and will
declare it." Lastly, can we ignore the implications of Matthew 28:19? They
were directed to baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit." Name is singular in this passage. What is the name of
the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? Clearly it is one name (i.e. the
name of God). Can we imagine that the name of God is not important in the Christian
faith?
We must believe that the apostles
understood this to be true. Though it may not be explicitly stated as often as
we like, it must have been an underlying current that went through their
witness of Christ. Take for instance Peter's message on the day of Pentecost.
He quoted from not only Joel, as seen above, but also from the psalms. In his
quote from Psalm 110:1 we read, "The LORD (i.e. Yahweh) said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand". Peter would not have stated the name of Yahweh
but all would have known that this is the name mentioned in the quoted passage.
It must be understood - I say this emphatically - that references to God in the
apostolic teaching are to Yahweh and not to some generic interpretation of God.
Peter continues, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God
hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Can there be any question that the Jews knew that this God is none other than
Yahweh, the God of Israel? There is a holy continuum that exists between the
Old and the New Testaments. Much harm has come to the faith by those that have
denied it. In reading Paul, John and the other writers of the New Testament
these things must be consciously considered. The God of Israel did not somehow
evolve through the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of our Lord is
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the
prophecy of Jeremiah and others of the ancient Jewish prophets.
John the Baptist, as the last of the
Old Covenant prophets, quotes from Isaiah 40:3, "Prepare ye the way of the
LORD (i.e. Yahweh), make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
Did John actually believe that the one that was coming was actually Yahweh, the
God of Israel? I don't know how we can doubt it. Jesus taught this - albeit in
humility. The apostles taught this as they bore witness of Jesus. However,
somewhere along the way it got lost in the shuffle. I cannot tell you exactly
when the name of God was lost to God's people. I doubt if it was ever totally
lost but it was definitely misplaced. It is likely that the Gentile domination
of the Christian faith had a great deal to do with it. By the 1500's the name
Jehovah was adopted as the name of God. It was derived from the consonants of
the divine name (i.e. YHWH) and the vowels from the Hebrew word
"Adonai" (i.e. "Lord"). The "J" comes from the
Anglicized rendition of the Hebrew letter "Yod". This for some reason
became widely accepted. It is not, however, the name of the God of Israel.
There is no reason for believers to worship a nameless God or to settle for a
perversion of the name.