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HOUSMAIL HM019 21
February 1999 USING THE
NAME OF GOD This
week's topic comes from a friend who had recently encountered teaching which
promotes the EXCLUSIVE use of the Hebrew name "YHWH" to refer to
God. In
this particular case, the core of the "message" was: *
That the name
"YHWH" has been lost because wicked translators of the Bible have
suppressed it. *
That it is a SIN to
use any other name for God. *
That God doesn't
answer prayers made by people who don't use that name. Of
course, this is an extremist position which places a completely wrong
emphasis on the use of one particular name for God. I
do hope we all KNOW that God isn't like that! 1.
God is bigger than that! If
He wants us to use that name exclusively then He would not have allowed human
translators to suppress it and conceal it from us. 2.
God is not unjust! It
is SLANDER against God to suggest that He would be so unjust as to permit the
translators to suppress the correct name, and then reject those who do not
know what name they are supposed to use, simply because they got the wrong
information from reading the Bible. 3.
People who address God by other names DO GET PRAYERS ANSWERED! The
Gospel promise by Jesus that God will answer our prayers, does not depend on
the NAME we use FOR God, but on the relationship we have WITH God. When
Jesus taught us HOW TO PRAY, he left us a "name" to use, which
describes our relationship with God. He said,
"Pray
like this, “OUR FATHER who art in heaven ....." (Matthew 6:9, Luke 11:2) He
invited us to address God, NOT BY ONE OF THE MANY OLD TESTAMENT NAMES, but as
..... "OUR FATHER"! Men
do not usually address their earthly father by his name. They use a word
which reaffirms the special relationship which exists between them. Jesus
invites us to pray that way to God. However,
this is NOT a law! It is a privilege. CONCLUSION I
can't even begin to believe that God requires us to use only one of His many
Hebrew names to the exclusion of all others. Nor can I believe that we must
pronounce that name with a "Hebrew accent", to be accepted when
speaking to Him or about him. Personally,
when I talk to God, I love to use the word "FATHER". This
is one of the great privileges offered by the Gospel. It describes a PRESENT
RELATIONSHIP which will last for ever. (1 John 3:2-3) It tells us that we have been adopted as Children into the
family of God. It is granted only to those who have been reconciled to God by
Jesus. God
is our Father in Heaven. We are His adopted children. The Gospel encourages
us all to believe that when we have truly become children, our heavenly
Father is listening just as attentively as he does to Jesus! Jesus
told us that when we ask for things that are according to His will, God will
ALWAYS hear us and give them to us! (1 John 5:14-15) Allon |