2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We are all at different places in our walks with the Lord. He makes it clear to me that He wants us to get to know Him even better than we already do. The way to do this is to search the Scriptures, because He has been so willing to reveal Himself in them. It is no accident that when God’s chosen people, the Jews, were given names, each name said something central about that person’s personality or about the calling God gave him. My guess is that this practice is a feature of being “created in God’s image” [see GN 1: 26]. The practice is a reflection of a system of names for God that reveal His precious and wonderful attributes. It is when we go back to the original Hebrew language in the OT or the Greek language in the NT that this can be seen and understood. In this series of messages, we will look at a number of God’s names in an effort to bring us all closer to Him.
In the original Hebrew, all the OT Scriptures cited today use the word, “Elohim,” for God. “El” in Hebrew means “mighty” or “strong.” It is crucial to note that the word, Elohim, is pleural, meaning three or more. However, our understanding of the basis of Judaism is monotheism, the belief in one God. That is stated clearly in the shema, DT 6: 4. “Shema Yisrael Adonai, Eloheinu, Adonai Echad…Here O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” That leaves us with the understanding that using the pleural here reveals God as “one in three persons,” i.e. the Trinity. Sadly, traditional Jews don’t fully understand what that means. They certainly acknowledge the presence of God, as the Sovereign and Supreme Deity, the Creator. They also acknowledge the “Ruach Ha-Kodesh,” the Holy Spirit. But, because of the veil that God has placed before their eyes, they do not accept that the second person of the Trinity, the Messiah that they eagerly await, has already had His first advent and will come again. They don’t know that He is Jesus Christ. Under the circumstances, if you used the term, “Trinity,” a traditional Jew would reject it as having any importance to him. The reason for that veil being placed in front of their eyes is revealed in RO 11: 25. “There is a secret truth, my brothers, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God.”
The word, Jehovah, is also translated as “the Lord our God.” It is common to use the word, “Eloheim,” when referring to God as the Creator. “Eloheim” was used in the following citations. GN 1: 1-2, “In the beginning, when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate.” GN 1: 26, “Then God said, ‘And now We will make human beings; they will be like Us and resemble Us.’ “ Understanding God’s supremacy over any other so-called deity is something He has wanted us to do right from the very beginning. DT 10: 17 (which uses the word “Eloheim”) reveals this. “The Lord your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers. He is great and mighty, and He is to be obeyed. He does not show partiality, and He does not accept bribes.” The knowledge of God’s supremacy, His command for us to obey Him, and His unwillingness to show partiality or accept bribes are facts that must not simply be an academic exercise. God wants us to them in our hearts. These truths are to be meditated over and prayed about, because they have enormous impact on our lives.
If the church were a corporation, God would be the Chairman of the Board. It is His right to make decisions concerning it. His Son, Jesus Christ, would be the Chief Executive Officer, authorized to run it. Sadly, our human corporations are not run with the 100 % righteousness that God commands, and that is why there are so many imperfections in them. We are given a remarkable view in the Scriptures of just how God has been doing this. AC 2 :23, “In accordance with His own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you, and you killed Him by letting sinful men crucify Him.” AC 4: 28, “They [those who wanted Christ crucified] gathered to do everything that You by Your power and will had already decided would happen.” COL 1: 15-20, “Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. For through Him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual power, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through Him and for Him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with Him all things have their proper place. He is the Head of His body, the church; He is the source of the body’s life. He is the first-born Son, Who was raised from death, in order that He alone might have the first place in all things. For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in Himself the full nature of God. Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.” 1 PET 1: 20-21, “He [Christ] had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.”
You might ask: Why is this so important to me to think about today? When dealing with this question, the Lord made it clear to me that we need to understand the construct into which God has placed us. When one takes a job, he needs to know exactly what his duties are and to whom he reports. Without that knowledge our lives become chaotic. More importantly, we become vulnerable to be dragged back into slavery to sin, that same marketplace out which we were bought by Christ’s death on the cross. We would once again become slaves to the flesh and would be buying one-way tickets to the lake of fire and sulfur (second or spiritual death). We also need to reflect on the fact that God loves us enough not to want our lives to end up in condemnation. When we understand that God [Eloheim] is our Creator, we also understand that He deserves our praise for all the wonderful blessings He has made possible by His huge sacrifice of His only begotten Son. We can marvel at what He has created and be thankful for it, but we are not to worship what He created [RO 1: 22-23].
PRAYER: O Lord, from the beginning of mankind’s history, You have called us to be obedient to You. This was not done out of selfish egotism, but out of profound love for us. You want us to become saved, justified, sanctified, and eventually glorified, so that we can enjoy eternal joy and fellowship with You. Our limited human perspective coupled with an inherited sinful nature gets in the way of that. Because You are omniscient, You understand that and have provided a way out of slavery to sin. We can appreciate Your sovereignty and supremacy, because You have given us a look at the pre-creation council in heaven and allowed us to see the valiant decisions You made there. Because of the depth of Your ability to love, so much greater than ours, we are allowed to see to at least some degree the heart-wrenching decision it must have been for You to have Christ suffer and die on the cross for us. We can only approximate an understanding of the disappointment You must feel when You see mankind making wrong choices and not acknowledging You in the way they should. You bless us by being a patient and compassionate Deity, by being righteous all of the time. For that and so much more, we humbly offer You our adoration, loyalty, trust, obedience, honor, worship, glory, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Scriptures using God’s name, “Eloheim,” which reveal Him as our loving Creator. I believe God has opened his arms in love to all His children and that He wants nothing more than to enfold us, bringing us close to Him. Join me in accepting this Godly hug and in knowing better the depth of His love for each of us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn