- Jun 5, 2017
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Hi All,
IS KNOWING AND USING GOD'S NAME IMPORTANT?
First off yes it is important as it is reflected in the third commandment *Exodus 20:7 and we are not to use it in vain but what does that mean?
I just thought this was an interesting topic as I know people that believe God needs to be called by a specific name or else type of thing. So at some point I wanted to know if this is important or not. We know that in the new testament Jesus is God and we have God the father but in the old testament many believe that God's name is YAHWEH/JEHOVAH.
What I found interesting in this topic was the way the Hebrews named things. Unlike what we do in our culture, the names given by the Hebrews is very descriptive of what is being named. Sometimes parents of Children would not even name their new born babies until sometime later after they had the chance to study the child's character, then a name would be given based on the child's dominant character trait or something that the parents wanted for the child.
Anyhow I had a look and found that in the old and new testament scriptures the same concept applied when giving God names. God has many names that are descriptive of the character of God in the old and new testament. I believe that is because who can describe God with one name right?
................
QUESTIONS (scripture support if possible)
Q1. What name of God do you use in prayer and why?
Q2. Does it matter what we name God in your view and why?
Q3. Can we really put a single descriptive name on God if God goes beyond description
Q4. What does it mean to use God's name in vain? (answered linked)
.................
NAMES OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (Hebrew)
To me God has many names. For me I use Lord, Jesus and my Heavenly father. If you would like to use YAHWEH/JEHOVAH does it matter? To me personally it is where the heart is not what name you wish to call God as he has many names and he knows when you are trying to talk to him and seek him.
YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH [yah-way / ji-hoh-veh]: “HE IS, SELF EXISTENT, LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 9:14) – strictly speaking, the only proper name for God in the old testament. Translated in English Bibles “LORD” (all capitals) to distinguish it from Adonai, “Lord.” The revelation of the name is first given to Moses “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3).
EH-YEH [haw-yaw]: “I AM THAT I AM” or "I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE" (Exodus 3:14) The self existent one. Jesus claiming the title (John 8:58) εἰμί eimi meaning “I EXIST”
EL, ELOAH [el, el-oh-ah]: God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19) – etymologically, El appears to mean “power” and “might” (Genesis 31:29). El is associated with other qualities, such as integrity (Numbers 23:19), jealousy (Deuteronomy 5:9), and compassion (Nehemiah 9:31), but the root idea of “might” remains.
ELOHIM [el-oh-heem]: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33) – the plural form of Eloah, which accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity. From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident as God (Elohim) speaks the world into existence (Genesis 1:1).
EL SHADDAI [el-shah-dahy]: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) – speaks to God’s ultimate power over all.
ADONAI [ˌædɒˈnaɪ; ah-daw-nahy]: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15) – used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men. In the Old Testament, YHWH is more often used in God’s dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when He deals with the Gentiles.
YAHWEH-JIREH [yah-way-ji-reh]: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.
YAHWEH-RAPHA [yah-way-raw-faw]: "The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) – “I am Jehovah who heals you” both in body and soul. In body, by preserving from and curing diseases, and in soul, by pardoning iniquities.
YAHWEH-NISSI [yah-way-nee-see]: "The Lord Our Banner" (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place. This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17.
YAHWEH-M'KADDESH [yah-way-meh-kad-esh]: "The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) – God makes it clear that He alone, not the law, can cleanse His people and make them holy.
YAHWEH-SHALOM [yah-way-shah-lohm]: "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) – the name given by Gideon to the altar he built after the Angel of the Lord assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing Him.
YAHWEH-ELOHIM [yah-way-el-oh-him]: "LORD God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) – a combination of God’s unique name YHWH and the generic “Lord,” signifying that He is the Lord of Lords.
YAHWEH-TSIDKENU [yah-way-tzid-kay-noo]: "The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) – As with YHWH-M’Kaddesh, it is God alone who provides righteousness (from the Hebrew word tsidkenu) to man, ultimately in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us “that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
YAHWEH-ROHI [yah-way-roh-hee]: "The Lord Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship God had with him, and so he declares, “Yahweh-Rohi is my Shepherd. I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).
YAHWEH-SHAMMAH [yah-way-sham-mahw]: "The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) – the name ascribed to Jerusalem and the Temple there, indicating that the once-departed glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 8—11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4).
YAHWEH-SABAOTH [yah-way-sah-bah-ohth]: "The Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7) – Hosts means “hordes,” both of angels and of men. He is Lord of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth, of Jews and Gentiles, of rich and poor, master and slave. The name is expressive of the majesty, power, and authority of God and shows that He is able to accomplish what He determines to do.
EL ELYON [el-el-yohn]: “Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) – derived from the Hebrew root for “go up” or “ascend,” so the implication is of that which is the very highest. El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to lordship.
EL ROI [el-roh-ee]: "God of Seeing" (Genesis 16:13) – the name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah (Genesis 16:1-14). When Hagar met the Angel of the Lord, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany. She also realized that El Roi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a God who lives and sees all.
EL-OLAM [el-oh-lahm]: "Everlasting God" (Psalm 90:1-3) – God’s nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself. “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
EL-GIBHOR [el-ghee-bohr]: “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) – the name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15). (see here for source)
NAMES OF GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (Greek)
JESUS: [Ἰησοῦς; Iēsous] From Matthew 1:21; John 1:1-4; 14. Jesus being God in the flesh that came to save all mankind sent by the father who loves all mankind (John 3:16). In the new testament God was given the name "JESUS" why? The angel said in Matthew 1:21 this name was to be given God because he shall save His people from their sins. Jesus in Greek is from the Hebrew name for Joshua; יהושׁוּע יהושׁע yehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ From H3068 and H3467; which means Jehovah-saved.
GOD: [θεός; theos] The most common word for God in the NT (1,318 times) is the Greek word theos (‘god’), used often by the LXX (more than 4,000 times) primarily as the translation of the usual Hebrew word for God, elohim. This word was also used by the LXX for the pagan gods, just as it was the standard word for the gods of the Greeks and Romans of NT times. Although the NT writers sometimes use ‘god’ for the pagan gods (e.g., 1 Corinthians 8:5) and on rare occasions apparently apply it theologically to the glorified Christ (e.g., John 20:28), the vast majority of cases refers to the God revealed in the history of Israel and in the person of Jesus. Thus, ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ is a frequent designation (e.g., Romans 15:6).
LORD: [κύριος; kurios; supreme in authority] In the OT , the chief title and representative name for God was the individual and personal name ‘Yahweh,’ translated kyrios (Gk., ‘Lord’) in the LXX and ‘the Lord‘ by several English versions. This name was used by OT authors more than 6,000 times, compared to about 2,500 times for elohim, ‘God.’ The NT continues to use ‘Lord’ for God (about 100 times), primarily in quotations from the LXX (e.g., Mark 1:3; 12:11; Acts of the Apostles 2:34) and in set phrases such as ‘hand of the Lord’ (Luke 1:66). The vast majority of the 719 occurrences of kyrios (‘Lord’) in the NT refers to Jesus, however, usually as the exalted Christ (e.g., Acts of the Apostles 2:36; John 20:28). Thus, the two most common OT names for deity, ‘God’ and ‘Lord,’ are used in the NT not only for God but also (though rarely in the case of the word ‘God’) for Jesus as the exalted Lord of the church’s faith. A much less common word for ‘Lord’ in the LXX, despoteµs (Gk., ‘lord,’ ‘sovereign,’ ‘master’) is also used in the NT both for God (Luke 2:29; Acts of the Apostles 4:24; Revelation 6:10) and for Christ (Jude 4; 2 Peter 2:1).
LORD OF LORD'S: [κύριος; kurios; κατακυριεύω; katakurieuo] king of kings and Lord of Lords] to rule, supreme ruler, 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16
FATHER: [πατήρ; patēr] This general designation of God as ‘Father’ is found in the NT: e.g., Hebrews 12:9 (‘Father of spirits’) and James 1:17 (‘Father of lights,’ i.e., the heavenly bodies). For Jesus as our Lord and example, ‘Father’ was the principal and most frequent designation for God. He used not only the common Jewish ‘our [or your] Father’ (e.g., Matthew 5:45; 6:9) but also the intimate family word for ‘father’ in his native Aramaic language, abba, which was also appropriated in the later liturgical practice of the church (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Not only did the concept of God as ‘Father’ express the personal relationship to God affirmed by Jesus and the church (e.g., Matthew 11:25-27), but in that cultural setting the term included especially the connotations of obedience, agency, and inheritance. Those who address God as ‘Father’ acknowledge God as the one to whom absolute obedience is due (Matthew 7:21; 26:42) and themselves as the agents who represent God and through whom God works (Matthew 11:25-27; John 10:32) and as God’s heirs (Romans 8:16-17).
‘THE GOD OF THE FATHERS’: [θεός; theos; πατήρ; patēr] This significant OT title for God, as well as the more particular phrase of the same meaning, ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,’ is found in the NT only in two Gospels (Mark 12:26; Matthew 22:32) and in the book of Acts. As in the OT , it emphasizes the continuity of Israel and the church’s faith, that the God of present experience is the same as the God revealed to the ancient patriarchs. Luke-Acts, which is especially interested in pointing out this continuity, thus uses the title four times (Acts of the Apostles 3:13; 5:30; 7:32; 22:14). In Paul and the literature dependent upon him, this title is replaced by ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3, 17; Colossians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3).
THE ALMIGHTY: [παντοκράτωρ; pantokratōr the all ruling God] The LXX had translated two of the Hebrew expressions for God in the OT , which probably meant ‘God, the one of the mountains’ (rsv: ‘God Almighty’) and ‘Yahweh of Hosts,’ with the more philosophical and formal pantokratoµr (Gk., ‘Almighty’), which the Greeks had also used for their gods. Jesus and the NT authors seem to avoid this appellation, which is found only in 2 Corinthians 6:18 and nine times in Revelation, mostly in self-designations of God or in ascriptions of praise in a liturgical context.
THE MOST HIGH: [ὕψιστος; hupsistos; Supreme God], or (neuter plural) the heavens: - most high, highest (Acts of the Apostles 7:48)
ALPHA AND THE OMEGA: [A; al'-fah; Ω Ō; o'-meg-ah; first and last] These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and thus represent God as the Beginning and the End, the source and goal of all creation, and thus the only God. The phrase itself is not found in the OT , but the basic formula from which it is derived is found in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12. In the NT , only the author of Revelation uses this name for God (1:8; 21:6); he also applies it explicitly to Jesus Christ (22:13; 1:17; 2:8).
THE HOLY ONE: [ἅγιος; hagios] This OT title for God, especially in Isaiah, explicitly refers to God only once in the NT (Revelation 16:5). It is used of Jesus in Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; and John 6:69. In 1 John 2:20, the reference may be either to God or to the exalted Christ.
General Terms: The common impersonal words for ‘deity’ in Greek are absent from those LXX books that are derived from the Hebrew canon of the OT and appear only once in the remainder of the LXX (Wisd. of Sol. 18:9). Correspondingly, ‘Deity’ as a term for God is found in the NT only in Paul’s address to the Athenians in Acts of the Apostles 17:29, and in Colossians 2:9. (source here)
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God bless.
IS KNOWING AND USING GOD'S NAME IMPORTANT?
First off yes it is important as it is reflected in the third commandment *Exodus 20:7 and we are not to use it in vain but what does that mean?
I just thought this was an interesting topic as I know people that believe God needs to be called by a specific name or else type of thing. So at some point I wanted to know if this is important or not. We know that in the new testament Jesus is God and we have God the father but in the old testament many believe that God's name is YAHWEH/JEHOVAH.
What I found interesting in this topic was the way the Hebrews named things. Unlike what we do in our culture, the names given by the Hebrews is very descriptive of what is being named. Sometimes parents of Children would not even name their new born babies until sometime later after they had the chance to study the child's character, then a name would be given based on the child's dominant character trait or something that the parents wanted for the child.
Anyhow I had a look and found that in the old and new testament scriptures the same concept applied when giving God names. God has many names that are descriptive of the character of God in the old and new testament. I believe that is because who can describe God with one name right?
................
QUESTIONS (scripture support if possible)
Q1. What name of God do you use in prayer and why?
Q2. Does it matter what we name God in your view and why?
Q3. Can we really put a single descriptive name on God if God goes beyond description
Q4. What does it mean to use God's name in vain? (answered linked)
.................
NAMES OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (Hebrew)
To me God has many names. For me I use Lord, Jesus and my Heavenly father. If you would like to use YAHWEH/JEHOVAH does it matter? To me personally it is where the heart is not what name you wish to call God as he has many names and he knows when you are trying to talk to him and seek him.
YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH [yah-way / ji-hoh-veh]: “HE IS, SELF EXISTENT, LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 9:14) – strictly speaking, the only proper name for God in the old testament. Translated in English Bibles “LORD” (all capitals) to distinguish it from Adonai, “Lord.” The revelation of the name is first given to Moses “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3).
EH-YEH [haw-yaw]: “I AM THAT I AM” or "I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE" (Exodus 3:14) The self existent one. Jesus claiming the title (John 8:58) εἰμί eimi meaning “I EXIST”
EL, ELOAH [el, el-oh-ah]: God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19) – etymologically, El appears to mean “power” and “might” (Genesis 31:29). El is associated with other qualities, such as integrity (Numbers 23:19), jealousy (Deuteronomy 5:9), and compassion (Nehemiah 9:31), but the root idea of “might” remains.
ELOHIM [el-oh-heem]: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33) – the plural form of Eloah, which accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity. From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident as God (Elohim) speaks the world into existence (Genesis 1:1).
EL SHADDAI [el-shah-dahy]: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) – speaks to God’s ultimate power over all.
ADONAI [ˌædɒˈnaɪ; ah-daw-nahy]: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15) – used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men. In the Old Testament, YHWH is more often used in God’s dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when He deals with the Gentiles.
YAHWEH-JIREH [yah-way-ji-reh]: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.
YAHWEH-RAPHA [yah-way-raw-faw]: "The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) – “I am Jehovah who heals you” both in body and soul. In body, by preserving from and curing diseases, and in soul, by pardoning iniquities.
YAHWEH-NISSI [yah-way-nee-see]: "The Lord Our Banner" (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place. This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17.
YAHWEH-M'KADDESH [yah-way-meh-kad-esh]: "The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) – God makes it clear that He alone, not the law, can cleanse His people and make them holy.
YAHWEH-SHALOM [yah-way-shah-lohm]: "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) – the name given by Gideon to the altar he built after the Angel of the Lord assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing Him.
YAHWEH-ELOHIM [yah-way-el-oh-him]: "LORD God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) – a combination of God’s unique name YHWH and the generic “Lord,” signifying that He is the Lord of Lords.
YAHWEH-TSIDKENU [yah-way-tzid-kay-noo]: "The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) – As with YHWH-M’Kaddesh, it is God alone who provides righteousness (from the Hebrew word tsidkenu) to man, ultimately in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us “that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
YAHWEH-ROHI [yah-way-roh-hee]: "The Lord Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship God had with him, and so he declares, “Yahweh-Rohi is my Shepherd. I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).
YAHWEH-SHAMMAH [yah-way-sham-mahw]: "The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) – the name ascribed to Jerusalem and the Temple there, indicating that the once-departed glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 8—11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4).
YAHWEH-SABAOTH [yah-way-sah-bah-ohth]: "The Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7) – Hosts means “hordes,” both of angels and of men. He is Lord of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth, of Jews and Gentiles, of rich and poor, master and slave. The name is expressive of the majesty, power, and authority of God and shows that He is able to accomplish what He determines to do.
EL ELYON [el-el-yohn]: “Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) – derived from the Hebrew root for “go up” or “ascend,” so the implication is of that which is the very highest. El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to lordship.
EL ROI [el-roh-ee]: "God of Seeing" (Genesis 16:13) – the name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah (Genesis 16:1-14). When Hagar met the Angel of the Lord, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany. She also realized that El Roi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a God who lives and sees all.
EL-OLAM [el-oh-lahm]: "Everlasting God" (Psalm 90:1-3) – God’s nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself. “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
EL-GIBHOR [el-ghee-bohr]: “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) – the name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15). (see here for source)
NAMES OF GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (Greek)
JESUS: [Ἰησοῦς; Iēsous] From Matthew 1:21; John 1:1-4; 14. Jesus being God in the flesh that came to save all mankind sent by the father who loves all mankind (John 3:16). In the new testament God was given the name "JESUS" why? The angel said in Matthew 1:21 this name was to be given God because he shall save His people from their sins. Jesus in Greek is from the Hebrew name for Joshua; יהושׁוּע יהושׁע yehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ From H3068 and H3467; which means Jehovah-saved.
GOD: [θεός; theos] The most common word for God in the NT (1,318 times) is the Greek word theos (‘god’), used often by the LXX (more than 4,000 times) primarily as the translation of the usual Hebrew word for God, elohim. This word was also used by the LXX for the pagan gods, just as it was the standard word for the gods of the Greeks and Romans of NT times. Although the NT writers sometimes use ‘god’ for the pagan gods (e.g., 1 Corinthians 8:5) and on rare occasions apparently apply it theologically to the glorified Christ (e.g., John 20:28), the vast majority of cases refers to the God revealed in the history of Israel and in the person of Jesus. Thus, ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ is a frequent designation (e.g., Romans 15:6).
LORD: [κύριος; kurios; supreme in authority] In the OT , the chief title and representative name for God was the individual and personal name ‘Yahweh,’ translated kyrios (Gk., ‘Lord’) in the LXX and ‘the Lord‘ by several English versions. This name was used by OT authors more than 6,000 times, compared to about 2,500 times for elohim, ‘God.’ The NT continues to use ‘Lord’ for God (about 100 times), primarily in quotations from the LXX (e.g., Mark 1:3; 12:11; Acts of the Apostles 2:34) and in set phrases such as ‘hand of the Lord’ (Luke 1:66). The vast majority of the 719 occurrences of kyrios (‘Lord’) in the NT refers to Jesus, however, usually as the exalted Christ (e.g., Acts of the Apostles 2:36; John 20:28). Thus, the two most common OT names for deity, ‘God’ and ‘Lord,’ are used in the NT not only for God but also (though rarely in the case of the word ‘God’) for Jesus as the exalted Lord of the church’s faith. A much less common word for ‘Lord’ in the LXX, despoteµs (Gk., ‘lord,’ ‘sovereign,’ ‘master’) is also used in the NT both for God (Luke 2:29; Acts of the Apostles 4:24; Revelation 6:10) and for Christ (Jude 4; 2 Peter 2:1).
LORD OF LORD'S: [κύριος; kurios; κατακυριεύω; katakurieuo] king of kings and Lord of Lords] to rule, supreme ruler, 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16
FATHER: [πατήρ; patēr] This general designation of God as ‘Father’ is found in the NT: e.g., Hebrews 12:9 (‘Father of spirits’) and James 1:17 (‘Father of lights,’ i.e., the heavenly bodies). For Jesus as our Lord and example, ‘Father’ was the principal and most frequent designation for God. He used not only the common Jewish ‘our [or your] Father’ (e.g., Matthew 5:45; 6:9) but also the intimate family word for ‘father’ in his native Aramaic language, abba, which was also appropriated in the later liturgical practice of the church (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Not only did the concept of God as ‘Father’ express the personal relationship to God affirmed by Jesus and the church (e.g., Matthew 11:25-27), but in that cultural setting the term included especially the connotations of obedience, agency, and inheritance. Those who address God as ‘Father’ acknowledge God as the one to whom absolute obedience is due (Matthew 7:21; 26:42) and themselves as the agents who represent God and through whom God works (Matthew 11:25-27; John 10:32) and as God’s heirs (Romans 8:16-17).
‘THE GOD OF THE FATHERS’: [θεός; theos; πατήρ; patēr] This significant OT title for God, as well as the more particular phrase of the same meaning, ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,’ is found in the NT only in two Gospels (Mark 12:26; Matthew 22:32) and in the book of Acts. As in the OT , it emphasizes the continuity of Israel and the church’s faith, that the God of present experience is the same as the God revealed to the ancient patriarchs. Luke-Acts, which is especially interested in pointing out this continuity, thus uses the title four times (Acts of the Apostles 3:13; 5:30; 7:32; 22:14). In Paul and the literature dependent upon him, this title is replaced by ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3, 17; Colossians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3).
THE ALMIGHTY: [παντοκράτωρ; pantokratōr the all ruling God] The LXX had translated two of the Hebrew expressions for God in the OT , which probably meant ‘God, the one of the mountains’ (rsv: ‘God Almighty’) and ‘Yahweh of Hosts,’ with the more philosophical and formal pantokratoµr (Gk., ‘Almighty’), which the Greeks had also used for their gods. Jesus and the NT authors seem to avoid this appellation, which is found only in 2 Corinthians 6:18 and nine times in Revelation, mostly in self-designations of God or in ascriptions of praise in a liturgical context.
THE MOST HIGH: [ὕψιστος; hupsistos; Supreme God], or (neuter plural) the heavens: - most high, highest (Acts of the Apostles 7:48)
ALPHA AND THE OMEGA: [A; al'-fah; Ω Ō; o'-meg-ah; first and last] These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and thus represent God as the Beginning and the End, the source and goal of all creation, and thus the only God. The phrase itself is not found in the OT , but the basic formula from which it is derived is found in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12. In the NT , only the author of Revelation uses this name for God (1:8; 21:6); he also applies it explicitly to Jesus Christ (22:13; 1:17; 2:8).
THE HOLY ONE: [ἅγιος; hagios] This OT title for God, especially in Isaiah, explicitly refers to God only once in the NT (Revelation 16:5). It is used of Jesus in Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; and John 6:69. In 1 John 2:20, the reference may be either to God or to the exalted Christ.
General Terms: The common impersonal words for ‘deity’ in Greek are absent from those LXX books that are derived from the Hebrew canon of the OT and appear only once in the remainder of the LXX (Wisd. of Sol. 18:9). Correspondingly, ‘Deity’ as a term for God is found in the NT only in Paul’s address to the Athenians in Acts of the Apostles 17:29, and in Colossians 2:9. (source here)
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God bless.
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