Onegod, Part Four

PART FOUR-THE NAMES OF GOD In this part we will examine how the names of God show there is not just one being called God. The Holy Bible will prove at this time there is two beings, or spirits, that are God. The Father is God, and Jesus Christ is Godtwo spirits called God. Let us see how names prove the above absolutely. In Genesis 21:22-32 Abraham and the king of Gerri made a covenant between them. This had to do with a well Abraham had made that the king’s servants had taken. But notice then verse 33: “Abraham planted a tamarack tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God” (New International Version). The “Lord” here that Abraham is calling on has many names according to the Bible. However, the name “Father” is not the name that was called on because “The Father God” was not Abraham’s personal, intimate God. The Father is not the one who called and spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12. But yet according to John 20:17 the Father is God. The Eternal that spoke to Abraham was God also and his name was “Yahweh,” meaning “Lord.” It is crucial to make it clear that Yahweh God was not the Father. One of the few identifying verses besides “God” in Genesis 1:26 for the Father is Psalm 110:1. But the “my Lord” here that David speaks of is the personal God he knew, and it is the same God Abraham knew. Yahweh found in the Bible that speaks, interacts, and judges is not the Father though. This Yahweh is the one that became the human Jesus Christ. But before he became Jesus Christ he was God also. So we see how the name “Yahweh” proves there was another God besides the Father God. Moses, Abraham, David and the like personally knew this other God. Going further brings us to Exodus 3. This chapter tells of God, or the Eternal, calling Moses to be the instrument to free the Israelites from Egypt. But read one important part of this chapter: “And Moses said to God, behold when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:13-14, KING JAMES VERSION). First, there is no doubt this is God speaking to Moses. The text says so.

Next, Moses asks for a name of God, and God answers back, “I AM.” That is God’s name in this particular scripture. But this God is not the Father. This is true because in John 8:58 Jesus Christ said the same thing to the Jews as in Exodus 3:14. Read John 8:51-57 to understand why Jesus Christ said this. See in verse 58 that Jesus Christ did not say, “...before Abraham was, I was.” No, Jesus Christ said at the end, “I Am.” It is no wonder then why the Jews were going to stone him in verse 59. Jesus Christ was this God in Exodus 3:14 that said his name was “I AM” that sent Moses to the Israelites. Read also John 18:1-6. The word “he” in verses 5-6 is not from the original languages. So in each case only “I AM” should be in the text. Jesus Christ says the same “I AM” as in Exodus 3:14 and in John 8:58. This is why the crowd fell backward at these two simple but authoritative words: “I AM.” The name “I AM” therefore also reveals there are two spirits, not just one spirit, called God. One final point about Exodus 3:14 is that this “God” that says his name is “I AM” is also the God of the “fathers” of Israel. The fathers are Abraham, Isaac, Israel (Jacob), and Joseph. They all had the same God as their personal God. And this God was not the Father. This God was the spirit that became Jesus Christ. The next evidence from the names of God is found in the book of Psalms, read: “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). “The Lord” here is the Father God, and “you” here is “my Lord”-David’s personal God in verse 1. The Father is not only saying this “my Lord” is a priest, but also he follows the order of Melchizedek. But reading in verses 23 we see this is futuristic of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Now who is this Melchizedek the Father is saying Jesus Christ is in the order of? The answer underlines just another name of God, but that is not talking about the Father. We find the answer in Hebrews 7:1: “This Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, met Abraham returning from his defeat of the kings and blessed him” (New American Bible). At the time Abraham lived the Levitical priesthood did not exist (verse 10). So this Melchizedek was God’s priest. Now the God being talked about in verse 1 is the Father. Melchizedek therefore was the Father God’s high

priest. But this is not all, notice: “Without father, mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, like the son of God he remains a priest forever” (Hebrews 7:3, NAB). Some might think this was a human being because of the wording in verse 4, King James Version and other versions, about “this man.” But human men have an end of life, so says Hebrews 9:27. But Melchizedek has no end of life. And his priesthood remained forever from the time he met Abraham on. No human man could have done this. So who is Melchizedek? Melchizedek was the personal God David knew in Psalm 110:1 as “my God.” And Melchizedek was the personal God Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the Prophets and all such knew as their God. He was the God Moses and the Israelites knew. Abraham met Melchizedek not just as his God that spoke, but face to face. This is recorded in Hebrews 7:1-10 and found in Genesis 14:14-20. Melchizedek was the name taken as king of Salem, or king of peace, and manifested into human appearance. But being he had no end of life, he was therefore immortal and took on spirit composition as God. So now we see the name Melchizedek is another name for God. And remember this was not the Father. The Apostle Paul reveals all this to be true in Hebrews 6:20, and Hebrews 7-8. We move now to Isaiah 9:6: “For into us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace.” This is not figuratively speaking. A child was truly born, and a son was truly given. This child was Jesus Christ. But notice the names of him in so many characteristics. But the one name that shows there is two spirits, not one, called God is “the Mighty God.” Jesus Christ not only was God but IS God. All the other names in Isaiah 9:6 focus around the fact that he is God. All the other names indicate that he is God. Notice verse 7 says this government and his rule of peace will have no end. These verses do not just talk about Jesus Christ until his death but after when he is resurrected. In the future Jesus Christ receives the never-ending government with never-ending peace. It is obvious Isaiah 9:6 is not talking about the Father God. All those names in the previous verse, including

Everlasting Father, talk about another spirit that is God. Indeed, he is plainly called “the Mighty God.” Going on we come to Matthew 1. In this chapter, starting in verse 19, Joseph because he found Mary pregnant wanted to divorce her. But an angel in a dream or vision told him not to do this, that a son would be born to them. Now read Matthew 1:22-23: “Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name EMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’” (New American Bible). The prophet that wrote this to be fulfilled was Isaiah. The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy, but it meant “God with us” also. Jesus Christ was called “EMMANUEL.” This name clearly reveals that God walked the earth, but in the human Jesus Christ. So this “God” here on earth could not have been the Father. But the Father is God. In a sense, the status of Jesus Christ did not change even when he was resurrected. John 20:28 proves this. So after his resurrection Jesus Christ was still EMMANUEL. When he comes the second time Jesus Christ will still be EMMANUEL. The only difference will be that Jesus Christ will no longer be a human being. The name “EMMANUEL” given to Jesus Christ shows clearly there are two spirits called God. One last name will be looked at to prove there are two spirits called God. And this name is “Lamb.” Remember that Jesus Christ was “God with us” on earth. But read another name John the Baptist gave him: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29, NIV). John the Baptist called Jesus Christ “the Lamb of God.” This name given to “EMMANUEL” was not just for his mission from the Father on this earth. The name “Lamb” is given to Jesus Christ after that. Notice one important place: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain....” (Revelation 5:6).

The Apostle John sees in his vision a lamb by a throne in heaven. This lamb has to be Jesus Christ, like he is so named in John 1:29. But this verse in Revelation 5 is after Jesus Christ died, was raised and went to heaven. Revelation 4:2 shows the Father God, but his name is no where called a “Lamb.” Other places where “lamb” is found are Revelation 5:8, 13; 6:1; 7:17; 14:1; 19:7; and 22:1-3. The name lamb like the other names show that God is not just one being, or spirit, in “three” persons, entities, or individuals. These teachings cannot be proved from the Holy Bible. The names of God show there are two spirits called God. The most proper of these is the Father and Jesus Christ. However, by these names the Father and Jesus Christ can be identified as each being God. There are many other names to look at. Cruden’s Complete Concordance is a valuable source guide for such a study. But the same conclusion will be reached as was reached in this Part 4. And with this knowledge Christians everywhere can echo the words of the Psalmist: “From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord to be praised” (Psalm 113:2, New American Bible).