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The Sacred Names

Questions in this section...

Please read the November 2005 and December 2005 issues of Present Truth for thorough studies on this subject.

Is it wrong to use the name Jesus?

Shouldn't I know God's name and use it?

 

Question: Is it wrong to use the name Jesus?

“I have something that has been on my mind about the Hebrew names Yahweh and Yahshua… Recently I acquired some information in the mail by the ‘Assemblies of Yahweh.’ There is an article entitled ‘Proving the Sacred Name From Your Bible.’… Could you please look into this and find out the Present Truth. All my life I called the Son of God ‘Jesus Christ.’ This is real hard for me to call Him any other name like ‘Yahshua.’ They say it is a corrupted name ‘Jesus.’ Please help me clear this up. Are they telling the Present Truth or am I being misled by an occult or a big lie?”

Back to Menu                   Top of Page                   Anonymous

Answer:

First of all let me make it clear that I do not have all the answers and, even if I did, nobody should trust in me as the final authority on any issue because I am not. The Bible instructs us to study for ourselves. (See Acts 17:11; Micah 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Matthew 15:14; etc.) However, I would like to give you some things to think about.

It is true that the proper name for God the Father is hwhy (YHWH) which is often pronounced Yahweh or, as some say, Jehovah. However this name is not exclusively used for God the Father. There are times when this name is applied to the Son of God. For example: “And the LORD [Yahweh] spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Exodus 33:11) We know this is the Son of God here, for a few verses later God said, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD [Yahweh] said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:20-23) John wrote, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18) For another example of where the Son of God is called Yahweh read Genesis 18:1-19:1.

The primary name given to the Son of God in the New Testament is Jesus, or as it reads in Greek, Iesous. This is the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew name Joshua or Yahshua. Although this is true, it does not prove that these are the only names we are to use in referring to the Father and His Son. (An interesting sidelight to this study is that there cannot be found a proper name for the Holy Spirit. This makes it difficult for trinitarians to prove their theory of three persons in one God.)

The Bible uses many names for the Father and His Son. For example: “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [“my husband” — Green’s Literal Translation]; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.” (Hosea 2:16, 17) Should we call God “Ishi” instead of God? I don’t think that is what God wishes for us to do, but rather that we see Him as our intimate friend, and one with whom we have entered into a lifelong commitment—our husband.

Some people claim that using the names Jesus, Christ, Lord, or God are offensive to God. They argue that these names come from paganism and should not be used. However, there are many words in our language that have questionable sources, yet we use them because they are the best words we have. It is not the sound of a word that is so important to God, but the thoughts that are aroused by the mentioning of the word. Spanish people call God “Dios,” yet the thoughts aroused by the mentioning of that word to a Spanish person are identical to the thoughts aroused in my mind when I hear the word God. The actual sound of the word in this case is irrelevant.

I have read articles written by some of those who believe the use of the words God, Lord, Jesus, or Christ are offensive to God and it takes much time to try to decipher what the people are saying. Some of these people go so far as to use Hebrew words for other common English words such as Spirit, church, saints, holy, and a host of other words. The end result is a jumble of words with little meaning to the average person. How are we to expect to reach the drunk on the street with such a jumble of words. It would be far better to use words that are understandable to the people whom we are trying to win to Christ.

One very strong argument in favor of using the words God, Lord, Jesus, and Christ is that it is certain that Paul used the Greek, not Hebrew, equivalent for these words when he wrote letters to Greek-speaking Gentile Christians. These letters are found in the New Testament books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Corinthians, Romans, etc.

Some people argue that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew, but the evidence for this assertion is lacking, and virtually all of the early manuscripts discovered were written in Greek. Moreover, it would be illogical for Paul, who knew Hebrew and Greek, to write to Greek-speaking people, who did not know Hebrew, in the Hebrew language. If it was all right for Paul to use Iesous (Jesus), Theos (God), Kurios (Lord), and Christos (Christ) then it certainly is acceptable for us to use the English equivalent for these words today. It was obviously not a matter of salvation to Paul or he would not have used these non-Hebrew words when referring to God. In my opinion, it is misleading to try to convince people that they must use only the name Yahweh for God the Father and Yahshua for His Son.

This question and its answer were printed in the August 2000 issue of Present Truth.

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Question: Shouldn't I know God's name and use it?

“I am reading your August 2000 issue… in this issue, I was a little disturbed by the reply you gave on page 6 about using the name Yashua and the Tetragammaton. I feel that you omitted the main arguments for using God’s name. It was obvious you were trying to downplay their importance because of this, and I cannot help but to cry out and respond.

“The reference to calling YHWH ‘Ishi’ is used only once in the Bible, and God is not saying here that is his name. He is simply saying that we are going to say You are my husband. That does not make ‘my husband’ into a personal name…

“Names are always transliterated, not translated. Over the whole globe, our President is called Bill Clinton… Paul transliterated the Hebrew name Yahshua into Greek the best he could, but he found a number of problems, such as Greek not having the ‘sh’ sound, or a single letter for the ‘yah’ sound. Also all male words ended in ‘s.’ But we have none of those problems now. We can transliterate the name correctly if we want to. Why not want to? What makes us resistant? We all like to be called by our correct name… He says to ‘call upon the name of YHWH.’ And ‘the name of YHWH is as a strong tower. The righteousness runneth into it and is safe.’

“Yes, I agree that when we talk to the ‘drunk on the street’ we should use language familiar to him. But I am not the drunk. I am in His family. Shouldn’t I know His name and use it? Especially to Him and others in the family?”

Back to Menu                   Top of Page                   Tennessee

Answer:

Certainly it is okay to call God Jehovah, Yahweh, or Yah, etc. However, I do not believe it is required for salvation, or that it should be made to appear that it is.

In Hosea 2:16 we read, “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.” Every other place in the Bible where the word Ishi is used it is a proper name of an individual. I do not advocate that we must call God “Ishi,” yet it is evidently an acceptable name to call Him.

Regarding names always being transliterated rather than translated. That is not always true. In fact in other languages of the Bible the sound of some names have a sound that you or I could not possibly recognize. For example in Spanish, the book of James is called Santiago. There are many names that are translated rather than transliterated when changing from one language to another. I know many people who have taken an English version of their name rather than retaining their given name. For example George is Jorge in Spanish, Peter is Pedro in Spanish, William is Guillermo in Spanish.

It is true that there is no reason why we cannot transliterate names to the best of our ability. Yet there is much confusion as to what a proper transliteration of God’s name is in English. Some say it is Yah, others say, Yahvah, and still others say, Yahweh, or Jehovah, etc. I cannot say for certain who is right.

Jesus told us how we are to address God. He said, “When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (Luke 11:2)

Jesus never commanded us to call God Yahweh, but He did tell us to call Him Father. You see, there is a much closer relationship that Jesus is calling us to have with God. Closer than someone whom you know on a first name basis. Closer than a friend. God wants to have a father-son relationship with us.

I cannot remember ever calling my father John, even though that is his proper name. I would feel out of place to call him John. I don’t believe my father would appreciate it if I called him by His proper name. When I say to him “father” or “dad” I am indicating a closer relationship than by saying John. Using his proper name would put him at a distance to some degree. I believe this is why Jesus instructed us to call God “Father” rather than by His proper name.

A similar illustration could be used with my wife. I most often call my wife by something other than her proper name. I use endearing names that signify a closer relationship than I have with others. I use names that I would not use for anyone else. Those people in our lives, like mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, spouses, etc., generally prefer to be called by something other than their proper name.

It is the relationship we hold with God that is important—much more important than the name we call Him by. To make a doctrine out of what we must call Him, is to create a distance in the relationship rather than the closeness that God is looking for. I don’t believe God wants us to get caught up in the debate over how to pronounce His name.

Many people refer to the following verses as proof of the importance of this issue. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the L (Romans 10:13) Does this mean that if I know the proper pronunciation of God’s name and use it that I will be saved? I don’t believe this was Joel’s meaning. I believe there is a deeper meaning, because just having a knowledge of how to pronounce God’s name can never save anyone. Certainly Satan knows how to pronounce God’s name, but it doesn’t save him.

Let’s notice a few examples of how the word “name” is used in the Bible.

“And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28) Why was Jacob’s name changed to Israel? Because his character had changed. Jacob was no longer a suitable name for him because he was no longer a deceiver, for that is what Jacob means.

Let’s notice another verse. “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, L (Psalms 9:10)

Here David says that they that know God’s name will put their trust in Him. Surely this is not talking about someone knowing how to pronounce God’s name, for there are many people who know how to pronounce God’s name who do not trust in Him. Having a knowledge of God’s name does not automatically make a person trust God. Obviously David used the word “name” here to signify God’s character. If we truly understand God’s character, then we will put our trust in Him, because we will know that He is trustworthy.

“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” (Psalms 91:14) Is God going to allow people to enter into heaven just because they know how to pronounce God’s name? Certainly not. It is because they know God’s character, and if they know God’s character they will trust in Him and love Him.

The problem in this world today is not that people do not know how to pronounce God’s name, but that they do not know God’s character. The word “name” is used in the Bible over and over again to signify a person’s character. It is possible to know a person’s character without knowing his proper name.

Jesus said to His Father, “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26) Jesus said that He had declared the Father’s name in order that the Father’s love could be in His people. There is no way that knowing how to pronounce God’s name enables God’s love to dwell in a person. But it is true that to know God’s character of love enables that love to dwell in us.

Jesus made it clear that He wants us to address God as “our Father.” The focus of Christ’s ministry was not upon how He could get people to know how to pronounce God’s name, but rather to get them to understand God’s character. Let’s take up His mission and reveal God’s character to the world which will enable His love to dwell in our hearts.

This question and its answer were printed in the January 2001 issue of Present Truth.

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