DIDASKALOS MINISTRIES NOGOUT.htm

Biblical Names Of God

**The Hebrew name EL used for God**
**Used to emphasize the power of our Creator God**
*Deuteronomy 4:24 "For the LORD (EL) thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God."* *Deuteronomy 4:31 "(For the LORD (EL) thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them."* Deuteronomy 5:9 "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD (EL) thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me"

**The Hebrew name *ELOINE* used for God**
**Emphasizes our God as the Covenant Maker**
Deuteronomy 4:23 "Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD (ELOINE)your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD (ELOINE) thy God hath forbidden thee." *Deuteronomy 10:9 "Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD (ELOINE) is his inheritance, according as the LORD (ELOINE) thy God promised him."* *Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the LORD (ELOINE) your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:"*

**The Hebrew name *YHWH* used for God**
**Emphasizes that our God is Self Subsisting**
*Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM (YHWH)hath sent me unto you."* *Exodus 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH (YHWH)was I not known to them."*

**The Hebrew name *ADONAI or ADONAY* used for God**
**Emphasizes God in His might bestowing Grace on His people**
*Genesis 15:2 "And Abram said, Lord GOD (ADONAY), what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?"* *Genesis 15:8 "And he said, Lord GOD (ADONAY), whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?"* *Genesis 18:27 "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord (ADONAY), which am but dust and ashes:"*

**The Hebrew name *EL SHADDAI* used for God**
**Literally means "the All Providing God". Emphasizes His care for His Creation and His children**
*Genesis 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (EL SHADDAI); walk before me, and be thou perfect."* *Genesis 28:3 "And God Almighty (EL SHADDAI)bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people"* *Exodus 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty (EL SHADDAI), but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."*

**The Hebrew name *EL OLAM* used for God**
**Emphasizes the eternity of God, that He has always been**
Isaiah 40:28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God (EL OLAM), the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding." Isaiah 9:6 "For unto 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father (EL OLAM), The Prince of Peace."

**The Hebrew name *Lord Jehovah* used for God**
**Highlights or emphasizes our God as "sole Creator"**
Genesis 2:5-9 "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God (Lord Jehovah) had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God (Lord Jehovah)formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God (Lord Jehovah) planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God (Lord Jehovah) to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

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Attributes Of God

The communicable attributes of God are those which He shared with His creation. In other words these attributes or characteristics are in God to an infinite degree, whereas they are in mankind to a lesser or finite degree. These attributes are:

**Love, the AGAPE of God**
Romans 5:5-8 " And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 13:11-14 "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

The love that God expresses to mankind is not necessarily an emotion, but is an action that seeks to do the highest good for it's object. It is a love expressed in action, not just word. The Greek word for love is AGAPE.

**God's characteristic of Justice**
Genesis 18:19 "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." Jeremiah 50:7 "All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers." Isaiah 45:21-24 "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed." *Zephaniah 3:5 "The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame."*

Though the love of God is a popular sermon on Sunday morning, and an easy topic of discussion among liberals, most people forget that God is also a just God. His love does not overwhelm His justice, nor does it displace it. God loves mankind, but when man fell in the Garden he became unfit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. God loved mankind, but could not just overlook this transgression. For this reason His justice dictated that Jesus Christ pay the penalty for our sins, and once justice was satisfied God is freed to exercise love and mercy on His creation.

**God's Characteristic of Mercy**
*1 Chronicles 16:34 "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."* 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 "It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God." Ezra 3:11 "And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid."

God is love, mercy, and justice in equal parts. He is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6.3). Mercy flows from God because He loves us, but attributive Justice flows from God because He is holy. Isaiah raised the holiness of God to the power of three, emphasizing that the holiness of God must be satisfied in His dealings with man.

The incommunicable attributes of God are those characteristics which He did not share with His creation, but are solely found in His being. These attributes are:

**God's Attribute of Self-Existence**
Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." *Deuteronomy 33:27 "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."* Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: "

God is self-existent, created by none but the Creator of all. He alone has the power to give eternal life:

John 17:2-3 "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

1 John 5:11-12 "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

God is eternal, and without end in both the past as well as the future:

Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 22:13 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

**God's Attribute of Immutability**
*James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."*

The word used in the Authorized (KJV) version to describe the immutability or changelessness of God is variableness. This is the Greek word PARALLAGE, a compound derived from PARA (meaning "at"), and ALLASSO (meaning "To make different or the change"). The word literally means "to, at, or toward making a change". God does not change out of fickleness, nor does He change His plans (as man does) because of poor planning on His part. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient .. He is fully in control. His character does not change: He has been the same always, and will never be less than He is now.

The Christian Church often forgets this attribute of God, often neglects that God is unchanging and sovereign. We like to hold up human free will as a god, yet human free will cannot overcome the PARALLAGE of God. God did not "look down the ages" to see what would happen, then based on this gained knowledge make His plans. If God had to learn what would happen, then this learning would be evidence that He changed in knowledge, and God does not change.

Genesis 6:6-7 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."

Exodus 32:13-14 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."

Judges 2:18 "And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them."

What about the passages that teach God repented of what He was going to do, found throughout the Scriptures? Don't these passages prove that God changes?

No, the repentance of God is an entirely different thing from our repentance. God gave us free will and, when we exercise that will within His decreetive plan it gives Him joy as our Creator. But when we misuse that free will that He has allowed us He changes the environment around us to keep us within His eternal plan. God "repents" in the sense that He regrets or is sorry for the mess that Creation often willingly walks itself into. The Hebrew for repent is NACHAM, which means "To sigh or feel sorry for, to pity". God often, in human history, pitied humanity for it's failings, and changed the environment around us to keep us from destroying ourselves or His plan. Did He change with this repentance? No, for He knew the course we would take, though He was sorry we took it. God is without change.

**God's Attribute of Immensity**
*Isaiah 66:1 "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?"* *Matthew 5:35 "Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King."* *Acts 7:49-50 "Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? "*

Immensity is a theological term referring to the omniscience (all knowing) omnipresent (God is everywhere), and omnipotence (God is all powerful) of God. First, God is all powerful, there is nothing that He cannot do. The old atheistic riddle: If God is all powerful, can He create a stone that He Himself could not lift? This shows an ignorance of the facets of God's immensity. God could not create a rock that He could not lift, because He would not attempt to do so. His omniscience or ability to know all things works hand in hand with His omnipotence to insure that God does not do anything so humanly stupid.

God's omnipotence is illustrated in these verses:

Exodus 15:6-12 "Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them."

Psalms 66:3-7 "Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah."

(See also Deuteronomy 10.17; 1 Chronicles 16.25; Psalms 77.13)

Two Hebrew words are often used to describe God's omnipotence, translated great and powerful. The word the KJV usually translates "great" is GADOL, which literally means "oldest, older". The word emphasizes the immensity of age that God possesses over all creation, and this age implies that He has the wisdom to properly use His power. The word the KJV usually translates "powerful" is the Hebrew GEBUWRAH, which means "a masterful or mighty force". God's power is illustrated in the Scripture as supreme over all mankind, even over our much vaunted human free will.

Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

Psalms 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalms 44:20-21 "If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart."

(See also 1 Chronicles 28.9; 1 Corinthians 2.10)

Using His omniscience (all knowing, all seeing), God sees the innermost heart of man. We may fool ourselves, we may fool others, but we will never fool God. God is Spirit, and sees all things in the physical as well as the spiritual worlds without effort, without strain. He knows our hearts.

Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

Psalms 33:18-19 "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine."

God as Spirit is everywhere. There is no place we can hide, no way we can hide our actions from Him. Unlike the false gods and the psychic charlatans, He knows. This should bring comfort to the Christian in trouble, for our God knows and sees what we are going through. We do not tread this glass scattered pathway alone, but with a Friend who loves us.