It is interesting to study the origin of names.
Humor: We are told that the Chinese get their names for their children by throwing a metal pans against a block wall and when it lands on the floor making the noise “Ping Pong Wong” that is what they name their children.
Of course, I am only joking!!!
However, one of the biggest milestones in having a baby is selecting the perfect name.
Of course, babies have no decision in the name they are stuck with for life.
(1) Some people like the name their parents chose for them.
Illus: I have often wondered about the boxer George Forman he must have loved the name his parent chose for him because he had five sons, and he named all five of his boys…GEORGE.
Evidently, he likes the name his parents chose for him.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was in a pizza restaurant one day and he noticed the name tag of the young lady that waited on him…her name was ANGEL.
He commented what a pretty name she had.
She said, “Yes, when I was born my mother had high hopes for me!!!”
Some people like the names their parents selected for them.
However, some…
(2) DO NOT LIKE THE NAME THEIR PARENTS GAVE THEM!
Illus: Makes me think of the dad who had two girls.
He named:
(1) Ima
(2) Ura
The only problem with those names was their last name was…HOG!
They went to school and the teacher asked them their name and…
• First one the teacher asked her what her name and she was said, “Ima Hog!”
• Second one the teacher asked her what her name and she was said “Ura Hog!”
People name their children all kinds of names
Illus: This is true, some parents their last name was John, and they named their SON John John John. Yes, his first name, middle name and last name were all “John”.
But back in bible times parents name their children names that meant something.
In this series dealing with the NAMES OF ALMIGHTY GOD for the next weeks, we want to look at some of the names of God so that we might come to know God in a greater way.
We read in Isaiah 9:6b tells us, "...His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
The Bible contains various names for God, and each of which represents which God choose to reveal Himself to humanity.
When we DIG INTO THE SCRIPTURES and learn the different names of God and what they mean, we can get to know this wonderful God of the Bible.
Let me explain…
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger tells the story of a missionary friend that came to his office who had recently came from the mission field.
After a friendly chat he said to Dr. Belger if you have time, I would like for you to come to my car, I want to show you something.
They went outside and he opened the trunk of his car. Dr. Belger noticed immediately in the trunk there were two things he wanted to show him and both of them were wrapped in large bath towels.
He picked up one and unwrapped it and it was about 16 to 18 inches long.
After he un-wrapped it, he said, do you know what this is?
Dr. Belger looked at it, held it in his hands and he noticed it was in the shape of a tree root off a tree but it still had some dirt on it but it looked like un-washed gold.
Then the missionary said this is GOLD!!!
Dr. Belger began to example it more carefully and it was light and soft like GOLD. Dr. Belger thrilled to be able to hold such a large piece of Gold that few men have ever held in their hands.
He then opened the other towel, and it was larger than the first piece. All together both of them if they were processed and melted in gold bars they would amount to at least 3 or 4 bars of gold if not more!!!
Dr. Belger asked him how he came into possession of such a large amount of gold.
He told him when he was on the mission field one Sunday some of the fellows from his church came to his house and told him they were going to look for some gold and would he like to go with them.
He thanked them for the invitation but told them he would not want to do that on the Lord’s Day, and they left his home in pursuit of finding gold but did not find any in their endeavor.
However, on the next day which was Monday morning he decided he would go gold hunting for gold alone and sure enough he found these two large pieces of gold.
He asked the missionary what was he going to do with this gold?
He told him he was going to sell it and when he goes back to the mission field, he was going to take the money and have a road cut several miles through bushes and trees to make a long road to a village that he was trying to win to the Lord. THIS IS WHAT HE DID!!!
When we dig into the Word of God and began to study the names of God, we find some wonderful things more valuable than gold.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT WE COME TO KNOW THE MEANING OF THESE NAMES OF GOD?
• Because we cannot worship a God, we do not know Him
• Because we have no desire to serve a God we do not know
• Because we do not care about giving to a God we do not know
• Because we do not care about sharing the gospel with others if we do not know Him.
• Because we do not care about supporting missionaries around the world who promote a God we do not know
One of the great needs of the church, if not the greatest, is for God’s people to get to know God.
It is essential that we come to know Him, and His name tells us about WHO HE IS!!!
• This is so important the Lord Jesus prayed this prayer in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”.
• This is so important the apostle Paul prayed in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him…”
Isn’t it tragic that some CHRISTIANS AND SINNERS go through their entire life and never get to know this GREAT GOD!
If people knew Him in all His greatness, it would solve every problem in the church today.
• It would solve our attendance problems
• It would solve our problem of getting people into the Word of God
• It would solve our problem of getting people into their prayer closets
• It would solve our witnessing problems
• It would solve our giving problems
If people really knew God, it would solve every problem in the church today.
The first name of God we want to consider today that we might get to know Him…LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO HIM…
I. HIS NAME IS ELOHIM
We first read about ELOHIM in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning GOD…”
• The word GOD in the Hebrew is translated into the word Elohim.
• If we read this with the Hebrew in mind it would read, “In the beginning Elohim…”
So, what does this word really mean, and what does it tell us about this wonderful God we want to get to know in a greater way?
“Elohim,” in the Hebrew means, “might, strong, powerful”.
This word “EL” itself is translated “God” some 250 times, and most of the time it indicates THE POWER OF GOD.
For example, in Numbers 23:22, we read, “Elohim brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.”
WHO BROUGHT THEM OUT OF EGYPT?
Elohim who is STRONG AND POWERFUL.
Notice, so that they might know God is powerful the Bible says, “Elohim brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the STRENGTH OF AN UNICORN.”
God wants us to know that He is a POWERFUL GOD and that is why the name Elohim is used throughout the scriptures and each time it tells us that Elohim is a God of POWER AND STRENGTH.
Illus: For example, many of us have seen some of the movie series that is called “Rocky”.
• He was a tremendous boxer in these movies.
• It does not matter who he is boxing with, he always comes out victorious.
• He is tough, and even his name implies he is tough and strong - HE IS CALLED “ROCKY”!
• His name implies toughness!!!
Now suppose he was given the name “Rosebud,” would you think of him as being strong? I DO NOT THINK SO!
God is spoken of as “Elohim” in the Hebrew, which means STRONG AND POWERFUL!
Isn’t it wonderful to know that the God we serve is not a WEAKLING but is STRONG AND POWERFUL!!!
When you change EL to EL(OHIM) you get GREATNESS, CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.
Illus: There is an old saying, “This is a man’s world”, and we all know what folks mean when they say that.
For example, some women today do the same work that some men do, but they do not get paid the same salary.
It would probably be best stated that this is a “crooked world” in which we live, when it comes to “Equal pay for equal work”.
But actually, this is not a “Man’s world” or a “Woman’s World,” this is “God’s World”.
That is, HE IS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, AND HE IS VERY MUCH IN CONTROL.
This is why God is referred to as ELOHIM, because He wants us to know that He is the ALL-POWERFUL CREATOR OF THIS UNIVERSE AND HE CAN DO …
• WHATEVER HE WANTS TO DO!!!
• WHENEVER HE WANTS TO DO IT!!!
Illus: Mankind can take things ELOHIM created and assemble them together and make houses and cars from components that ELOHIM created, BUT ONLY GOD IS THE CREATOR OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!!!
Mankind has never created anything! Only God is the CREATOR OF EVERYTHING!!!
This is why we say:
• Builders build things from materials that Elohim CREATED!
• Car manufacturing companies take things that Elohim has CREATED and assemble them!
But only ELOHIM has the power to CREATE!!!
We have looked at THE DEFINITION OF “ELOHIM”, but also, we need to look at-
II. THE SCOPE OF “ELOHIM”
Look at Genesis 1:1 again, we read, "In the beginning (God) ELOHIM created the heaven and the earth.”
Notice, this verse says, “In the beginning….”
IN THE BEGINNING OF WHAT?
This is when TIME began!!!
• Before the beginning, there was no such thing as time.
• Time is something that applies to MANKIND not to GOD.
At creation, God set TIME INTO EXISTENCE.
Recognizing that, let’s look at verse 1 again, we read, "In the beginning (of what? In the beginning of time) Elohim created the heaven and the earth.”
• God is saying that mortals are limited to time. Mankind has a BEGINNING and ENDING!!!
For mankind we read in Ecclesiastes 3:2 “A time to be born, and a time to die…”
• But Elohim was here before there was any such thing as time.
• HE IS THE CREATOR OF LIFE and even of TIME ITSELF.
• Elohim as forcefully as He can, has proclaimed that HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL LIFE and ALL THINGS.
Illus: He does not argue the point, He just simply states it, and we have the choice of believing it or not.
Remember, Elohim is in the plural form in Genesis 1, which certainly suggests the Trinity was present at the beginning of time.
The doctrine of the Trinity is central to most Christian denominations and faith groups.
However, the term Trinity is not found in the Bible, yet most conservative, evangelical Bible scholars agree that the Trinity doctrine is clearly expressed within the Scripture.
Non-trinitarian faith groups reject the Trinity.
The doctrine itself was first introduced by Tertullian at the end of the 2nd century but wasn't widely accepted until the 4th and 5th centuries.
The term comes from the Latin noun "trinitas" meaning "three are one."
The Trinity doctrine expresses the belief that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal power and glory as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
But not all religious group teach the doctrine of the Trinity. Some of these are:
• Mormons
• Jehovah Witnesses
• Christian Science
• Armstrongism
• Oneness Pentecostals
• Unification church
• Scientology
Are some of these who do not believe in the Trinity.
But even though the Bible does not use the word Trinity, it certainly teaches it.
This is why, when it comes to the creation of man, the Bible says in Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let us (Plural) make man in our image, after our (Plural) likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
The words “US and OURS” is plural teaching there is a TRINITY in the scriptures.
THERE ARE NOT THREE GODS as some teach, there is ONLY ONE!
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?
Look at 1 John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word(Jesus), and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
God is the only ONE who was LIVING and PRESENT when the universe was created.
Notice, in Genesis chapter one:
• The word “created” is mentioned four times. We find it in verses 1, 21, and twice in 27
• The words “Elohim said” are mentioned ten times. Look at verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29
• The words “Elohim saw” are mentioned seven times. Look at verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31
• The words “Elohim called” are mentioned three times. Look at verses 5, 8, 10
• The words “Elohim made” are mentioned three times. Look at verses 7, 16, 25
• The words “Elohim divided” are mentioned two times. Look at verses 4, 7
• The words “Elohim blessed” are mentioned two times. Look at verses 22, 28
• The words “Elohim set” are mentioned one time. Look at verse 17
• The words “Elohim moved” are mentioned one time. Look at verse 2
Elohim is mentioned a great deal in chapter one, because God wanted us to know that He is the POWERFUL GOD THAT IS ALIVE AND HE CREATED ALL THAT WE CAN SEE AND CANNOT SEE.
Elohim’s existence completely destroys atheism and the theory of Evolution.
• Look at Colossians 1:16-17, "For BY HIM WERE ALL THINGS CREATED, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM, AND FOR HIM: And he is before all things, and BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST OF."
• Look at Hebrews 1:10-12, "And, THOU, LORD, in the beginning hast LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH; and the HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF THINE HANDS: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail."
• Look at Hebrews 11:3, "Through faith we understand that the WORLDS WERE FRAMED BY THE WORD OF GOD, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
• Look at John 1:3, "ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
The Bible declares that the earth and the universe did not just happen by chance, nor by some random accident.
Some would have us to believe some particle or force, some matter or energy, some element or electrical impulse, some atom, proton, neutron, electron, chemical, gas, or anything else --- DID NOT JUST APPEAR OUT OF NOTHING.
• According to Natural Law, it is absolutely Impossible for something to come out of nothing.
• But God is not limited to Natural Laws as we are.
Since we are creatures of Time and Natural Laws, this is more than we can comprehend.
For example, I like this…
• He came from nowhere because there wasn't anywhere for Him to come from
• He stood on nothing, because there wasn't anything for Him to stand on
• He reached out to nowhere, and caught something where there was nothing to catch, and hung it on something where there was nothing to hold on to, and said stay there!
Is there any scripture for this?
Look at Job 26:7, we read, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”
The Bible declares that the universe has been DELIBERATELY and PERSONALLY created by "Elohim" (God).
Elohim is the powerful Creator of all life!!! What a wonderful God we serve!!!
In the beginning:
• God Created Space,
• Time and Matter.
After declaring Himself God, the very first thing God wants mankind to know He is the Creator of life and this world in which we live.
He states, Elohim (All Powerful, Omnipotent God) created it.
Illus: For there to be a WATCH there has to be a WATCH MAKER!
• Elohim is the enormous power that created all that we can see and cannot see
But look at the scope of HIS POWER.
Illus: People can visit the popular Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, and they leave marveling over what mankind built.
But when you compare it to what Elohim has created, it is not a drop in the sea.
Man can take the things that God CREATED and assemble them together to make a house, BUT ONLY CAN GOD CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING.
WHAT DID GOD CREATE IN THE HEAVENS?
• The earth is 8,000 miles in diameter and 25,000 miles in circumference, and yet it measures less than one grain of sand on all the seashores of the earth in comparison to the universe.
• The earth is within a solar system of nine other planets that revolve around the sun. Jupiter, the largest of the planets is 1300 times the size of the earth.
• Our sun, 93,000,000 miles from the earth, is so large (864,000 miles in diameter) that it could hold 1,300,000 earths.
• Our solar system is only one of millions of solar systems that make up a galaxy (ours is the called the Milky Way). There are over 200 billion stars in our galaxy. There are millions of other galaxies.
• If this is not enough, Earth orbits around the sun at a speed of 67,100 miles per hour
Illus: You ever watch children on a merry-go-round? They seem to think the purpose of the merry-go-round is to get it going so fast to see how many children they can get slung off!!!
Just think of this our earth is going at the rate of 67,100 miles per hour and the only thing that keeps us from getting slung out into space is the gravity that holds us down to this earth.
HOW DID HE DO SUCH THINGS?
Everything was created INSTANTANEOUSLY by the Power of God’s Word.
• Psalm 33:6, "By the WORD OF THE LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them BY THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH."
• Psalm 33:9, "For HE SPAKE, and it was done; he COMMANDED, and it stood fast."
• Psalm 148:5, "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he COMMANDED, and they were created."
God wants us to know that He is Elohim, (all powerful God) and He created all that exists by simply saying, “Let there be…”
Psalm 19:1-4, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,"
Conclusion:
The name Elohim reveals to mankind the greatness of God
His greatness is so great that it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend Him and describe Him!!!
Illus: In the late 1800’s, a band of bank robbers with an ingenious leader began to roam the West. They moved from town to town for years without ever being caught, finally simply fading away into history.
To this day:
• No one knows for sure who they were.
• In fact, no one is certain exactly how many of them there were.
About all that we know is that there were always three men inside the bank during a robbery.
• One was very tall and skinny.
• The other two were average in height and build.
You would think there would a better description than this after the gang had been in dozens of banks, but that was the most ingenious part of their plan.
Each of the men who entered the bank had a distinguishing feature about him.
1) The tall thief always wore an enormous bandana with huge pink polka dots to cover his face.
2) One of the others always had a massive Mexican sombrero with flashy gilding on his head.
3) The third man in the bank had a large belt buckle made of gold with very intricate design.
As the men would rush into the bank with guns drawn, the victim’s eyes were always attracted to these oddities.
The well-planned robbery was always over so quickly that no one ever noticed any other features of the men.
Not the color of eyes or hair, not even how many men were outside holding the horses. Nothing!!!
Of course, the marshals were frustrated with the lack of information to go on, but every job was the same. People noticed the superficial details but missed the things of significance.
Unfortunately we Christians too often approach God the same way.
We come into His presence and immediately we are attracted to some superficial element of worship.
• We are caught up in buildings
• We are caught up in entertainment
• We are caught up in recreation
We are caught up in these things so much that Christians fell to get to know Him as Elohim!!!
Just like the people in the bank, we missed the things of significance.
It is essential as a believer we get to know Him, and we know that He is ELOHIM.
• The Creator of the heavens and the earth
• He is the CREATOR of everything that we can see and cannot see.
He revealed Himself through the name of ELOHIM that He is the powerful CREATOR OF THIS UNIVERSE AND MANKIND.
Illus: I can look across this congregation and I can say…
• You!
• You!
• You!
And the only reason you are here day is because GOD CREATED YOU AND ALLOWED YOU TO BE HERE TODAY!
He is the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS AND EVERYTHING in existence today.
Illus: A prominent theologian spoke to a rather liberal group, and one of them said, "Sir, do you not believe that God has revealed Himself in some other religion than Christianity?
He replied "Young man, I don't believe that God revealed Himself in Christianity.
I believe He revealed Himself only in Christ.”
If you want to get to know the God of the Bible, you have got to come to know Elohim!!!
We have looked at…
I. THE DEFINITION OF “ELOHIM”
II. THE SCOPE OF “ELOHIM”
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