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What the Bible says about God's Attributes Expressed by His Names
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Psalm 18:2-3

David knew God's attributes as expressed by His names, and thus, he conducted his life accordingly. He called upon the name of God. By faith, he trusted God to intervene in the affairs of men. He knew what God would do—that is, what He could be trusted to do—by the way that God expressed Himself through His name.

Put this into a simple illustration. You do things like this virtually every day with other human beings. If your car breaks down, do you take it to the dentist? No, you take it to the person who has the name (reputation) of "auto mechanic." You call upon that person when your automobile is in need of repair. When your teeth need fixed, you do not go to a bank teller but to the person who has the name, title, and reputation of being able to take care of your teeth.

It is this same principle that is at work with God. By His names, He illustrates what He is skilled at doing—and not only skilled at doing, but what He will do. Sometimes the name will even describe the parameters of His blessing or the conditions that are imposed on receiving the fulfillment of it.

So that is what David is doing here in his prayers. He is calling upon God as God had revealed Himself by His names. He was confident—just as you are confident in taking your automobile to the person who has the reputation of having the skill to be able to fix it. You would call upon that mechanic. We need to do what David did with God. That is why we need to know the names of God. God is skilled and willing to help. It is through His names that He reveals what He is willing to do.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Holiness (Part 1)

Matthew 6:9

In our culture, one's name means little, most often merely as a way of identifying and distinguishing people. We can glimpse how significant it was to people in biblical times when we realize that we link reputation or prestige to a person's name. We use phrases like “he ruined the family name” or “his name is mud” to express that someone is of low repute or character.

An individual's name meant far more than that in ancient times. Then, a person and his or her name were bound together, the name representing the person's essence. In the Old Testament, certain persons' names defined them. For example, Jacob means “heel-catcher,” characterizing his underhanded, deceptive nature, but God renames him Israel, “one who prevails with God,” after his conversion. Christ Himself is named Jesus, “Savior.” God's names likewise identify His character traits: He is Eternal, Creator, Almighty, our Banner, our Healer, our Sanctifier, our Peace, our Righteousness, our Shepherd, our Master, etc.

Thus, the request in Matthew 6:9—and God's command in the third commandment (Exodus 20:7)—means more than just how we use or pronounce God's names. It implies that we revere what God's names stand for. He desires that we regard His names and thus Him and His character reverently, taking the pursuit of Him and His way of life seriously as a matter of profound aspiration.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Three): Hallowed Be Your Name


 




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