Systematic Theology: Lesson 7 - The Existence and Names of God
THE EXISTENCE AND NAMES OF
GOD
Theology Proper- Lesson 7
Now, as we turn to the study of the existence and being of God, we, through reliance on our definition of Christian Theology, can skip over the “natural proofs” of God’s existence[1] and start to dig deep into the Scriptures. What has God revealed about Himself?
a. The Bible boldly begins: “In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). The
Bible wastes no time giving proof of this. It states it outright time after
time (Exod 20:11; 37:16; Neh 9:6; Psa 33:6; Isa 45:12; Jer 4:23; 10:12; 32:17;
1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16-17; 2 Pet 3:5; Rev 4:11).
b. The Bible attests that the
creation is silently preaching the existence of God (Psa 19:1).
c. The Bible attests that God
made His existence obvious to mankind (Rom 1:18-22).
2. THE BIBLE CALLS FOR THE
READER TO BELIEVE IN GOD’S EXISTENCE
a. “He who comes to God must
believe that He is” (Heb
11:6).
b. Those who deny the
existence of God are wicked and foolish. “The wicked in his proud
countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” “The fool has
said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psa 14:1; 53:1).
c. “”The assumption is not
merely that there is something, some idea or ideal, some power or purposeful
tendency, to which the name of God may be applied, but that there is a
self-existent, self-conscious, personal Being, which is the origin of all
things, and which transcends the entire creation, but is at the same time
immanent in every part of it…the truth of Gods existence is accepted by faith,
this faith is based on reliable information.”[3]
Second, we will see by what names God has
revealed Himself to us.
1. אל (El) – means ‘power,’ ‘might,’ and
‘strength’ or ‘the object of fear’
a.
Strange gods (Psa
81:9, 10; Deut 32:12, 21; Mal 2:11).
b. The true God, usually with
the article (Gen 46:3; Psa 68:20; 77:14) or with modifiers (Gen 49:25; Psa
43:4; 136:26).
i. “The faithful God” (Deut
7:9)
ii. “The eternal God” (Gen
21:33).
iii. “The living God” (Josh
3:10; Psa 42:2; 84:2).
iv. “The merciful God” (Exod
34:6)
c. The New Testament
translated this name and its derivatives (#’s 2-7 in this list) as θεος (Greek for ‘God’) and kept the same
meaning.
2. אֶלֹהִים (Elohim) - plural of אֶל
a. 2,550 times in the Old
Testament
b. Plural in meaning 63 times
(e.g. Exod 20:3 “You shall have no gods before Me”)
c. Why is God referred to in
the plural?
i. The Hebrew often uses a
“plural of intensity, fullness, or richness.” This also happens with water,
blood, life, and heaven.
ii. “This does not in itself
refer to 3 persons, but a fullness. It allows for the later revelation of the
Trinity (Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7). But this word in and of itself does not prove
the Trinity.”[5]
iii. This word is used of false
gods: Dagon (1 Sam 5:7); Baal-Zebub (2 Kings 1:2); Chemosh (1 Kings 11:33);
Milcom (1 Kings 1:33); Baal (1 Kings 18:21, 24).
3. אֶלוֹהַ (Eloah) – a derivative of אֶל that is usually used in poetry.
a. 40 times in Job 3:4-40:2
b.
Deut 32:15, 17;
Neh 9:17; Psa 18:32; 50:22; 114:7; 139:19; Prov 30:5; Isa 44:8; Hag 3:3.
4.
אֶל שׁדַי
(El Shaddai) – God Almighty
a. Provider of fruitfulness
in context of covenant (Gen 17:1; 28:3-4; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3-4; 49:25)
b. Protector (Psa 91:1)
c. Chastener (Ruth 1:20-21;
Job 5:17; 6:4; 21:20 (31 times in Job)
d. Destroyer (Psa 68:14; Isa
13:6; Joel 1:15)
e. The God of the Patriarch
(Exod 6:3)
5. אֶל עֶלְיוֹן (El Elyon) – The Most High God
a. Mainly used in relation to
Gentiles and the enemies of God and His people (Gen 14:18-22; Num 24:16; Deut
32:8; Psa 91:1, 9; 92:1; 97:9; Dan 3:26; 4:2, 17, 24, 25, 34; 5:18, 21; 7:25).
b. Authority over heaven (Isa
14:13-14; Dan 4:35, 37)
c. Authority over earth (Deut
32:8; 2 Sam 22:14-15; Psa 9:2-5; 21:7; 47:2-4; 56:2-3; 57:2-3; 82:6, 8;
83:16-18; 91:9-12; Dan 5:18-21).
6. אֶל/אֶלוֹהֵי
עִוֹלָם
(El Olam/Elohey Olam) God Eternal
a. 21:33; Psa 90:2; 93:2;
103:17; Isa 40:28
7. אֶלֹהִים חַיִים (Elohim Chayyim)
– many variants. Depending on context, The Living God, the God of Life, God of
the Living.
a. Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1
Sam 17:26, 36; 2 Kings 19:4, 16; Psa 42:2; 84:2; Isa 37:4, 17; Jer 10:10;
23:36; Dan 6:20, 27; Hos 1:10
8. אְַדוֹנָי (Adonai) – ‘Lord,’ ‘Master,’
‘Sovereign’
a. Gen 15:2, 8; 18:27; 20:4;
Exod 4:10; 15:17; Job 28:28; Psa 2:4; 16:2; Mal 1:14
b. The New Testament
translates this as κυριος
(Kurios).
9. יהוה (Yahweh) – The proper name of God
a. Used 6,800 times in the
Old Testament
b. Exodus 3:14-15 reveals the
meaning of the name. “I AM THAT I AM.” Shortened to “I AM.” Meditation on the
divine name shows us that there are at least ten things that the name “I AM
THAT I AM” says about God.[6]
i. He never had a beginning.
ii. He will never end.
iii. He is absolute reality.
“There is no reality before Him. There is no reality outside of Him unless He
will it and makes it. He is all that was eternally. No space, no universe, no
emptiness. Only God.”
iv. He is utterly independent.
“He depends on nothing to bring Him into being or support Him or counsel Him or
make Him what He is.”
v. Everything depends on Him.
“The entire universe is utterly secondary. It came into being by God and stays
in being moment by moment on God’s decision to keep it in being.”
vi. Everything next to Him is
nothing. “All that we are amazed by in the world and in the galaxies is,
compared to God, nothing.”
vii. He is constant. “He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot be improved. He is not becoming
anything. He is who He is.”
viii. He is the standard of
truth, goodness, and beauty. “There is no law-book to which He looks to know
what is right. No almanac to establish facts. No guild to determine what is
excellent or beautiful. He Himself is the standard of what is right, what is true,
what is beautiful.”
ix. He does what He pleases.
“All reality that is outside of Him, He created and designed and governs as the
absolute reality. So He is utterly free from any constraints that don’t
originate from the counsel of His own will.”
x. God is the most important
and valuable being and reality. “He is more worthy of interest and attention
and admiration and enjoyment than all other realities, including the entire
universe.”
c. The name Yahweh was known
before Moses (Gen 4:26; 5:29; 9:26; 14:22), but they did not have full
understanding of the name (Exod 6:3). “The verb for ‘known’ most likely refers
to relational knowledge. When the patriarchs addressed God as Yahweh, they did
not relate to God with the understanding that Yahweh was ‘his name.’[7]
d. On pronunciation –
i. After the Babylonian exile
and during the Silent Years between Malachi and the New Testament, the people
of Israel started to refrain from using the name. Out of reverence for God and
out of fear of using God’s name in vain (cf. Lev 24:16), the Jews started to do
one of the following when they came to the name Yahweh in their reading: (1)
briefly pause instead of saying the name, (2) substitute “the Name”, (3)
substitute “the Lord.”
ii. The practice of saying
“The Lord” (אְַדֹנָי, Adonai) became the majority way. The text
itself was not changed. The name still remained in the Bible text.
iii. However, it was changed to
κυριος (Greek for Lord) in the Septuagint
(the translation of the Old Testament into Greek).
iv. The name was never used in
the New Testament, because the New Testament followed the practice of the
Septuagint.
v. Since the Hebrew language
did not use characters to express vowels until the 9th/10th
century AD, the pronunciation has sometimes been said to be lost.
vi. In the 9th/10th
century, the sect of scribes called the Masoretes, invented the system of vowel
symbols (called “pointings”) added above and below the Hebrew text in order to
preserve translation. Thus, for example, אלהים
became אְֶלֹחִים.
vii. However, to show the
tradition of saying Adonai instead of Yahweh, the Masoretes added the vowels
from Adonai to the consonants YHWH. Thus, instead of יָהְוֵה,
it became יְהֹוָה (“Yehowah” if pronounced as written; the
German pronunciation with its harder consonants turned it into “Jehovah”). The
Jews still substituted “Adonai” for the divine name.
viii. For the most part, English
translations have followed suit in substituting YHWH with “Lord.” Most
translations attempt to show where YHWH occurs by putting “Lord” in all caps
(The LORD). That way, when the word Adonai actually occurs in the text, it can
be written normally and recognized not to be an occurrence of the divine name.
e. There is evidence that
YHWH is indeed pronounced Yahweh. “According to Theodoret, the Samaritans
pronounced it iabe. Epiphanius has the same pronunciation. Origen has it iaoia.
Diodorus has it iao. Clement of Alexandria says it was iaou.”[8]
10.
יהוה צְבָאוֹת (Yahweh Sabaoth) – the LORD
of Hosts – 279 times in OT.
11. יהוה יִרְאה (Yahweh Yireh) –
the LORD Will Provide (Gen 22:14)
12. יהוה רֹפְאךָ (Yahweh Rophe) – the LORD Who Heals
(Exod 15:26)
13. יהוה נִסִי (Yahweh Nissi) –
The LORD is My Banner (Exod 17:15)
14. יהוה מְקַדִשְׁצם (Yahweh Meqaddishkem) – The LORD who
sanctifies (Exod 31:13; cf. Lev 20:7-8; 21:8, 15, 23; 22:9, 16, 32) – in
connection with the Sabbath
15. יהוה שָׁלוֹם (Yahweh Shalom) – The LORD
is Peace (Judg 6:24)
16. יהוה רֹעִי (Yahweh Rohi) – The LORD is My
Shepherd (Psa 23:1)
17. יהוה קִדְקֵנוּ (Yahweh
Tsidkenu) – The LORD is Our Righteousness (Jer 23:6)
18. יהוה שָׁמָה (Yahweh Shammah) – The LORD is There
(Ezek 48:35)
By studying the names by which God has
called Himself and the names that God’s people have called Him, we begin to see
a rich picture of God unfold. He is the Almighty God, Most High, Eternal, and
Alive, who was, is, and will always be the sovereign provider, healer, banner,
sanctifier, peacemaker, shepherd, justifier, and present comfort for His
people.
Let us worship His name forever! Sing
praises to His name! Make it known to all! Let all the earth glorify the name
of Yahweh our God!
Next class, we will let Scripture
further define our God for us as we study God’s incomprehensibility.
THE NICENE CREED[9]
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the
only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true
God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from
heaven;
he became
incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made
human.
He was crucified
for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and
was buried.
The third day he
rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to
heaven
and is seated at
the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
with glory
to judge the
living and the dead.
His kingdom will
never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the
Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and
glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic
church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of
sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
“The Nicene Creed, also
called the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is a statement of the orthodox
faith of the early Christian church in opposition to certain heresies,
especially Arianism. These heresies, which disturbed the church during the
fourth century, concerned the doctrine of the trinity and of the person of
Christ. Both the Greek (Eastern) and the Latin (Western) church held this creed
in honor, though with one important difference: the Western church insisted on
the inclusion of the phrase "and the Son" (known as the
"filioque") in the article on the procession of the Holy Spirit; this
phrase still is repudiated by the Eastern Orthodox church. In its present form
this creed goes back partially to the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) with
additions by the Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381). It was accepted in its
present form at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, but the "filioque"
phrase was not added until 589. However, the creed is in substance an accurate
and majestic formulation of the Nicene faith.”
[1] You have probably heard of some
of the following natural proofs for God’s existence: the Ontological Argument,
the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological Argument, The Moral/Civil
Government Argument, the Universality of Religion Argument, the Progress of
Humanity Argument, and the Transcendental Argument. While some of these
arguments are better than others—and while I affirm the usefulness of these
arguments in evangelism and apologetics—there are also inherent weaknesses. For
example, one could use these arguments to prove the existence of a god or gods that
are not necessarily the God of the Bible. These arguments can be useful for
moving a person toward theism, but they do not necessarily land a person in
Christian Theism.
[2] Contrast this with modern
liberal theology, which makes God a mere symbol for some cosmic process or
universal power or some social ideology. “The statement is repeatedly made
that, if God once created man in His image, man is now returning the compliment
by creating God in his (man’s) image. It is said of Harry Elmer Barnes that he
once said in one of his laboratory classes: ‘Gentlemen, we shall now proceed to
create God.’” Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 8.
[3] Ibid, 3-4.
[4] Ibid, 27. What Berkhof is
emphasizing in the second sentence is that we cannot know God’s essence, since
He is wholly other than us and so far beyond us. But He reveals His nature to
us piece by piece through different names and through His relations with man.
[5] Mook, Unpublished Class Notes,
134.
[6] I have been greatly helped on
this by John Piper, “10 Things ‘Yahweh’ Means, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/10-things-yahweh-means.
[7] MacArthur and Mayhue, Biblical
Doctrine, 155.
[8] Mook, Unpublished Class Notes,
138.
[9] Nicene Creed, https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/nicene-creed.
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