There is a great controversy about the God that we serve? Who is He? What is His name? some says His name is Jehovah, others say YHWH or Yahweh and still others say Jesus. Well we might not agree with each other’s opinion but we must know the God that we serve. And we can only know him by the scriptures. How can we know it then, you may ask? It is as simple as ABC if you can only follow the scripture study we are going to look at in this tract. For you to know somebody it is by the work he does. Yes, sir, a man is known by His work, His characteristics. And God identifies Himself by His works, I mean His characteristics. Hence, to know our God then we must know His character, the way He does His things. One of the characters we can use to identify Him is by the way He calls His servants and how He talks about Himself.
God has a special way of calling people to do a work for Him, in that He gives an identification of Himself. But before that, let’s look at this. I believe it will help us a lot on our subject. Let’s go to Exo 6:2. We are starting with this so fasten your seat belt before you are knocked down. Be alert and understand this once and for all and do not be deceived or tossed about by any wind of doctrine, for we are going the Bible way and no other. Eph 4:11-16. Hear what the scripture says? That by the work of these five fold ministry that He has placed in the church we must all “come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”. By the ministry of these, shall we have the true knowledge of whom the God we serve really is, and we are all confused because we are short of these people in our churches. We only have a pastor or an apostles, these only can’t do that job. It takes them all…
To our topic, now the Lord, about His Character when He appears to men to interact with them has now appeared to Moses, let’s listen to the conversation between them. Exo 3 we want to know our God, by His name and Characteristic. He said to Moses, “I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them.” Do you understand this? I am sure no, but which ever way, you listen to the plain meaning of this. Before Moses had come on the scene God had walked with other people as He has mentioned here and from the generations until that time when Moses met Him the name they knew God by was God Almighty and not Jehovah. So if Abraham and the generation after Him should come and only to be told that name of their God is Jehovah they would not have believed it, because they didn’t know by that name in their day. See? So you could notice that it was only in the time of Moses that they knew that God was called Jehovah, Amen! Yes, sir. Abraham didn’t know Him by that name.
So didn’t Abraham know the true God? You see the debate? Where are those who so claim that true name of God is Jehovah? Let’s go to Exo3:13- God said he is the “I am that I am”, which is Lord God- the Jehovah that He said He was or was His name, but look because from time of Abraham they haven’t known him by that name He told Moses again to tell the Israelites that “the Lord God of your fathers,… hath sent me to you”, if they ask what is His name. why because until then that was the name they knew Him by and they wouldn’t believe if had only mentioned Jehovah. So if had changed it He must let them know about it. Telling them, that He is the same God. See? That’s right. For you to know the reason let’s go to Isaiah 62:2, God is always on the move and at any point in time he makes himself known by a new name, according to the work He is going to by. But here in Isaiah he said “the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness and all kings thy glory: and thou shall be called by a new name, which the name of the Lord shall name”.
Now notice that the new name will be for or known among the gentiles which is we, not the Jews. No wonder the Jews didn’t believe in Him, for He came to His own but His own received Him not. And whom does the Jews belong to or who claims that the Jews are His people? (Amos 3:1,Deut 7:6, Ps 147:19,20 Is 43:3) And Malachi says “I shall send My messenger before Me and the Lord whom ye seeketh even the messenger to the new covenant shall come into his temple”. And who does the temple belongs to, to who was it built? And who came as the messenger and after him who came? That is the Lord. Do you believe that? If not who did Paul and the Apostles preached about to the gentiles, was it Jehovah or Jesus? Who did the Gentiles knew and heard of. Judge it yourself and see if we are to be Jehovah’s Witness or Jesus’ witness. Read the following scriptures to see which name the disciples were asked to witness about and the name in which mighty works were done and compare to the name in which Moses and the prophets of old did great miracles by. (Lk24:47, Mk16:15-17, Acts4:1-14,18-22; 3:1-11; 5:26-33)So we have to know that name which was given to the gentiles to know him by, for by that name only shall we be saved as Gentiles. That is right. For the rock that followed the Israelites and which rock all the prophets knew to be Jehovah, we are told that rock was Christ. (Deut 32:1-4, Ps 18:2, ICor 10:4) We can know that name by the way He calls and makes Himself known.
And we must be able to support it by the Bible, because that name came by the word of Prophecy. When the time came, He came to show us the meaning of that name but in the prophecy it wasn’t interpreted. (Isa7:14; 9:6; Zec14:9; Mal3:1; Matt1:23). Now let’s go here first before we come to that name and know who is the God that we serve. In identifying Him by His calling let’s go to Gen22:11 “But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said “Abraham, Abraham!”. How many times did He call him? That was twice. And remember, God does not change, He is always the same. And I hope you also know who the Angel of the Lord is? That is God himself as a messenger. Ex3:1-6,notice the verse 4, He called “Moses, Moses!” That is the same person. Another time He wanted a boy to do a work for Him, Samuel, who by then didn’t know his characteristic and thought the priest was calling him. It was the same for He called, “Samuel, Samuel!”, (1Sam3:1-7, 10). See? That is what He use to do. This is exactly what the Lord does; and that is how He identified Himself in the Old Testament, let’s look at the New Testament to see if it is the same. For He says here a little and there a little, Is28:13. Lk22:3, “And the Lord said “Simon, Simon!…”. Do you see Him or do you say He isn’t the Lord? See Acts9:3,4. Now this is where we are to know our God we serve.
A light came from heaven. Who was that Light? It wasn’t any other light but that pillar of fire that Moses saw in the wilderness. For remember, Paul fell by the power of that light as Moses was and the Bible says no man can see God or hath ever seen God at anytime(Ex33:20; 1Ti6:16; 1Jn4:12; Jn1:18,6:46,47). And Paul knowing the power of that, knew it was the Lord, but wanted to know His true name or identity, for he asked “Lord who art thou”. Just like Moses asked, Ex3:13-15, and he was told what it was at that time and what it was before. So Paul recognizing who He was came back to testify, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifest in the flesh…? 1Tm3:16. Why because to his surprise instead of Jehovah he was told “I am Jesus who thou persecutes”. See who you are persecuting and denying as the true and living God? Be careful, for He said “ye shall die in your sins if ye do not believe that I am he” Jn 8;24. For He said “repentance and remission, that is forgiveness of sins shall be preached in his name”Lk24:47.
He has also said in Isa65:15, He shall change the name of His servants and He did that after the name was made known. For now His followers are called CHRISTIANS and not Jehovah’s Witness or sabbatharians. Acts11:25. He has done it again,- changed His name! That was the name He came by this time, to the gentiles, He blinded Israel by that and they failed to see Him, for they marveled when He told them He was the Messiah, just as others are doing today. But the disciples knew Him and they worshipped Him. For they knew He was God and only God must be worshiped and if He was just a man He knew it better to accept worship (Matt9:18; Jn9:38,1:51; Lk24:50-52). They called him Lord (Jn13:13, 20:28) and the Bible says call no man as the Lord but only God (1Kgs18:36-39; Ex20:1-3; Deut4:35,39; Ps100:3; Isa45:5). And it also says no one can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God in that person. Do you get it now? How many Lords do we have? And who alone is the Savior? It is true that Jesus and God are one and the self same Person and not separate individuals.(Is 45:21, Lk1:46,47, Ps 78:34.35, I Jn 4:14, Gal3:13.I Tim 1:1-3, Jude 25)
He appeared to Abraham and ate his food and then blessed him for recognizing Him in that state. And He told the Jews that Abraham saw His day and was glad. No wonder he appreciated Peter for recognizing him. Jesus is the true God that we serve. 1Jn5:20; 1Tim6:13-16. He is the creator and savior of our souls (Col1:12-18;2:8-9). He is both Lord and Christ (Acts2:36). Look at one thing here Isa45:6, God says he is the first and the Last and there is no other God besides me. And read Rev1:8-18. God bless you. Amen
