Day 1: The name above every name

A name is more than a label. This is especially so in the world of the Bible. But we know this from personal experience, too. When you are in love with someone, you do not just utter his or her name, but you see someone before you who evokes a variety of feelings and thoughts. A name is more than a label, and uttering a name is more than pronouncing a combination of letters.

In the Bible, a name says something about a person’s nature. This is the case with God, too. He allows Himself to be called Yahweh: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). This is not just a fascinating combination of letters (YHWH), but says something about the depth of God’s being. This name immediately confronts us with the Mystery of God. For let’s be honest: “I am who I am,” that’s a pretty mysterious name. You would almost be inclined to say: what in the world does this name say about God? Whatever it does mean, at least it tells you that you cannot capture the essence of God in a definition. He is so completely Himself that He cannot be compared with anything or anyone.

Yet, the Bible can also generously use metaphors and words that tell us something about the God who allows Himself to be called Yahweh. He is a Rock, a Shepherd a Sun, a Shield, a Psalm, the Eternal One, the Father, the King, and so forth. Each one of these metaphors is a further explanation of The Name.

Now the beautiful thing is: the New Testament tells us that God gave Jesus “the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). This is because the God we learn to know in the Old Testament as Yahweh revealed Himself in Jesus. That is something very special: the eternal God, who lives in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16), actually steps out of that light as a human being called Jesus. How special do you actually think that is?

Since I know that God gave the name above every name to his Son, I can now only utter this name with intense reverence and amazement, love and wonder: Jesus! I am well aware that this name was a common name for boys in biblical times. But this is no longer the case now that the Son of God has this name forever.

Perhaps you think the name Jesus refers mainly to the Son of God when He lived as a human being on earth and that the name Christ is richer in meaning. This is what I used to think for a long time. Someone who talks about Jesus is speaking superficially; someone who talks about Christ is speaking profoundly. Yet, the interesting thing is, now that Jesus has returned to glory and sits at the right hand of his Father, the Bible still freely and reverently uses that name above every name—Jesus (see, for instance, Philippians 2:10; Romans 3:26 and 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:10; Ephesians 4:21; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Hebrews 3:1-2 and 12:2; Revelation 1:9).

This is because the name Jesus when used for the glorified Son of God is on par with the name Yahweh, the glorious God who is and remains so incredibly Himself. So, use the Name Jesus freely and reverently. Not as a label or a chance combination of letters, but as the name above every name that indicates He is your Savior! For: “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Just as the mysterious Name Yahweh opens up in many other biblical metaphors and concepts, so also Jesus has many other names that tell us something about who He is. I would like you to get to know those names and learn to spell them, because discovering Jesus is best done by allowing yourself to be impacted by the abundance of names the Bible uses to introduce Him to us.

Doing
Below I somewhat arbitrarily listed seven clusters of seven names given to Jesus. There are, of course, more. Name each one out loud and try to underline each name with a different color. I hope that in this way you will discover something about how multicolored and multifaceted Jesus Christ is.

(1) Radiance of God’s glory / Alpha and Omega / Almighty One / Amen / Image of God / Liberator / Bread of life (2) Bridegroom / Door of the sheep / Eternal Father / Heir of all things / The Son whom I love / Faithful witness / Anointed (3) Good Shepherd / Great High Priest / Physician / Lord / Savior / Cornerstone / Hope of glory (4) King of ages / Power of God / Lamb of God / Lion of Judah / The Author of life / Teacher of righteousness / Life (5) Light of the world / Man of sorrows / Master / Messiah / Resurrection / Conqueror / Advocate (6) Prophet / Judge / The Righteous One / Rock / Creator / Stone that causes men to stumble / Prince of Peace (7) Truth / True Vine / Way / Wisdom of God / Wonderful Counselor / Word of God / Sun of Righteousness

Learning
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (Philippians 2:9-10a).

Praying
Holy Father in heaven, it’s so beautiful to discover that You gave your Son the name above every name. Obviously You are immensely proud of Him. Would you teach me to discover in this one name and in the many other names the glory of Jesus, the One You love so dearly. Open my heart and mind by your Holy Spirit for this journey of discovery. Amen.