What Is God's Name? - WHY GOD'S NAME MATTERS

The name matters to God himself.  No one gave God his name, he chose it for himself.   Jehovah declared:  "This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation." (Exodus 3:15)   In the Bible, God's name occurs more often than any of his titles, such as Almighty Father, Lord, or God.  And more often than any other personal name, such as Abraham, Moses, David, or Jesus.  What is more, it is Jehovah's will that his name be known.  The Bible states:  "May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth." - PSALM 83:18.

The name matters to Jesus.   In what has been called the Our Father or the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught his followers to petition God with the words: "Let your name be sanctified ." (Matthew 6:9)   Jesus himself prayed to God:  "Father glorify your name." (John 12:28) Jesus made glorifying God's name a priority in his life, and for this reason he say it in prayer: "I have made your name known to them and will make it known." -JOHN 17:26. 

The name matters to those you know God.    God's people in the past understood that their protection  and salvation were linked to God's unique name.  "The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous one runs and receives  protection." (Proverbs 18:10) "Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved." (Joel 2:32)  The Bible shows that God's name would distinguish those who serve him."  "For all the peoples will walk, each in the name of its  god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and ever." -MICAH 4:5; ACTS 15:14.

Next time: What is God's Name? -WHAT THE NAME REVEALS

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