Is The Value Of A Name?

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Are You Your Name? Is God His Name? Can We Worship God’s Name? William Shakespeare once wrote, "What 's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The question is: what is the value of a name? If names do have value, do they truly define the person or thing that possesses it? Finally, how does this relate to God? With humans, given names usually have a meaning from the language or culture in which the name comes from. For example, the name 'John ' is of Hebrew origin and means 'God is gracious,’ whereas the name 'Katie ' is of English Origin and means 'pure. ' Just because a person 's name means something, though, does that make it true? There are instances in the Bible that show that it does and…show more content…
After calling him out of his native homeland, God changed the first patriarch 's name from Abram (meaning 'high father ') to Abraham, which means 'father of many. ' This was the symbol of God 's promise to give Abraham many descendants, which would form their own nation. With the earlier example of Jacob, the Lord actually changed his name to Israel, which means 'He who wrestles with God. ' This name represented both an encounter where Jacob had wrestled an angel as well as his descendants ', the nation of Israel, future habit of turning away from God to idolatry. In the New Testament, Jesus gave many of his disciples’ new names to symbolize their new roles as members of the kingdom of God. For example, Simon bar Jonah received the new name Peter, with Jesus proclaiming, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18, NIV) Thus, in the Bible names were a symbol representing what God 's plan was for that individual 's life. What does this mean in regards to God? Human beings referred to God by many names, and Christians call the Trinity of God by three distinct names: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What are the purposes of these names? In Exodus 3:13-15, God reveals to Moses His one, true name: YHWH, which stands for 'I am that am. ' This name
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