By: Jason Dulle
Yahweh or Jesus? What is the name of God according to the Bible? What is the real name of God?
What is the name of God? What is the name of the true God?
… The name of God what is it
The basic thrust of this verb describes the state of existence. As a third person form of beech, Yahweh literally means “He is” or “He exists.” It is a description of who God is. He is the self-existent.
To understand the importance of this, we must understand the nature of the Hebrew names. Hebrew names are not simply nominal devices used to identify one person from another, they are actually sentences themselves.
It is similar to how the Indians called their children “rising sun” or “running bear”. These were not complete sentences, but were descriptions (partial sentences). God’s name, YHWH, is a complete sentence. Turns out it’s the shortest sentence in any language: “I am.” 1.
What is the name of God? Has YHWH always been the name of God? What is the real name of God?
What is the name of the true God? Is it YHWH? What is the name of God?
While it is possible, it is unlikely. God existed long before the Hebrew language, so it seems unlikely that God always had a Hebrew name. It must be remembered that God did not reveal a name to the Hebrew people with whom they were unfamiliar.
God revealed himself to the Hebrews using the existing Hebrew vocabulary (haya) to express to his chosen people who “He is” (pun intended). It was a word/sentence they were familiar with because it already existed in their language before God declared it to be his name.
I am persuaded that God said his name was YHWH only because he was speaking to the Hebrew people. If God had revealed himself to English-speaking people, he would not have said that his name was “YHWH”, but rather “I am”. 2 because the Hebrew “YHWH” and the English “I am” are the same verb.
The difference is not in the meaning, but in the language through which the meaning is conveyed (“I am”). The name YHWH does not “label” God for identity purposes (because God does not need a name), but rather describes to us who God is. God was not eternally called “YHWH”. He was simply Himself, the self-existent.
I am even more convinced that the name that God revealed to the Hebrews was to reveal something about himself and his nature to man. He is the “I am”, the “existent”. It is for this reason that it is in vain when people make a big test about the way we should pronounce the name of God.
Some go so far as to say that if you don’t pronounce God’s name correctly, you cannot be saved. While this is not to say that God’s name is not important, it is to say that his name describes who he is, and discovering who God is takes precedence over the exact pronunciation of the words used to describe him. When God communicated his name to the Hebrews, it was not so they could know what to call him or how to pronounce his name correctly.
JESUS VERSUS YAHWEH?
What is the name of the true God? jesus vs yahweh
Many Oneness believers will hold that God’s name is not YHWH, but Jesus. While I don’t disagree with the fact that Jesus is the name of God, the problem with such a statement is based on the fact that it sets up a false dichotomy between “YHWH” and “Jesus”, forcing us to decide between the two.
No choice is necessary because they are actually both the same name, but one of the names is an expanded form of the other, describing what God does. One could say that God’s name is Jesus just because his name is YHWH. While that may sound counterintuitive at first, let me explain.
In Hebrew, the name of Jesus is spelled “Yeshua.” The “Ye” in Yeshua is short for YHWH. “Shua” is from the Hebrew word for salvation, yasha. The name of Jesus literally means “YHWH is salvation.”
The name “Jesus”, then, actually contains the name “YHWH” in an abbreviated form. While YHWH simply describes who God is, when combined with a verb it describes what God does.
The name “Jesus” describes the fact that YHWH has become salvation. Jesus is YHWH, saving his people from his sins. If YHWH is not the name of God, then the name of Jesus is meaningless. To deny that God’s name is YHWH is ultimately to deny the name of Jesus.
We should return to the fact that God is never referred to as “Yeshua” (Jesus) in the Old Testament. He is always referred to as YHWH. If God’s name has always been Jesus (as some claim), it would seem strange that he never referred to himself as such, nor did he call him that until the New Testament.
(I also invite you to read: The uniqueness of God)
One could argue that although God was called YHWH in the Old Testament, he is never called that in the New Testament. But is God called YHWH in the New Testament? Yes, in its expanded form as “Jesus”, which means “YHWH is salvation”.
The name of the true God, conclusion
What is the name of God? What is the real name of God?
The name “Jesus”, found exclusively in the NT, is a continuation of the revealed name of God found throughout the OT. “Jesus” is not a new name. The name of Jesus encompasses the fullness of God revealing himself to man – as Savior.
The name “Jesus” is very important to us because it is an expanded form of the same divine name revealed in the Old Testament. It is not a different name. It is only greater because it more fully expresses who God is to us: Savior.
Truly, the name of God is Jesus, because the name of God is YHWH. We confess that God’s name is YHWH every time we confess him as Jesus.
Footnotes
1. When God said to Moses “I am what I am”, that is the first singular form of haya, “ehyeh”. It can be said that from God’s perspective He is “I am”, but from our perspective “He is”.
2. Technically it would be “He is” because that is the English equivalent of “YHWH”, but as noted in the previous footnote “I am” is the first person form of the same Hebrew word. Since I am specifically discussing what God would say is his name, I used the first person form “I am” instead of the third person “He is”.