The longest personal name in history is 747 characters long. Someone observed there are over 3,000 names in the Bible. The word name means “a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to.”[1] Names are evidently important, seeing parents think about what to name their child, business spend time making sure their name is catches, and sports teams have changed their names so that they may not offend others.
Some have declared that there is no reason to uplift the power of names, seeing there is nothing in one. This often alleged because of the many religious denominational names in the world. It is claimed that it matters little what name is put on the church sign, as long as one believes in Jesus. Is this true? Let us examine what Scripture says.
Names Do Mean Something. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the names recorded in Scripture have their own meaning. Saying names mean nothing actually denies simple truth:
Adam means “man.”
Cain means “possession” and Abel means “vanity.”
Moses means “drawn out.”
Aside from these, God actually used names to specify something important. He told Hosea to name his children Jezreel, Loruhamah, and Lo-ammi for what God would do toward His people. Isaiah’s son was to be called Maher-shalal-hashbaz (“speedy is prey”[2]) as a prophesy of the destruction of Israel (Isaiah 8:3-4). The Savior’s named is rightly called Jesus which means “Jehovah is salvation.”[3]
What about wicked names? If there was nothing in a name, why do parents refuse with utter disgust to name their children Jezebel, Judas, or Satan? They refrain from doing so because they know there is power in a name.
If there is nothing in a name, then God’s name means nothing. But, a command in the Decalogue forbade the vain use of God’s name (Exodus 20:7). If nothing was in a name, why did the Psalmist write “holy and reverend is his name” (Psalm 111:9)? If names did not matter why was God upset when His people forgot His name (Jeremiah 23:27)? Jesus prayed “Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9) to His Father. Surely, there must be something in a name if God’s is to be sanctified. First there is something in a name because names have meaning.
Names Show Ownership. Seeing a store called “Dave’s” probably indicates that Dave is the owner. When purchasing a car we say “you have to put it in your name;” which means you must transfer ownership. The name by which we attribute ourselves is important. Although not a Christian, Martin Luther observed, “I pray you to leave my name alone, and call not yourselves Lutherans, but Christians. Who is Luther? … I have not been crucified for anyone.” Christ established His church, so He should get the credit (Matthew 16:18). Churches that are called “First Grace Baptist” or “Repentance church” only exalt the acts[4], not the Man who died for them. But “church of Christ” (Romans 16:16) exalts the Man who paid a big sum for His church (Acts 20:28). Any other name that does not give Jesus the credit nor shows that He owns His church is forbidden. One man sat at a coffee shop and conversed with another, talking about different topics. When religion came up, one of the men asked the other what he was. He said, “I’m a Christian.” Puzzled, the questioner asked, “ok, but what kind?” The man replied, “just Christian. Nothing more, nothing less.” Hyphenated Christians (Baptist-Christian, Methodist-Christian, etc.) are not Scriptural. He wants His children to bear the name that He chose (Isaiah 62:2; Acts 11:26). Sectarianism by name following is forbidden (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).
There is surely importance in a name. It is best to “call Bible things (persons-NO) by Bible names.” If a name did not matter than Peter was wrong when he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Let us strive to remember our name, forbid all denominational names, and revere the names that God has chosen for His church and His people.
Endnotes
[1]Online dictionary.
[2]Brown-Driver-Briggs.
[3]Thayer.
[4]Bobby Bates, Back to the Bible, Booklet 2, p. 9.
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