The Names of God: How God Makes Himself Known

Doctrine of God · Week 4

Opening Scripture Readings

Read these passages aloud before beginning:

• Exodus 3:13–15: God reveals His covenant name to Moses and promises to be remembered by it throughout all generations.
• Genesis 1:1: Elohim creates the heavens and the earth by His sovereign power.
• Genesis 17:1: God appears to Abraham as El Shaddai, God Almighty.
• Matthew 6:9: Jesus teaches His disciples to approach God as their Father in heaven.
• John 17:6: Jesus declares that He has made the Father’s name known to His people.

When God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked what he should say if the Israelites demanded the name of the God who had sent him.

God answered:

“I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Exodus 3:14

God did not give Moses an impressively fancy title. He revealed something true about Himself.

God Gives His People His Name

In Scripture, a name can communicate more than identification. It may express a person’s character, authority, reputation, or relationship to others. When God reveals His name, He is making Himself known.

This revelation begins with God, not with us. We do not define God according to our experiences, needs, imagination, or cultural preferences. We know Him because He has spoken and acted.

No single name gives us an exhaustive understanding of God. He remains greater than anything the human mind can contain. Yet the knowledge He gives is real and trustworthy. We cannot know God completely, but we can know Him truly because He has chosen to reveal Himself.

God’s names are therefore not magical formulas, secret codes, or words that give us control over Him. They are gifts of revelation that call us to know, trust, worship, and obey the living God.

The LORD Who Is and Who Is With His People

In Exodus 3, God identifies Himself as YHWH, usually rendered LORD in English Bibles. The name is closely connected with the declaration, “I AM WHO I AM.”

God is not one being among many. He does not receive life or existence from anything outside Himself. Creation depends upon Him, but He depends upon no one.

Yet Exodus 3 is not merely making an abstract statement about God’s existence. The God who says “I AM” also tells Moses, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has seen Israel’s suffering, remembered His covenant, and come to deliver them.

The name of the LORD therefore reveals both God’s unchanging being and His faithful presence. The eternal God binds Himself to His promises and acts for His people.

God’s Names Reveal His Character and Authority

Other names and titles in Scripture reveal further truths about the one God.

Elohim is used in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It directs our attention to God’s majesty and power as Creator. Everything that exists owes its life to Him.

In Genesis 17:1, God appears to Abraham as El Shaddai, “God Almighty.” Abraham’s circumstances appeared to make God’s promise impossible, but the promise did not rest upon human ability. It rested upon the power and faithfulness of God.

Adonai, meaning Lord or Master, speaks of God’s rightful authority. God is not merely someone we turn to for assistance. He is Lord. His people belong to Him, live under His rule, and receive His word as their command.

These names do not describe separate parts of God or different versions of Him. The Creator, the Almighty, and the covenant Lord are the same living God. Each name helps us see more clearly the One who has made Himself known.

A Brief Survey of God’s Names

Scripture uses personal names, titles, and descriptions drawn from God’s words and actions. Not every expression below functions as a proper name in exactly the same way, but each reveals something true about God’s character, authority, or relationship with His people.

The list uses YHWH for the covenant name commonly rendered LORD. These expressions are also transliterated in other ways, including forms that use Jehovah.

• YHWH, LORD: The self-existent, covenant-keeping God who remains faithful to His promises (Exodus 3:14–15).
• Elohim, God: The mighty Creator and ruler of all things (Genesis 1:1).
• El Shaddai, God Almighty: The God whose power is sufficient to accomplish His purposes (Genesis 17:1).
• El Elyon, God Most High: The sovereign God who rules over heaven and earth (Genesis 14:18–20).
• El Olam, Everlasting God: The God whose life and rule have no beginning or end (Genesis 21:33).
• El Roi, God Who Sees: The God who sees the afflicted and does not overlook their suffering (Genesis 16:13).
• YHWH Yireh, The LORD Will Provide: The Lord who faithfully provides what His purposes require (Genesis 22:14).
• YHWH Rapha, The LORD Who Heals: The Lord who heals, restores, and makes whole according to His wisdom and covenant faithfulness (Exodus 15:26).
• YHWH Sabaoth, LORD of Hosts: The sovereign Lord over every earthly and heavenly power (1 Samuel 1:3).
• YHWH Tsidkenu, The LORD Is Our Righteousness: The Lord who provides the righteousness His people need (Jeremiah 23:6).
• Adonai, Lord or Master: The One who possesses rightful authority over His people and all creation (Psalm 8:1).
• Father: The God who is made known through the Son and receives believers as His children through Christ (Matthew 6:9; John 1:12–18).

These names give us different windows into the same divine character. The God who is everlasting is also the God who sees. The God who rules every power is also the God who provides and heals. The Almighty Creator is the covenant Lord who draws near to His people.

The Father Made Known Through the Son

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). The Old Testament already speaks of God as Father, particularly in His relationship with Israel, but Jesus brings this truth into greater clarity.

In John 17:6, Jesus says to the Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.” Jesus was not saying that He had merely taught His disciples another word for God. He had revealed the Father Himself.

The Son makes the Father known through His words, His works, His compassion, His obedience, His death, and His resurrection. Jesus can therefore say, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Christians are baptized into the singular name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This does not give us three gods or three competing revelations. The one true God has made Himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christians therefore do not study the names of God as detached pieces of ancient vocabulary. We come to know the LORD through Jesus Christ. Through the Son, we are reconciled to God and brought into His family. By the Spirit, we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15).

Knowing God’s Name Shapes Our Response

Knowing God’s name is more than recognizing theological terms. God reveals Himself so that His people will respond to Him in faith.

• Because He is the LORD, we trust His promises.
• Because He is Creator, we depend upon Him.
• Because He is Almighty, we do not measure His faithfulness by our limitations.
• Because He is Lord and Master, we obey Him.
• Because He is the God who sees, provides, and heals, we bring our needs before Him.
• Because He is Father through Christ, we approach Him with reverence and confidence.

The names of God do not invite us merely to collect information about Him. They call us to know the One who has made Himself known.

Core Statement

God reveals His name so that His people may know who He is, trust what He has promised, and live before Him in worship, confidence, and obedience.

Discussion Questions

1. What does the setting of Exodus 3 add to the meaning of God’s revealed name?
2. Why must our knowledge of God begin with His self-revelation rather than our own ideas?
3. Which name or title in this study most clearly reveals God’s authority? Which most clearly reveals His care?
4. What does Jesus mean when He says that He has made the Father’s name known?
5. How should knowing God as LORD, Creator, Almighty, Healer, Master, and Father shape the way you trust and obey Him?

Study References

• Primary passages: Exodus 3:13–15; Genesis 1:1; Genesis 17:1; Matthew 6:9; John 17:6.
• Additional passages: Genesis 14:18–20; Genesis 16:13; Genesis 21:33; Genesis 22:14; Exodus 15:26; 1 Samuel 1:3; Psalm 8:1; Jeremiah 23:6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:12–18; John 14:9; Romans 8:15.
• Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd edition, Zondervan Academic, 2020, discussions of the knowability of God, God’s names, and God’s independence.
• Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.