Does God have a
FIRST or FULL name?

First of all, let's solve one simple argument. It's pretty much a given that God is pretty smart. He knows ALL the languages used on the earth. So we can assume that God speaks Swahili. He probably even speaks Quechua and Apache. So then we know that if someone who speaks Spanish says "Dios, socorro!!!" (God, help me!), that God will UNDERSTAND him. Granted, God may be offended that He didn't use the proper name, but we know for a fact that God WILL understand Him.

So then, the only argument that remains is whether God PREFERS that you use the right name, whether He REQUIRES you to use the right name, or whether He doesn't care. Those are the only options. So which is it? And which is the right name of God?

Right up front we have to say that no one knows the proper name. Most believe it is YHVH, or YHWH, or just YH... but nobody can pronounce it. You see, the Jews were so terrified of speaking the name of God, oops, I mean, YHVW, that they forgot how. Hebrew doesn't have vowels, per se. So the written language doesn't tell us how a word was originally pronounced in most cases.

Imagine if even a word as short as "God" was written without vowels, like "Gd". Now further imagine that as few as one hundred years go by without it being spoken aloud. Now finally, picture yourself, a native German speaker, let's say, trying to pronounce that word then. Why, it could be Gad, God, Gid, Gud, or Ged – not to mention if there were two vowels, like Goad, or Giud, or Gead.

And there you have the problem with the perfect name. Only, it's been a few thousand years and Hebrew bears less similarity to English than English does to German. Not only that, but YHVW most likely has three or more vowels in it. That means there are dozens of possible ways it could be pronounced. So no matter what you do, at best you may be able to spell it, you cannot ever PRONOUNCE the "perfect name" without divine revelation. But the question of the hour is, does God want you to try anyway?

Well, let's find out by asking the age-old question – what would Jesus do?

What would Jesus do?

Jesus referred to God most often simply as "the Father", which was recorded in the Greek Gospels with the word "Pater" (from which the Spanish get Padre). And He not only used Pater, or Father, but He directed US to start our prayers with "Our father, which art in heaven . . ." (Luke 11:2)

So then, we could gather that this was the name He wanted us to use. But if only it was that simple! Paul confuses the issue by saying that Christ's spirit in us cries out "Abba", which is Aramaic for Father. So then, instead of Pater, we use Abba! Right? Umm.. well, not exactly. Granted, Christ Himself prayed using Abba :

"And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." " (Mark 14:36, NKJV)

Mind you, it included Abba because that was the actual word He used. So maybe that IS the one He wanted us to use. But before you go out and start changing your prayer address to Abba, keep reading...

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" (Matthew 27:46-47, NKJV)

So when Christ was dying, in one of the most distressed prayers He ever made, with His last ounces of life, He prayed using a derivative of the Hebrew word for God – no, not YHVH, but "Eli". The people around Him watching Him die thought He was saying "Elijah", so they evidently didn't understand Eli as a common word for God.

So He abandoned His most commonly-used Greek Pater, then the Aramaic Abba, and now He is using the Hebrew Eli. But a little while later, He is back to using Pater again!

"And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father (Pater), 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.'" Having said this, He breathed His last." (Luke 23:46, NKJV)

And during all of this time, He is nowhere recorded as having uttered YHVH ONCE! And yet His prayers were answered – even when given using the name of God in at least three different languages – and He was "saved" in spite of not using the Sacred Name! Which is a shame, because He, of all people, might have actually known how it was SUPPOSED to be pronounced!

But... there is a lot more. We know Abraham to be the Father of the faithful – which is to say, the father of the covenant of Faith. Because Abraham believed God, and it was counted to Him for righteousness – which is the new covenant. But I'm digressing. The point is, from Hebrews 11 we know that Abraham WILL be saved. Therefore, if using the Sacred Name – whichever one is THE Sacred Name – is necessary to be saved – then Abraham MUST have used it. That is simple logic, isn't it? Of course it is.

But wait a moment! If YHVH, or Jehovah, the most commonly translated as LORD in the Old Testament, is THE Sacred Name, then how was Abraham saved?

"And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD (YHVH). I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD (YHVH) I was not known to them." (Exodus 6:2-3, NKJV)

God said I AM YHVH. And He said that He had appeared to Abraham, and the fathers, by the name of GOD ALMIGHTY, which in Hebrew would look something like "El Shaddai". And God said that He gave the Father of the Faithful, His FRIEND, the name El Shaddai – but by His "Sacred Name", YHVH, they DID NOT know him!

God said that Abraham NEVER SPOKE the name YHVH! So he could NOT have been saved, according to their reasoning – and yet we know for a fact that he was saved!

How can that be?? Can it be that "the name" is not as important as we've been told? That it is something else that determines whether God is happy with us, or hears our prayers? It is certainly beginning to look that way, isn't it?

But we haven't exhausted our study yet. Let's take scriptures that everyone should be familiar with:

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. . . And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. " (Acts 2:1, 4,6, NKJV)

Notice that the apostles weren't SPEAKING all those other languages – but these men all heard them speak in their own language, in their mother tongue.

"Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." " (Acts 2:7-11)

There are seventeen languages mentioned there. And in all of those languages, those men heard them speak of the wonderful works of GOD. For this, the author of Acts used the Greek word Theos – since Acts was written in Greek. But before I wrap up this point, let's read one of those wonderful works of God that was mentioned here...

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord [Kurios] shall be saved. " (Acts 2:21)

This time, the Greek word "Kurios", which roughly translates as Supreme One was used to refer to God. And so, every man there – be they Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Jews, you name it – heard the Apostle Peter say that WHOEVER would call on the name of the Lord would be saved!

That means that a Greek HEARD Peter say that whoever would call on the name of KURIOS would be saved! So he would repent and say "Kurios, forgive me!". Or perhaps he would spice it up a bit and say "Theos, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

All of this, being said in Greek, would make little sense to the Roman standing next to him, who would of course have heard Peter say "whoever calls on the name of Deus will be saved"! So the Latin prays saying "Deus, I repent!"

And likewise the Egyptian and the Persian and the Jew and the Cretans would all have heard Peter say the name of God, or the words "Supreme One" in their own language. And I find it a terrible shame – not to mention a colossal fraud on the part of the holy Spirit, who was doing the talking – to tell all these people to call on the name of God to be saved, and then telling them the WRONG name to use!

Don't you think?

But this isn't the first time the holy spirit made this mistake. No, it did the same thing to the Israelites. See, Moses was trying to talk his way out of going to the Israelites, and trying to stall God, and so he asked God WHO he should tell the Israelites had sent him. He demanded the SACRED NAME of God!

"Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'WHAT IS HIS NAME?' what shall I say to them?"" (Exodus 3:13, NKJV)

God, evidently not realizing that they needed to use His Sacred Name to be delivered, (forgetful of Him, wasn't it?), gave them the WRONG name!

"And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" " (Exodus 3:14, NKJV)

Can you believe that? God didn't even give them the right name to use! Shocking, isn't it? He gave them the name "I AM", which comes from the Hebrew Hayah – which is basically the Hebrew verb "to be", which certainly isn't sacred. But God goes on to give Moses FOUR more names to use!

"Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD (YHVH) God (Elohim) of your fathers, the God (Elohim) of Abraham, the God (Elohim) of Isaac, and the God (Elohim) of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.' " (Exodus 3:15, NKJV)

So God told Moses that the Hebrews could call him the "Hayah", or YHVH, or the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, or the Elohim of Jacob – so it seems to me that God answers to a lot of names! A single one of them could hardly be said to be the most Sacred! But it is easy to find the most Grandiose. The most Grandiose name for God used in the Bible is easily...

"For thus says the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV)

"The High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity" is a bit wordy, but you must admit it is catchy! And his NAME is Holy! But which name? The one He used – I'll use the acronym THALOTIE. Is THALOTIE the Holy Name? Is it the ONLY Holy Name? Isn't YHVH Holy? Isn't I AM a holy name, when applied to God? Aren't THEOS, or DEUS, or DIOS, or JEHOVAH, or IEHOVAH (Latin spelling!) or JESUCRISTO, or DOMINI, or LORD, or GOD, or ALMIGHTY all holy names, when applied to the real God, and unholy ones when applied to a counterfeit God?

And will the use of any one of these names recommend you to God over someone who uses any other name? I think the Bible has irrefutably shown that it doesn't. As that last scripture said – God dwells with those who are of a broken and contrite spirit. Men who tremble before His word. Just like Jesus did:

". . . who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, " (Hebrews 5:7, NKJV)

Jesus Christ was heard by God, not because He used Abba or Pater or Eli, but because He FEARED! Because He obeyed God, and TREMBLED before God's words, God heard Him!

So do YOU tremble before the word of God? Does the Bible carry authority, and weight with you? If so, you must acknowledge that Abraham did NOT know this "special name!" You must also admit that Christ is not ONCE recorded as using YHVH! But that Christ was heard, in every prayer he ever uttered, and in every language he ever phrased it!

So then – if you're Spanish, you can use Dios, or Jesus (pronounced Hay-seus). If you're English you can use God, Lord, the Eternal One, God Almighty, Jehovah, or just call him the "I AM". Regardless of what name you use for Him your prayers all go to the same place. And they're all heard and understood by the same Being. And using one name or pronunciation over another has NO bearing whatsoever on whether your prayers are heard or not. Only your obedience and through it, your faith, can affect that.