God’s Name Is Lord

That our God’s name is LORD is sufficient for our existence on this earth. In that name there is security, fearlessness and comfort. The reason God rendered Himself as LORD is to let His people and the world through them know He is above all men and things. He makes known His stature by doing the works that alone reveal Him as the LORD. The name LORD fundamentally indicates that He is the ruler over everything, i.e. the seen and the unseen. He retains the right to punish men and to forgive them; to bless and to protect them; to harm them and to give them life. The name God gave to Himself is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and it signifies His supreme authority over all creation. And, “God spoke further to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the LORD’” (Exod. 6:2).

There’s not a soul that can escape Him. Everyone is in His sight; the wicked fall under His judgment. He is able to call men to Himself to justify them as righteous. When He reveals Himself to His people as the LORD, it means He has all the power to deliver them. It also means at times He disciplines them for their faithlessness. Nevertheless, when He is for them, there can be none against them. God spoke to Moses and it gave him undefeatable confidence. The confidence is in the Name by which He revealed Himself to him. He revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but to His people who were in slavery and suffering as the LORD. He knew it to be necessary to glorify His name and to comfort His people. When He said, ‘I am the LORD,’ He intended to show them what He is capable of. And He did so with His wondrous works against Pharaoh and his hordes. Israel was elated. Their sorrow expired. They believed in Him who revealed Himself as the LORD.

God fights on behalf of His people by becoming to them (revealing Himself as) the LORD. Then, they will do His will and glorify Him. So, Moses was called to deliver His people. He obeyed Him. How God proved Himself as the LORD to Israel was far greater than any magnanimity. Israel lived in the land of Goshen in Egypt. Yet when He made the plagues fall on the Egyptians, He was able to exclude it from the rest of Egypt. In doing so, He revealed to the Egyptians as well as to Israel that He is for His people whom He loved with all His heart. The LORD loves those whom He chooses and works for their salvation in ways unknown to man. By the end of the plagues the Egyptians knew this and did not want to have anything to do with Israel. In order to bring forth this understanding in them He set forth His time, effort and power. There’s no doubt God works in wonderful ways, but in order that He does it He ought to make Himself known to us. And, this He does when we obey Him. He who obeys Him cannot refrain from pleasing Him. How do we define obedience? Here it is: “Asa did what was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father” (1 Kings 15:11).

There were many kings in the days of Israel, but not all were obedient to the LORD. The LORD appeared to them in many ways, but they did not heed. Some were so wicked they committed vile abominations. These did not believe in Him, in His presence by their side and in giving Him all the glory. There were others that were wicked, but when He made Himself known to them, they repented and obtained mercy. However, king Asa was different. He was like David, who obeyed the LORD and who kept his sight on His will. Was David perfect? No, but he was not wicked. In all aspects of his life he wholly devoted himself to the LORD. When he failed in the case of Uriah, he accepted the consequences and displayed his devotion to Him through repentance. Asa removed every abominable thing in Israel, except the high places. He glorified the LORD by what were His ways. The LORD was with him till the end. As God’s people there is a uniqueness that must exist in us. It is to be righteous in His sight; then, we seldom fail. When we fail, we turn around to repent, because we knew righteousness. When we are able for righteousness, we will certainly find the favor of men. But, it never works the other way. Moreover, to make an attempt for it leads to the ruining of our life. This is one of the reasons Israel fell apart from the LORD. Very few kings were like Asa or David and it was not enough to keep Israel right in His sight. Had every king been like them, Israel would have been a very different nation. But, God had to reveal Himself to them as the LORD for punishing them. He was the same LORD that appeared to their fathers to rescue them from Egypt.

For the LORD to fight on our behalf we ought to walk in righteousness. This is the golden rule. Righteousness is by faith, which comes from His Word. It is an everlasting mark in us that enables God to reveal Himself to us. Why is it so? For the profound reason that God is righteous and there’s no sin in Him. He is holy, and to intimately move with us He makes us righteous that we are apart from sin. Then, He reveals His desire for us. “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel” (Ps. 147:19). The result will be precocious. He makes us secure, without fear and gives us comfort. It is when we come away from obtaining His words that we lose the things in our presence as well as the blessings that are to come our way. If we have come away from obtaining them, it means we have forgotten or did not fully grasp the power in them. For a start, by them He created the world and everything in it. By them He commands the sun, moon and waters; by them He feeds the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; by them He provides us sustenance and good life. If we do not have them, we are no less than vagabonds.

To constantly have His words will give us good life. His words keep us in righteousness. And here is the principle for it. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5). Increase in faith means definite increase in righteousness. It further means more holiness. This allows God to reveal Himself to us more often as the LORD. He will begin performing everything necessary for us and even beyond. Then, by the honor He gives us He glorifies Himself. The world around us will know we are His people who are being loved and cared by Him. It is uncertain as to how many Christians are accustomed to asking the LORD to increase their faith. But I do know that if they did, Christianity would be having a better witness in this world. As for you, you be your own judge. If you haven’t been asking the LORD to increase your faith, now is the time to begin asking Him for it. For there are many Christians that believe in the LORD, but since they are unaware of or forget asking Him to increase their faith they fall behind in righteousness. This has a direct effect. They miss His unwavering presence and so, lose His blessings.

The primary reason the apostles became such great men of God is not by what happened on the day of Pentecost, but by their burning desire for faith. The LORD constantly worked for them. Therefore, they became unconscious of their sufferings, pains and losses by being conscious of the prize set before them. I do not mean they did not feel them, but though they felt them, they were much more aware of their eternal time with the LORD. And they were able to stand in righteousness. The LORD was with them till the end in every step of their way. They failed, but stood up as any righteous would. They saw His presence and the truthfulness in living for Him. They had an awesome confidence that the LORD loved them and chose them for His name. So, the apostle Paul said, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

Now, such confidence is not only given to them, but even to us who live right in the sight of the LORD. For this reason, the LORD speaks to us His words just as He did with Jacob. The more we increase in faith, the stronger we will be in righteousness. God will be elated with us and we will be elated by what He does for us. This builds confidence regarding our relationship with Him. We feel good about ourselves. If on the contrary, there is something definitely not right within us. And we must sort it out with Him that we do not miss His revealing Himself to us. Listen, the primary reason God created, loved and gave Himself up for us is to rejoice in us. This joy is His glorification. As He reveals Himself to us as the LORD, we have confidence in who we are. We quickly separate ourselves from those who pretend faith knowing, “but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Pet. 4:5).

Confidence in who we are begins with God’s calling. It is sustained when He reveals Himself as the LORD. Its end is eternal joy. That it is sustained is dependent on our obedience and increasing in faith that yield His blessings. This is Christianity or living for the Almighty God in fear and in truth. It is not easy and nothing is, but it becomes a joyful way of life as God becomes our LORD. He will do all things necessary for us and works all things for our good. Let me echo the words of the psalmist – ‘In the LORD we shall do valiantly,’ because He said, “But from now on ‘THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD’” (Luke 22:69).

Posted in 2012, Archives.