I am not saying that we should "say" any names, or in any particular language, only that we need to be aware of His name, hallow it, and when necessary, use it to identify who our God is, separating him from other gods. It is not enough for us to say that we believe in god, many religions say that. As the OP stated, "Who is God?"Josh wrote:So, what name are you saying we should say?gcdonner wrote:You are correct that they did not speak the Tetragrammaton, but they were familiar with the euphemisms that were inserted, such as Elohim or Adonai, and Jesus indicated so by encouraging us to "hallow thy name". There is only one deity spoken of in scripture who is identified as Lord God, and that reference is carried over into the NT where the holy name is never directly mentioned, but understood with the various iterations of this compound.Josh wrote:My understanding is the Jews never spoke the Tetragrammaton out loud except in special situations and used euphemisms otherwise.
I usually pray to Lord, Father, or Jesus.
Do you know the reason why the Jews didn't articulate the holy name?
Does something special happen if we say names in foreign languages?
My God is Jehovah and his son is Jesus or if you prefer, my God is YHWH and his son is Yeshua. In either case there is revelation as to the very nature of the Father & the Son, by knowing their names and what they mean.
I dare say that most folks don't know what the name of Jesus means. Names have meanings that were appropriate to the character of the person. A quick study of the OT will tell you that, especially when you consider the name changes that God gave to certain individuals to fit their new identities.
We all have been given new names when we came into covenant relationship with God. Do you know yours? Most folks don't know, haven't asked God to show it to them or just plain don't care. It is told of it in the book of Revelation (it isn't perspective limited...)
I hope you are beginning to understand where I am coming from? Strangely, we talk about a "personal relationship" with God, yet so many don't even know or care about his name. Even the name of Jesus is the name above all names, but itself points to the Father.
Blessings,
George