Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding” (Judges 13:17-18)
It has become fashionable in some Christian circles to revert to the Hebrew names of YHWH and Yeshua rather than LORD or Jesus. There is nothing wrong in this, except when it is taken to extremes. Some people suggest that those who call God by any other name, such as ‘LORD’ or ‘Father’ or who call Yeshua by the anglicized variation of his name – Jesus, are not worshipping the true God of Israel. This would imply that millions of devout Christians over many centuries whose hearts and lives have been transformed by the power of the gospel and the indwelling of God’s Spirit have been deluded into worshipping another God – a view that most true believers would not dignify with a response. It is nevertheless worthwhile to consider how it is that we do bring glory and honour to the name of God.
God’s Holy Name
The divine Name of the God of Israel is comprised of four Hebrew letters: יהוה (yod hey vav hey) which is usually transliterated as “Yahweh,” although the correct pronunciation is uncertain because the original Hebrew Scriptures were written without vowels. Vowel points were only added by the Masoretes hundreds of years after Jesus came and when Hebrew as a spoken language had fallen into disuse – to assist with pronunciation for readers who were not fluent in the language. This four letter name of God is commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton (‘tetra’ meaning ‘four’ and ‘gramma’ meaning ‘letter of alphabet’).
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:13-15).
The Tetragrammaton: יהוה (YHWH) is connected to the Hebrew verb, היה (hayah) – which means ‘to be’ or ‘to live’ and to the title ‘I Am’ of Exodus 3:14. God said that Moses was to tell the people that “I Am who I Am” is the One who sent him. God revealed himself as “The Eternal One” and this is implied in his name, “Yahweh.” The words, “I am who I am,” testify to his unchanging, steadfast, eternal character which he had revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In the Hebrew scriptures the name of a person often reveals something about their character. E.g. Yacov meaning “he who grasps the heel” or figuratively “he deceives” was renamed Yisrael, meaning “prince of God” or “overcomer”, after he prevailed in prayer and by faith received the blessing. When we speak of a person’s name, we mean, in the fullest sense, everything that the person represents (their reputation). When we say that someone has made a name for themselves, we mean that they have established a reputation for themselves. Living up to their name would mean that they live up to their reputation – what others have come to believe about them. God’s name is an expression of His eternal being, His character and His power. In other words, it represents all that He is (“I am who I am”). The eternal God revealed his unchanging and perfect nature to Moses as, “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” We have confidence to call upon God as he has revealed Himself because we know that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will respond according to his reputation and for the sake of His own name. ‘Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake’ (Psalm 79:9).
Declaring God’s Name
The descendants of Seth were the first congregation of men to call upon the name of the LORD in public worship. They set themselves apart from the ungodly to serve the only true God and to honour his name: ‘At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD’ (Genesis 4:26).
The ungodly glory in their own accomplishments. Instead of declaring God’s praises and striving to bring honour and glory to his name, they set about establishing a name for themselves. Interestingly, in Genesis chapter 6 the “Nephilim,” who are described as the “heroes of old,” and the “men of renown,” are called literally the men of “the name” i.e.hashem. Leupoldt comments, “they achieved a reputation the world over by their violence, but a reputation better deserving of the term notoriety. The world certainly did not in those days, even as it does not now, esteem godly men highly. Only the wicked were renowned or had a name (shem).” Man’s efforts to unite in rebellion to God reached a peak when the Tower of Babel was built!
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). “Make a name for ourselves…”? The rebellion of man was and still is to exalt his own name above God’s. The original lie of the deceiver, “You will be like God,” still tempts man to exalt himself above God.
The assembly of the faithful, who served God and called upon His name, were soon seduced by the pleasures of the world and were assimilated among the ungodly (Genesis 6:1-3). The Lord however preserved a godly remnant through whom the Messiah and Redeemer would be born. The LORD called Israel to proclaim the name of YHWH among all the nations in order to bring glory, honour and greatness to His Name. ‘Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples’ (Psalm 96:3). Even the Israelites often became unfaithful to the Lord by indulging in the practises of the heathen nations. Because of their unfaithfulness God promised to make a new covenant in which His people would come to know Him personally and through which His very nature and character would be intimately revealed to them (Jeremiah 31:31). Only in this way would they bring glory to His name.
It is God’s will that all men come to know him in this intimate way, to honour his name and to worship him above all else. The prophet Zechariah (14:9) speaks of a time when, “the LORD (YHWH) will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” The new covenant people are now the congregation of the faithful who are called to proclaim His name and to honour His name by living holy lives in accordance with everything it represents.
The Name of God revealed in the Messiah
The writer of the following proverb posed a strange riddle which suggests that the Lord would not reveal Himself to proud self-assured people and that His name was somewhat of a mystery waiting to be fully revealed in the coming Messiah:
“Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!” (Proverbs 30:4).
The Lord God of Israel revealed Himself in the past through the Hebrew Prophets who spoke His word in His name, i.e. by the authority that His name represents. Moses was promised that the people would be led by a divine messenger:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since MY NAME IS IN HIM’” (Exodus 23:20-21).
(In other words: “All that my Name stands for, my very reputation, my authority and power, my divine nature and character is revealed and manifested in him”).
Of whom, if not of the Messiah, did the Lord refer to as being One in whom God’s Name is? The picture becomes clearer when we consider the apostle Paul’s words, “for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
The prophet Isaiah wrote:
“He (the LORD) said, ‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me’; and so he became their Saviour. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them” (Isaiah 63:8-10).
God does not remain aloof and indifferent to the struggles of his people. In order to fully share in their distress the prophet Isaiah tells us that the “arm of the LORD,” (the Messiah) is revealed as the one who takes their iniquities upon himself. This is how God himself becomes their Saviour. God’s divine Name, “Yahweh,” when combined with that of him becoming their Saviour, becomes, “Yahshuah” or “Yeshua.” He is the Holy One of Israel, now more commonly known as Jesus Christ. Rebellion against the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, is tantamount to rebellion against God the Father. Whoever dishonours and blasphemes the Name of Jesus, dishonours and blasphemes the Name of “Yahweh.”
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam (Mary) home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua (Jesus), because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21
The mystery of the Messiah, which has been revealed in the New Covenant, was testified to by the Hebrew Prophets, including the fact that God’s very name would be in him:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (God with us) (Isaiah 7:14). “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
The Lord told Moses that He would raise up another prophet like Moses who would speak in the full authority of His name (Deut. 18:18). The Messiah, who always existed with the Father, would bring the full revelation of God’s character and nature. In other words, all that His name represents would be revealed in him. Jesus was sent forth into the world as the full and final revelation of God to man to redeem man to himself. In him the fullness of the deity dwells (Col. 2:9). In him the nature and character of God are fully revealed.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:1-3).
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Jesus used a unique and unusual expression, “I am”, to declare his eternal existence
Certain Jews came to Jesus to question his authority: “Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I AM!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds (John 8:54-59).
When Jesus said, “before Abraham was born, I am,” he was claiming oneness and equality with God, who is the only eternally existent One and this is why the Jews tried to stone him. The prophet Micah declared the Messiah’s eternal existence long before he was born in Bethlehem (5:2): “Out of you, Bethlehem, will come the one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from eternity.” In the book of Revelation his eternal existence is plainly stated: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
The well known verse from the Torah, (Deut.6:4), which, when recited, is known as the Sh’ma (meaning “hear”), declares, “Hear, O Israel, יהוה (YHWH – the LORD) אלהינו (Elohienu – literally plural, ‘our Gods’), יהוה (YHWH – the LORD) is one (echad – a composite unity and not a singular being). Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ”Jesus, the One whose very name means “God’s salvation,” declared himself to be one (echad) with God. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus always existed with the Father in the Godhead – Elohim – before he became incarnate, taking upon himself the form and likeness of mortal man as the “son of man” in order to share in our distress, bear the penalty of our iniquities and to save us from our sins. Jesus prayed the following prayer aloud for the benefit of his disciples:
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people (see Dan. 7:14) that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. HOLY FATHER, PROTECT THEM BY THE POWER OF YOUR NAME – THE NAME YOU GAVE ME–so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me” (John 17:1-12).
Jesus veiled his glory, taking upon himself the appearance of a man, and coming in the humility of a servant to those whom he had created. What he revealed of God was not his splendour, his majesty, his omnipotence, which can be seen plainly in nature (things which are termed even by unbelievers as “acts of God”), but his love for fallen man, the character of the “compassionate and gracious God,” which He had revealed to Moses, “who is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” This love was now fully manifested in the perfect sacrifice – of the Father in giving his only begotten Son – and of the Son in giving his life in willing obedience as a ransom for many. When Jesus said, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me,” he was saying that the very nature and character of God was in him who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Heb. 1:3). In Jesus we see and know God. “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18).
Jesus came to show men the only way to God. Although Thomas had come to know Jesus the Messiah, he was still uncertain of the way to God and asked Jesus how he could know the way. Jesus answered him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:6-11).
Hallowed (honoured and revered) be Your Name
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Deuteronomy 5:11).
“If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name – the LORD your God – the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses” (Deuteronomy 28:58-61).
Many people hold the actual four-lettered name of God in such high regard as if there is a supernatural power in invoking the name itself rather than in Him to whom the name belongs. Instead of honouring God by living holy lives and worshipping Him in spirit and in truth, people demonstrate a false piety in insisting that His name is ineffable. When God says that we are to honour and revere His name, He means that we are to come to know Him, fear Him, believe and trust in everything He says, and to faithfully obey Him and worship Him for who he is. To revere the name of God is to worship Him according to all that His name, (i.e. His reputation), stands for. To treat his four-lettered name as being too holy to be uttered may create an outward impression of extreme piety and respect, but if we are unfaithful, doubtful, or ignorant of his word, or if we deliberately and defiantly disregard his teaching, then we have in no way honoured and revered His holy name. This is not what the Lord meant when he said that we are not to use his name in vain. We dishonour his name if we are unfaithful to his word or if we use his name without the proper respect and reverence due to him.
Jews often refer to the God of Israel as “Hashem,” meaning “the name,” as a way of showing respect for His name. It is ironic yet strangely apt that so many people who do not know God personally refer to Him in this most impersonal manner. Would we refer so impersonally to our earthly fathers by calling them, “the Name” or “the person”? The Lord said, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13).
The false piety of treating God’s name as being ineffable has unfortunately been met with the opposite extreme. Certain groups insist that unless one calls God by the name of YHWH one is not worshipping the true God! They place undue emphasis on the correct pronunciation of the name, presuming theirs to be correct, with little regard to the far more important matter of becoming intimately acquainted with the One whom the name represents. They believe that only by uttering the divine name does he hear our prayers and respond, and they are convinced that by calling God by his divine name YHWH, they give him more honour than those who call him Father, Lord, or by other such titles. There is nothing in Scripture which suggests “magical qualities” in the name YHWH or Yeshua. This is confirmed in the account in Acts chapter 19 when certain men tried to invoke the name of Jesus to drive out evil spirits and received a beating for their presumption. The authority is in Jesus himself and if we are not true disciples in submission to him we have no business calling upon his name.
The Lord rebuked Israel through the prophet Ezekiel (36:22) for their unfaithfulness and he said that it was not for their sake that he would show them mercy, but for the sake of his own holy name (i.e for his reputation), because his name was being blasphemed among the nations because his own people had profaned his name through their unfaithfulness and idolatry. Today the name of Jesus is blasphemed among the nations for the same reason. It is not a matter of treating the four lettered Name: יהוה (Yahweh) as ineffable, nor is it a matter of correct pronunciation and usage of this four-lettered Divine Name. It is a matter of being reconciled to God through faith in God’s salvation, Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah and Son of God, and living godly lives that bring honour to his name by the power of His Spirit who lives in us.
Is God the Father of everyone?
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he gave them a pattern for prayer which is short, yet completely comprehensive, encompassing every aspect of our daily worship, needs, and relationships in order to live a life which is pleasing to God. It is significant that he taught us to call God “our Father,” firstly recognising our relationship to God as his children, followed by the reverence and honour due to Him, “Hallowed be Your Name.”
If we were to despise correction from our earthly fathers, treat them with hatred and contempt, and bring the family name into disrepute by our bad behaviour, there is little doubt that we would be estranged from them. How much more have our sins separated us from a holy God!
Surely the arm of the LORD (the Messiah) is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2
If we persist on a path of rebellion in defiance of God’s word do we still have a right to call him Father? Jesus sharply rebuked some of the Jews who believed that they were descendants of Abraham and children of God simply on the basis of their genealogy and not because they followed Abraham’s example of faithfulness. Jesus told them that their behaviour was modelled after the devil:
“If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:39-47).
There is only one way to be reconciled to God so that we can call upon God as our Father. Those who have been born of his Spirit are children of God. Children do not despise the Lord’s discipline which is given to lead them into a way of life that brings glory and honour to His name. Ezekiel prophesied concerning this spiritual birth which enables us to live lives that are pleasing to God:
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
We are born with a sinful nature and without the Spirit of God we cannot live a life that is pleasing to Him. Only if we have been born of his Spirit, and have escaped the corruption of this world by becoming partakers of his divine nature, are we children of God. Otherwise we call him, “Abba, Father” in vain:
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ . . . For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:5-16).
What’s in a Name?
The true worshippers of the Holy God of Israel, worship him in spirit and in truth. The prophet Joel (2:32 or 3:5) said, “And it shall come to pass, that all who call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered” (or saved from their sins and the consequence of sin). This calling upon the name of the LORD does not mean simply calling out the divine name, it means acknowledging and worshipping God for who he is and as he has revealed himself in the person of Jesus the Messiah, in whose name, it was prophesied, the Gentiles would hope.
Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. IN HIS NAME the nations will put their hope” (Matthew 12:15-21).
This is a quotation from Isaiah 42:4, which reads in the T’nach, “In his law the islands will put their hope.” This is not a contradiction – both His name and His law represents everything He is. The power and authority is not in the name itself but in the person whom the name represents. When Scripture declares “there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” our faith rests in the historical person of Jesus and in the atonement he made on the cross, not in getting the pronunciation of His name right. How did the name Yeshua become Jesus to so many people? Greek was the lingua franca of the civilised world at the time of Jesus. When the name of Yeshua had to be written in Greek it was transliterated as Iesous because there was no equivalent in the Greek alphabet for the Hebrew letter yod, equivalent to “Y” in modern English. When Iesous had to be written in English it was transliterated as Jesus, the “J” originally representing a soft sound as found in the Afrikaans language, eg. Johan.
What’s in a name? Much in every way! The very name “Yeshua” means that Yahweh himself has become our salvation. However, when we speak of “Jesus Christ,” although this is not his original Hebrew name, but rather an anglicized/Greek adaptation, almost everyone in the world knows that it refers to the Person who was born, (became incarnate) nearly two thousand years ago in the small town of Bethlehem in the land of Israel, who died on the cross for the sins of the world, and of whom his disciples testified was raised again on the third day. Through him the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has been made known throughout the world. It is he, Jesus Christ, who has become a light to the nations and it is in him that the Name of God (his very nature and being) is revealed to the world. Truly in him the nations have put their hope. Through him, many from among the nations have come to glorify the name of the God of Israel, fulfilling the word of God spoken through the prophet Zechariah 2:11: “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people.”
Does it matter that millions who worship him with all their hearts call him by an anglicized variation of his name? It is he, the Holy One of Israel, known to millions as Jesus Christ, who has sent his Spirit to dwell in the hearts of those who trust in him and honour his and their heavenly Father’s Holy Name. Through his Spirit we are being transformed into his likeness in order to bring glory, honour and praise to the name of God, the Father of our spirits. It does not matter whether we call him Yeshua, Jesus or Jesu. What matters is whether we belong to him because his Spirit dwells in us.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
For us to honour and revere the name of God is for us to submit our lives to the work of his Holy Spirit living within us. “. . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
The redeemed, the Israel of God, are the ones who are called by his name. We are his children, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). There is no way to honour the name of our heavenly Father unless we honour the Son. The Name of the Father has been fully manifested in Jesus the Messiah, the eternal Son of God. “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).
“And being found in appearance as a man, he (Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ (Messiah) is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11).
All glory honour and praise be to God our Saviour! Hallowed be his Name!