Name of God
The Biblical God is recorded as having given His name to Moses at Mt. Sinai as "I am that I am," but what Jehovah meant by telling Moses that Jehovah sent him was that He was the great "I Am." not as a name but as a description of who God is, existence pure and simple. I am that I am, to mean I shall be who I shall be, He that is. I am He upon you can rely, who does not change. We are because God is, we are nothing without Him. This is reflected in Jesus' declaration that I am before Abraham was. The ancient Jews refused to write the name Yahweh, some orthodox Jews still, because they feel unworthy of uttering the Divine Name. Because I am what I am, I may be what I will to be. My individuality is one of the modes in which the Infinite expresses itself and therefore I am myself that very power which I find to be the most innermost within all things. I am is the admission of pure existence.
The I AM in the individual is none other than the I AM in the universal. It is the same Power working in the smaller sphere of which the individual is the center. Now the immense practical importance of this principle is that it affords the key to the great law that "as a man thinks so he is." The great figure of liberated and perfected humanity which forms its center fulfills this desire of all nations in that it sets forth their great ideal of Divine power intervening to rescue man by becoming one with Him, the attainment of our spiritual liberty. When we have reached this goal the old things have passed away, behold all things are new. As we gradually grow into the habit of finding this inspiring Presence within ourselves, and of realizing its forward movement as the ultimate determining factor in all true health -full mental action, it will become second nature to us to have all our plans, down to the most trivial and a great harmony will come into our lives. His form is not to be seen.
He is imagined by the heart, by wisdom, by the mind. Those who know this, are immortal.. How can it be apprehended except by him who says: "He is?" In his prayer to God, Jesus addressed him as 'Abba'. This was an Aramaic word used by little children to speak to their earthly fathers in an intimate, special way. There is no record of its use in prayers to God. The Jews did pray to God as father but used the formal for 'father' that is found in Jewish liturgical prayer.
God's greatest name is the One, and his desire is that all should be one in the One. Therefore whatever divides is not of God.. whatever fosters this unity is of God.. El, strength, on of the names of God, especially in poetry. It is often found in proper names.. Eloi, like Eli, means my God. El is a name by which God is called. Allah is the same. El, the God Elohim of Israel.. El Shaddai, God Almighty. They called him Elohim, all the gods; or Elyon, the most high.
[93, 119,
162, 231, 311, 380, BD, 392]
What matters in the names of God is if we are addressing the true God or not. God is not a name and can be used to pray to false gods as well as the true God. We can take on ourselves the same image of God that was given to us in the beginning, it may be less than perfect and contaminated with sin but whether we agree or not, we are all God's creatures. Muslims included. I too was caught up in sin but by God's grace found salvation. We need to take that grace to others, not condemnation simply for not being part of our fold or calling God by a different name.
(Aram. Abba)
(Heb. Shaddai)
(Aram. Attiq Yomin)
(Heb. 'El Olam)
(Heb. 'Ab)
(Heb. 'Elohim)
(Heb. 'El Roi)
(Heb. Quedosn Yisra'el)
(Heb. Shapat)
(Heb. 'Adonai)
(Heb. YHWH)
God assigned to Himself
(Heb. YHWH-Nissi)
(Heb. YHWH-Saboath)
(Heb. YHWH-Shalom)
(Heb. YHWH-Yireh)
(Heb. YHWH-Tsidekenu)
(Heb. YHWH-Rohi)
(Aram. Illaya)
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