Well, good morning, everyone.
Good morning. As you all know, our pastor,
Frank, he's in Dingus this weekend. They have a conference there.
I hope that the Lord has blessed that. It's a special place there
with some special people. And I know everyone's been praying
for that conference. I hope it's going well. Before
we bring a lesson this morning, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you
for bringing each and every one of us here this morning. Lord,
we pray that you would bless your word, that you would leave
us not alone, but that you would send your spirit to anoint the
word to the hearts of the hearers, that you might feed your sheep,
Lord. We pray for Those filling this pulpit here this morning,
Lord, you've directed us here. It's your will that we're here.
And we pray, Lord, that you would give us a message for your sheep,
that you would give us a message for your people, that the praise
and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ might sound forth from this pulpit. And what we pray for us, we pray
wherever men stand today to endeavor to show Christ to sinners. Lord, we humbly ask that you
would bless this message this morning. And we ask all this
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for our good and for his
sake and his glory. Amen. All right, so this morning
I'm bringing a lesson titled God-Given Names. And I want to
be very careful when I say that to not sound irreverent towards
God. You've heard that expression
before. What's your God-given name? And when people are asking
that, they're really asking, what's your first name? What's
the name that your parents gave you? And that's not what I'm
wanting to look at today in this lesson. I'm wanting to look at
names that God himself has given people throughout scriptures
and he's preserved these name changes throughout scripture
in the Bible to reveal Christ to us, right? Christ told us,
search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal
life. Well, and they are they which
testify of me. So I just want to go through
some name changes here in the Bible and pray that the Lord
will show us Christ in this lesson. The first names I want to look
at are Jacob and Israel. So if you'll turn to Genesis
25. It's kind of weird being nervous
in front of family, but this is an awesome responsibility. Genesis 25, let's pick up in
verse 21 and Isaac and treated the Lord for his wife because
she was barren and the Lord and treated of him or Rebecca, his
wife conceived and the children struggled together within her.
And she said, if it'd be so, why am I thus? And she went to
inquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her, two nations are
in my womb and two manner of people shall be separated from
my bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other
people, and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days
to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her
womb. And the first came out red, all
over, like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. And
after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold of Esau's
heel, and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was three years
old, and she bared them. So here we see the story of the
birth of Jacob. And, you know, we've been taught
that Jacob's birth in Jacob represents God's elect. In fact, Paul writing,
or the writer of Romans, Paul says in Romans 9, 11 through
13 says, for the children not being yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. So we see Jacob
was God's elect from before he was born, before he did anything
to recommend him to God, before Esau did anything to not recommend
him to God. God chose Jacob. And you know,
God calls himself the God of Jacob more than any other name
in the Bible. We hear the God of Jacob throughout
the Bible. And God loved Jacob. But what
was Jacob by nature? What was his nature? The name
given him means supplanter, heel grabber. You know, he was a sinner. Jacob was a sinner. That was
his nature. And he used his own cunning and
deception to steal that birthright. It was promised that it was going
to happen, but him and his mom, you know, they conspired together
to get that birthright. And that picture is natural man. Natural man were constantly trying
to save themselves, denying the work of Christ. Christ is that
firstborn. Denying that birthright denies
Christ. In Colossians 1, 15, Christ who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things. By him, all things consist. And
he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, the first resurrection, that
in all things he might have the preeminence. So we see here this
wonderful picture of election. God chose to show his love towards
sinners in election. But the story doesn't end there,
does it? Doesn't end with Jacob. Election is unto salvation. It's
not salvation. Let's turn over and read Genesis
32. 24 through 28. Genesis 32, 24 through 28. And Jacob was left
alone. And there wrestled a man with
him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he
prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh.
And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled
with him. And he said, let me go for the
day breaketh. And he, Jacob, said, I will not
let thee go except thou bless me. And he said unto him, what
is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said,
thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince thou has power
with God, and with men has prevailed. So here we have Jacob. This is years later. He's fled,
went and found a wife. God told him to go back home.
He hears Esau's coming with him, coming to get him. And he sends
all his people on before him, trying to use his cunning again
to put one over on Jacob. You know, we're your servant. Put one over on Esau. And here's
Jacob. He's left alone. He's alone in
the night. He's fearing for his life. He
knows his cunning is not going to save him anymore. Esau's going
to kill him. And the Lord Jesus Christ comes
and wrestles with him. You say, well, where do you get
that that that's Christ? Well, verse 30 in Jacob called the name of
that place Peniel. For I have seen God face to face
and my life is preserved. This was a pre-incarnate appearance
of our Lord Jesus Christ wrestling with Jacob the entire night. Notice Christ initiated that
wrestling. Jacob was alone, he was fearful, and God came to
him and wrestled with him through the entire night. And Jacob,
he couldn't get, he was a stalemate. Now we know that God could have
destroyed him. Jacob didn't have any power with
God, other than God loved him. But Jacob was put in a place
where he didn't have any strength left. that he knew that he couldn't
prevail. And just to show him, God touched
him, just the touch on his hip, and it dislocated that ball joint
from the socket of his hip. Can you imagine how painful that
was? It was just a touch. So Jacob's been put in a place
where he shows he has no strength. He has no strength with God,
and God could easily destroy him. Then what happens? God says, let go of me. Let me go. And I'll let you get
on with your life. We'll be done with each other.
But something miraculous has happened here. Look at Jacob's
response. I will not let thee go, except
thou bless me. Jacob's a different person here.
This is a confession from Jacob. He's saying, I have no hope unless
God blesses me. Something's changed. He knows
that God has complete power over him, but he will not let go. God, you may kill me, but I'm
not letting you go, because I'm going to die without you. I'm
not going to let you go. And then in verse 27, God asks,
what's your name? We know God knew his name. God
knew his name before he was born. But here he's asking, Jacob,
you tell me your name. This is a confession of who he
is. Jacob, what's your name? What's
your nature? My name's Jacob. Supplanter,
deceiver, fraud, a sinner. That's my name? It's my nature. It's what I do. It's what I am. And that's not just Jacob saying
that. That's my nature. That's what
I do. That's what I am. I'm a sinner. But here in verse 28, God gives
him a new name. That new name represents a new
birth in our Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner's been made a new
creature. He's given a new name, a new character. Israel means
a prince of God. And it's that new birth, through
that new birth in Christ, we are made sons of God, sons and
daughters of God. Romans 8, the Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. If
children, then heirs. Heirs of God, and join heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may also be glorified together. That's what baptism
is a picture of. That's the confession where we
We're in Christ and we died in Christ and we're risen in Christ.
We're new. We have that new creation in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And what does it mean? We see
here it says that he's given a new name for as a prince that has power
with God and with men and has prevailed. What does it mean
to have power with God? That's power with God as a child.
Well, let's see if this scripture helps us understand that, how
a man could have power with God. Matthew 7, Christ says, ask,
and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh, findeth.
And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. And here's the
key. Or what man is there of you,
whom if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if
he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to him
that ask for him? We've been given the power to
call the Almighty God, Abba, Father, Papa, Papa. And that new name is evidence
of the birth that God's already given him. We have the power
with God, the power to desire and to ask for mercy through
Jesus Christ our Lord. That's the power we've been given.
the power to come to Christ for all that we need. We have the
power to come to Christ and ask for salvation. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. We've been given the power to
come to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he's not
going to pass, he's not going to cast us out. And that's just so amazing. What a wonderful gift. And if
you feel discouraged, feeling like you're not a prince, not
a child of God, God continued to call Jacob, Jacob, throughout
scriptures. Jacob, Israel, Israel, Jacob.
That represents, we have that dual nature. There's two natures.
Every believer has two natures. You've got one nature that nothing
but sin, does nothing but sin, can't do anything but sin. But
praise God we have that new nature, that second nature, that Israel,
that child of God who's perfectly righteous in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ. And, you know, Genesis 35 is
an example here. Ten chapters later, And God said
unto him, thy name is Jacob, and thy name shall not be called
any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called his
name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God
almighty, be fruitful and multiply, and a nation and a company of
nations shall be of thee, and the king shall come out of thy
loins. Here we see that all of God's people are products of
that new birth. All of God's people are gonna
come from new birth. We're gonna have a new nature
in Christ Jesus our Lord. And the assurance is not looking
to ourselves. We're changeable, we go back
and forth between Jacob and Israel. But it's looking to God who changes
not. What did God tell us in Malachi? He said, for I am the
Lord, I change not, therefore what? ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed. So there we have Jacob in Israel.
The second names I want to look at, if you want to start turning
to Matthew 16, I want to look at Simon and Peter. Now the name
Simon, it means one who hears. It seems like so much better
name than supplanter, doesn't it? I mean, I want to hear. Do
you want to hear? Romans says, how shall they call
on him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
him in whom they've not heard? So hearing the gospel is vital. There's no life without hearing.
But salvation is more than simply hearing. It's more than hearing. Let's pick up here in Matthew
16, verses 13 through 18. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea and Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom
do men say that I, the son of man am? And they said, some say
that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias,
or one of the prophets. He said unto them, but whom say
ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father,
which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee that
thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So here we see, The first thing
we see is that God asked, who do men say that I am? And
we see that just like we see today, natural men have all kinds
of ideas who Jesus is, but none of them is correct.
But then in 15 and 16, we see Peter speaking for all believers,
he says, Thou art the Christ. He's the Savior's sacrifice.
He's the promised seed. He's both God and man. He's the
child born, the son given. He's the Messiah. He's going
to save his people. In verse 17, Jesus answers and
says unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, Peter represents all believers
here. Barjona, that means son of Jonah. You're a son of man. You have a sinful nature. You've
got that same nature that Adam has passed down as the federal
head through all mankind. You're born a sinner, born slave
to sin, you're in need of a savior. But here we see that he hasn't
just heard He's been taught of God the gospel. It says, flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Here, Peter's been
taught of God. He hasn't just heard, he's been
taught the gospel, that good news of salvation through Christ
has been revealed to him, and he believes, as it is written
in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man,
therefore, that hath heard and have learned of the Father cometh
unto me. He has that faith that's a gift
of God. He's been born again. He's been born again in that
salvation. John 3, and Jesus answered, verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of
the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We must be
born again. And this confession that Peter
makes, that salvation is found in Jesus Christ, that reveals
that new birth, that reveals that he's been taught, that new
birth is the rock upon which the church will be built. It's
not Peter, you know, people use that to come up with the first
Pope. Well, that's nonsense. Peter's Simon still. He's both Simon and Peter. The
rock is that new birth. In that new birth, Christ and
his people are one. Christ is the rock of ages and
we're in him, we're rocks as well. We're little rocks, we're
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and his people being one,
that's that new holy nature, that new name and character,
that's exactly the same as him. In Christ we're sinless, our
sin is gone. He was made sin for us and died
on the cross. Our sin was put away through
his death on the cross. Christ was sacrificed once, one
time, for the sin of all his people, for all time, And it's
finished. That's why Moses was told to
speak to the rock. Don't hit it again. Don't strike that rock
again. Because Christ died once, once and for all. And remember,
God doesn't wink at sin. He's not going to just turn away
from sin. God sees things as they truly
are. And in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we are completely righteous. We're being one with Christ,
being rocks, part of that rock of ages. We're one with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Just a few scriptures, 2 Corinthians
5, 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Romans 8, 1, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. And finally, in Ephesians
1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him. before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy without blame
before him in love, having predestinated us into the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted. Accepted where? Accepted in the
beloved. So that's Peter. Finally, I wanna
try to look at the name of God himself. This is holy ground
we're standing on here. Let's turn back to Exodus. Let's go all the way back to
Exodus chapter three, verse 14. We see the first time that God
tells us his name. He appeared to Moses in that
burning bush. Moses said, who am I going to say sent me? Exodus 3.14, and God said unto
Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am sent me unto you. When I
look at my margin for that, I am that I am, it says, implying
here, I save in the manner in which I save. God is the eternal
I am. The isness of God. He always was, he always will
be. He's the ruler of all things. And his sovereignty and salvation
is the very first name that he reveals unto man. We ought not
get too far from that, should we? Let's go over to Exodus 34. We're gonna see God proclaiming
his name. Exodus 34, verses five through
seven. This is after the law was given. And the Lord descended into the
cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. What's the name of the Lord?
And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and
that will by no means clear the guilty. So here we see God is
a merciful God but he's a just God. He's determined to show
loving kindness towards his people and be merciful but he's not going to just ignore
sin. by no means clear the guilty. This name reveals that God is
a just God and a savior. And that manner that God has
decided to save in is through his sovereign mercy. Not only
is that God's name, but that's God's glory. Just a little bit
further in Exodus 34, Verses 18 and 19. I'm sorry, I have
the wrong scripture. I've got it here, I've got the
wrong reference, but Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see
my face, where there shall no man see me and live. And the
Lord said, behold, there's a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
a rock, and it shall come to pass while my glory path is by,
that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover
thee there with my hand while I pass by, And I will take away
mine hand and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face they
shall not be seen. Here we see the manner in which
God saves is his glory. He's going to put us in the rock,
the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to be made one with
him and God's going to keep us there. He's going to preserve
us there and we're gonna be given the ability to see the Lord Jesus
Christ. When somebody, you hear the back
parts of God, well, if somebody's walking past you, the very furthest
back part, it's gonna be their heel. And that's what Christ,
that heel is his humanity. He was made man. in order to
save sinners. And we're going to see that.
We're going to be given the grace and we're going to be taught
of God to see that. To see that we need the sovereign
sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the name of God. It's
revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in Isaiah 9, in time, we
see what's going to happen. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. He's one with the Father.
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom and to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forevermore. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts shall perform this. Here we go. The Lord sent word unto Jacob
and it lighted upon Israel. Again, God is a covenant God. His purpose will come to pass
and he's determined in time that the son is gonna be given
and born as a child. Salvation through that substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ being made sin for his people,
that satisfies God's holy judgment and his judgment. He'll save
in the manner in which he'll save. And see this, God will
send word to Jacob. He's gonna tell sinners about
this. He's gonna give them light and
life. unto his people in the new birth,
they're going to be Israel. So, you know, me being given a new
name, that's something that I can, it kind of appeals to my pride.
Just like election appeals to our pride, fallen nature. We
think we're something special. Pray that the Lord would reveal
to us that we're not, right? That it's all of him. That's
what that new birth is. But even today, people take pride
in their natural birth, right? I was born Dan Morgan, the Fort
Thomas Morgans. But, you know, we take pride
in that name. But here we have something that's beyond human
comprehension, that even my foolish old man nature pride can't comprehend
is that the eternal Holy Son, who is one with God the Father,
has been given as a child in human flesh. The eternal Rock
of Ages was given a new name. Let's turn it over to Matthew
1. Verses 21 through 23. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord and the
prophets, saying, behold, virgin shall be with child. She shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which
being interpreted is God with us. God with us. How can that be
that God was made man? Christ, the God-man, he's fully
God and fully man. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead, That's the only way that God
could save in the manner in which he'll save. A man had to die as a substitute
for our sins. This is the name whereby we must
be saved. That's what they said in Acts,
right? Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand
here before you whole. This is the stone which was set
to not of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby ye must be saved. It is for Christ's sake that
we're saved. He was made to be something that
he was not, that he could not be, so that we could be made
something that we were not, that we could not be. 2 Corinthians,
look at your bulletin. For he hath made him to be sin
for us. He who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. It's in him. And, you know, God gave us a
picture of this in marriage. We're talking about names. One
of the few times that men change their name is when they're married. They take on the name, a bride
takes on the name of her husband traditionally, right? And that's
a picture that God has given us of that union of the bride
of Christ, believers in Christ. That's a picture of Christ and
his bride, the church, becoming one. You know, one even as he
is one with the Father. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are. Through God's name we're kept
and made one. with the Lord Jesus Christ. And
it's only through that union with Christ that we're given
a new name and a new nature that's completely the same as his. We've
had this scripture, this pair of scriptures from Jeremiah,
taught to us many times, but I'd like to read them one more
time. Jeremiah 23.6. It says, in his days, Judah shall
be saved. And Israel shall dwell safely.
And in his name, whereby he shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. That's his name, whereby he shall
be called. And then in Jeremiah 33, we read,
in those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell
safely. And this is the name wherewith
she shall be called. The bride shall be called the
Lord our righteousness. I pray that God would give us
the power, the new birth, the call on the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. One more thing. I'm at risk of
going too far here, aren't I? I've already gone too far, but
don't look to the law. Don't look to the law. Call on
Christ. The law gave a new name as well. Did
you know Joshua's name was Hosea? Hosea means salvation. But Moses,
representing the law, gave him a new name in Numbers 13, 16,
and called him Joshua. Joshua means Jehovah is salvation. Not just salvation, God's salvation.