Lesson 6 - Doctrine of God (Names of God)

Question 1

How does the Exodus from Egypt bring understanding of God’s proper name?

Answer 1

– Theme of Exodus - they shall know my name

1. ) Exodus 3:13-15 - God’s being (YHWH - “I am who I am)
   - - Independent and Infinite being
2. ) Exodus Events (Ex. 7-14) - God’s power
   - - plagues
   - - passover
   - - red sea
   - - Exodus 15:11 - Conclusion of praise (Who is like you?)
3. ) Exodus 33:18-19, 34:6 - God’s goodness

Summary: God is YHWH and acts as YHWH absolutely sovereign in being, power, and goodness.

Question 2

How does God demonstrate his being and power through his proper name YHWH?

Answer 2

1. ) Exodus 3:13-15 - God’s being (independent and infinite)
   - - YHWH’s independent and infinite being: To be YHWH, according to Exodus 3:14, is to be the fullness of being subsisting in and of himself (sovereign self-existence).
   - - “I am who I am”
2. ) Exodus Events (Ex. 7-14) - God’s power
   - - none is like Him (not even Pharaoh and Egypt)
   - - Exodus 15:11 - “who is like you”

Summary: God reveals his infinite being to Moses (Exod. 3) and infinite power through Moses with plagues to Pharaoh (Exodus 7-14).

YHWH’s independence and infinity exhibited in unrivaled power: To be YHWH, according to Exodus 7-14, is to be the fullness of power, whose exercise in the sovereign rule of history is determined by himself alone (sovereign self-determination).

Question 3

What are the other divine names/titles of God besides the Tetragrammaton? Absolute names (does not describe a relationship between God and humans)

Answer 3

1. ) God (Elohim) - a class name (Gen. 1:1)
2. ) God most high possessor of heaven and earth - God will be your shield, your possession (Gen. 15, Ps. 95)
3. ) God Almighty (El Shaddai) - revealed in Abrahamic Covenant; one who is sufficient and almighty (Gen. 17:1, 50:20)
4. ) Lord (Adonai) - master/relational term/ a relative name applied to God and human beings
5. ) First and Last - first and final causality (Rom. 11:36, Rev. 22:13)

Question 4

How do the relative names of God signify a specific sort of relationship between God and creature?

Answer 4

• • Relative names describe a relationship - Creator, King, Shepherd, Lord, Redeemer, Father, “your God”; “my …”
• • Absolute names do not name a specific relation, but relative names signify a specific sort of relationship between God and creature; Ex. Lord and servant; Shepherd and sheep; King and subjects
• • denotes change in us, but not change in Him

Question 5

What does the threefold way of naming God provide to the one seeking to understand the personal names of the Trinity?

Answer 5

It protects us from thinking of the Trinity in terms of human relationships. (More technical: The threefold way of naming God provides the appropriate metaphysical framework for describing the categorically distinctive relationship that obtains between the Father and the Son.)

1. ) Fullness (way of eminence) - eternal generation of the Son from the Father is the “true and more perfect” form of generation, transcending all creaturely forms of generation
2. ) Infinitude (way of negation) - teaches us that, unlike the generation of creaturely sons from creaturely fathers, the eternal generation of the Son from the Father is timeless, unchanging, and immaterial.
3. ) Firstness (way of causality) - the eternal generation of the Son from the Father is the paradigm and source of the temporal generation of creatures by creatures.