Why the name of God is so important?
Crucifixion of St. Peter by Caravaggio. The early Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It is a thrilling exercise to note all the holy and gracious attributes attached to the name of God by the writers of Holy Scripture. In our text, for example, taken from the song of Moses, God is called a "God of truth." According to the prophet Isaiah, the Lord is a "God of judgment" (Isaiah 30:18).
David called God both the "God of my righteousness" and "the God of salvation" (Psalms 4:1; 68:20).
In the New Testament, Stephen called Him "the God of glory" (Acts 7:2). Paul called Him both "the God of hope" and "the God of patience and consolation" (Romans 15:5, 13) when he wrote to the persecuted believers in the great capital of the Roman Empire.
To the carnal Christians in Corinth, He was called "the God of all comfort" and "the God of love and peace" (2 Corinthians 1:3; 13:11), and to the suffering believers in Philippi, Paul identified Him as "the God of peace" (Philippians 4:9).
The apostle Peter called Him "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10), and the writer of Hebrews recognized Him as both "God the judge of all" and "the God of peace" (Hebrews 12:23; 13:20).
Our God is, indeed, the God who is all in all to His people. He is the God of truth and righteousness, of peace and love, of patience and comfort, of hope and grace, glory, and salvation. "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Revelation 15:3). Is He, above all, "Lord of all" in us who know Him?