How Do God’s Names Show Us Who He Really Is?

The more we all know who God is at His core, the more we trust Him. While our understanding of Him deepens through quite a few encounters, from sensing His presence with us in painful seasons to glimpsing His beauty through each sunrise, He proclaims His unchanging nature most clearly through Scripture. Woven throughout its pages, He declares Himself Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Father, Comforter, and Friend. One way we are able to deepen our faith is by studying His various names. Some names stem from God’s self-revelation, others from people’s declarations after powerful divine encounters. Each one reveals necessary truths about God. This implies that each time we read one in all the various names of God preserved in Scripture, we all know He’s proclaiming something regarding who He is, how He acts, and what He desires. ElohimThis is how Scripture first introduces the Lord. In Genesis 1:1-2, we read, “In the start God” (Elohim) “created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God” (again, Elohim) “was hovering over the waters.” (NIV, parenthetical inserts mine).This evokes a ravishing image of God’s creative brilliance. He formed the ocean, air, plants, and stars from a mere command. He spoke light into darkness, made barren ground fertile, and filled the land and seas with abundant life. He is the source of all that exists. As the second most used name for God within the Old Testament, Elohim denotes His supremacy and limitless power. Yet, while He is sufficiently big to fill the complete universe, He chooses to stay near His people.Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ippei Naoi