Names and Titles of the Deity

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Turning now to the New Testament we have to consider the meaning of the Greek Logos. Liddell and Scott define it as:

 

1. The word or outward form by which the inward thought is expressed,
    
   and
    
   
2. the inward thought itself.

 

Under a. we read, “Latin vox, oratio, that which is said or spoken.

 

1. A Word and in the plural, words, i.e., language, talk ... logos never means a word in the grammatical sense as the mere name of a thing or act which are expressed by epos, onoma, reema ... but rather a word as the thing referred to, the material, not the formal part. On the other hand it is opposed to ergon as a thing merely uttered and not made good.
    
   
2. A word (in a fuller sense), sentence, a saying, statement, a divine revelation, an oracular response, an assertion, a promise, a command, a resolution, a condition.
    
   
3. Speech, discourse.
    
   
4. A saying, tale, story.” Other derived meanings are given, but these we need not trouble about.

Under b. we read,

 

1. “Latin ratio, the power of the mind which is manifested in speech, reason, an opinion, expectation.
    
   
2. Account, consideration, esteem, regard.
    
   
3. Relation, reference, proportion, analogy. Of its ecclesiastical use Liddell and Scott say, “Ho logos, God the Word,”³ compromising both the above general senses of Word and Reason, which were, however, distinguished as logos prophorikos⁴ and logos hendiathetos⁵ by Philo.

It will be noted that, like its Old Testament parallel debir, logos means much more than a word in the mere grammatical sense. Reason, the idea or thought — and that in such associations as postulate the realisation of the word or saying — are involved in the term. This will enable us to appreciate the use of the title in connection with the Word made flesh.

 

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³ The theological bias of the two D.D.’s is evidence by this expression, but the definition attached to it is helpful.

⁴ Prophorikos — uttered.

⁵ Hendiathetos — residing in the mind.

[Resource Manager]

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5, 14).

 

“God spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Thus “all things were made by him.” There was an effective word. Reason and intention expressed became accomplished facts. Then came the fall and all its dire effects, and the apparent failure of the purpose in view. Once again God spake, “I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). Although ages elapsed before the word was realised, it was an effective word as we well know. Two thousand years later God spake another “word,” comprehending in it His promises to Abraham, whose seed was to have the everlasting possession of the land of Canaan, to sit in the gate of his enemies, and in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. Again, ages elapsed before any outward sign of the effectiveness of the word was seen; nevertheless, as the word of God it was certain of fulfilment. Still another thousand years passed and another “word” was spoken. “Go and tell David, my servant, thus saith the Lord ... I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will establish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be My son” (1 Chron. 17:4-13).

 

Passing over another thousand years we arrive at the time of which John spoke. The three sayings combined to form the “word” which indicated the purpose of the Deity. As the logos it signified the “material part” of the saying, not the mere sound. As the debir it showed forth “ranged in order” the purpose which was to subdue and “destroy” evil. It was a “promise” containing “friendly comfort,” “promising good” that was “designed by God,” and thus four thousand years after the communication of the first promise “the word was made flesh,” declaring the glory of God in the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

The foregoing will illustrate the meaning of the reference to the Word made flesh. God and His word cannot be separated. A word abstractly considered is nothing. A word or saying from one who is known to be reliable may mean much; a word from God is definite in meaning and certain of fulfilment. When the word was made flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth it was as the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David — “a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers” (Rom. 15:8).

 

It is significant that when the title “The Word of God” is actually applied to Jesus Christ it is at that stage of His career when the whole world is to be compelled to recognise the position which He occupies in the purpose of God. He then bears a name “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:12-16). He is followed by those whom He, as the seed of the woman, has redeemed. As the seed of Abraham He and they take possession of the land of Canaan. As the seed of David He occupies the throne of Israel and wields the sceptre of universal dominion, and they as “kings and priests” will reign on the earth. But He is no longer the “Word made flesh.” He has long been “the Lord the spirit,” the Word” quick and powerful” — the Word made spirit.

 

It will be seen that the title “The Word” has far-reaching implications in relation to its possessor, for it involves the whole scope of his mission. As “the Word” he is the living expression of the Father’s mind.

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The Alpha and the Omega

 

The meaning of this title as applied to Christ in the Apocalypse is evident. It is equivalent to saying in English, “I am the A and the Z,” for alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is exemplified in the words which follow: “I am the beginning and the ending” (Apoc. 1:8), “the first and the last” (verse 11). The expressions are repeated in chapters 21:6, 22:13. The difficulty of the expression lies in the application of the terms to Christ. In the writings of the prophets “the first and the last” is applied to Yahweh, Who says in connection with it, “beside Me there is no El” (Isa. 41:4 and 44:6). How then can the title be understood in relation to Jesus Christ?

 

The answer takes us back to a phase of the truth referred to under the name Jesus, which it will be remembered in the Hebrew contains the name of Yahweh. God was in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19), Christ was “the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). He could say “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” In the ultimate sense of the words the Alpha and the Omega must apply to God Himself. He as the originator of all things, out of Whom are all things (1 Cor. 8:6), must be the Alpha. As in the end He is to be “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28), He must likewise be the Omega. The Bible is His revelation to the human race, from which is to be developed a race of immortals who will have attained unto the Divine nature. Of them Jesus is the first, “the beginning of the (new) creation of God” (Rev. 3:14), the first-born from the dead (Col.1:18), the first fruits of them that slept (1 Cor. 15:20). All who attain to that end will do so by reason of the salvation which centres in him as Jesus, “the Saviour.” Indeed, they must be in him. They therefore cannot be viewed in this connection apart from him, for his name is named upon them. He is thus the Omega, for the last saint incorporated into the Divine unity will be as much of him as will any other, and in the Omega state they will all be in him. Together they will constitute what has been aptly spoken of as “the multitudinous Christ.”

 

It will be observed again in relation to this title that very much is comprehended in it. It involves the relationship of Christ to God and to his saints, and links the whole into one great and glorious purpose, leading from “In the beginning God” to “the end God all in all.”

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The Branch

 

This title is only applied to the Messiah in prophecy. A review of the passages in which it occurs will show the appropriateness of it to Jesus of Nazareth. On the first occasion on which it is used it is as “the Branch of Yahweh,” and is associated with the time when “he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written unto life in Jerusalem” (Isa. 4:2 and 3, R.V. margin). Jeremiah referring to him says, “Behold the days come, saith Yahweh, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch” (Jer. 23:5); “In those days and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David” (Jer. 33:15). In these cases the title is connected with the kingly phase of the mission of Christ. Lastly, Zechariah refers to him as Yahweh’s servant, the Branch, “the man whose name is The Branch” (Zech. 3:8, 6:12).

 

In the Hebrew the word is Tsemach — a sprout, so that the word branch is an appropriate representation of the original. By combining the passages we see it was indicated that the one in question was to be a sprout, or the Branch, of Yahweh, and yet a sprout from David. To human arrangements such a combination would be incomprehensible — impossible. And yet when we turn to the New Testament we find both ideas converge, and find their exact fulfilment, in Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, yet Son of David, the Word made flesh, yet the man Christ Jesus.

 

There is another well-known reference to the Branch. “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isa. 11:1). In this case a different word is used in the Hebrew, Netser. The derivation of this word is quite different from the one considered above, but it is evidently used in a similar sense. It is always rendered branch. Parkhurst says of it: “A plant, sucker, or young tree, springing from the old root, and reserved, or preserved, when the tree is cut down.” This is singularly appropriate to the facts of the case. It was out of the Davidic root, when the tree of royalty had been cut down, that the shoot came forth, when “he whose right it is” to occupy the throne of his father David was born. The original promise required that the Son should be born after David slept with his fathers (2 Sam. 7:12). So aptly do symbols and names answer to the facts of the case.

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The Names of Isaiah 9

 

In the Immanuel prophecy, which extends from Isaiah 7 to 9., there are a number of other names and titles applied to Immanuel. “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, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). These deserve some attention in this study.

 

WONDERFUL. The Hebrew is pele (from a root meaning to separate, i.e., distinguish, by implication to be great, difficult, wonderful), a miracle, translated in the A.V., marvellous thing, wonder, wonderful, wonderfully. No one will find any difficulty in applying such a name to the Son who was given. He was wonderful in his origin, “the only begotten of the Father,” born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). She herself asked, “How shall this be seeing I know not a man?” There was no ambiguity about the answer. “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). He was wonderful in his life, doing always the will of his Father, and “separate” from sinners. Finally, in his death and resurrection he was wonderful. Miracle was associated with him as with none other of the race. It is interesting to find that the term applied to him, the living word, is also applied to the written word. “Thy testimonies are wonderful, therefore doth my soul keep them” (Psa. 119:129).

 

COUNSELLOR. There is no necessity to enlarge upon this word which sufficiently expresses the original, the root of which signifies to advise. The various renderings of the word are all in accord with this idea. The appropriateness of the title in reference to the Messiah is obvious. He taught as one having authority. His counsel is the supreme guide of all who are his.

 

THE MIGHTY GOD. These represent the Hebrew El gibbor. Of El we have already dealt at length on other pages. In addition to its use as the name of God, it is at times rendered might, mighty one, power, and strong: Nebuchadnezzar, for example, being referred to as El goim, the Mighty One of the nations (Ezek. 31:11). Gibbor also has the essential significance of strength, to prevail, a valiant warrior, a hero, a chief. The two words are combined in the name Gabriel. Significant renderings of the term gibbor are champion (1 Sam. 17:51), chief (1 Chron. 9:26), giant (Job 16:14), valiant man (S. of S. 3:7). It brings before us another feature of the Messiah, clearly associated with the passage in which the name occurs. “For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood ... For unto us a child is born ... and his name shall be called ... El Gibbor.” It will be as a mighty warrior (so Dr. Thomas renders the name) that he will subdue the kings and rulers of the earth who will take counsel together against Yahweh and His Messiah (Psa. 2:2) when the time comes for the latter to take possession of the throne of David.

 

THE EVERLASTING FATHER. It is scarcely necessary to point out that this term has no such meaning as Trinitarians sometimes suggest. It involves no pre-existence of a second person of a trinity. If any such idea were imagined it will be sufficient to point out that it is the “Father,” not the Son, that is mentioned. As a matter of fact it has no such application at all. The Hebrew ab (father), has a wide meaning. Parkhurst defines it as a father, a forefather, progenitor or ancestor, a first author, origin, a governor, protector, or the like. Ad, the Hebrew word translated everlasting implies the idea of duration, beyond or further, time onward, futurity, or eternity. It extends beyond olahm (the age, like the Greek aion). It occurs, for example, in the following passages. “The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity” (Isa. 57:15). “Yahweh is King for ever (olahm) and ever” (Psa. 10:16). This will indicate the extension of the term in such associations as we are considering to times beyond the Millennial age. None will attain unto that eternal future apart from the atoning work of Christ. He is the father of “the children which God hath given him,” for whose sins he made reconciliation (Heb. 2:13, 17), and who by abiding in him attain unto the Kingdom and the eternal beyond.

 

The Septuagint renders the phrase, “the Father of the future age”; Louth, “the father of the everlasting age”; the R.V. margin, “the father of eternity.”

 

THE PRINCE OF PEACE. The title is too simple to need comment. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 15:27). “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1), for “he is our peace” (Eph. 2:14). But he is also to be “the peace” in the day of war, when the latter day Assyrian shall be broken on the mountains of Israel (Mic 5:5). Then he will speak peace to the peoples, and in his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

 

It will be noticed that in these combined titles we have a remarkable setting forth of the truth concerning Jesus Anointed. He is “Wonderful” in birth, in life, in resurrection. By his pre-eminence due to obedience he is fitted to be the “Counsellor” of his people. As the “Mighty Warrior” he will secure possession of the earth wherein his people are to be blessed, and who as “the children,” will inherit it through the work of “the Father of Eternity” when he reigns as “the Prince of Peace.”

 

NamesandTitlesoftheDeity_Boulton.pdf