What Do You Call Him? Unveiling 160 Names of God

A Synopsis of God's Names through Biblical Accounts

Shavonne R. Ruffin

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781666715804, 9781666715811
• eBook ISBN: 9781666715828
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Our God is beyond a one-name moniker.Identifying an unidentifiable God seems to be an improbable challenge as to who can describe a God that goes beyond description. Limiting God to a few names does not negate his power, but it does limit the power we allow him to have in our lives. What Do You Call Him? Unveiling 160 Names of God will unleash this power from knowing about him to having a relationship with him. Unfortunately, we lack knowledge of God not because of an unwillingness to learn but because of the limits that we place on his name. Learning more about the names of God allows for a transition from knowing about him to making him known. This book aims to give biblical accounts behind the meaning of 160 names of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to help close the gap on some of the mysteries of God and truly determine what we call him.

Chapter 1

ELOHIM

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the Earth.

Genesis 1:1

To fully comprehend the names of God, we must start at the beginning. God’s mighty power was unfolded in the book of Genesis, establishing that He is the creator of everything. It is incredible to think that God created the Earth and all that inhabits it through his divine wisdom. Therefore, without God, there was nothing, but with him came everything. When his spirit moved upon the water, He was able to give form to the world. With just a few words from God, the light came into existence, and with a few breaths, man became a living being. These miraculous acts define the first name of God, Elohim, which means the supreme and mighty one.1

Our natural minds cannot comprehend God’s true divine omnipotence. Imagine if we were given the task to create a new universe without knowledge of the current world. It would be impossible for us to construct without some type of blueprint. Therefore, many scientists are challenged by the creation and evolution of man. Debates concerning the creation of the universe are continuously ongoing. It isn’t easy to comprehend the world’s formation when there are over one billion galaxies and trillions of stars. Jupiter, the largest planet, is three hundred times larger than Earth, and OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb, a newfound planet is roughly thirteen times larger than Jupiter.2 Eighteen billion dollars is spent in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) annually searching for these mysterious answers.3 However, the simple reality is that the God of strength and power created the universe in a matter of six days.

In the beginning, Ruach Elohim4, which is the Spirit of God, rested on the empty void, and the Earth was formed (Gen 1:2). The term ruach in Hebrew means spirit, wind, or breath. This name is referenced as the Spirit of God, which is a life-giving source. The spirit moved over the water to create the land formations causing the world to become alive. The spirit also gave life to Adam, fashioning him into a living soul (Gen 2:7). Ironically, this is the same breath that occupies our lungs today. God freely gave his ruach to the just as well as the unjust for us to have life. The difference is that our lives are more abundant because the Spirit of God not only dwells within our lungs but wholly lives inside of us.

On several occasions within the Bible, the Spirit of God has been described as wind (Ezek 37:9–14, Acts 2:2). The wind moves air, and despite a full understanding of where it comes from or where it goes, we tend to know that it is there. So, it is with the Spirit of God (John 3:8). God’s ruach moves unpredictably, which can be like forceful hurricane winds colliding with our flesh to remove unneeded debris from our lives, or it can be as gentle as a summer’s breeze refreshing us from the heat of the day. “Wind is called a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines.” The ruach of God is an energy source that regenerates us daily. As long as the Son of God shines, so will the Ruach of God continue to blow.

Elohim is the plural of the root word El, which means god, concluding that God is deemed three Gods in One: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.5 Despite Christians not wanting to recognize this, there are also other gods within the universe. God, himself, orders us in the commandments stating, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3), implying that there are indeed other perceived supernatural beings, which are man-created. In polytheism, different cultural mythologies believe in more than one god. Some of the most known gods are Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, and Norse pantheon. These cultures put their faith in gods named Ra (Egyptian), Zeus (Greek), Brahma (Hindu), and Odin (Norse), and even with their so-called powers, they still have several deities in each religion6. Despite, there being many false gods, God is Elohay Elohim, God of gods.7

For this very cause, God warns his people to serve him, the true and living God, Elohim Chaiyim.8 Recognizably, different gods are counterfeit, attempting to resemble the true God of Israel. However, God proves that He alone is the true and living God as he kept his promises concerning those who worshipped pagan gods. Elohim Chaiyim stated that He would destroy them, cast them out of the land, and punish them with death (Deut 17:2–7, Exod 22:20, and Exod 23:33). Therefore, Joshua’s last message to the Israelites in Shechem was so profound as he knew the fate that awaited those who did not recognize God as God of gods. In chapter 24, Joshua’s prophetic words reminded the Israelites of God’s strength and power, which was used to deliver them on numerous occasions. Joshua admonished the people to serve the Lord in spirit and truth lest they fall into dire situations.

Before the Israelites became a great nation, several of their forefathers had worshipped pagan gods. Undoubtedly, this was true for Terah, Abraham’s father. Joshua calls Terah out in verse two by saying. “Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshipped other gods.” In reviewing the genealogy of Terah, it appears that he was a descendant of Noah’s son Shem. This verse is impressive because Abraham’s father knew Noah personally for over a hundred years after the flood. Realistically, Noah had to mention God’s mighty power concerning “the flood,” yet Abraham’s father continued to serve pagan gods. Astonishingly, it appears impossible to think that anyone would serve other gods after hearing Noah’s story. Yet, the reality is that we still have many Terah spirits in our churches today who witness God’s sovereign power but still refuse to believe.

Noah’s miracle and Terah’s response is almost a foreshadowing of what is happening in our world today. As Christian believers, we have read biblical accounts of God’s strength and power on numerous occasions. We can recount the miraculous works He did throughout the old and new testament. However, those events occurred thousands of years ago, and as human beings, we desire tangibility. For some of us, if we do not see it, we cannot believe it. Indicating why Terah continued to serve pagan gods, even after Noah’s encounter.

There are people in our world, even Christians, who deny the full power and authority of God because of spiritual disabilities such as weak faith, spiritual blindness, deafness to God’s word, cognitive impairments, and spiritual retardation. We witness God’s power but are handicapped by our understanding. Waters continue to flood the Earth just as people are still being raised from the dead. However, due to our spiritual disabilities, we rely on meteorologists and physicians instead of God’s power. It is God alone who can produce earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, and volcanic eruptions. Just as God’s wisdom is given to man to cure diseases. We can try to comprehend these so-called natural events as scientific propaganda, yet real understanding cannot happen unless it comes from God.

Since God is not limited to being sovereign over one aspect of life, it is suitable for his name to be mentioned in the plural sense. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, Elohim or Elohay is combined with other words to describe God’s many characteristics.9 Being that God has authority over all, he must have names that classify his power within the heavens and the Earth. We, as his creation, have a few names that distinguish our identity; therefore, it would be suitable that the Almighty God have several names that define his massive characteristics.

Moses declared God as Elohay Kedem, the God of the Beginning (Deut 33:27). The first phrase of the Bible states, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen 1:1). There was nothing before our God until he spoke it into existence. Life begins with him as well as death. Nothing can start ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Prologue
• Chapter 1: ELOHIM
• Chapter 2: EL
• Chapter 3: YHVH or YAHWEH
• Chapter 4: God, The Father
• Chapter 5: God, The Son
• Chapter 6: Jesus Christ: The Chosen One
• Chapter 7: Jesus Christ, The Savior
• Chapter 8: The Revelation Names of Jesus Christ
• Chapter 9: The Holy Spirit
• Epilogue
• Bibliography