09/21/2019
What is your name, and where did it come from? Are you proud of it, and find comfort in knowing how you came to have it? Does it tell the story of your heritage? Will it be your name forever, or will you be renamed? Well, just as we are transformed into new creatures when we accept God, and Jesus Christ as Lord, so too will we be renamed. Once on earth, and also in heaven.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”
Ephesians 3:14-15 ESV
My name tells others about me, and reminds me of who I am. I am Richard after my grandfather, Clay after my great grandfather, and Forbes because I descend from the Forbes clan in Scotland. No mater what else transpires this is my lineage, and it means something to me, but
I have a spiritual name as well, and it speaks to my heavenly lineage; it is given us when we believe, and become children of God... listen to what Jesus says...
“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”
Revelation 3:12 ESV
When something is important in scripture it is repeated, and so is this promise of renaming, but it also says that there is a name given to us that will only be known to us, and Jesus...
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'”
Revelation 2:17 ESV
We are told to pray, then we are told to pray in secret to God; we are told we will have a name in heaven, and then we are told that part of that name will only be known to us and God. Our name announces who we are to all of creation, but it also carries within it a very personal portion that speaks of our intimate relationship with God. It is God’s love name, or pet name for us.
I was named Richard at birth, but almost right away my mother began calling me Richy, and then later in life others shortened that name further and began calling me Rich. To this day my birth family calls me Richy, my adult friends call me Rich, and if my wife is displeased with me she curtly calls me “Richard!” These are all love names, pet names, or nicknames, and each one is shared by a limited audience. So it is with our secret name which is given us on a white stone, and used by God... known only to God, Jesus, and ourselves. So in heaven our formal given name will speak of our spiritual lineage, but then it will contain an intimate name, our love name, that will only be used between us, our Father, and Jesus. It will speak of our very personal relationship with God, and define us as He sees us.
Those are our heavenly names, but on occasion God has renamed men and women on earth. He renamed Abram (which meant father) to Abraham which means father of many.
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
Genesis 17:5 ESV
He also renamed Abram’s wife Sarai (which meant quarrelsome) to Sarah which means princess, or, a woman of strength.
“And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."”
Genesis 17:15-16 ESV
Jesus renamed people too; He renamed Simon (meaning listen) to Cephas, or more commonly Peter, and this name means rock. Listen as He does this...
“And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:17-18 ESV
He also began referring to Saul by his Roman name Paul...
“But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him”
Acts 13:9 ESV
So renaming us to suit our new role as changed, or transformed, people following our conversion to children of God is not new, and carries on the well defined process of a name identifying our lineage. It happens on earth, and it is consistent with scripture that it should happen in heaven...
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 18:18-19 ESV
So what is your birth name on earth, and if Jesus were to walk up to you right now what would He call you? I have often wondered if He would call me Richy, or perhaps be displeased with me, and call me “Richard!” Then again, He May have a totally new name for me that refers to my role in serving the kingdom of God. Think about this today, and quiz yourself as to what might be appropriate for Him to call you.
Then there is our Heavenly Name. How wonderful is that, and how precious will it be to hear God’s voice call us by our secret name... our love name. There is something incredibly loving about my mother’s voice when she greets me at her door and in great joy says “Richy!”, as she hugs me... I can’t imagine that moment in my Father’s presence, and arms.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the name which you have given me on earth, and in heaven. Thank you for the secret name that only we shall know. When I hold the white rock in my hand and see that personal name, Oh Father, how I will long to hear your voice whispering it into my ear. Thank you for my lineage, my spiritual home, and the journey that is carried within my name. Will this be how the angels announce me before your throne? Will this be what defines me as yours? Help me Holy Father as my name is constructed from my life, and faith, so that it will come to honor you, and be pleasant in your ear... sweet upon your tongue. Holy, Holy, Holy are you my God whose name I carry. Great are you who loves his children enough to share His name, and to include the New Jerusalem as our home. Your mercy abounds Lord, but the grace you have showered upon me while I was yet a sinner brings all glory to you, and to your Holy name. Praised be your name Father, for you are greatly to be praised!!
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV
Rich Forbes