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Dear Visionary Leader:
Many years ago, I read these words on a church sign that said, “Children spell love: time.” I never forgot it. It is not just what we say but what we do that has the lasting impact.
Our heavenly Father could have ruled the Universe without stepping on the earth. Yet, would have never known Him, nor His love for us. He had to step out of eternity into time. As I have said before, the greatest step was not when Neil Armstrong placed his foot on the moon, but when God placed is foot on the earth.
In Ephesians 4:7, Paul states that God is above all. Additionally, we must learn and apply that:
God Is Through All
Next, Paul says God is through all, and that speaks of the goodness of God. Everything we receive comes through God.
We can see God is above all, by creation and design, but you wouldn’t really know the heart of God. If you were to put a detective on my trail he could find out some things about me, but he would never know me until I revealed myself to him. This reality is also true relating to God. We can find out some things about God by objective observation, but we can really only know the heart of God, the goodness of God, by revelation. And how do we know the goodness of God?
What kind of a revelation has God given of Himself? Did you know one of the greatest revelations that God has given of Himself is the names of God? The Bible says in Psalm 9:10, “And they that know thy name shall put their trust in thee…”
First, there is the name Elohim. And that tells us that God is the God of strength. Let me show you where the name Elohim is used in the Bible. In Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And the word for God there is the word Elohim, and it’s a combination of two words: “El” means unlimited strength, and “allah,” means covenant keeper.
God can do anything, who always keeps His word. This truth is found in the very first verse of the Bible. I’m so grateful of this God of infinite strength and absolute faithfulness. He is the God with whom nothing is impossible; the God who always keeps His word.
In Colossians 1:16 we read, “For by him were all things created….” What does that mean? Jesus is Elohim. You see, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Colossians 1:16; “By Jesus were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” So, God is through all. He is Elohim.
Message is continued below in Visionary Coaching.
Another name for God is Jehovah. It is often translated “Lord God.” Jehovah not only speaks of God’sstrength, but it speaks of the sovereignty of God. God through all (the goodness of God), and He is the God of sovereignty, Jehovah.
When Moses, asked God, “Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?,” God said to him in Exodus 3:14: “And the Lord said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
Jehovah means that He is the great I AM. He is the self-existing God. To the Jews, Jehovah, Yahweh (the self-existing God,) the great I AM was the most sacred name. Many of the Jews would not even pronounce the name of God.
Here’s a very interesting thing: Just as Jesus is Elohim, Jesus is the great I AM. In John 8:58 we read, “Jesus saith unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” That is an incredible verse.
Jesus is the great I AM. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God” (John1:1). What is our God? Our God is the God of strength. What is our God? Our God is the God of sovereignty.
Moreover, our God is the God of superiority. Ah, again, you’re going to read about Adonai, and that’s translated Lord in your Bible. In Exodus 4:10, we read: “And Moses said unto the Lord [that is, to Adonai] O my Adonai. I am not eloquent, neither before nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.”
Now, what does the word mean? It means one who is master, one who is your superior, or one who is Lord over you. Is this also Jesus? Is Jesus Adonai to us? Absolutely. In Acts,10:36, we read, “Jesus is Lord of all.” I hope you’re picking up that in the name of Jesus all of the attributes of the eternal God are compounded in one precious name, and that is the name of Jesus.
The next name after Adonai is El Shaddai. And that literally means, “God Almighty.” El Shaddai speaks of the sufficiency of God. The word “EL” means “Almighty” or “Powerful,” and “Shaddai” comes from a word which means breast, like a woman’s breast, and it speaks of sufficiency. All that the baby needs for sustenance is in the mother’s breast. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of God in the Bible because it is great strength mingled with complete sufficiency.
In the Bible, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old and his reproductive abilities were decimated, there was no way he could really father a child, and yet God had promised him a child in his old age. God appeared to him. The name that God used to reveal Himself to Abraham was El Shaddai. That is, the God who is sufficient.
Is Jesus El Shaddai? Yes! We receive our life from Him. Jesus is the one that nurtures us. In John 15:5 we read, “I’m the vine, you are the branches…” That is, He is our sustenance. He is our strength. And we draw our life and our strength from Jesus who is our El Shaddai.
Further, the next name for God is El Elyon, and it means the Most High God. And that speaks of thesupremacy of God. He is above all. Abraham met a man named Melchizedek in the Old Testament. In Genesis 14:18 we read, “And Melchizedek king of Salem [the word Salem means peace] brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God.”
El Elyon is the Most High God. “And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth.” That is, the Most High God possesses the heaven and the earth. He’s above it all. “And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he [that is, Abraham] gave him [Melchizedek] tithes of all.” In the Book of Hebrews, the seventh chapter, you read that Melchizedek was a picture and a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does El Elyon mean? The word means the strongest of the strong, and highest of the high. And that teaches us that God is not a part of this universe; God is above this universe.
Jesus is our El Elyon. In Colossians 1:16-17, we read, “For by him [that is Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” He is above all things. Jesus is our El Elyon.
The next name for God is El Olam and that speaks of the everlasting God. He is a God ofstability. He never changes. We read in Psalm 90:1-2, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” What a, what a wonderful truth to know that in a changing world God does not change.
In Deuteronomy 33:27 we read, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them.” Time does not alter God. Psalm 90:4 states: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” There are no surprises to God. He’s the everlasting God. There’s no panic in heaven. And God knows the past and the future all at the same time.
What about Jesus? He is our El Olam. He is the King of the Ages. Hebrews 1:8 instructs: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: and a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.”
The last of the names of God is El Roi. El Roi is the God who sees. He is the God of sympathy. He sees. He knows. This name was first revealed in the Bible by Hagar. Abraham, first of all, went to Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, an Egyptian slave woman, to try to help God out, but that was not God’s plan.
Hagar became pregnant by Abraham. While she was pregnant, Sarah said, “You send her away.” She’s fleeing out in the wilderness. Poor Hagar is friendless and is homeless. Yet, God had compassion on her. An angel appeared to Hagar to give her comfort and to speak of God’s grace and mercy. In Genesis 16:13 we read, “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me…” That’s El Roi. “…Thou God seest me, for she said, Have I also looked after him that seeth me?”
Please never forget that God sees you. You don’t have any heartache, you don’t have any pain, you don’t have any trouble that He doesn’t know. In Psalm 33:18-19 we read, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, and upon them that hope in His mercy.”
Did you know that God sees you right now? God knows your very thoughts. God knows your heartache. God knows your imaginations right now. God is there and Jesus is our El Roi, because what did the Bible teach us in the Book of Hebrews? We have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:11-14).
He is a God who is through all. Now, just think. He’s the God of strength, Elohim. He’s the God of sovereignty, Jehovah. He’s the God of superiority, Adonai. He’s the God of sufficiency, El Shaddai. He is the God of supremacy, El Elyon. He is the God of stability, El Olam. He is the God of sympathy, El Roi. All of these names are wrapped up in one sweet name. His name is Jesus!
You see, God has given Jesus a name that is above every name. You take all of the names of God and you compound them into one sweet name, JESUS. Isn’t that wonderful?
God is above all. That speaks of the greatness of God. But, God is through all. That speaks of thegoodness of God.
God Is In You All
Now, we come to the final phrase there in our passage in Ephesians 4:6. God is in you all. And that speaks of the grace of God. Is it not amazing that this God who is above all, and this the God who is through all will come and live in us? How wonderful that this great God and this good God will live in me. This is nothing short than amazing grace.
Now remember, Paul is talking in this passage about the unity of the church. You know, we’re all a little peculiar. We’re all a little different. If it weren’t for Jesus, we wouldn’t stay together; we couldn’t stay together. We’re so different. Yet, there is that wonderful unity. Why? Because we’re all a part of God’s wonderful family. I’m so glad that I am a part of the family of God! Our Lord is adding more than 120,000 new family members each day throughout the world!
Until The Last Person Has Heard,
Dr. James. O. Davis
Founder/President
Global Church Network
Cochair / Global Networking
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