God has exalted His Word Above His Name

The name of God is very high, but the word of God is higher than his name (Psalm 138:2). 

We will explore how God’s word is higher than his name in this important message.

What is God’s name? 

The name of God refers to his nature and person. It is who he is. The name of God is how God is seen and understood. It’s the way he is known and perceived. God has many different names, because he has many different aspects and characteristics. He has revealed himself to his people in many different ways. He is El Shaddai, Almighty God. He is Adonai, which means Lord. His proper name is Yahweh, which means I am that I am. 

Jesus is also the name of God. The name Jesus means God saves. The name of Jesus is above every other name (Philippians 2:9-10). Everyone will bow down to the name of Jesus. There is no other name higher than the name of Jesus. His name alone is exalted (Psalm 148:13).

The name of God is powerful. Through the name of Jesus demons are cast out.

Yet as high as God’s name is, there is something higher – his word.

God has magnified his word above all his name. To magnify means to make great, important, or large. 

How can the word of God be greater than his name?

The word of God is the communication of himself. Jesus is the word of God made flesh. Jesus is the communication of God to us. If we want to know God, we find out about him through Jesus, the word. The word of God includes things that God wants us to know or do. God has spoken to us through the Bible, which is his word. If we want to know about God, we need to look in the Bible. 

To accept the word of God is to accept him. To reject the word or communication of God is to reject him.

When Jesus walked the earth and spoke his words, people had a clear opportunity to accept or reject him. If they believed his word, they believed him. If they rejected his word, they rejected him. The people in Capernaum rejected his words, therefore they rejected him. Therefore Jesus left them. 

If Jesus met us, and said something to us, then we would have a direct opportunity to accept or reject his word. Our response to his word is the same as our response to him. Once Jesus spoke a word to a rich young man. The young man did not want to obey Jesus’ word, so he went away from Jesus. You can’t have Jesus without having his words.

The word of God Is higher than God’s name because the word of God leads to his name. If you have the word of God, you will automatically have the name of God. But if you don’t have the word of God, you will lack God’s name.

The word of God makes the name of God powerful. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The word says he is the eternal Son of God. He has all power in heaven and in earth. These words make his name powerful.

In a worldly sense, it’s similar. The name Bill Smith is a fairly ordinary name. There may be many men who have this name. But if you find out that a specific Bill Smith is the mayor of the city and owns several large businesses, suddenly the name Bill Smith carries more weight or power in the world. These words about Bill Smith make his name powerful.

So it is with God. God’s word shows us who God is and what he does. It tells us what to do. This revelation of God’s word gives power to his name.

Jesus is the name above all names because the word of God tells us that Jesus has infinite power.

There are many people named Jesus in the world. Jesus is the 4th most popular name in Mexico for boys. We need to know the words about these Jesuses in order to determine the power of their names.

If you’re drowning in Mexico City, and there are many men on the shore named Jesus, you need to call out to the right Jesus in order to be saved. Many of the Jesuses on the shore may not know how to swim. And maybe only one Jesus knows how to swim well enough to rescue you. You need to call out to that specific Jesus in order to be saved.

In the spiritual realm there are also many different Jesuses (2 Corinthians 11:4).

There is the Roman Catholic Jesus, who tells us to pray to his mother Mary in order to be blessed.

There is the cessationist/fundamentalist Jesus who forbids us from speaking in tongues or being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

There is the charismatic Jesus who wants us to dance around to rock music and wave banners on Sunday mornings.

There is a pop culture Jesus who tells us to buy chocolate bunnies and colored eggs for the kids on Easter.

These different Jesuses share the same basic name, but they are distinguished from each other by their words.

The true Jesus, who is God himself, has spoken to us in the Bible. His words are recorded in the gospels in the New Testament. HIs apostles gave us further revelation of his word in the letters. If we want to know the true Jesus, we need to know his words in the New Testament.

Other Jesuses have different words than the true Jesus. We can easily distinguish between Jesuses by looking at what they say. The true Jesus never talked about praying to his Mother Mary, or about bunnies and eggs. If any Jesus is talking about these things, it is another Jesus.

Paul said the Jesus whom we preach is the real Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). The pronoun we in this verse refers to the apostles. The apostles told us words from the true Jesus. We need these original apostolic words in order to know the real Jesus. They are found in the New Testament.

Using the name of Jesus in religious activity is no protection from deception. Many people use the name of Jesus, including Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, but the words they believe about this Jesus are not according to the Bible. They know another Jesus, who is not God.

If we abandon the word of God, we render Jesus’ name powerless. Keeping the word of God keeps his name powerful, and it makes sure we are connected to the real Jesus.

The sons of Sceva used the name of Jesus but did not have any power (Acts 19:13-14). When they tried to cast out a demon, the demon stripped off their clothes and sent them running away. They lacked the power of Jesus’ name because they did not keep his words. 

If we know Jesus, we’ll keep his words. If we don’t, we won’t.

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). 

To know God’s name, we must keep his word. 

The word of God is fundamental to a true revelation of the name of God. To know the name of God, we must know his word. This is because the word of God is exalted above his name.