Getting To Know God Through His Revealed Names - Part 1
El Shaddai - God Almighty
Join us as we discover God through His revealed names!
What's In A Name?
Throughout scripture, God has revealed this through His names. His names are more than just words that sound nice or awe inspiring titles. His names describe who He is, they tell us the attributes of God. A great way to get to know God more personally, is to know and understand His names, and the attributes they describe.
In the Bible and in many cultures even today, names were more than just a way to identify someone as being different than another. A name wasn’t chosen because it sounded nice to the parents. Names in the Old Testament (and also in the New Testament) weren’t only about identification, names had a meaning, or an explanatory purpose. Names spoke about who a person was and what their purpose was to be.
We see this in the Bible when God changed Abram’s name (which meant “Exalted Father”) to Abraham (which means “Exalted Father of Multitudes”). His son’s name Isaac (one who laughs or one who rejoices) recalls Sarah’s reaction to hearing that she was soon to be a mother, she laughed to herself (Genesis 18:12). His birth also brought rejoicing to Sarah who had longed for a child of her own for decades!
In the New Testament, we see Jesus change the name of His disciple Simon to Cephas (or Peter), which means “stone”. John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, Stone). In Matthew 16:18 Jesus tells Simon-Peter, “…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.”
In these examples we can see how some attribute, meaning, or purpose was behind these names. They revealed something about the person. There was revelation of their character or purpose revealed in their names. Similarly, we can come to know God as He gives us His character revealing names.
How God Reveals Himself
One of the earliest ways God revealed Himself was with the name, El Shaddai or God Almighty.
El is often translated to God and is often used in conjunction with other words that designate characteristics of God. Many believe the word, Shaddai is derived from the Shad which means breast in Hebrew, while other scholars believe the word may derive from an Akkadian word, Šadu, which means mountain, which gives us a picture of strength and power. Taken together we can see that El Shaddai refers to God being strong and powerful and satisfying all our needs and nourishing us as a mother to her child. He is our mighty God, our sustainer. There is nothing He cannot do, and nothing and no one as powerful as Him. He is God Almighty.
Let’s see how God has revealed Himself as El Shaddai in the Bible.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am **God Almighty**; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 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. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
God Almighty bless you And make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. (Isaac speaking to Jacob)
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. (God speaking to Jacob)
May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” (Jacob talking to his sons as they depart to go back to Egypt)
And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’
Let’s pray:
Dear God Almighty, you are our provider, our sustainer, our Almighty God! We submit to you in faith, trust, and hope, for all our needs, and in all our struggles. There is no one greater than you. In whom shall we fear, and in who else should be trust to walk us through the valley of death?! Help us to trust you in all things and at all times. Help us and guide us in getting to know you more deeply through your revealed names, building an ever deepening and more personal relationship with you, our God Almighty. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Thank you for the great feedback! Please look forward to our next in the series coming soon!
God bless!
Justin @ Trini-T Ministries on
Very nice research and teaching. I have so much to learn about God, and what better way than through His names! Great idea.
Randy Gasser on