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Peace and grace brethren! In this Q&A article, we will seek to answer the question above. Someone said to us, "I found it interesting that you said 'Jesus fulfilled the law' and didn't abolish it. Can you talk more about the Old Testament Law and how it was not abolished? I have doubts about the laws." Thanks for asking! This is a good question, one that many sincere believers have. We have asked this question to ourselves in different occasions. We came to realize that embedded in this question is usually another question, Should new testament believers obey The Law or The Old Testament Laws? Often the latter ends up being the real question when someone asks Law-related questions. Perhaps that's why you said, "I have doubts about the laws." In either case, by the grace of God, in this article, we will seek to answer both questions in a somewhat straightforward manner, so the article doesn't get as lengthy, and another detailed article directly addressing the question, "Should New Testament Believers Obey The Law" will follow. It's our prayer that God though these articles will establish your heart regarding this issue or lead you to learn more through other materials. Let's go to the question! Did Jesus abolish The Law? Jesus Himself gave a direct and precise answer to this question, and His answer was: NO! In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "'“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.'" The verb translated destroy carries the meaning of "abolish, cancel nullify, make void, and etc." The New Living Translation translated it in the following way, "'“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.'" Matthew 5:17. The phrase that we used that led you to ask the question was essentially a paraphrase of Jesus own words. Jesus didn't abolish the law but came to accomplish its purpose. But Jesus didn't stay there, his answer was broader. While we seek to understand only whether the law was abolished or not, we see that Jesus' answer included the prophets also. The Law refers to the set of laws that Moses received in the Mount Sinai and others that followed when the Israelites first enter their covenant with God. The Law also refers to the covenant itself and indicates the time period in which that covenant was in effect. Whereas, the Prophets refer to the writings of the Prophets according to Jewish tradition, which includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, plus all the known prophets from Isaiah to Malachi as we have in the new testament. Interestingly enough, all these prophets wrote during the time period when the covenant of the law was in effect, and spoke in figures about the coming of Jesus. Just like He did not abolish the Law, He didn't abolish what the Prophets said either. So, if He did not abolish, what happened then? On the latter part of Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "...I came to accomplish their purpose.'" Instead of abolishing it, Jesus fulfilled the law, He accomplished its purpose. He explains further in verse 18 of Matthew 5 saying, "'For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.'" Jot and tittle refers to the smallest characters in the Hebraic alphabet/writings. Jesus is saying that all that is written in the law and all that the prophets prophesied will be fulfilled, and not abolished. Jesus came to fulfill them, bring them to pass, bring them into existence, meaning accomplish their purpose. Perhaps its important for us to seek to comprehend the purpose of the law, so we can better understand what Jesus meant. The Law had several specifics purposes and one general purpose. The specifics are: 1) Expose our offenses or sins. It's written, "'Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,'" Romans 5:20. 2) Make us guilt before God. It's written, "'Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.'" Romans 3:19. 3) Grant us the knowledge of sin. it's written, "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'" Romans 3:20. Moreover, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.'" Romans 7:7-8. 4) Keep us until faith came. It's written, "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed." Galatians 3:23. 5) Foreshadowing the future blessings in Christ. All the sacrifices, the feasts, the burning of incense, the ceremonies, and etc. had a prophetic nature, they were not the real things, they pointed to superior realities that would be fully revealed and available to us in Christ. It's written, "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect." Hebrews 10:1. All these specific purposes converge to the general purpose of the Law which is: Bring us to Christ. It's written, "Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. " Galatians 3:21-25 NKJV. You see, the ultimate goal of the law was and is to lead us to Christ, and from Christ we get to the Father. The law was never meant to save us, that's why Romans 3:20 says "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'"  Often when we read the old testament, we get astonished with the amount of laws and with the idea of having to keep all of them without failing a single one, otherwise, as James says we would be guilt of all of them; it's written, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" James 2:10. This is a serious demand and speaks of the holiness of God, He is Holy and those who approach Him must be Holy (Leviticus 10:2). The requirements of the law scares us, leads us to conclude that it's impossible to keep them without failing at least one. Yes, indeed it's impossible; therefore, by the law you can see that we cannot obey God, and thus we become guilty before Him, unless we receive mercy, which is only found in Christ. In other words, the law reveals our inability to obey God, leaves us desperate, screaming, "Lord, have mercy on us, we are sinners," and then God comes and says, "Yes, you are a sinner, that's what I wanted you to see, so you can receive grace gladly. By your own deeds or your attempts obey me by keeping the law, won't work, but I made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin, so you could be justified, saved, made righteous before my eyes." [Ref, 2 Corinthians 5:21]. Is The Law Bad Then? The Answer is: No, By no means! Paul argues this saying, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.'" Romans 7:7-12 Here again, Paul reminds us that the law was not a mistake. The law is holy, the commandment holy and just and good; we were the problem, we did not have the capacity to obey it. Our inability to obey the law doesn't make it bad, rather it shows that we need help. For instance, in our society we have traffic laws right? Why we have them? So that people don't go about driving anyhow, endangering themselves and other people's lives. However, how many people break the traffic laws? Many! Out of these people, how many break the law repeatedly? Several! Does it mean that the laws are useless or bad? By no means, if not for the law things would be even worse. But what about those who repeatedly break the laws? They simply show that they need help and not more and more laws! Traffic laws help us knowing what to obey but they don't give us the ability to drive well or the capacity to obey; again, they simply give us something to obey. A defensive driving course on the contrary can help us by correcting our bad driving habits. Once, one corrects his poor driving habits or rather is "empowered" to obey the traffic laws and begins to drive safely, he can surely acknowledge that the problem was never the law, but their inability to obey it. Same is applicable to us with respect to the law. The law is good, it is an extension of God's own character, and it was given in part because of transgression to keep us in line (1 Timothy 1:8-11) while The Savior, Christ, was to come, and at the same time, show us that we are guilty and helpless sinners, needing God's mercy. So, the law is good, not bad; therefore, it didn't need to be canceled. The law was not a mistake in God's agenda, as if He had given it and then realized, 'They won't be able to obey it, let me give then grace', Not at all! God knew from the beginning that Israel and we would never be able to obey the law fully, yet He gave it to us so we could be led to Christ by the revelation of sin that the Law brings. Again, this was the purpose of the Law, therefore, when Christ came, the Law had done its job and no longer was needed. Therefore, instead of saying abolished, Jesus said fulfilled. An illustration would be, If you want to go to a certain destination, and to get there, you need to take a taxi. By the time you get to your destination through the taxi, you will not say, 'The taxi was abolished because it took me to my destination'. Instead, you would say, 'The taxi fulfilled its purpose by taking me to my destination, consequently, I do not need to take the taxi again; I am at my destination'". The taxi accomplished its purpose, instead of being canceled. The Law was the means, taxi, to lead us to Christ, our destination, and by the time we are in Him, Christ, we no longer need a taxi, the law; not because taking a taxi is bad but because we no longer need it - it's not useful for us anymore. Perhaps, you can begin to see the answer of the implied question: should new testament believers obey the law? The answer is: No, because they are already at their destination, Christ. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again. Conclusion Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose. Once the law finished its course, it was set aside, not canceled, and a New Covenant was ratified. It's written, "'For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— [...] In that He says, “A new covenant ,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.'" Hebrews 8:7-8,13. The Law could not save or transform us, therefore, a new one had to be ratified. The priesthood was changed from Levitical to Christ's, therefore the laws also changed. It's written, "'Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.'" Hebrews 7:11-12. The Law could not save or transform us, not because the law was bad but because we are sinners who cannot obey God's law and salvation was never meant to come through the law but by Faith because 430 years prior to the law, God had already justified Abraham by faith and promised that in Abraham's seed, who is Christ, all the families of the earth would be saved, or justified by Faith like Abraham was. Thus, from the very beginning the law had a temporary nature; it would only be in effect until the seed of Abraham came to scene, and He did (John 1:14). It's written, "'Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise'" Galatians 3:15-18. This covenant of Faith is the new covenant, the one that Jesus ratified in His blood, under which new covenant believers are bound, therefore, they don't have to obey the demands of the old, but in obeying the new, they fulfill the old and are made righteous before God because of Christ. Hallelujah! Hope this article was helpful in answering your question. To help you further, we recommend that you read the books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews as they provide valuable insights about the law and the new covenant, and stay tuned for the next article. May God bless you, may you continue in knowing Him, and may your love for Him grow more and more in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In Christ Knowing-God Family Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

In this series of articles we are expanding upon the truth that God can be known through the different means of revelation, which are: Natural Revelation, Specific Revelation, and Special Revelation. We have already seen that while natural revelation gives us some details of who God is based on the things He created, only the specific revelation, that is the bible gives us the specifics about Him. In another words, the bible is God's authorized "biography" on earth. On Part 3: Knowing God Through His Word , we have specifically learned about God's Acts and Attributes . The bible records the various acts of God. Our God acts on earth, He is actively involved in governing, and ruling in our affairs. God delivered, healed, blessed, judged, spoke to people, and etc. However, God ultimately acted by setting in motion the plan to redeem the whole world from sin and its consequences through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. However, God did not stop intervene in our affairs, He continues to do so and will continue until things are made new. Jesus said, " '[...], “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”' John 5:17. In addition, we have also learned about God's attributes which are characteristics or qualities of Him. The bible mentions many attributes of God and the sum of them all is who God is, not just one or two. While depending on the action of God one attribute may be more emphasized or evident, yet it doesn't contradict or minimize the others. God is equally all the attributes, even when He prefers to act on the basis of one over another. God said, " '[...]“ I AM WHO I AM.” [...]’ ” ' Exodus 3:14a. Many of these attributes are exclusive to God, and others He shared with us since we are made in His image. Refer to Part 3 for more details. In this article, we will proceed further on the subject of knowing God through His Word, and learn specifically about The names of God. ​Names in The Bible According to what the bible reveals, names are far beyond a mere label like it's in many cultures, simply to distinguish one person from another. Names in the bible speaks of one's origins, character, identity, destiny, and/or authority. Strong's says, "In ancient Near Eastern culture, names were often reflective of personal characteristics or life events." This is fact is true of most of biblical characters if you study their names. Adam means man, human, mankind, because he is the father of all mankind. His name is related to the Hebrew word, "'adamah" which means earth or ground, referring to his origin. Whereas, the name Eve is related to "live and/or breath", and was given to her by Adam because, " because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). Moses name is derived from the Hebrew "mashah", meaning "to draw out. because from the waters he was taken. Same can be said of many other biblical characters if we study their names. Let's go down through history and look at some biblical names more closely, starting with Jacob. In Genesis 27:36, Esau said the following concerning his brother Jacob, "'[...], “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” [....]”' Genesis 27:36. According to Strong's Hebrew concordance, the verb translated "supplanted" is the Hebrew verb "aqab" which primarily conveys the idea of supplanting or taking the place of another, often through deceptive or cunning means. Indeed Jacob took the place of his brother through deceptive or cunning means, even with his own father he acted deceptively (Genesis 27:35). Therefore, Esau said, "Is he not rightly name Jacob?" In another words Esau was saying that Jacob's name suit him very well. This is not mere consequence but who Jacob was until he later on meets God have his name [and character] changed by God, he goes from Jacob to Israel. Another example is of Nabal, a rich man yet of harsh and evil doings. 1 Samuel 25 tells us the story that one day David sent men to him with the following word, "'And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”' I Samuel 25:6-8 Nabal on the other hand, repaid the goodness of David and his men with evil by saying, "[...] “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”' I Samuel 25:10-11. David was displeased with Nabal's answer and was ready to destroy him with his household. To make long story short, Abigail finds out, and she run to meet David and his men with food, and she said, "'Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.'" I Samuel 25:25. Notice what Abigai said, "... For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name and folly is with him..." As we can see also in the case of Nabal, his name reflected his character. His name meant "foolish" and he acted foolishly. Thus, names in the bible are of great significance to get insights about the bearer of the name. However, as a last example, let's now look at the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The name Jesus, is the Greek name Iēsoús , which is a transliteration from The Hebrew name Yehoshua"/Jehoshua  and it means "Yahweh is salvation." Indeed Jesus is the Savior of the world, and this name is totally suitable to Him. When announcing His birth, the angel told Joseph, "'And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus , for He will save His people from their sins.” ' Matthew 1:21 Many more examples we could have considered but these three should suffice to understand that names are means to have insights about one's character, identity, destiny and circumstances of birth, and etc. Conversely, to speak on one's name means to speak on that person's character or authority, it's to have that person's backing to the extent that his authority goes. i.e., to speak in the name of Jesus is much more than placing "in Jesus name" at the end of a prayer line or s scriptural commands. Back to the main point. If such is the case of the names of men, what about the name's of God?! Regarding the names of God, this biblical truth finds its perfect application since He is the source of all things and first to name things. When the bible reveals a name of God, it is essentially giving us insight on His nature and character, which is then reflected on His actions. Thus, knowing the names of God is a mean to know more about God Himself. This is the point of knowing the names, and this is what we are after in this article. God Reveals His Names Throughout the bible God refers to Himself through various names, and in many occasions names are given to Him by people based upon the things God did or the revelation they had of Him. Let's look at a situation when God revealed some of His names to us. The story is found in the book of Exodus when God met with Moses. The Lord appeared to Him and was persuading Him to go to Egypt before Pharaoh and deliver Israel from bondage, but Moses was hesitant to go. He considered himself to be a nobody to go before Pharaoh; however, God assured Moses that He would be with him; however, Moses was still hesitant. The bible says, "'Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”' Exodus 3:13. After Moses uttered these words, God then revealed His Self-existent nature and supremacy through two unique names. The bible says, "'And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ' Exodus 3:14-15. "I AM WHO I AM" is the Hebraic phrase "’eh·yeh ’ă·šer ’eh·yeh" word for word. "’eh·yeh" is a verb in Hebrew and means, "To be, become, come to pass, exist, happen." Thus when God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM", he was revealing His eternal, transcendent, always-being, and self-existing nature. God IS WHO HE IS, He always IS and always WILL BE. Then continued by telling Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM [ ’eh·yeh] has sent me to you.’ ” Yes, God again referred to Himself as "’eh·yeh", but it's only when we go to verses 15 that God reveals His name to Moses. It's written, "'Moreover God [Elohim] said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘ The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever , and this is My memorial to all generations .’'" (Exodus 3:15). The word translated Lord is in this particular verse is the Hebrew word, "YHVH (or YHWH)" , this is the true, proper, and personal name of God, hence, he told Moses, "This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’'". This is how God was to be distinguished from other god's among His people and among other people. The word translated God in the verse above is the Hebraic term, "Elohim", which is also one of the names of God. It's a plural word most specifically used in the Hebrew scriptures to refer to The One and True God. However, the term was also generic and was used to refer to other deities, angels, or human authorities. Elohim is indeed just like the word god is a generic word in English, and the distinction comes only when capital G is used, then God refers to the One and true God. However, YHVH (or YHWH) is unique; every time this is used it refers only and exclusively only to One and True God, the God of Israel. This is His name forever. YHVH (or YHWH), known as tetragrammaton, God's special and unique 4-letters name . In English the name YHVH is commonly translated as YAHWEH or JEHOVAH; however, in most English bibles, even the name YAHWEH from the original is instead translated LORD all caps or simply Lord. Some writers point out that translators do so for various reasons including keeping scriptures familiar to readers. Since for many years people have been using scriptural translations that don't use YAHWEH, translators continue not to YAHWEH to keep the scriptures "familiar" to people and sell their work of translation or bible versions (1) . Other writers also point out that another reason why many translators do not use the proper name of God, YAHWEH, and instead use LORD or Lord is because of a tradition that began in ancient Israel. The Jews over the years created many laws called Fence Laws, in addition to the laws given by Moses, as a way to keep them from breaking the actual laws of Moses. Thus, these laws as the name suggest were a fence for them. One of the fences they put up was against using the proper name of God because they considered it too sacred to be uttered by humans, and if used wrong, God '“[...] will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.'" (Exodus 20:7). Although no one really knows how to properly pronounce the true original name YHVH, they created this hybrid name, or a visual code made of the consonants of the name YHVH and the vows from the name ADONAI, which is another name of God and means, Master, someone with power and authority, one who rules. This is name is commonly translated as Lord only in most English bibles. Some differentiate YHVH from ADONAI by translating YHVH as LORD all caps, while others don't they simply use Lord for both. So, their goal was not to cause readers to say the hybrid name, instead it was just a hint for them to say ADONAI while still knowing that YHVH is the proper name there (2) . With the above in mind, the use of the personal name of God was lost even in the Hebrew scriptures, and instead, the artificial name was popularized. Christians unintentionally or unknowingly inherited this man-made tradition. By the time Christians started their work of translation, they began already from Hebrew scriptures that had this hybrid name, causing the personal name of God to be further lost. It's from this hybrid name that we get the name YAHWEH or JEHOVAH which contains vows, YHVH doesn't. In spite of all the man-caused issues, glories be to God, He made a way for us to be aware of His proper name. Later on in Exodus 6, God reveals another name of His to us when He said, "'I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.'" Exodus 6:3. The name God Almighty is the Hebrew name, "El SHADDAI", which speaks of God's ultimate power over all. Again, the name translated Lord is the Hebrew name "ADONAI", as we have already alluded to. However, in revealing His nature and character through names, God didn't stop here, He continued then in Exodus 15:26 by calling Himself, "YAHWEH-RAPHA", that is The Lord who heals us. Exodus 15:26 says, "'and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”' . Glories to God! You can see that God Himself reveals some of His names to us. The names aforementioned are only a snapshot of the names He revealed to us, and to know them all is to be invited to meditate and study the whole scriptures. However, as we stated earlier some names of God if not most were given to Him by people based upon the revelation they got of Him. Let's now proceed by looking closely at a remarkable event when God was named by a man. God's Revelation to Abraham In Genesis 22 the bible narrates for us the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. God appeared to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his son to Him. It's written,  "'Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”'  Genesis 22:2. The following verses reveal to us that Abraham in the very next day, early in the morning, prepared everything and made his way to a mountain in the land of Mariah. Abraham arranged the altar for the sacrifice, and the bible says, "'But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”' Genesis 22:7. Abraham replied to him saying, "'[...] “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.'"  Genesis 22:8. Many suggest that in that very moment Abraham went beyond in time and saw the day that God provided for Himself, His spotless Lamb, Jesus as atonement for the sins of the whole world because in John 8:56 Jesus said, "'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”' Back to the story. Abraham comforted Isaac and proceeded to sacrifice him as God had asked. The bible says, "'And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The- Lord -Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”' Genesis 22:10-14. Of course God never wanted Isaac to be sacrificed, human sacrifice is abomination for God (Deuteronomy 12:31) because He made men in His image. God wanted to test the faith of Abraham only. Abraham was approved, God saw that he feared Him, and therefore, He would bring to pass the promise He made to Abraham. Verses 15-18 says, "'Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord , because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”'. Praise God for His faithfulness. One of the main points is that when Abraham saw that God intervened for Isaac and instead provided a ham, Abraham rejoiced, and the bible says, " Abraham called the name of the place, The- Lord -Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”' Notice Abraham called that the name of the place not the name of God, although in saying, Yah-way-ji-reh, He also gave a name to God. Among His people, God became known as "The Lord Will Provide" or "The Lord Provider", Our God who provides, commonly pronounced in Hebrew, "YAHWEH-JIREH [yah-way-ji-reh]" or in English, "JEHOVAH-JIREH". We know that God indeed is a provider, from Genesis to revelation God is constantly providing for all His creation, and He ultimately provided Christ for the whole world. Knowing that God is "Yahweh-Jireh", we can interact with Him on the basis of it and be confident that He provides for all our needs. David said, "'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.'" Psalms 23:1-3. Praise God. However, JEHOVAH-JIREH is just one of the many names of God that people gave in order to capture the revelation they had of Him. The Names of God The bible in several passages presents us with many more names of God, many of which are better captured when we look up a concordance or a translation that preserves the names in the original language, and etc. As a summary, below it is given some of the names of God found in the bible: (3). EL, ELOAH [el, el-oh-ah]: God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19) – etymologically, El appears to mean “power” and “might” (Genesis 31:29). El is associated with other qualities, such as integrity (Numbers 23:19), jealousy (Deuteronomy 5:9), and compassion (Nehemiah 9:31), but the root idea of “might” remains. ELOHIM [el-oh-heem]: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33) – the plural form of Eloah. Being plural, Elohim which accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity. From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident as God (Elohim) speaks the world into existence (Genesis 1:1). EL SHADDAI [el-shah-dahy]: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) – speaks to God’s ultimate power over all. ADONAI [ˌædɒˈnaɪ; ah-daw-nahy]: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15) – used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men. In the Old Testament, YHWH is more often used in God’s dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when He deals with the Gentiles. YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH [yah-way / ji-hoh-veh]: “LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 9:14) – strictly speaking, the only proper name for God. Translated in English Bibles “LORD” (all capitals) to distinguish it from Adonai, “Lord.” The revelation of the name is given to Moses “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3). YAHWEH-JIREH [yah-way-ji-reh]: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. YAHWEH-RAPHA [yah-way-raw-faw]: "The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) – “I am Jehovah who heals you” both in body and soul. In body, by preserving from and curing diseases, and in soul, by pardoning iniquities. YAHWEH-NISSI [yah-way-nee-see]: "The Lord Our Banner" (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place. This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17. YAHWEH-M'KADDESH [yah-way-meh-kad-esh]: "The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) – God makes it clear that He alone, not the law, can cleanse His people and make them holy. YAHWEH-SHALOM [yah-way-shah-lohm]: "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) – the name given by Gideon to the altar he built after the Angel of the Lord assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing Him. YAHWEH-ELOHIM [yah-way-el-oh-him]: "LORD God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) – a combination of God’s unique name YHWH and the generic word for “God” signifying that He is the Lord who is God. YAHWEH-TSIDKENU [yah-way-tzid-kay-noo]: "The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) – As with YHWH-M’Kaddesh, it is God alone who provides righteousness (from the Hebrew word tsidkenu) to man, ultimately in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us “that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). YAHWEH-ROHI [yah-way-roh-hee]: "The Lord Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship God had with him, and so he declares, “The Lord is my shepherd [Yahweh-Rohi]; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1, ESV). YAHWEH-SHAMMAH [yah-way-sham-mahw]: "The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) – the name ascribed to Jerusalem and the Temple there, indicating that the once-departed glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 8—11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4). YAHWEH-SABAOTH [yah-way-sah-bah-ohth]: "The Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7) – Hosts means “hordes,” both of angels and of men. He is Lord of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth, of Jews and Gentiles, of rich and poor, master and slave. The name is expressive of the majesty, power, and authority of God and shows that He is able to accomplish what He determines to do. EL ELYON [el-el-yohn]: “Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) – derived from the Hebrew root for “go up” or “ascend,” so the implication is of that which is the very highest. El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to lordship. EL ROI [el-roh-ee]: "God of Seeing" (Genesis 16:13) – the name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah (Genesis 16:1-14). When Hagar met the Angel of the Lord, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany. She also realized that El Roi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a God who lives and sees all. EL-OLAM [el-oh-lahm]: "Everlasting God" (Psalm 90:1-3) – God’s nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself. “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2). EL-GIBHOR [el-ghee-bohr]: “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) – the name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15). THEOS [theh'-os]: It is one of the names by which the one true God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, is called in the New Testament. It is used to denote the divine nature and attributes of God, including His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. "Theos" can also refer to false gods or deities in a polytheistic context, but in the Christian Scriptures, it predominantly signifies the God of Israel, the Father of Jesus Christ. Its Hebrew equivalent are Elohim, El, and YHWH. KURIOS [koo'-ree-os] : It is another name by which God is called in the New Testament. "kurios" is used to denote someone who possesses authority, control, or power. It is often translated as "Lord" and is used to refer to God, Jesus Christ, and sometimes human masters. The term signifies respect, reverence, and acknowledgment of authority. In the context of Jesus, it underscores His divine nature and authority as the Son of God. Its Hebrew equivalent are ADONAI and YHWH. Implications of Knowing The list above is not exhaustive but a starter; there are many more names of God in the bible. As mentioned in the first section of this article, in biblical thought name means character, authority, origin, and in the case of God nature. Thus, having learned about the names of God, you should know Him better. like we have been emphasizing throughout this series of articles, knowing God is far beyond a simple mental knowledge or awareness, but it is intimately knowing, spiritually and truthfully worshipping, and strongly, soulfully, and wholeheartedly loving Him (Jn 4:24, 17:3; Mt 22:37-40). The implications of knowing God is that it compels us to trust and to love Him; we get to know that He is and inevitably relate and approach Him with faith. It's written, " " 'But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.'"  Hebrews 11:6. Praises be to God! God is everlasting (He is EL-OLAM), sees you and your circumstances (He is El ROI), cares for you and for all you care about (He is YAHWEH-ROHI), provides for all your needs (He is YAHWEH-JIREH), changes your circumstances (He is EL SHADDAI), commands His hosts on your behalf (He is YAHWEH-SABAOTH), sanctifies you (He is YAHWEH-M'KADDESH), keeps you in peace (He is YAHWEH-SHALOM), delivers you from sicknesses and diseases (YAHWEH-RAPHA), commands your life and order your steps (He is ADONAI), ..., God is (He is YHVH). The more we know the names of God, the more we can know His character, and the greater will be our faith on Him and our love for Him. This is the point of knowing the names of God. A Word of Caution The point of knowing the names of God is not necessarily to bring up a specific name in prayer depending on our need; we can do it if we have the understanding of the name, but bear in mind that Jesus didn't do it and neither the apostles. The point is not to lead us to become proud for knowing the true name of God either, like Jehovah Witnesses tend to do when they give an exaggerated emphasis on the name JEHOVAH, which as we have already discussed above is not even the true name of God, it's a hybrid or artificial name created by man. Certainly, we appreciate the story behind it and take it as a pronounceable approximation of the true name which is YHVH or YHWH. So, these are not the points. The point is relationship by understanding the revelation of God behind the names. God is an infinite being, knowing Him is an eternal task (John 17:3); thus, to make an infinite task possible, He revealed Himself through certain means such us names and figures, which we will see in the next article, aside from the direct descriptions of His attributes which we have already seen in the previous article. Thus, the names were meant to capture a revelation of God or crystalize an understanding people had about Him; hence, understanding the character or attributes of God through the names is more important than repeating the names over and over again if we have no understanding. For instance, Abraham who called God Jehovah-Jireh, never once in scripture is shown calling God such in prayer when he wanted provision. We don't see him doing it at all after the experience he had with Isaac. however, we can be confident that the revelation behind the name was always alive in Abraham's heart as he waited upon the Lord to fulfill His promises or provide again. Thus, if someone goes to prayer calling God "Jehovah-Jireh", he does no wrong, but if he supposes that by doing so provision will come more rapidly, he is certainly not walking in the steps of Abraham. If you do call God "Jehovah-Jireh" while praying or praising, you do nothing wrong, after all, it is His name. By all means to do it, we often do it and will continue to do so; however, if you call Him "Jehovah-Jireh" with understanding, knowing what it means, bringing to mind and to God's remembrance all He said about provision, and how He would be glorified through that provision, you do much better (1 John 5:14-15, Isaiah 43:26). Jesus, Our Lord, when teaching on provision didn't say call God "Jehovah-Jireh", rather he taught us to, again, understand the character and nature of God through a figure of a "Father". He said, "'Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?'" Matthew 6:26. What was said above about the use of "Jehovah-Jireh" in prayer or praise is applicable to using any other name of God in any other spiritual discipline. If we say the names in prayer, meditation, proclamation, praise or else we do well, but if we don't understand God through them, we can mentioned them all day long in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or else and nothing will happen. The apostles when teaching the gentiles did not make a law that they should call God by Hebraic names. They themselves, despite being Jews, in their writings addressed to gentiles, referred to God by Greek names such as Theos and Kurios, and led the people to know, understand, and trust The God behind these names. Again, the goal of knowing the names of God is far beyond proving our soundness of Hebrew or Greek, or show that we have some sort of "esoteric" knowledge, no! The goal is knowing God Himself and grow in our relationship with Him. Glories be to God for making things so simple and accessible for people in all nations! Thus, to call God simply God in English is not a sin neither a disrespect as long we regard God highly in our hearts, know truly who He is: His majesty, transcendency, authority, supremacy ... , in another words, understand the revelation behind each name of God. If you do so, my brother and my sister, you will see signs, wonders, and interventions on earth as simple as calling God God may seem. With the above said by all means, sing the names of God, praise Him with and through them, bring them up in prayer, proclaim them, speak them out, meditate on them, preach them, and etc., but in all things do so with understanding and God will be glorified. Of course just knowing the names themselves is a good thing and a good start, but don't stop there, seek to understand them and put your trust in God. David said, "''And those who know Your name [character, identity, reputation] will put their trust in You; For You, Lord , have not forsaken those who seek You.'"  Psalms 9:10. God is accessible to all who call upon Him with a sincere heart and understand his reputation or character, no matter the language or location. A Personal Revelation This God whose names we are studying, The God of Israel, YHVH, who aforetime revealed His personal name to us, became further accessible by revealing Himself to us in a personal manner. This same God has came down from heaven, manifested Himself in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ and lived among us (John 1:14). Jesus said, "[...] “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”" . Today, we can not only know the personal name of the One and True God, our maker, but also know Him personally through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! It's written, "'And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.'" I Timothy 3:16. Praises be to God! May you know God more through His names, may you know Him more and more personally through Christ, and may your love for Him grow more and more in all wisdom and spiritual understanding in Jesus name. God bless you. Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe References: (1) "Why is YHWH, the name of the God, replaced by a title, "the LORD", ..." hermeneutics.stackexchange.com (2) "God's Name has Changed? (Learn It's Interesting Biblical Story," Bibleproject.com (3) "What are the different names of God, and what do they mean?" www.gotquestions.org

"'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" Jeremiah 29:11 The verse above is often quoted, especially to comfort and assure people of God’s faithfulness in the midst of difficulties. Truly, this verse serves this purpose since God Himself said it to comfort and confirm His care and faithfulness to Israel, His people. However, the truth is that sometimes we do not receive the fullness of the comfort found in this verse because we do not understand the historical context in which it was written, nor the biblical context in which the verse is inserted. The verse above, as comforting as it is, was spoken when Israel was in Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah 29:1-2 says, "'Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This happened after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.).'" God had prophesied long before through the mouth of prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 39), and then through the mouth of Jeremiah himself (Jeremiah 1:13-19) that Israel would be taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar as a result of their disobedience, and so it happened. Most of the people were taken away, but Jeremiah and a minority remained in Jerusalem. However, the prophet Jeremiah still maintained contact with those who were taken captive. As we have seen in the verses above, this chapter 29 of the book records one of the letters that Jeremiah sent to his fellow Israelites in exile. It is written, "'The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,'" Jeremiah 29:3 Despite being in exile, the people lived in anticipation of returning to Jerusalem; they were ready to see the end of their captivity. This expectation was fueled on one hand because they knew that God is merciful, compassionate, and that his anger does not last forever. As it is written, "'And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord , the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”' Exodus 34:6-7 On the other hand, this expectation was also fueled by them listening to false prophets who prophesied what they wanted to hear, instead of listening to the true prophets that God sent. Yes, God would judge them for a time, but that time belonged to God and not to them, because, “God knew the thoughts that He had for them.” However, the people, once again, would not listen; they wanted to hurry things up and get out of captivity. Yes, the situation they found themselves in seemed contrary to the thoughts that God said He had for them, yet He was in control. Jeremiah begins the letter by saying, “'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. '" Jeremiah 29:4-7. Imagine how the people felt when they read the opening words of this letter! How would you feel? They longed to get out of captivity, but God told them, "Build houses and dwell in them." They longed to return to the land flowing with milk and honey, referring to how fertile the soil was, but God said, "Plant gardens and eat their fruit" in the land of captivity. Since many of them were no longer able to marry in Jerusalem, they at least dreamed that their sons and daughters would marry and be given in marriage in Jerusalem, but God said, "Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished." Because they had been taken captive, they certainly wished Babylon harm, wanting another empire to come, take over Babylon, and let them return to Jerusalem, but God says that they should not think that way, on the contrary, "And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.'" Imagine receiving a letter like that, contrary to all your dreams, and even apparently contrary to all the promises of God Himself had made. God had said long before that He would take them to the promised land, fulfilling the words He had spoken to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet they were in exile. Imagine! In similar circumstances, many of us would say that Jeremiah is a false prophet, that he was prophesying wrongly, that he was against them, and in fact many of them thought so; therefore, they mistreated Jeremiah and ignored his words, preferring to listen to others who at least "comforted" them, but with false comforts. Thus, God himself warned them through Jeremiah saying, "'For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord .'" Jeremiah 29:8-9 Like the people of Israel, sometimes when we are in the midst of difficulties, we become anxious and ready to see the difficulties pass; We refuse to listen to those who speak sincere words just because their words go against what we want, and instead we listen to those who always speak and dream according to what we want. But God says, "I have not sent them, they prophesy falsely," be careful, do not be deceived! This does not mean that in the midst of difficulties God's message will always be that we must endure them, certainly not! Sometimes God himself sends deliverance, just as he had done countless times for the people. We need to have Discernment. Have Discernment Psalm 50:15 says, "'Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.'" God is saying that in times of difficulty, trouble or distress we can call upon Him in prayer and He will deliver us, and we will exalt or glorify Him with thanksgiving. Again, God's will is not always for us to endure or go through tribulation, sometimes it is for us to be free from it. God is the one who knows the thoughts He has for us, good plans and not evil, so in the midst of any and every situation we must always seek to understand His will, to access His thoughts. Remember Jesus in Gethesemane, He said, "[...], “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”' Matthew 26:42 If God's will is for deliverance, let us trust Him for deliverance; if it is for the ability to endure, we must likewise trust God for that. In any and every situation our attitude should always be like Mary's, "'Then [...] “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” [...]'" Luke 1:38. This does not mean that we remain passive in the face of the situation, but rather that once we are sure of His will, we submit to God's will and act based on it to obtain the end that God desires. Submission to God is generally not easy, our flesh fights, and the enemy tries to stop us, but it will always be the best for us. Jeremiah continued the letter by saying, “'For thus says the Lord : After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.'" Jeremiah 29:10. God had a set time limit of 70 years before He would visit the people and bring them out of captivity. This is certainly not what the people wanted to hear, but 70 years was the time God had set for His purpose. So God commanded them to build houses, marry, give in marriage, and seek the peace of the city they were in, for they still had many years ahead of them. Certainty, they didn't take it with easy, but it was the will of God. Although good, perfect and acceptable (Romans 12:2), His will often challenges us. Although unexpected, Jeremiah’s message was still filled with hope. God reaffirmed His love and faithfulness to them by saying, "'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord , and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord , and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.'" Jeremiah 29:11-14 God seldom does things overnight, and often this is a problem for us. Of course, He can do it overnight, and in fact, He has given us several proofs of this in His word. For instance, If God created the heavens and the earth overnight, even though the concept of night and day did not even exist, what is it that He created? can't do it?! This doesn't mean that whenever we notice a delay in certain things we should just fold our arms and simply conclude that God doesn't want to do it quickly, certainly not! Sometimes we should check our level of faith and obedience, or if we are fighting hard enough to achieve the promise. For example, it is written in 1 Timothy 1:18, “'This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,'". Paul was exhorting Timothy to fight or battle based on the promises, and not simply rejoice because he received promises. Which leads us to see that just because God spoke does not mean that things will happen immediately; we are at war, we need to fight the good fight to see God's will done. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “'And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.'" Matthew 11:12. It is not merit, it is effort. For example, this prophecy of 70 years that God gave through Jeremiah had expired in the days of the prophet Daniel, but they still did not return to Jerusalem automatically. When Daniel realized that the prophecy had already expired, he did not say that God is a liar; he only began to lament. Instead, he began to humble himself before God and pray, asking God for understanding. As a result of Daniel’s actions, today we have one of the greatest revelations of what happens in the heavenly realms when we pray and fast. The Bible says, "'Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”' Daniel 10:12-14 In short, you see that each situation is different and it is up to us to obtain the necessary discernment to know what situation we are going through! That is why God commonly makes us go through processes to mature us before fulfilling certain promises. Perhaps you have heard that between the promise and the purpose there is always a purpose, let me tell you that it is true. God can make promises to us, but there will always be a level of maturity, faith, submission, discernment and knowledge necessary to enter into the purpose depending upon it. That is why God Himself most often establishes a process to ensure that in practice we will mature, submit, etc., if we have not already done so. Unfortunately, we are sometimes tempted to pray for deliverance while we are going through the process; we are tempted to create shortcuts, to shorten phases within the process due to the difficulties they present or because the processes do not seem to fit within the promise that God made. Israel certainly felt this way until they heard the words of Jeremiah. The truth is that some phases within the process can make us question whether we are really still in God's will or not. Several brothers in the Bible went through situations that led them to question whether they were still in God's will too, or perhaps situations that compelled them to give up. Imagine Joseph being sold, after two great dreams, indicating that he would occupy a prominent position; David being pursued for many years by Saul to be killed before assuming the position of king for which he had already being anointed; Zechariah and Elizabeth being barren for a many many years before finally conceiving John the Baptist, who came to be the one who prepared the way for Christ; or imagine our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who worked as a carpenter for 30 years before presenting Himself as Christ, the son of the Living God, although He knew who He was. If you look at all these stories and many other biblical stories, you will notice that some parts of the process they went through sometimes seemed far from the purpose, but God was still in control, and they were exactly where God wanted them to be. Despite everything, we must always rest assured that God is intentional in what He does and that nothing gets out of His control, even if it doesn't seem like it. "Only He knows the plans He has for us, plans of good and not evil." We need to understand that each phase and stage of God's processes are crucial. Even though it may not make sense to us at times, there is a purpose in all of God's processes. The problem is that we are limited beings, and most of the time we only contemplate a fraction of the purpose, and not the whole of it, but God sees the whole. Acting on the strength of our flesh, dropping from the process, or creating shortcuts during the process can give rise to Ishmaels and other unwanted fruits. Remember, trying to get rid of parts of the process also leads us to abort parts of the purpose. Trust in God; He is sovereign and cares about you (Luke 1:37; 1 Peter 5:7). May the Lord give you grace to endure and flow in His processes, and to know how to wait on Him for the fulfillment of each promise. If you are in a process, God is transforming you to fulfill His plans. As clay in the hands of the potter, so are you in the hands of the Lord (Jeremiah 18:6). Be patient and trust in Him because for each process that God allows us to go through, there is a purpose. Remember, God is on your side, His plans are always good, even if we do not understand them. Whether it is a relationship, marriage, work, health, sanctification, ministry, studies, children, or even seeing Our Lord and Savior Jesus face to face on that day, and etc., do not lose heart, do not be discourage, endure the process. God knows what is best for us, that is why He said, "'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" Jeremiah 29:11 May God bless you.

Welcome to Knowing-GOD, a practical teaching ministry aiming to serve the body of Christ in the advancement of the Kingdom of God by diffusing the knowledge of God to all people​​. Welcome again, may you know God, and grow in love, grace and intimacy with Him. God bless you! Jesus said, "'However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.'" John 16:13 Welcome Welcome to Knowing-GOD, a practical teaching ministry aiming to serve the body of Christ in the advancement of the Kingdom of God by diffusing the fragrance of His knowledge to people of every nation, tribe, and tongues in obedience to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. God bless you. Welcome again! Read More Anchor 1 By Grace Alone March 18th, 2025 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' Ephesians 2:8-9 Salvation is by grace alone! Perhaps you have heard or came across this phrase several times. Yes, it is a true statement and is essentially found in the book of Ephesians 2:8-9 as it is written above. But what does it means? This is a good question. The word grace according to Strong's comes from the Greek word Charis and means, "unmerited favor and kindness of God towards humanity." Thus, Salvation is by grace alone means that we are saved not by merits of our own as if we worked hard to deserve it, but because God decided to extend His favor and kindness toward us in Christ. It was when were yet sinners that Christ died for us. We didn't even know we needed a savior yet, God had already purposed to save us by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and He did it because of His love, He sent Jesus. It's written, " 'But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'" Romans 5:8. So, if it were for our actions we would not deserve it, since we were sinners when Christ died, we were at our worst, yet God did His best to save us. Therefore, salvation is by grace alone, or " by grace we have been saved..., not of ourselves, it is the gift of God,". Salvation is not of works, meaning, we are not saved for working hard to keep every commandments of God, not! Who can keep every commandment without breaking one?! So, if by works no one would be saved, and even if hypothetically was possible we would boast on our strength but God didn't want things to be this way! Salvation is a gift, and we receive this gift by trusting the giver and not by working hard to receive it. Therefore, the text says, "by grace you have been saved through faith" ! The act of God giving is grace and of us receiving is faith, putting our trust in God as the giver, that He will give us what He had already said He would, just like we do when someone promises to give us something. By grace you have been saved through faith, or by grace you can be saved through faith, if you aren't yet. Trust the giver, confess it and be saved. God bless you In Christ Knowing-God Family Blessed Day Devotional Anchor 2 Recent Articles - Feb 27 10 min read Law & Grace Did Jesus Abolish The Law? 4 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 - Jan 14 22 min read The Knowledge of God Part 4: Knowing God Through His Word - The Names of God 25 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 - Nov 18, 2024 11 min read Christian Walk Don't Lose Heart: Endure The Process 35 1 comment 1 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Helder & Rebeca "We are Christ's disciples called to make disciples from all the nations. Glad you are here!" Read More Stay Updated Preferred Language Join Thanks for subscribing! Address United States Email info@knowing-god.com Connect

Our mission is to fulfill the commandment of our Lord as underlined in Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 16:14-18 by diffusing the knowledge of God through the preaching of the gospel, so that unbelievers can become believers, believers become disciples, and encourage the disciples to make other disciples and live faithfully each day by growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ and in intimacy with God. About Knowing-GOD "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen." Matthew 28:18-20 This ministry was forged from the desire to obey the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ, as underlined in the verses above. Hence, we want to be of help to the body of Christ in the advancement of the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit while our Lord tarries. Our mission is to make God known (John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 2:14) from every nation, tribe and tongue by preaching the gospel so they can believe and be saved. Likewise, we aim at helping those who believe to progress in Knowing God and to become true disciples of Christ by growing in His grace, in the love of God, and in intimacy with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 2 Peter 3:17-18, John 8:31-32). About Us Hi, we are very glad you are here! We are Helder and Rebeca Alexandre, servants of Jesus Christ and members of First Family Church. By the grace of God, we have married for life (Matthew 19:4-6) and it has been 4 years since we entered this covenant with God and with one another (Malachi 2:14-15). We are blessed with two children, indeed blessings from the Lord (Psalms 127:3), and very thankful to be entrusted by God with the opportunity to instruct and disciple them in His ways (Proverbs 22:6). We have been born in Angola, in the southwest region of Africa. We first saw each other back home while attending the same college, but never spoke or were officially introduced. However, little did we know that God would cross our paths again, on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. We both travelled to the US to continue our education but with a year difference, and once we both came to know God truly, washed and cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus, The Lord made a way for us to finally meet each other in an Skype, online bible study group through friends of friends (Psalm 37:23), and finally we began to interact. From brother and sister in Christ, we became husband and wife for the glory of God (Hebrews 13:5-6), and the rest is this story that we are living as the Lord unfolds (Psalm 139:16). We are very excited about knowing God (Jeremiah 9:23-24) and progressing in knowing Him (Hosea 6:3), living wholeheartedly for Him (Matthew 10:24-25, Ephesians 5:1) and as well instructing others about His will (Romans 12:2) in obedience to the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Therefore, besides serving in our local church, we have also been sharing the word of God and preaching the gospel online in order to shorten the distance and reach many more people who never heard the the gospel or have been discipled. If such is your case, we are glad to be used of God as blessing in your life according to the grace given to us (1 Peter 4:10-11). We are a young Godly family that seeks to grow in faithfulness to honor the Lord everyday of our lives because of the love with which God loved us (Ephesians 2:1-4). Expect us to talk a lot, a lot about family related topics - relationships, education, career, finance, and etc., in addition to purely sharing the word of God; believe us we will. We are very glad you are here, may God bless you, and we look forward to know you here, God willing; otherwise we will see each other on the new Earth (Revelation 21:1-8). Sis. Rebeca Alexandre Hello! I'm Sis. Rebeca Alexandre, graduated in engineering management, and in image consultancy, but I gave up my professional career to take care of my family in obedience to God. Outside of serving my family and local church, I love speaking with and to women about intimacy with God, biblical femininity, and elegance, helping them to be faithful with their God-given gifts and talents. Embracing creativity and discovery through writing, outdoor walks, culinary experiences, reading, and exploring new places are my favorite hobbies. I'm very happy to have you here! Bro. Helder Alexandre Hi, I am a mechanical engineer by background and practice, and I am very passionate about teaching the word of God in a simple and straightforward manner to encourage believers to know the certainty of their beliefs and live faithfully to Christ (Luke 1:1-4). Very glad to see meet you!