Through the last three weeks, we have learned many names for God that tell us of His power and characteristics. We’ve learned that He provides for all of our needs, that He fights for us and protects us, and that He is powerful enough to do anything. Today we get to close out our series by diving into more about His power.
El Shaddai
Almighty – The All-Powerful God
‘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. ‘
Genesis 35:11
El Shaddai speaks of God as the ultimate Master, Ruler, and the Sufficient One. Not only is our God powerful enough to rule, master, and destroy anything and everything, but He is also sufficient. He is sufficient in power, sufficient in love, sufficient for all of our needs. El Shaddai is sufficient enough that we can do anything with and through Him.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
Even when we feel insufficient for the tasks God puts in front of us, we can rest in the assurance that where we lack He does not. El Shaddai is all-sufficient. He is our Master. We can rest in Him and be at peace in His guidance and instruction. Even when we are faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, He provides His people with everything we need. His power is all-powerful and all-sufficient. His power is sufficient for and over everything.
El Elyon or Elaha’ ‘Illaya
God Most High – Exalted One
‘And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. ‘
Genesis 14:18-20
El Elyon tells us of God’s exaltation over Heaven and Earth. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “exalt” means “to raise in rank, power or character; to elevate by praise or in estimation; to glorify, elevate or intensify”. El Elyon is the Exalted One. He is the Most High, the one glorified, praised, and elevated above everything and everyone. He is the very highest of spiritual beings.
‘ He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
Daniel 7:25-27
God Most High is used by Daniel as he prophesies the final judgment. He acknowledges God’s exalted status over the world and all that is in it. El Elyon is who will deliver the world from its enemies and rule over His kingdom forever. Everyone across the whole world will serve and obey God Most High.
Adonai
Lord – Master
‘ The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,’
Psalms 2:2
Adonai speaks to the possession relationship between God and us; God possesses us, and we are possessed by Him. Adonai means master or owner. He is the owner of the world and everything in it.
Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3
Adonai created us. He made each of us. As His people, He rules over us, guides us, loves us, and provides for us. We are His and He is ours.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
Romans 14:8
No matter where we are, what we do, how far we stray or deny Him, we are His people and He loves us. As our owner, He will always be with us and will chase after us to bring us home to His presence.
HaTsaddiq or Dikaios
The Lord Our Righteousness – Righteous One
‘In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ ‘
Jeremiah 23:6
HaTsaddiq is the righteous provider of justice. People like to take it upon themselves to “serve justice” to people they think deserve to be judged. I’m not talking about our legal systems, as God tells us in Romans 13 that we must “submit to governing authorities”. We think we have the authority to determine who deserves punishment, or we think authority is not doing a good enough job, and we take it upon ourselves to inflict the punishments and judgments we think people deserve. When someone hurts us, we lash out. When a loved one gets hurt, we attack the injurer. When we get angry, we hold grudges. When we don’t like the way someone acts, we talk unkindly. When we don’t like the way someone dresses, we mock and tease. We gossip, bully, harass, judge, and hurt people.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
James 4:12
HaTsaddiq, the [Lord] Our Righteousness, is the only one with the authority to judge any of us. Our job is to spread love – that is the second commandment God gave us to lead the way we live. We are called to love, and leave the judgment to God, the Righteous One, Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Powerful Master.
‘The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ‘
Mark 12:31
God overflows with love for His people, but He is also the One who created everything and possesses everything in Heaven and on earth. It is His responsibility to inflict justice and to provide for our needs. He is highly esteemed above everything else that ever existed and has the power to do anything.
