Using God's Name in Vain

It doesn't take long, when discussing movies or TV shows with Christians, for the topic of "taking the Lord's name in vain" to come up. Christians, largely, are deeply offended at the flippant use of the word, "God". I, on the other hand, am a bit confused. (Anyone who has read my stuff before would know this. It seems I'm often confused.)

When Moses encountered God in the wilderness, he asked, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" God answered, "I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exo. 3:13-14). It's an interesting thing. Nowhere in that exchange does it say that God's name was ... "God". This, on the other hand, is the origination of the Tetragrammaton -- the four-letter name of God that has been come to be known as YHWH and pronounced, from Latin, Jehovah. It was the Name that, because of the command in Exo. 20:7, the Jews were afraid to speak. Instead they used euphemisms. Matthew, for instance, never refers to "the kingdom of God" but prefers "the kingdom of heaven" because the Name was just too sacred and anything hinting at it wasn't used. It was this Name that Jesus invoked in John 8:58 that pushed the Jews to pick up rocks to stone Him. "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." God's Name is not "God" ... it is "YHWH", "Jehovah" for us English speakers. But it is not "God".

If we examine the term "god" in Bible usage we find that, rather than being a name, it is actually a title. It references anyone of great power. In Psalm 82, for instance, we read, "God has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods He holds judgment" (Psa. 82:1). Commentators suggest that this is a reference to angels. In this case, Psa. 82:1 would be describing something like Job 1:6 when "the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them." In Psa. 136:2 the psalmist writes, "Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever." Now, if "gods" was simply a reference to Man's false gods, it would be meaningless. Instead, it is a reference to all who are mighty, including angelic powers and human authorities. These are all "gods" -- "mighty ones" -- who are subject to God, the only true Mighty One.

The One, True "Mighty One" -- God -- is YHWH, Jehovah. That is His Name. When Jesus prayed what we have come to know as "the Lord's Prayer", His first request was "Hallowed be Thy Name." (It's a request, if you'll note. If it was a statement of fact, He would have said, "Holy is Thy Name" or "Your Name is holy." Instead He was requesting that the Father's Name be held as holy.) Just as "Father" is a title, "God" is a title. But "YHWH" is His Name. In that Name all of His character, power, and glory is encompassed. When we pray "in Jesus' Name," we're not praying with a tacked on "in Jesus' Name, Amen" like I learned as a child. We're calling on the Father to answer our prayer based on the character, power, and glory of Christ. That Name is not to be used in vain.

God's Name is not "God". And God's "Name" is not merely a reference to the Tetragrammaton. His Name is YHWH, Jehovah, and His Name represents all that His character possesses and is. That is the part that ought not be used in vain. I suspect that we Christians who complain that the world is improperly using the word "god" just as often reference God's actual Name and His character in vain. Perhaps we ought to be less concerned with the world's ignorance and misuse of a title and more concerned about our recognition of the character of God. Perhaps. Of course, I already said I'm confused, so maybe God was only worried that people might use the title "God" incorrectly.