In Scripture, a name is never a mere label. It carries character, reputation, and presence. To know someone’s name is, in the language of the Bible, to know something true about who they are. This is why the names and titles of God, and of Jesus, repay slow and careful attention: each one opens a window onto the nature of the One who bears it.
The names of God
The Old Testament, written largely in Hebrew, gives God a number of names, each drawing out a different facet of his being.
Elohim
The first name for God in the Bible, found in its opening verse: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Elohim speaks of God as the mighty Creator, supreme in power over all that exists.
YHWH — the LORD
The personal, covenant name of God, revealed to Moses at the burning bush and explained with the words “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). So sacred was this name held to be that readers came to say Adonai in its place. Most English Bibles render it as LORD in small capitals. It speaks of God as eternal, self-existent, and faithful to his promises.
Adonai
Adonai means “Lord” or “Master.” It confesses God’s rightful authority and our place as those who belong to him and answer to him.
El Shaddai
Often translated “God Almighty,” this is the name by which God revealed himself to Abraham (Genesis 17:1). It speaks of a God entirely sufficient — able to provide, to sustain, and to keep.
El Elyon
“God Most High” — the name that proclaims God’s supremacy above every other power, earthly or heavenly.
Scripture also joins God’s name to his acts, especially in the phrase Jehovah-Jireh, “the LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:14) — a reminder that God is known not only by definition but by what he does for his people.
The names and titles of Jesus
The New Testament gathers a remarkable wealth of names around Jesus, each one a small confession of faith.
Christ, the Messiah
“Christ” translates “Messiah” — the Anointed One, the promised king of David’s line in whom the hopes of Israel come to rest.
Immanuel
Foretold by Isaiah and applied to Jesus at his birth, Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). It is the gospel in a single word.
Son of God and Son of Man
“Son of God” confesses his unique and divine relationship to the Father. “Son of Man,” the title Jesus most often used of himself, draws on a vision in Daniel and affirms both his true humanity and his coming glory.
The Word
John’s Gospel opens by calling Jesus the Logos, the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He is God’s own self-expression, made flesh.
Lamb of God
The title given by John the Baptist (John 1:29), naming Jesus as the true sacrifice — the one whose death takes away the sin of the world.
Other titles
Scripture also names him the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; the Light of the World; the Prince of Peace; and the King of kings and Lord of lords.
A name above every name
Taken together, these names are not a list to be memorised but a portrait to be contemplated. They tell us that God is mighty and most high, yet also near, faithful, and self-giving. And they tell us that in Jesus all of these come together — for to him, Scripture says, God has given “a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).