"WHO DO YOU SAY HE IS?"

Matt. 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matt. 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 16 Jesus had been dealing with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees that they were able to discern from the sky the different weather patterns of the day, but they were not able to discern through the signs and wonders that Jesus had performed who He was. Their own ideology had literally blinded them to the fact that the Messiah whom they had read about for years was standing right in their presence. Because of this many of them missed out on the opportunity to be touched by Him and restored in right relationship with God.

Today we still battle the same things. There are many types of religious systems that man has made in which they define who God is based on those systems. There are also many different worldly views as to who they think Jesus is as well. Some think Jesus doesn’t care if we live in sin or not, while others are still trying to prove their worth through their own personal works. After dealing with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees Jesus then comes to His disciples and asks them this very powerful question. “But who do you say that I am?” When it comes right down to it, if you want to encounter God and what He wants to do in and through your life what really matters is not what the world nor man-made religion says about Jesus, but who you say He is.

This week I want to share with you the redemptive names of God, which in fact reveal who Christ is. When we get discernment or revelation for ourselves of who Jesus is, then it will have a powerful impact on our lives. Knowing Him is a lot better than just knowing about Him, but you have to know about Him to get to know Him. I hope that did not confuse you. Don’t allow the modern day idolatry, that makes God what people want Him to be, keep you from knowing who He really is. So let’s take a look at who He is so that we can get to know Him even better for ourselves.

1. Jehovah-Elohim – The Lord our Creator
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:3). This first attribute of our redeemer is revealed in Genesis 2:4. What is powerful about this attribute of our Lord is the fact that because He is our Creator there is nothing that He cannot change about our life if we will yield to Him in faith. We are now, as a born again child of God, a new creation. The old sinful nature has passed away, and behold all things have become new. As our Creator He wants to continue to do a work in us transforming our life to become more like His. Full of compassion and power, doing the very works He did.

2. Jehovah-Jireh – The Lord our Provider
This name was revealed to Abraham when he was told to take Isaac up to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice unto God. Doing so paved the way for our Jesus to come. On top of Mount Moriah as Abraham was about to take the life of his son God speaks to him and he sees a ram that God provided for the sacrifice, revealing that through His Son we would have provision. That provision of the blood sacrifice was not only to cleanse us of our sin, but also to reveal that whatever we have need of if we put faith in the Lord our Provider He will take care of us.

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 8, Paul is talking to them about giving to help meet the needs of those in Jerusalem and in the midst of this he tells them that the grace of our Lord Jesus was seen in the fact that even though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor that we might become rich. This is in context to having provision, not spiritual poverty. As Paul states we are to abound in this grace as well, for Jesus through His shed blood has paid the price for us to have every need met. He is our Provider.

3. Jehovah-Rapha – The Lord our Healer
In Exodus 15:25-26 Moses has brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and they come to Marah where the waters were bitter and they could therefore not drink the water. The Lord shows Moses a tree, representing the cross, and He tells Moses to throw it into the waters and as he did the waters were healed and no longer bitter. Than the Lord tells Moses He would allow none of the diseases to come on them that came upon the Egyptians for He is the Lord who heals us.

There are many verses that tell us when Christ went to the cross He paid the price for our healing, for it is by His stripes we are healed. Healing is as much a part of our covenant with God as the new birth. If God did not want the children of Israel under the Old Covenant to be sick, how much more under the New Covenant founded on better promises does God not want us well? Jesus is our Healer.

4. Jehovah-Nissi – The Lord our Banner, our Victory
We find in Exodus 17:9-15 where Moses and the children of Israel face a battle with the Amalekites. Moses stood on top of a hill and held up “the rod of God” which is a representation of the Word of God. As long as he held it up the children of Israel prevailed. Whenever his hands began to come down they began to loose the battle. Then Aaron and Hur stood with Moses and as they did they helped to hold up his hands. They won the battle and the Lord revealed Himself there as the Lord our Victory.

Jesus is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. When we hold God’s Word over our life, being obedient to it and putting our faith in what it says, we will be victorious in battle. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

5. Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord our Peace
Gideon was called upon by God in Judges 6:11-24 to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. He felt insufficient for the task at hand even though God called him a mighty man of valor. Gideon brings an offering to the Lord and the Lord reveals Himself to Gideon by consuming it with fire. This confirmed to Gideon that it was the Lord and He said to Gideon, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” Gideon builds and altar there and called it, “The Lord Is Peace.”

Through Jesus Christ Romans 5:1 tells us that we have peach with God. This means we are one with Him. We have no reason to fear for God is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. No matter where we go we have God on our side because we are one with the Lord for He is our Peace. A Peace that passes all understanding and it guards our hearts and our minds.

6. Jehovah-Rohi – The Lord our Shepherd
Psalm 23 is a prophetic psalm that actually speaks of the day we live in right now. In that famous psalm it starts out telling us that the Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not want. He makes us to lie die in green pastures, and He leads us beside the still waters, He restores our soul.

In John 10:11 Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd, and He gives His live for us His sheep. He goes on to tell us in verse 27 that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. As our Shepherd He wants to Shepherd us. He wants to lead and guide our life through His voice revealed by the Holy Spirit and His Word. In the first part of John 10 we also find out that our good Shepherd Jesus has an earthly shepherd He has prepared for us to help us in following our Lord and in becoming all He wants us to be. Allow the good Shepherd to reveal the gift of the earthly shepherd He has for you and Jesus will lead you to green pastures.

7. Jehovah-Tsidkenu – The Lord our Righteousness
In Jeremiah 23:6 the Lord reveals Himself to Israel as the Lord our Righteousness. He refers to the fact that He will set up shepherds over them to feed them, and they will therefore no longer fear nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking. It is through the New Testament shepherds whom He has established that a believer learns one of the most powerful truths in their walk with God. They will learn about the gift of righteousness.

Romans 5:17 reveals to us that for those who receive the abundance of grace that is offered through Christ and the gift of righteousness that they will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Righteousness is a key revelation for the believer. It means you have right standing with God. This is only received through faith in Jesus Christ. Because of that right standing or gift of righteousness we can now receive through Christ what He has given us a right too. Jesus is our Righteousness.

8. Jehovah-Saboath – The Lord our King of Glory
Psalm 24 is a prophetic psalm that speaks of what is to come for us after the church age. In verse 10 we find out that the Lord is our King of glory. He is strong and mighty, mighty in battle. For those who have opened up their hearts this King of Glory comes in. Ephesians 5:27 tells us that He will present us to Himself as a glorious church. That is what Jesus is coming back for.

2 Corinthians 4:6 reveals that it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In the preceding chapter Paul states that as we look into the mirror of the glory of God we are transformed into that same image. Looking into the mirror means we look to the Word of God and what it reveals to us about Christ for in doing so we are seeing who He has made us to be. The more we see ourselves in Christ the more glorious we become from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.

9. Jehovah-Shammah – The Lord who is very present
In Exodus 40:34-35 Moses sees the first tabernacle completed and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter because of the cloud that rested above it and the glory of the Lord that filled it. Here God reveals Himself as the Lord who is very present.

When we get born again God fills us, His new tabernacle, with the presence of the Lord. The Holy Spirit comes to live within our spirit and He is then forever present with us. Because He is present His presence is always there. In Acts 3:19 we are given the promise that when the Lord comes to live within our hearts we can then experience times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord.

Not only do we have His presence within to refresh us He is there to lead us as well. In the book of Romans we are told that we can be led by the Spirit, and Galatians tells us that when we are led by the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. So where He is present there His presence is to refresh us and lead us in all He desires for our life.

So as you get to know the Lord’s redemptive names then you can declare over your life who you say He is which is who you have been made to be. You cannot overcome by what others say He is, you must know Him for yourself personally. What a wonderful Savior we have. Get to know Him and you will come to know who you are in Christ as well.

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