BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 25

Subject:  To the ONLY wise God be glory Forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen! 

So far we have been studying the doxologies in Romans.  There is a total of 4 doxologies in Romans.

We have studied 3 doxologies and today we will look at the 4th doxology:  

Romans 16:27 " to the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen."

This doxology ends the entire book of Romans. The major theme of Romans is the Gospel message of God's work of salvation and righteousness for mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike.  Paul concludes his epistle by focusing everyone to give glory to the only wise God who accomplishes His redemptive salvation plan through Jesus Christ.  

We can take note of the following points: 

• Both God and Jesus Christ are mentioned in this doxology

• The glory is to be given to the only God forever and forever

• Again as in previous doxologies, the object of glory is the only (monos) wise God

• There is only one God and glory is to be given only to Yahweh God forever.

• What about Jesus Christ?  

• It doesn't say that Jesus Christ is the only wise God

• Notice it is 'through' Jesus Christ that glory is given to the one God

• Romans is concerned about God's redemptive salvation work accomplished through our Lord Jesus Christ

• Without our Messiah, we cannot be saved.  The redemptive work of Yahweh is accomplished through Christ

• Yahweh God exalted Christ to sit on His right hand.  Without Christ, our mediator, we cannot come to God and glorify God.

Yes, to the only (monos) wise God (theos)  be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!  Amen!

Here are a few more doxologies in the New Testament echoing the same theme of monotheism:

1 Timothy 1:17

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only (monos) God (theos) , be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:25

To the only (monos) God (theos) , our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

We are often used to thinking of Jesus Christ as our only Savior.  Who is the Savior in Jude 1:25?  It is Yahweh God who is the Savior here.  Yahweh God is our Savior who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Jesus Christ is also our savior.

Have you noticed that all these years, we have put the focus on Jesus Christ as our savior?  We have sidelined Yahweh God, who ultimately is the central figure - our Savior in God's redemptive plan of salvation. Read the Gospel again with new eyes and you will discover the same underlying truth as expressed here in Jude 1:25 .


:)

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 24

Subject: To God be the Glory FOREVER! Amen

In the last 2 articles in Romans, we have looked at 2 doxology passages where "God is blessed forever, Amen."

There are 4 doxology passages in Romans where praise and glory is given to Yahweh God.



The 3rd doxology is found in Romans 11:36."For from him and through him and for him are all things. 
To him be the glory forever! Amen."


Who is the "him" referring to here?

We need to look at the context of the passage. 

3 verses earlier Paul speaks about God in Romans 11:33, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!"

Yahweh God is the subject matter. 

• In fact, right at the beginning of the chapter, Paul mentions Elijah and how he appeals to God against Israel. 
• In reply, it was Yahweh God who said to Elijah, "“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 

Throughout the entire chapter of Romans 11 where God is mentioned, Paul is referring to Yahweh God. 

• Paul is so filled with praises to Yahweh God because of His kindness of grafting in the Gentiles to salvation. 
• In the end, all Israel will be saved leading Paul to end the passage with a doxology glorifying Yahweh God, for from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things. To Yahweh God be glory for ever, Amen! 

In the next article, we will look at the 4th doxology passage in Romans. Can you guess where it is?

See you again tomorrow! 

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 23

Subject: God who is over all be "Blessed Forever" Amen.

This article is going to be a bit long. I put this into 12 sequential points for easier reading. So take your time to slowly read this one through. 

In our last article, we looked at the first occurrence where Paul uses "Blessed Forever" in Romans. 

Today, we will look at the second occurrence – Romans 9:4-5.

"They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen."


1. This doxology in Romans 9:5 is found in the middle of Paul's lament and anguish for his kinsmen. 

He is expressing his heart's desire for his people to come to saving faith in Christ, yet they refused to do so inspite of all that God has blessed them with. As Paul lists out the privileges in Rom 9:4-5, out came his outburst of praise to God who is blessed forever for making all these promises possible.

2. The above text (Rom 9:4-5) is taken from the Revised Standard Version.  

   
    I chose this version because this translation is more clear and accurate. 


3. I am also including a picture of the Greek manuscript Codex Sinaiticus from AD 350 on Rom 9:5 so that you can see why there is a lot of confusion regarding the understanding of this text.





4. As you can see from the ancient manuscript, there is no punctuation marks in Romans 9:5. 

So the phrase that is in question is towards the end of Romans 9:5 – ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.

5. If you put a comma between "κατὰ σάρκα" and "ὁ ὢν", the translation will be: 

"Christ according to the flesh who is over all, God blessed forever. 

Christ and God here are in the same sentence.

6. If you put a period between "κατὰ σάρκα" and "ὁ ὢν", the translation will be: 

Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed forever.

Christ and God here are separated to two different sentences.

7. Many people are confused about Romans 9:5, because a superficial reading of using the comma version gives the impression that Christ who is God be blessed forever.


8. Paul never equates Χριστὸς (Christ) with θεὸς (God).


9. In this series of 22 articles on "Blessing God's Name Forever", we have already seen the explicit truth that "blessed be" is always used with reference to Yahweh God in OT and NT. Yahweh God is always our sole object of praise and blessed forever, not Jesus.


10. We have also seen that Paul emphasizes that it is God who is 'blessed forever' in 2 other places in his writings: Rom 1:25 and 2 Cor 11:31.


11. In Romans 9:5, Yahweh God is again the object of praise. Jesus Christ is the cause of the praise but not the object. We must not mix the two together.


12. In the context of Romans 9, Paul is expressing his anguish that his fellow kinsmen do not even realize the great privileges the Israelites have from God. They have the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises, the fathers and even Christ coming from among them — Wow… all these cause Paul to praise Yahweh God forevermore for the privileges given to the covenant people. It is Yahweh God who makes all this possible in Christ. 

Yahweh God, who is over all, be blessed forever. Amen!

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 22

Subject: The Creator who is "Blessed Forever" Amen!

There are 2 places where Paul uses "blessed forever" in Romans. 


Today we will look at the first occurrence of "blessed forever" in Romans.

Romans 1:24- 25. "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."


1. This is a doxology. Doxo comes from the Greek word " δόξα" meaning 'glory'.

2. A doxology is a short praise glorifying God, often times ending with "Amen". We see this repeated pattern in the Old Testament where Psalmists and men of God would bless and glorify God at the end of their praises.

3. Who is "blessed forever" here in Romans 1:24-25? 

4. It is "the Creator" who is blessed forever.

5. Yahweh God is our Creator. He is the One worthy of our worship and praise, therefore we bless Him forever. Let us serve and worship our only Creator God Yahweh and not exchange the truth about God for a lie.


Yahweh God, our Creator, You are blessed forever! Amen.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 21

Subject: "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

These words are written by Peter, a disciple of Jesus. Like the apostle Paul, Peter begins his letter praising and blessing God.

1.  The phrase “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” occurs 11X in the New Testament. 

2.  The New Testament apostles always make a clear distinction between God and Jesus Christ. 

What is the distinction?

1. Yahweh God is identified as the “God” of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Yahweh God is identified as “Father” of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The early church in the 1st Century worships God, Yahweh. 

• He is the merciful Father who gives us the new life in Christ. 
• He raised Jesus from the dead so that we can have a share in this living hope. 

• Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead himself.

• It was God who raised Him from the dead and then highly exalted him.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 20

Subject: Blessed be the "God" and Father of our "Lord" Jesus Christ

"BLESSED be the "God" and Father of our "Lord" Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. " Ephesians 1:3 

• The focus of worship and praise is always Yahweh Father God in both the Old Testament and New Testament. 

• Here, it is Yahweh Father who is blessed and in turn, Yahweh God blesses us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. 

• The subject is Yahweh God.

We can take note of the following:

1. Yahweh is "God" and Father.
2. Jesus Christ is "Lord".


In the past, when I read the New Testament, I often intermixed the terms "God" and "Lord". Whenever I read, "Lord", I thought "Lord" is "God", and that "God" is "Lord".


We need to distinguish these terms "God" and "Lord". 
Do not intermix them to avoid confusion.

1.  Jesus was not born with this title "Lord". 

2.  Jesus was given the title "Lord" by Yahweh God. 

In Acts 2:36, "God has made him both "Lord" and "Christ", this Jesus whom you crucified.” 

Jesus fulfilled God's mission to be the Messiah, and that's why Yahweh God raised him up to become "Lord" (Philippians 2:9-11), to sit on His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20).


Paul constantly makes this distinction: 
One God, the Father and one Lord, Jesus Christ.

In 1 Cor 8:6, it says: "there is but "one God", the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but "one Lord", Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

We worship and bless the one Yahweh God.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 19

Subject: Yahweh God is Blessed Forevermore

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed FOREVERMORE, knows that I am not lying. 

2 Corinthians 11:31 

These words of Paul are almost in the form of an oath, a solemn appeal to God, who can testify to the truth of what Paul is saying to the Corinthian church.


We can take note of the following 3 points:

1. God is blessed. In the OT, Yahweh God is blessed all the time. We have seen this in the last 18 articles. 

2. Yahweh God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Yahweh God is blessed FOREVERMORE. Blessing 

• Yahweh God is to continue from generations to generations. 
• Blessing Yahweh God did not stop in the OT times. 
• Paul continues to follow through on this important teaching in his generation. 
• We too must learn to bless Yahweh God so that our children can learn to love God and praise the Name of Yahweh.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 18

Subject: Paul blesses God

BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. 2 Cor 1:3


Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians by blessing Yahweh God. 

Who is the focus of attention in 2 Cor 1:3? 

• It is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus. 
• Notice the focus of worship is not on our Lord Jesus Christ. 
• The worship of praise is directed towards Yahweh God. 
• Yahweh God is the Father of mercies and comfort. 

Paul is drawing on an OT image of YAHWEH as FATHER expressed in Psalm 103:13-14, “As a FATHER has compassion on his children, so יהוה YAHWEH has compassion on those who fear Him."

Let us praise Father Yahweh who comforts us & strengthens us in all our troubles as we take part in the sufferings of Christ.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 17

Subject: Zechariah blesses Yahweh God of Israel

‘Blessing the Name of God' is also a major theme in the NT.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people." Luke 1:68 


These words were spoken by Zechariah when his son, John (the Baptist) was circumcised on the 8th day. As soon as Zechariah was able to speak, he praised God (Luke 1:64). He was filled with the Spirit of God and started prophesying in Luke 1:68 beginning with these words: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel …


In the NT, "Lord" can refer to Yahweh God, Jesus or to a human master. Most of the time "Lord" refers to Jesus. In Luke 1, Jesus has not yet been born, so the word “Lord” definitely refers to Yahweh God. 

“Blessed be Yahweh, God of Israel….” We have seen in the last 16 articles that men of God in OT constantly used this exact phrase to worship the One True God of Israel. God's Name is exalted through praise.


Zechariah is blessing Yahweh God of Israel, for God is visiting His people to redeem them through the Messiah. John the Baptist is to be the prophet of the Highest to go before the face of the “Lord” to prepare his ways (Luke 1:76). “Lord” here refers to Yahweh as this is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3, “Prepare the way of Yahweh”.


In the Greek NT, when "κύριος" Lord is used in quoting the OT, most of the time, the Hebrew has the text "יהוה" Yahweh. Therefore, we can read "Yahweh" in place of the word "Lord" in those occurrences.


Truly Yahweh God is praised and blessed. God is truly merciful in fulfilling His promise to raise up a horn of salvation in the person of Christ with John as the forerunner.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 16

Subject: Calling on YAHWEH who is worthy of PRAISE

"I called to YAHWEH, who is worthy of PRAISE, and I am saved from my enemies." Psalm 18:3

Last time, we saw that Job was under spiritual attack, and in his pain and sorrows, he called on Yahweh and blessed the Name of Yahweh. God is worthy of our praise on the basis of WHO He is, apart from blessings He bestows on us. This is the secret of Job's life in face of all his loss.

Psalm 18 is psalm of David. He too, like Job, recognizes that Yahweh God is worthy of praise. He called on the Name of Yahweh and praised Him to overcome spiritual battles. Yahweh God delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.


David is praising God in the middle of spiritual battles. Here is an important connection of calling on the Name of God and praising Yahweh's Name, especially under severe spiritual attacks. God responds. The enemy flees. God's Name is honored.

We are familiar with praising God when the music is on, when the drum is beating, when the pianist dances beautiful music on the piano, or when the singspiration leader leads us with singing. We seem to think that church worship is the best environment that is suitable to bless and praise God. Not so. Learn true spiritual meaning of praising God at all times, especially under the pressure of severe spiritual attacks,  because He is worthy of praise all the time.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 15

Subject: Job Blesses the Name of Yahweh

Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; Blessed be the Name of Yahweh.”

We are all very familiar with these words of Job. 

• Job is a person who knows Yahweh God. 
• "Yahweh" is repeated 3 times in this verse alone. 
• "Yahweh" gave. "Yahweh" has taken away. Blessed be the Name of "Yahweh".

Notice that Job blesses the Name of Yahweh in the midst of adversity. 

• In grief, Job's thoughts are on God's Name, and that the Name of Yahweh be praised. 
• We know how to praise God in times of joy and celebration. 
• But do we know how to praise God in times of sorrow and suffering?

When we suffer deep pain through difficult trials, the natural response would be anger, complaint and self-pity. We feel that praise is not suitable in such a circumstance. Our thoughts and minds dwell on our sufferings and not on Yahweh God.


Remember, God alone is worthy of praise all the time. Why? 

• Yahweh has not changed. 
• The only change is our circumstances. As in the case of Job, his situation was completely changed overnight and he lost almost everything. Job has every reason to be bitter and licking his wounds. Job has our total sympathy.

In our church, we have been studying the Book of Job in the last 3 months. We want to understand the the suffering of a righteous man. In our suffering, we need to perceive God’s work from beginning to end. Without God, all suffering is in vain. 


Job is actually under severe spiritual attacks. What is his secret to come through triumphantly in his despondency and intense suffering? He held on to God and he blessed the Name of Yahweh. Praising Yahweh is one of the keys to victory, to overcome Satan's attacks. Satan uses all kinds of attacks to stop God's children to praise God and to curse Him. Job's wife fell into this trap.

There are times when the spiritual oppression is so heavy that words become feeble in our prayers. Calling on Yahweh's Name and praising Him will help us soar above our suffering.

Don't think that we only praise in good times. Learn to praise all the more in times of deep suffering. Tears maybe flowing out in pain but when our hearts are filled with praise to Yahweh's Name, we find strength in His Name to overcome intense pain and sorrows.

Many spiritual battles are lost because of a lack of praise to God's Name. This is why it is very important for you to get to know God's Name, to call upon His Name, and to bless and praise the Name of Yahweh.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 14

Subject: Levites Bless Yahweh's Glorious Name FOREVER

Stand up and bless Yahweh your God forever and ever. "Blessed be thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise." Nehemiah 9:5


Nehemiah was a great servant of God who feared God's Name (Neh 1:11). After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and remained there for 12 years to help build up God's people.

Nehemiah 9 is probably one of the longest recorded prayer in the Bible. Here, the Levites led the Israelites in prayer. Right at the beginning of their prayers, they blessed the glorious Name of Yahweh. When the Levites gathered the people to prayer, the first thing they said to the people was: "Stand up and praise YAHWEH God, FOREVER and EVER." 

This event tells us something very SIGNIFICANT: Even after 70 years in Babylonian captivity, the Name of God, Yahweh was never forgotten. Please take note that the Levites led the congregation to praise YAHWEH and bless the glorious Name of God. They knew God as YAHWEH and called on YAHWEH. 

Secondly, the Levites also instilled on the hearts of the Israelites that God's Name, Yahweh, must be praised and blessed FOREVER and EVER. They remembered the teaching of Moses back in Exodus where God says: "This Is My Name FOREVER." So now, after 70 long years away from Jerusalem, the new generation of Levites reminded the people again that Yahweh's Name be blessed FOREVER and EVER. The Israelites needed to teach their children to bless and praise Yahweh God from generation to generation.


Isn't this interesting? In the past, we were given the impression that the Israelites did not use God's Name, Yahweh anymore after the exile. This is simply not true. Actually in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Levites continued to teach God's people to call on Yahweh Name as this is God's Name FOREVER and EVER.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 13

Subject: Ezra blesses Yahweh, the great God

"And Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground." Nehemiah 8:6 

There are so many spiritual lessons we can learn from Ezra, the scribe and priest. He rebuilt and restored the relationship of God's people to Yahweh. This is also our mission today.

Ezra returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity 13 years before Nehemiah. To rebuild God's people in Jerusalem, the first order of business is to make sure the people understand God's Law. 


Ezra gathered the people of God to read the Law of the covenant to them. 

• Before he began the reading, he led the Israelites in a short prayer ascribing blessing, honor and glory to Yahweh, the great God. 
• This procedure is very important to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Law. 
• Notice the double intensity of the response: Amen, Amen. It's an expression of faith on the people's hearts to affirm that the great God be blessed. 
• With hands lifted up, heads bowed, they worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground to receive the Torah.

Today, we also must prepare our hearts in prayer and adoration as we hear the Word of God read and expounded. 

Reading of Scripture needs to play a primary role in our church worship. 


In the time of Ezra, people did not have their own personal copies of Torah, so they had to gather together to listen to the Torah read to them. Today, we take the Bible for granted for we have many personal copies of Scriptures. In our fast growing technologies, we do not even need to hold hard copies of the Bible anymore as we have many versions of the Scripture in digital format right at our finger tips. Everything is provided for us free and we do not know how to treasure the Scripture anymore.

We need both the reading of Scripture and the correct exposition of the Word of God in our churches today.

When I do my daily devotions, I often proceed in a quiet manner meditatively. I am now spending some time to worship and read out the portion of Scripture audibly in a reverent way. I find this very helpful to praise God and meditate more deeply on God's Word in my heart.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 12

Subject: Daniel blesses the Name of God Forever and Ever

Daniel 2:20 "Blessed be the Name of God Forever and Ever; Wisdom and Power are His."

Daniel is a post-exilic prophet. He was very young when he went on exile to Babylon during Jeremiah's ministry. Daniel has never forgotten the great name of God, Yahweh even though he grew up in the pagan society of Babylon. In the book of Daniel, he refers God as "Yahweh" 6 times. Daniel also lives a life of blessing God's Name.


We have a record of Daniel's prayer in Daniel 2:20-23. 

• Right at the beginning of Daniel's prayer, he blesses the Name of God FOREVER and EVER. 
• It is always in the hearts of the prophets that God's Name be blessed not only in their times but also FOREVER into eternity.

What makes Daniel praise and bless God's Shem? 

God has poured forth His mercy and faithfulness in answering Daniel's prayers. 


King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. The king was troubled and disturbed by his dream but no wise men could tell him about his dream and interpret for him. As a result, the king ordered an execution of all the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his 3 friends. Under the threat of death, Daniel and his friends sought mercy and help from God. God disclosed the mystery to Daniel and made known the dream and the king's matter to Daniel.


Praise to Yahweh God who grants wisdom and power in time of deep crisis. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with Him. (Dan 2:20-22)

Likewise, when we experience God's mercy on us, we too must come before God in worship and bless God's Name with gratitude.

BLESSED be the Shem of Yahweh FOREVER – 11

Subject: David's Prayer before he died

1 Chronicles 29:10-19 records a touching prayer of David. 

This is probably the final public prayer of David before he died.

I’ll just highlight 2 aspects of David’s prayer: 

• His concern for God’s Name 
• and also the frequent occurrence of God's Name, Yahweh.

Name – 2X

1. Praise your Glorious Name
2. For your Holy Name


Yahweh – 4X

1. Blessed be You, Yahweh God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
2. Yours, O Yahweh is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty:
3. Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh.
4. O Yahweh our God
5. O Yahweh God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers

This time, David begins the prayer with: 

"Blessed be You, Yahweh God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting." 

And at the end of the prayer, David exhorts the congregation, 

“Now bless Yahweh your God.” And all the congregation blessed Yahweh God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and paid homage to Yahweh, and to the king. (1 Ch 29:20)


After this prayer, Solomon succeeded his father on the throne and reigned. David died in a good old age. It is often said that when a person leaves this earth, his final words often reflect what he deems most important in his life. Obviously, David was always in a habit of calling on Yahweh's Name from beginning to end. Praising and blessing God had always occupied a central place in David's life, even to the very end of his days.

Let us follow this faithful servant of God. Let's call on God's Name and praise God's glorious Name to the end of our earthly sojourn.