Glorifying God’s Name

The third commandment speaks about glorifying God’s name: “Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Exod. 20:7). In this commandment, we see a strict prohibition as well as a divine threat.

The redeemed people of God are those called by the Lord’s name. The Lord himself said, “If my people called by my name shall humble themselves and pray. . .” (2 Chron. 7:14). What distinguishes us is not our money, our position, or our educational degrees, but the name of God by which we are called. This name isYahweh, which God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3.

The Glorious Name Yahweh

Yahweh means “I AM THAT I AM.” He is the self-existent, self-sufficient, uncreated, independent, Creator and Sustainer and Ruler of all creation. God is a spirit—infinite, eternal, unchangeable. He is a personal God, the covenant Lord of his people, a Warrior and a Savior.

When God commissioned Moses to lead his people, Moses asked, “‘Who am I, that should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ And God said, ‘I will be with you’” (Exod. 3:11–12). Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’” The Lord said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. That is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exod. 3:13–14).

This I AM fights against all his enemies to bring about the salvation of his people, whether against Pharaoh and his armies, Sennacherib and his armies, Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, or the devil and all his demonic hordes. And let me tell you, he always wins. You will lose, if you are an enemy of Jesus Christ. If you are an unbeliever in Jesus Christ, he will fight against you.

God gains glory when he fights his enemies. The Lord told Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue [the Israelites]. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD” (Exod. 14:4). The Lord was determined to defeat his enemies and save his people. So again he told Moses, “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after [the Israelites]. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen” (Exod. 14:17–18). And after God’s triumph over the Egyptians, Moses declared, “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exod. 15:1–2).

God always wins. All enemies of God should understand who their opponent is. John writes:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev. 19:11–16)

This God is the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sabbaoth); Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides (Yahweh Yir’eh); Jehovah Rophekah, the Lord who heals (Yahweh Rof’eka); the Lord our victory (Yahweh Nissi); the Lord who makes us holy (Yahweh Mequaddishkem); the Lord who is peace (Yahweh Shalom); the Lord our righteousness (Yahweh Tsidqenu); the Lord who is with us (Yahweh Shamma); the Lord our shepherd (Yahweh Roi).

The New Testament declares that Jesus is Lord. He is the great I AM. And he said about himself, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). There is no one else. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14); “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12); “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25); “I am the vine” (John 15:1); “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

As the Lord sent Moses to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, Jesus, who received all authority in heaven and on earth, sent the apostles first and now is sending all true Christian ministers to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:19–20).

If anyone refuses to surrender to Christ, bowing his knees to him and confessing with his mouth, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” that person will be defeated like Pharaoh and armies. This Lord we are speaking about is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is almighty to save, but he is also almighty to destroy. We must rid ourselves of all sentimental views of the Lord Jesus—that he is nice, that he is love, and that he never judges but only hugs people.

The Lord descended to Sinai so that the people of God would fear him, and that this fear of God would keep them from sinning (Exod. 20:18–20). Why do people sin? They sin because they do not fear the Lord. Their god is a dumb, mute idol concocted by their own vain imagination.

The Theology of Christian Baptism

When a believer in Christ is baptized in water by the Lord’s holy ministers, he is baptized into the name of the triune God. Professor John Frame says baptism is a sign that represents cleansing from sin, repentance, and union with Christ.¹ The believer confesses his own sin, turns from it, and asks God’s forgiveness. Baptism also symbolizes union with Christ. We are baptized into the name of the Trinity. To be baptized into the name of someone is to belong to that person (1 Cor. 1:13, 15). Baptism points to one’s death with Christ to sin and rising with Christ to live a new life for the glory of God.

Baptism is not only a sign, but also a seal. It is God’s certification that we belong to the covenant of grace. Professor Frame is correct when he says that baptism is a name-giving ceremony, placing the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit upon us, as the high priest placed the name of God on Israel in the Aaronic benediction. “The Lord said. . . . ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. . . . The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them’” (Num. 6:22–27).

On the basis of the seal of baptism, we are admitted into the visible church. And when baptized people become unfaithful to their covenant Lord, they are taking the name of the Lord in vain. When they dishonor the name of God placed upon them by God’s ministers, they receive curses of the covenant rather than the blessing.

When a believer is baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he belongs to the triune God. Such a person will delight in obedience to God and therefore enjoy all the blessings of communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:15–16). He also said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. . . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:21, 23). What union and communion, that gives us inexpressible joy!

The Westminster Confession of Faith says the following about baptism:

Baptism is a sacrament of the new testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also, to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life. Which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world. (Chapter 28, section 1).

Christian baptism, therefore, is neither a mere symbol nor a ceremony that produces regeneration ex opere operato (in a mechanical way). But all those who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ, should seek to be baptized and admitted to Christ’s holy church. Baptism is a means of grace for our spiritual growth.

Our Obedient Life

Baptized people must live obedient lives. Believers who are baptized are to live for the glory of the name placed on them at baptism. They are to hear and do the will of their covenant Lord, our good shepherd, for he guides us “in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3). Our Lord Jesus will never lead us into sin. He cannot. Nor will the Holy Spirit or the holy Scripture lead us to sin.

The name of God is the revelation of God especially given to us in the holy Scriptures. So we must study the Scriptures and listen carefully to the word of God preached. Then we will know the will of God so that we can worship God in the beauty of the holiness of his name and serve him by doing his will with thankful hearts, exactly, immediately, and with great delight. Jesus Christ is Lord, and we are his obedient servants.

We are taking the Lord’s name when we confess his name, when we are baptized, and when we join a local church, worship God, and receive the benediction (2 Cor. 13:14). When we get married in the presence of God and his saints, we are agreeing to glorify the Lord’s name; to divorce or in any way to violate the Lord’s law of marriage would be despising God’s name. As workers or business people who have taken God’s name, we should not cheat or lie, but seek to please the highest authority, our triune God. If we are Christian students, we must work hard to excel in our studies for God’s glory. As those called by the name of the Lord, we must be physically fit for God’s glory and service; we have no authority to abuse our bodies.

In other words, as those called by the name of the Lord, we must do all things for the glory of God. Paul declares, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). He also says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). And he writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Rom. 12:1).

We must be regulated by the word of God in our worship and in our work. We should not worship God with heartless formalism. The Lord says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isa. 29:13). Paul speaks of those who have “a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). God detests formalism.

We also must not worship with mere traditionalism, by which we nullify the word of God. God said you must support your father and mother, and they said, “All that I have, I have given it all to God as a gift (Corban). And therefore I have no obligation to take care of my father and mother” (see Mark 7:9–13).

We must not engage in anti-supernaturalism that removes the miracles and the deity of Christ from the Bible, as liberal theology does. If true Christians go to churches where the Bible is not preached, they will notice these are not true churches; they are synagogues of Satan.

We also must not give way to subjectivism, which says, “I do not need the Bible,” although it is the objective truth. Søren Kierkegaard said that subjectivity is truth. A subjective person may say, “Truth is what I feel. My lust is what I live for.” But I say to that person, “Beware of God’s name; you must be regulated by it.” What will happen if we are not regulated by God’s name? (PGM) Moses declares, “If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses” (Deut. 28:58–59). We will lose. God always wins.

The psalmist says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (Ps. 29:2). He also says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth” (Ps. 96:8). In Revelation we read that the believers in heaven “sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed’” (Rev. 15:3–4). And Peter writes, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Pet. 3:15). In other words, we must sanctify Christ as Lord and live in the consciousness of that truth. We must think, speak, and act on the basis of the great truth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

God will always glorify his name. He himself said, “I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:23). And God’s people will glorify his name: “When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel” (Isa. 29:23). Let us never use God’s name disconnected from his majestic person, presence, and power.

This great God is with us and in us, and we are in him. Nothing can separate us from him (see Rom. 8:37–39). The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. We are to hallow his name, the name into which we are baptized. We are to welcome the kingdom of God, which is the beneficent and blessed rule of Jesus Christ. We are to do God’s will here and now as the holy angels now are doing in heaven. We are to glorify God as Jesus did while he was on earth.

So Jesus himself said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). He also prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42; see also 1 Pet. 2:21, 24).

God will not tolerate anyone despising his name. A son or daughter is to live an obedient life to honor the name of his or her father. In the same way, we must live daily to honor God’s name that was placed on us at baptism, the name that we solemnly confessed with our own mouths. The believers were called Christians by pagans first in Antioch because they confessed Christ and conducted themselves as Christians. They lived as light in the world. All true Christians belong to Christ. They are in Christ, and they are to live in the world in a way that glorifies Christ’s name.

And just as a wife receives her husband’s name at marriage, and must live for the honor of that name, we also must live for the glory of Christ’s name because we are the bride of Christ. So we read, “‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)” (Rev. 19:6b–8).

Our Lord is jealous for his glory and he will fight for it (Exod. 20:5–6). The number one priority of God is not to save us; it is to glorify his name by defeating all his enemies and saving his people. So God fights for his own glory, as he fought against Pharaoh and his army. And he receives glory when he destroys his enemies and saves his people who are called by his name. The psalmist says, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1). He also declares, “I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Ps. 138:2). God’s word is his name, and his name is his word.

God’s zeal for the honor of his name is found throughout the prophecy of Isaiah: “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness” (Isa. 48:1); “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another” (Isa. 48:11); “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isa. 42:8); “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made . . . the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isa. 43:7, 21).

What are we to do? Our job is to bring glory to God. Peter says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Let me assure you, the Lord will act in such a powerful way in judgment that his enemies and his covenant people will know that he alone is the Lord. About sixty-five times the prophet Ezekiel uses the refrain, “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The third commandment prohibits us from taking the name of the Lord in vain, falsely, or hypocritically. We are to bear his name truly, by living obedient lives. Today Christians are being killed by jihadists throughout the world, and there is no protest from the Western world leaders. These people are imprisoned and killed simply because they bear Christ’s name. Recently a man came forward when Christians were being threatened. He said, “I am a Christian; shoot me,” and the persecutors shot him.

Through martyrdom, such people glorify the name of God that was placed upon them at baptism. Like them, we are to be faithful to Christ until death, and the Lord will give us the crown of everlasting life. Paul says, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6–8).

The Divine Threat

We must not confess Christ as Lord without understanding that there is a divine threat in this commandment that comes into play when we take God’s name in vain. A sinning Christian is taking the Lord’s name in vain. If he continues in sin, his confession is proven false, his covenant agreement is shown to be a lie, his oath is a deception, and his vow cannot be counted on. This third commandment threatens such a violator with severe punishment: “The LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.” In other words, the Lord will hold him guilty and punish him.

Beware of breaking your covenant! Of such false Christians, John writes, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19). We cannot take the name of the Lord and walk away from his presence. The Hebrew writer warns,

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Heb. 6:4–6)

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb. 10:26–31)

The Bible gives several examples of God fulfilling his threat to those who took his name in vain:

1. A son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the name of the Lord, Yahweh and he was stoned to death (Lev. 24).
2. Insolent Korah wanted to be a priest. The earth swallowed up both him and all who belonged to him (Num. 16).
3. Achan despised the Lord’s name and disobeyed his word. Achan, his family, and everything he owned was destroyed. He was stoned to death. Joshua said, “The Lord will bring trouble on you today,” and he did (Josh. 7:24–26).
4. Judas sold our Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. God held him guilty, and he hanged himself: “With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out” (Acts 1:18).

Jesus asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Elsewhere he explained, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:21–23). That means, “Go to hell!”

The name of God is revealed most clearly in the Bible. We must read and study and listen carefully, to bring honor to God’s name. Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

Let me ask you: Have you repented of your sins? Have you believed in Jesus Christ alone for your eternal salvation? Have you been baptized, as the Lord commands? May those who confess the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit agree to obey the commands of the Lord, which they will be taught by God’s ministers, for their everlasting blessing and especially for the glory of God’s name.

¹ John Frame, Salvation Is of the Lord (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 276ff.