Hallowing God’s Name

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God tells us in Exod. 20:4 that He wants to be worshipped without obstacles or aids – “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…”

And in verse seven, we are told not to take the Lord’s name in vain, which is a serious admonition. We have to worship God and reverence Him, working to uphold His name, office and position in the family as preeminent above all, in all the universe. We cannot take that name in vain.

The word “vain” means evil, wickedness, falsehood, lie or anything without substance.

Malachi knew we had to honour our Father. God is looking for honour and fear, yet many despise the name of God – they argue back (Mal. 1:6):

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts…”

The problem with modern churchianity is that they are enthralled with the presence of God, but forget that they must also honour the name of God. This is done by keeping the commandments of God, which are all about honouring the Father. Without these, our worship is nothing more than vain and repetitious and there is no real relationship or connect with the Father.

Notice in Luke 11:2 the importance of addressing the Father and hallowing His name:

“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”

God’s name has to be held with the deepest reverence and fear and should carry supreme authority in our life. He is holy and righteous, so that he understands that we understand. We have to express a proper level of reverence.

Conduct of Christians shows honour to God

If we say one thing and live another, we are hypocrites and blaspheme the name of God. We need to clean our minds and thoughts and commit to live what we hear.

In II Sam. 12: 9 – a curse is announced  because of David’s sin, to restore honour and dignity to the God family name:

“Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.”

David had falsely represented the God of Israel so God had to deal with it publicly, as David did not deal with it in his own life (II Sam. 12:14).

“Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

In the same way, true Christians who are representatives of God on earth, can also give occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme God’s name. Mark 7:6-7 says such Christians worship in vain, with their lips. Profess God with words, but worship is in vain. A good example already mentioned is the law of God, which so many want to throw away despite clear scriptural proof that we are still to keep it today. Sabbath keeping and tithing are other examples. Such Christians call on God but refuse instructions:

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”  (Luke 6:46).

Prayer without obedience is a subtle form of blasphemy. We have to submit to God after our prayer, as it is respect and honour to Him. This thought is furthered in Matt. 7:21, which shows that not every one that says Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who fulfill the will of our Father receive blessings.

We can also blaspheme God’s name when we show partiality to certain people. We have to walk worthy of the name God called us by. It is our name – now and the future (James 2: 2-3, 7-8). Respecting people is a sin, or an offense against the law.

Meaning of God’s name

God officially announced the meaning of His name to Moses at Mt. Sinai and elaborated on what He said at the bush in the wilderness (Exod. 34:5). He also showed Moses what His name represents and that every human being would at one time have the opportunity to worship God as Moses did. In truth, this was a synopsis of the plan of God.

Psalm 111 shows us that we have to reverence God’s name because it is Holy. If we call ourselves by the name of God, then we are changing the way we live and depart from sin. We are different from this world – we live our spiritual life all day long (II Tim. 2:19).

If we do it right – according to biblical instructions – we will have the name of God as our name (Rev. 3:12).