The very proofs that point to a Supreme Being, proofs deists and the like ascribe to; also point out that God is personal and knowable. History and Scripture also prove that God has continued to reveal Himself to man, making His unveiling progressive. These truths are important for three reasons: It shows that God is an independent Being who is engaged in His own relationship with man, it validates that God desires man to know Him by relationship, and it indicates that man either never had a complete understanding and relationship with God or lost it at some point in time.

Creation is the evident fact there is a God. Even more than simply pointing to a Creator, creation also displays a design template that reveals much of the character of the Designer. Love exists in Creation therefore God must be love. Judgment must be executed so God must be just. Anything that operates outside of consistent moral attributes, as the above, must be evil, so God is not evil, etc. Specifically related to the subject, everything has relationship so God must be personal. Birds fly in flocks. Cows graze in herds. Men live in vast metropolitan environments. In fact, God designed Creation so it is impossible for life to go on without relationship and association. It can then be said that Creation not only points to God but to a personal God.

Scripture reveals even more of God’s personal attribute: not only is He personal by His actions but by His very name. Care must be taken to understand the name by which God speaks or is addressed by. It is impossible to have relationship without knowing that person’s name. This is emphasized in many Psalms including Psalm 9.10, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou LORD, has not forsaken them that seek thee.” Lockyer made a strong case for knowing the name of God:

There is a great deal in a name, especially if it is the Name above every other name. To the Hebrews of old, the name of God meant the revelation of His nature, hence the various Old Testament names are very important as showing the different conceptions of the Deity held by them in the successive stages of revelation.[1]

He went on to point out:

Among the primitive people, and the ancient Jews were no exception, the name of deity was regarded as his manifestation, and therefore was treated with the greatest respect.[2]

It can then be proved that the names God is referred by unequivocally are personal names of which no other god on earth has claimed nor can claim nor will claim. In fact, many of the gods created by men have a name that is opposite of its true meaning. For example:

Eumenides, a Greek name meaning “the good-tempered ones,” was the name given by Greeks to the Furies-the daughters of night and darkness-as it would have been ominous and bad policy to call them by their right name. With the Persons of the Godhead it is different, for their names are openly published, and never give adverse meanings.[3]

Therefore, when the Scripture names the name of God it is always an absolute expression of His character.[4]

[1] H. Lockyer, All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), 2

[2] Ibid. 2

[3] Ibid. 3

[4] Ibid. 3