God’s name is Jehovah.
At the burning bush, God revealed Himself to Moses. When Moses pointedly asked God, “ ‘What is (your) name?’ ... God replied to Moses ... ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob...’ ” (Exodus 3:13–15, CSB).
“My name is LORD!” That’s His name. LORD! In the original language, that’s Jehovah (or Yahweh). God said, “My name is Jehovah!”
God described Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Elsewhere He is described as “Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1), “King of glory” (Psalm 24:7), “Strong Tower” (Psalm 61:3), “Living God” (Psalm 84:2), etc.
The Second Person of the Holy Trinity is Jesus. That’s His name. When the angel appeared to Mary, he said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Luke 1:30–31, CSB). The angel also appeared to Joseph. “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, CSB).
He is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God, the Son of Man, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), “the Good Shepherd” (John 10:14)... and His God-given name is Jesus.
So, what’s the Holy Spirit’s name?
The Bible speaks of “My Spirit” (Genesis 6:3),“the Spirit of the Lord God” (Isaiah 61:1) and the “Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4, ESV). Jesus promised to send the “Paraclete” (John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7) or “Helper” (ESV), “Counselor” (CSB), “Advocate” (NIV), or “Comforter” (KJV). He is the “Spirit of glory” (1 Peter 4:14), the “Spirit of holiness”(Romans 1:4), and the “eternal Spirit” (Hebrews 9:14).
As we have seen, Jesus recognized the Holy Spirit as a distinct person, and as an equally divine partner in the Eternal Holy Trinity. But Jesus does not say, “The Holy Spirit’s name is....”
At Pentecost, the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and ... the Spirit enabled them” as witnesses (Acts 2:4, CSB), but the Spirit didn’t stop to say, “You can call me by my personal name...”
Jesus said, “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26–27, CSB).
Maybe this a hint concerning the mystery of the unrevealed name. The Spirit never takes center-stage... He testifies about the Savior... He points people to Jesus.
At the baptism of Jesus, “the heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17, CSB). God didn’t say, “this is My beloved Spirit” ... He pointed people to Jesus.
The Father’s name is most “holy” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus was given “a name above every name” (Philippians 2:9). The One with the unrevealed name is the “Spirit of grace”(Hebrews 10:29) who equips and empowers, who seals and satisfies, who points people to Jesus.
What’s His name? I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure He’s honored to be referred to as the Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of Jesus, the Helper, or the Holy Spirit. He is very real. He is truly alive. He lives within every believer. And, I expect that some glad morning, in the sweet-by-and-by, He’ll humbly direct us down the golden pathway toward King Jesus.
