A Name Genesis 48:16

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, A Name, Genesis 48, 16. The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them.

[0:13] Proverbs 18, 10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runs into it and is safe. Hebrews 1, 4. Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

[0:32] One of the unique things about God's creation is the idea of names. This world may try to explain away existence through evolution, but there are just far too many facets of creation that evolution cannot touch.

[0:49] One of these is names. The idea of uniquely naming is not something that would result from natural selection and evolutionary processes.

[1:00] Genesis 2, 19. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam, to see what he would call them.

[1:12] And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. When a child is given a family name at birth, that name is not a result of anything the child has done, nor is it attached to who the child is.

[1:29] The surname bestowed upon a child is more about who the parents are than who the child is. The child is simply the recipient, not the originator.

[1:40] The problem with evolution is that it places origination inside the creature, where in reality most of what we experience in life does not originate within us, but comes from something without.

[1:56] Love, hope, forgiveness, purpose, identity. These are things that find a home in us, but they did not originate in us. Even Jesus, the one who created all things, received a name.

[2:13] Philippians 2, 7-9 A name can only be bestowed by the one who has the authority to do so.

[2:46] There is no central naming institute that assigns family names for all of the children who come into this world. No, each child is uniquely called after the child's originator, the parents.

[3:00] Through redemption, God has opened an opportunity for fallen man to be born into his family. However, just as a newborn child is joined to his family by a name, so too we enter into God's family by a name.

[3:18] John 1, 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. We have been given a name that we could never have earned, or that could have originated with us.

[3:34] It is an eternal name that carries with it an eternal association. Today, let us bear well the name above all names, as we look to the originator of all things, our Father.

[3:50] Ephesians 3, 14 and 15 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of who the whole family in heaven and in earth is named.

[4:02] Father, thank you for the opportunity to bear the name above all names. Thank you for originating not only my creation, but also my salvation.

[4:14] Today, because of the name of Jesus, I can enter into the blessing of bearing the name of the family of God. Amen. Amen.

[4:34] Amen.