By What Name: Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit?

     I'm amused sometimes at the seemingly limited knowledge people have of God! I have often heard people say, "Jesus and God". A basic and essential doctrine of Christianity is that Jesus Is God! It took the apostle's quite some time to figure that one out but Joseph and Mary understood it from the beginning. Let's look at a few instances:

• Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Mat 1:16)
• And he (Joseph) called his name Jesus (Mat 1:25).
• He went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene (Mat 2:23).
• Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Mat 27:17).
• He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32).
• “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
• And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb (Luke 2:21).
• The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." (John 4:25).
• “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes  (John 9:11).
• “Is not this the man (Jesus) who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this Name? (Acts 9:21).
• That the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my Name, says the Lord, who makes these things (Acts 15:17).
• “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” (Rom 9:26).

     We know that God has no name. He identified Himself as "THE EXISTENCE". Think on that! A true God creates. It takes only one God to do so. Since God IS Creator, then only He is God. Why would He need a name when He is Existence. No one else is or ever will be.

     God acknowledged his Godhood and Existence when he said, "I AM THAT I AM" (Exod 3:14). That English transliteration is ehyeh asher ehyeh with the Hebrew acronym יַהְוֶה which is pronounced yod heh waw heh, or in English letters JHWH. The Hebrew letters are pronounced Yahweh and in the English Jehovah since W and V have the same sound in Hebrew. Therefore, calling God "Jehovah" is for our English tongues. "God" is NOT His Name! It is a description generally meaning something as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans", according to C. Scott Littleton.  Most people call a god "divine". Whatever.. that is for the speaker's benefit. All God needs is reverence for His Existence.

     Then something happened! God was made  flesh (John 1:14). He was still God but was called many Names: Christ, Jesus, a Nazarene, Son of the Most High, Holy, the Son of God, the Name, and the Living God! Who did Jesus say that He is? "I AM" - "EGO EIMI" in the Greek. (John 9:9). Yes, the Man called Jesus claimed to be God JHVH or Yahweh Himself. Jesus thus identifies Himself as God (add another bullet):

• A virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Mat 1:23).

     The angel called the Son of God, well... God! We need not say "God and Jesus". Either is appropriate. However, since God was made flesh, JHVH is properly called "Jesus" for that is now His Name! 

     Pentecostals are noted for seemingly worshiping "the Holy Spirit". That is not a name; it is a description. One may ask, "Whose description?" It describes the identity of Jesus who died. A "ghost" is "a disembodied soul" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  After Jesus died, his Flesh had served its purpose - to save mankind. Jesus ascended to Heaven in a glorified body without need for earthly flesh, and shortly thereafter his Ghost returned. The "Holy Ghost" is Jesus's Spirit after God suffered death for mankind. 

But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:39).

     Thus, Jesus was transformed from Flesh to Spirit when he was glorified (ascended to the presence of God), then returning to mankind. We no longer need to see God but be Comforted by Him! (John 14:16).  The Holy Ghost is a descriptive adjective and noun pair. God's Spirit is still Jesus. God was never called "the Holy Spirit" but He was indeed called Jesus!
     A Name for God was not necessary until he came into the world. When God came, He was called Jesus. After he arose and returned, "it" (God's presence) was the Ghost of Jesus who returned but He was still Jesus!
     What is confusing to Christians is God's omnipresence. He is not limited by space and time. God is everywhere all the time. For a time, God visited the world but with His Existence, but He was also in Heaven. Right now, God is in Heaven and in you at the same time. There is no need to separate out God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost  because the Name "Jesus" will suffice!

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

What is that Name? It is Jesus (Acts 4:13). Thus, if you belong to Jesus, he lives within you. It is Jesus who resides in God's temples which are the souls of mankind. God's Flesh could not but His Spirit can!