Manifestations of the Name

UV 1191/10,000 Manifestations of the Name
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
John 17 v 6
Jesus manifested the name of God unto all men. God had told Moses that His Name is Aahveh or “ I AM WHO I AM.” “I Am” incidentally is the shortest sentence in the English language. It means God declared Himself as the self-existent, uncreated Being, the source of all life. It also means that God defines and describes Himself not by what He does or did but by who He is: His character and attributes. The “am” can be expanded as “Almighty” or it could stand for Almighty, all powerful, all knowing and merciful. Jesus further manifested or demonstrated that the Father is the Almighty, Merciful and Loving God and that He himself constituted the way to the Father, the truth and the source of eternal life. He who receives and keeps the word that Jesus represented and spoke knew the Father as his own, understood the truth and had access to eternal and abundant life here and now. We too need to define ourselves and our life goals as a manifestation or reflection of the character and attributes of the Father and of His Son Jesus.

Jesus manifested all the dimensions of God: He demonstrated His power over sin and temptation, His power over demons and diseases, His power over the fury of nature, His power over death. He demonstrated the mercy of God in forgiving the corrupt tax collector, the prostitute, the thief. He demonstrated the grace of God by changing the lives of His disciples and giving them a world-changing vision, mission and passion. He demonstrated the wisdom of God as He never judged by outward appearance but saw the hearts of people. In this uni-verse, He acknowledges that they belonged to God but the Father gave them to Jesus. This implies that all humanity belongs to the Father who created them. The Father chooses whom to give to the Son to show them the way, the truth and the life.
Jesus commended His disciples to the Father saying, “ They have kept Thy word.” It meant that they listened carefully to the word and teachings of Jesus and remembered it often. They not only listened and remembered it, they faithfully lived according to His word and obeyed it. We too need to listen, remember often and live faithfully according to His Word to manifest the name of God and to demonstrate His attributes of love, mercy and power in our lives. He will give us wise counsel and help to live worthy of the Father, to excel in every way and bring glory to His Name.

Prateep V Philip