What’s in a Name? | Today with Dr. Mark Jobe

Before our children were born, my wife and I spent a lot of time deciding on their names. For our youngest son I wanted a strong name and I suggested Stone, which Dee quickly rejected. Our kids are probably thankful that we settled on Marissa, Josiah, and Grant.

Names are important. And in the Bible, we find as many as 256 names for Jesus. In Isaiah 9:6 we read His birth announcement, written 800 years before He was born: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Each of these names for Jesus are jam-packed with meaning!

Wonderful Counselor Wonderful in Hebrew is pele, meaning beyond understanding or too wonderful for words. Jesus is our guiding force, our source of wisdom. Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Mighty God You cannot be a Christian without believing Jesus was all God and all man. The miracle of the Incarnation is that the infinite God emptied Himself to dwell among us. But He was and continues to be Mighty God. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isa. 40:29).

Everlasting Father There is a great difference between our earthly father and our Everlasting Father. The Lord is our protector—caring, loving, ever involved in our lives. Matthew 11 offers a beautiful example of the Father heart of God: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). I am thankful for our Everlasting Father!

Prince of Peace Jesus reigns over the peace between us and God. There is only one mediator between man and God—Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). He calls us to come to Him, and through Him receive access to the Father. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

My name, given at birth, is Mark. But when I experienced the love of God, I received another name: Forgiven. When we encounter Jesus, we are given another new name, Child. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

BY Dr. Mark Jobe, President

Dr. Mark Jobe is the president of Moody Bible Institute. He has served as the lead pastor of New Life Community Church, one church that meets at 27 locations. Mark earned a diploma from Moody Bible Institute in 1984, a master’s degree from Moody Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in transformational leadership from Bakke Graduate University. He is the author of What Now?: How to Move into Your Next Season (Moody Publishers) and can be heard on Bold Steps, a daily program on Moody Radio. He and his wife, Dee, have three adult children and one grandchild.