The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

While I served as President of Winnipeg Bible College, the Canadian government
redesigned a new national flag. At the time a great debate arose over the proposed action. Many
Canadians remembered fighting for liberty in World War R and the Korean War under the old
Red Ensign. To change that flag seemed unpatriotic and an attack on the national heritage of
Canadians. Today, almost two decades later, most Canadians feel a sense of deep-seated
patriotism when they see their new Maple Leaf flag blowing in the wind. Just as the old Red
Ensign was an untouchable symbol of the nation in the early sixties, so many Canadians would
respond the same way if the government tried to change the flag today and abandon the Maple
Leaf flag.
In the same way in which a nation rallies around its flag, Christians rally around Jesus.
The history of the church is a record of various conflicts and debates over different interpretations
of doctrine, but true Christianity has always been grounded upon an agreement concerning
Christ. There were times when good men thought it wrong to baptize, wrong to send out missionaries,
or wrong to be involved in political action, but they have always found a. rallying
point around the person and work of Jesus Christ. He has been the Ensign to which they have
been drawn.
As “an ensign for the peoples,” Jesus is not just the flag which brings a group of
Christians from one country together but, rather, the flag which brings believers from all places
together. Commenting on this title of Christ, Charles J. Rolls exclaimed,
What a distinction! To be high above all principality and power.
What a recognition! To be revered by myriad hosts of men and
angels.
What a coronation! To be crowned Lord of lords and King of
kings.
What a commemoration! To be admired in all them that believe.
EL SHADDAI - THE ALMIGHTY
When the Lord appeared to Abraham to confirm His covenant with him, He revealed
Himself to the ninety-nine-yearold man of faith as El Shaddai (Genesis 17:1). Linguists do not
agree about the etymology of this title and usually suggest one of three possibilities. Some link
the word to the Hebrew shadad, meaning “to devastate,” and argue the title lays emphasis on the
irresistible power of God. Others believe the word relates the Akkadian word shadu, meaning
“mountain,” and argue the title means something like “God of the Mountains.” The third and
most probable meaning of this word is based on its relationship to the Hebrew word shad,
meaning “breast.”
El Shaddai is naturally a tender title for God. Scripture uses it exclusively of God in
relation to His children. When trying to explain more fully the implications of this name, some
writers have spoken of “the mother-love of God.” To the child held to his mother's breast, the
mother is the all-sufficient one who provides both the physical necessities and emotional support
the child needs. Similarly El Shaddai is the all-sufficient One in the believer's experience. He has
been accurately described as “the God who is enough.”