When God Gave a New Name

When God Gave a New Name: The Renamings of Scripture and the New Name in Christ

In the Bible, when God takes hold of a life, He often gives it a new name. Abram becomes Abraham, the father of many. Sarai becomes Sarah, a princess who will laugh. Jacob the deceiver becomes Israel, and Simon the reed becomes Peter the rock. A new name is never decoration. It is a small gospel: the old self named by fear or failure, the new self named by promise. Empires rename people to own them, as Babylon did to Daniel and his friends; God renames people to set them free. And the whole pattern reaches its end in Christ, who is given the Name above every name, and who promises to everyone who overcomes a new name that only love will read. Each page below opens one renaming, sets it honestly in its place, and follows it to Jesus, who makes all things new.