The Divine Name
Our Lord commanded his Apostles to go & teach "all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost". In doing so, he revealed to us the full Name by which Almighty God is to be known among us: as One God, in Trinity of Persons.
When a Christian reads the 3rd commandment of the Decalogue ("Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy God in vain"), he takes it to mean that one must only pronounce the Divine Name with appropriate reverence, and with devout purpose. We apply this command to all of the various Names for God used in the Bible, but most especially to the Threefold, Divine Name of the Most Holy Trinity, One God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Because we are baptized in this three-fold Name, we are also obligated to live our lives in a way that does proper reverence to the Name. The 3rd commandment for us applies not only to "vain" (or empty) use of God's Name in the course of our speech, but also means that we are to live holy lives because we have been set apart in the Divine Name, and sanctified through Holy Baptism.
On the Lord's Day, we specifically gather at the parish Church to honor and magnify the Name of God. In particular, here are some references to the "Name" of God, from the Anglican Order for Holy Communion:
-The Collect for Purity: "...Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name...
-The Decalogue: "Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy God in vain."
-The Nicene Creed: we confess our faith in the threefold name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
-The Sermon: an Anglican priest usually presents his Homily, beginning and ending with the invocation, "In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
-Prayer for the Church: "...grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love" and, "we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear..."
-General Confession: "...grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name..."
-The Lord's Prayer: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name..."
-The final blessing: We are dismissed and blessed in the Name, The Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.
The foregoing is some of the "raw material" that will go into my Homily for tomorrow, on the subject of the 3rd commandment of The Decalogue. Visit our parish website for more of my Series on The Decalogue, www.st-bartholomews.org
"Blessed art thou for the Name of thy Majesty: praised and exalted above all forever." (-from the Canticle of Matins, Benedictus es, Domine)
Our Lord commanded his Apostles to go & teach "all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost". In doing so, he revealed to us the full Name by which Almighty God is to be known among us: as One God, in Trinity of Persons.
When a Christian reads the 3rd commandment of the Decalogue ("Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy God in vain"), he takes it to mean that one must only pronounce the Divine Name with appropriate reverence, and with devout purpose. We apply this command to all of the various Names for God used in the Bible, but most especially to the Threefold, Divine Name of the Most Holy Trinity, One God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Because we are baptized in this three-fold Name, we are also obligated to live our lives in a way that does proper reverence to the Name. The 3rd commandment for us applies not only to "vain" (or empty) use of God's Name in the course of our speech, but also means that we are to live holy lives because we have been set apart in the Divine Name, and sanctified through Holy Baptism.
On the Lord's Day, we specifically gather at the parish Church to honor and magnify the Name of God. In particular, here are some references to the "Name" of God, from the Anglican Order for Holy Communion:
-The Collect for Purity: "...Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name...
-The Decalogue: "Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy God in vain."
-The Nicene Creed: we confess our faith in the threefold name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
-The Sermon: an Anglican priest usually presents his Homily, beginning and ending with the invocation, "In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
-Prayer for the Church: "...grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love" and, "we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear..."
-General Confession: "...grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name..."
-The Lord's Prayer: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name..."
-The final blessing: We are dismissed and blessed in the Name, The Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.
The foregoing is some of the "raw material" that will go into my Homily for tomorrow, on the subject of the 3rd commandment of The Decalogue. Visit our parish website for more of my Series on The Decalogue, www.st-bartholomews.org
"Blessed art thou for the Name of thy Majesty: praised and exalted above all forever." (-from the Canticle of Matins, Benedictus es, Domine)
posted by Anglicans Aweigh at 11:00 AM
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