What’s In A Name?

Sadly, most folks think there’s nothing in a name, but names have always mattered to God. A tour through the Bible reminds us that God often gave new names to people, which had a deep spiritual meaning. The names God gave to those like Adam and Eve or Abraham and Sarah were defining and significant. God gave the church a name too, and it's often ignored or replaced with a man-made title.

In the New Testament, the church is called “My church” (Matt. 16:18), “the church of God” (1 Cor. 1:2), “the churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16), and “the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). These are divine designations, not man-made titles. If God gave the church its name, shouldn’t we use the name He chose?

In Acts 11:26, Luke records that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” “Christian” is the God-given name for His followers, the name by which we glorify Him (1 Pet. 4:16).

Even influential men like Charles Spurgeon and Martin Luther urged believers not to cling to human names but to be known simply as Christians. Every follower of Christ is called a saint, disciple, brother, and priest—no divisions, just unity in Christ.

There absolutely IS something in a name! Let’s only identify ourselves by the name God has given—Christian—and let’s only belong to the church that honors the names found in Scripture.