“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” Gen 2:19 (KJV)
Here in the second chapter of Genesis we see the first time a person’s name is used in the Bible. Thus, in naming, Adam, God claims authority over His creation and by allowing Adam to name the beasts and fowl they are put under his authority. But why is this important? It just seems to be one of those verses in the Bible that is often overlooked and not deeply contemplated or meditated upon. Juxtaposed between Adam’s loneliness in the previous passage and the creation of Eve (whom Adam also names) in the next, is this small, but important verse. So important, in fact, that it is one of the foundation stones of God’s law, and thus of the universe.
Names are important
Historically, a person’s last name was usually associated with the work that they did. People with the last name of Miller, Shepherd, Brewer or Baker gave you an idea of their Trade. [1] My last name (Kowalski) for example, translates to Smith, which is a shortened version of blacksmith and, while I do not carve out a living by swinging a hammer, apparently someone in my past did.
Our name is the first thing that others will use to define us, which is why corrupting our name into something it is not can be a powerful weapon – if we allow it. For example, the parent that calls their child “idiot” once will likely not have a big impact on them, but the parent that calls their child an idiot repeatedly will. This is, in a sense, a type of identity theft and a tool that can be used against us by the evil one. Names are powerful because they can define our identity and become the foundation of who we are. Can you imagine what a life built on an “idiot” foundation would look like like? I’ve done ministry in rehab centers where people identify themselves as addicts, drunks, losers, and deadbeats – anything but beloved, which is what they are. This is why those in AA and other programs introduce themselves as “Hi, my name is (Jim/Dave/Martha, etc.)” because it is a public reclamation of their identity.
This is also why rebuking such names are so important in deliverance ministry. One simply cannot move forward in freedom until they overcome this obstacle. Throughout the course of my ministry, I’m very sensitive to such situations. Recently I met a woman who said she could not draw close to Jesus because she was told by a parent that “she was stupid and ruined everything she touched”. She’d always thought that since Jesus was pure, spotless and immaculate that by drawing close to Jesus, she would somehow soil Him so, in her mind, Jesus was someone she could only know from afar.
See how powerful names can be?
Then there are the names that inspire us in the opposite direction. The name Jesus for instance means “God saves”. [2] Or consider Saul (a name invoking greatness and pride) who later changes his name to Paul (meaning little or small) after he was humbled by the Lord. This transition is not uncommon and is still carried on today when the unbaptized (usually) take on the name of a saint at their baptism and those in religious orders take on a different name at their ordination.
Identity theft
The most important thing we own is our identity. This is why the evil one is the greatest identity thief ever. To take a line from the St. Michael prayer, the enemy prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls and he does so by making us question our own identities. He did it with Jesus in Mt 4:6 [3] and he does it to us every day of our lives. Illness is a result of our fallen nature and, as such, it too can be a tool for the evil one. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve prayed with who have taken on their ailment as their identity. In their mind, they are no longer Sue, or Jim or Jane, they are “cancer patient”, “fibromyalgia sufferer”, or “alcoholic”. I prayed with a man in rehab once and when I asked him how long he had been an alcoholic he said “since before I was born” because his mother was an alcoholic who drank during the pregnancy. And outside of the womb, when baby was fussy, the parents would put a little whisky into baby’s bottle to “calm” him. It’s no wonder that this man identified, not as Jim, but as an hopeless alcoholic. We worked though this and the resulting deliverance was beautiful.
I often wonder about the blind man in chapter five of John’s gospel whom Jesus asks the question “do you want to be healed?” The sacred writer of this Gospel does not name the man but instead refers to him as “the blind man of Bethesda”, and after thirty-eight years of blindness, that indeed was likely his identity.
Until he met Jesus that is.
I almost wish that the man’s name was added to the end of John 5:6 so that it reads “When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed,William?’” By reestablishing his identity from “the blind man at Bethesda” to “William” (or whatever his name was) the healing process could begin. Many times, I have seen people not healed because they cling to their disease and it’s title. I know of one woman in particular who did not want to be healed because she would lose her disability check from the government. Imagine if our friend William, when asked if he wanted to be healed, told Jesus, “Thanks, but no thanks because if I am healed, no one will give me alms any longer”. How sad!
Jesus is willing to heal us, but only if we are willing to accept it. Indeed, Jesus knew the power of a name. This is why He renamed Simon to Peter (thus claiming him as His own) and why exorcists command demons to reveal their names.
A name is a powerful handle
Knowing a person’s name lends a certain amount of power over them. For instance, if you are in a crowd and I shout out your name, I can get your attention. If a demon’s name is revealed in an exorcism, it’s game over for that demon because in this sense, the name becomes like a handle that can be used to lead them around (or draw them out). This is why God has no name because we can’t control Him or have any influence over Him. Our identity is the cornerstone of our being. We aren’t the blind, lame, fat or ugly person that society labels us, we are the children of God. This is our identity and taking on the identity that the world places on us is like rolling out a welcome mat for the evil one. This is why transgenderism and gender fluidity are so dangerous. This thinking is straight from the evil one who wants nothing more than to steal our identity. He knows who you are and, in whose image you were made. He doesn’t like it and can’t change it; but he has to follow it. And just as with a title (Lord, Lady, Duke, Duchess) comes property, with identity comes rights and distinctions. By voluntarily giving these up, we allow the evil one to take control of us. Deep down in our hearts we know we are valued and loved but the evil one introduces doubt, just like he did to Eve in the garden and makes us wonder, did God really say that?
It’s an old trick, but many still fall for it.
[1] This is a whole different topic about the value of work and how it is so closely tied to our identity.
[2] https://www.etymonline.com/word/jesus
[3] “and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (RSV)