This phrase “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” William Shakespeare uses this line in his play Romeo and Juliet to convey that the naming of things is irrelevant.
No one really knows the origin of names according to “The Society of Creative Anachronism”, however, evidence from archeology studies suggest that the earliest names likely had an original meaning or association to the individual. It is believed that during periods of prehistory name pools formed within the culture or tribes.
In the Scriptures, we know the name God gave the first man was “Adam”.
That name comes from the Hebrew word “Adamah”, meaning ground, earth and soil. After closer examination of scripture, the name “Adam” was not used officially until after the falling into sin in Genesis 3. Some versions mention Adam in Genesis 2:20 but the term used is more precisely means “the man” making it consistent with its usage until Genesis 3. It seems that God was satisfied with defining them as “man” and “woman” as being created in His image before they disobeyed. That was their definition. After their disobedience, they take on their earthly names, Adam naming Eve as being the mother of all living.
Adam had given the names to every creature that God had created. Even Adam knew the importance of names. Your name often identifies characteristics that are a part of your personality. For example, over the years Adam has come to mean this.
“Adam is a name that implies a “pioneering spirit”. You are a natural born leader, highly focused, and achievement oriented. Enduring hardships to try out new things come naturally to you. It frustrates you to do too many unimportant activities. You can do things and make decisions by yourself.”
In God’s view, a name is very important. Your name identifies who you are. God has known your name even before who were born; Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
That is simply incredible. The scriptures tell us that our names were written in the “Book of Life” before the foundations of the world. “The book of life,” also called “the scroll of life” or “book of remembrance,” contains the names of people in line to receive the gift of everlasting life. (Revelation 3:5; 20:12; Malachi 3:16) God determines those names based on a person’s faithful obedience to him.—John 3:16;1 John 5:3.
God has kept each of his loyal servants in his memory, as if writing their names down in a book, since “the founding of the world” of mankind. (Revelation 17:8) The faithful man Abel was apparently the first one whose name was recorded in the book of life. (Hebrews 11:4) It is not just a cold list of names, though, for the book of life shows us that Jehovah is a loving God who “knows those who belong to him.”—2 Timothy 2:19;1 John 4:8. Can the names be erased from the book of life? YES! God said regarding disobedient people in ancient Israel: “Whoever has sinned against me, I shall wipe him out of my book.” (Exodus 32:33). But if we prove faithful, we will remain in the “Scroll of Life” (Revelation 20:12). Very sobering indeed!!
The use of “last” names came to more use in the 11th century. The often depicted the name of your father or from the place you came. The most common name used during this time was the name “Smith”. Probably because many of the men of that day worked in the trades such as “Black smithing”. Solomon said this about the importance of having a good name in Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is to be desired or chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Often, names are changed to cover true identity. I come from the family name MacGregor from Scotland. My ancestors allegedly stole sheep from the oppressive lords and were being hunted down (Yes, Rob Roy is one of my ancestors). So, they changed our last name to “Black” to cover our identities and escape from Scotland to Canada. “Black” was as common as the name “Smith” in Scotland.
Passing family names to the next generation is often done to honor a parent or loved one. It was one my life’s most honoring and humbling moments when my daughter Ashley was pregnant with her second son, she told me that they had decided to call him “Owen Paul” as an honor to me. I wept as they told me.
Because a name was so much a part of a person, if you acted "in someone's name," you acted with their authority. That's why Mordecai could write a command in the name of King Ahasuerus and it became law (Exodus 8:8-10). Prophets sometimes spoke "in the name of God" to emphasize their authority.
In the scriptures, names were often changed to define a new or redeemed identity. Simon to Peter and Saul of Tarsus to Paul are examples. In fact, the scriptures say that God will give us new names in heaven. I am named after the Apostle Paul. Paul actually means “small” which denotes having a sense of humility.
The day I received Jesus, sixty years ago on June 2nd. I came out of my bedroom, there was a song playing on the radio “There’s A New Name Written Down in Glory, And it’s Mine”.
The scripture also says that Jesus will give us a new name in Heaven. (Revelation 2:17; 3:12)
“I will give him . . . a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. . . . I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
I believe it will reflect our new creation which we read about in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
How does the Lord view the importance of name? The late “John Paul Jackson” authored a book in which he researched well over 300 names for God. Every name defined a particular attribute of Him. Isaiah prophesied the names of the Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
One of the commandments gives a stern warning about the use of God’s name in Exodus 20:7 (ESV)
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
A commentary from “Christianity.com” defines “in vain” this way.
This includes throw-away words—like "God!" or "Jesus!"—as well as speaking about him in trifling and flippant ways. Not just swear ways but cheap ways, low and insignificant ways that just treat him like a commodity. And when you hear them, you sense that there is no weight to that sentence, no corresponding emotion to that statement. It seems to have just been gutted.
God, Christ, the cross, the things he is, and the things he did are great, and they're weighty. And there's a certain corresponding demeanor of worship that should be there.
So I think taking the Lord's name in vain is more than "O my God!" or "Jesus Christ!" It is that plus more.
The positive way to look at it is to revere God, love God, delight in God, know God, fill up God with all that he is. And then, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak. I think it is far better to take the commandments and not focus so much on the negative—that is "don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't kill"—but rather focus on where those come from, and put the emphasis there. And here, "don't take his name in vain" would mean that you take his name in vain because he is empty to you. Your mind doesn't feel the weight and fullness of his glory.
So that's the key: vain is empty. Don't empty God of his weight and his glory. Fill it up rather than emptying it.
My heart cringes when I hear someone cry, “Oh my God”, “Good Lord” or even “the Big Guy upstairs”. It shows that they’ve never been wrecked by the image of the glorified, risen Lord or His majesty! My prayer is “open their eyes, Lord Jesus, may we all be wrecked by the weight of Your glory.”
So, everything is in a name. If you trust Him, he gives you the right to be called “sons and daughters of God”, John 1:12 (ESV)
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.
I say all this to let you know that we are making subtle changes to our name “Cornerstone Fellowship Church”. We believe that a change in our name will better reflect and define who we are and what our roles are. Besides, there are many “Cornerstones Fellowships” out there and we want to better differentiate our role and vision for these last days. Our new name is “Cornerstone Frederick ARC”. We are maintaining the name “Cornerstone” because it brings us into proper alignment with Him, Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
The second name “Frederick” depicts our location and our vision. We are not a local church in a sense as we view things through an “apostolic” lens. We have never really done traditional “church” well. We’ve always seen ourselves as a “watering hole” for the region. That’s the reason people come from such a long distance to attend. We are not primarily a community, but we are a community based around Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
We have been in a spiritual battle for our city, region and nation for the last 31 years.
The last term “ARC” means “Apostolic Resource Center” and is a play on the word “ARK”. The “ARK” was a place of His presence, a place of His safety and protection and a place of His power. As an electrical ARC is a luminous electrical discharge between 2 electrodes or other points, so too, an ARC from Holy Spirit kills the flesh and “super-charges” the spirit.