A Complete Bible Study on the Name of the Lord

The phrase “the name of the Lord” appears throughout the Bible, representing the power, character, and authority of God Himself. Scripture does not treat God’s name as a mere label. It treats His name as bound up with who He is, what He is like, and how He makes Himself known. That is why God’s people are repeatedly shown calling on His name, trusting in His name, blessing in His name, and also being warned never to treat His name lightly. To call upon, proclaim, or revere the name of the Lord is central to the lives of God’s people because it signifies both an acknowledgment of His sovereignty and an invitation for His intervention and blessing. In this study, we will examine specific instances in Scripture where “the name of the Lord” is explicitly mentioned and consider what the Holy Spirit is teaching in each context.

The First Mention: Calling on the Name of the Lord in the Days of Seth

A worshipful turning back to God after the fall

And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 4:26)

This first mention is brief, but it is weighty. Genesis 4 records the early spread of sin and its bitter fruit, including jealousy, murder, and a widening separation between the ways of the ungodly and the ways of those who feared God. Against that dark background, Genesis 4:26 stands like a small window of light. “Then men began to call on the name of the LORD” shows that, even after the fall, God was not forgotten and He was not unreachable. People began to reach out to Him intentionally.

Calling on the name of the Lord implies more than speaking a word. It carries the sense of worship, dependence, and appeal. It is a posture of the heart that says, “Lord, You alone are God, and we need You.” It acknowledges that help does not rise from human strength but from the One whose name represents His authority and faithfulness. Later Scripture echoes this same spirit of dependence when it speaks of God’s help connected to His name.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)

From the beginning, God’s people were meant to be a people who call on Him, not merely think about Him. They were meant to speak to Him, seek Him, and publicly identify with Him. The first mention sets a pattern that continues throughout the Bible: when people recognize who God is, they respond by calling on His name.

Proclaiming the Name of the Lord: Moses’ Encounter

God defines His own name by revealing His character

Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7)

In Exodus 34, God does something essential for our understanding of what His name means. He proclaims His name, and what follows is not a spelling lesson but a declaration of His attributes. The Lord tells Moses what He is like. He is merciful and gracious. He is longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, and He is also just, never pretending guilt does not matter.

This teaches us that God’s name is not an empty sound. His name is a revelation. When the Lord proclaims His name, He is making Himself known as the faithful covenant God, the One who can be trusted, the One who judges righteously, and the One who delights in mercy. Proclaiming the name of the Lord, then, is never supposed to be superficial. It should be rooted in truth about God’s real character. True worship is not built on imagination, but on God’s self-revelation.

This also helps us understand why Scripture treats God’s name with such seriousness. If His name carries His character, then to honor His name is to honor Him. To misuse His name is to treat His character as common and His authority as small. Moses’ encounter presses us toward reverence, humility, and confidence at the same time. We can approach the Lord because He is merciful and gracious, and we must approach Him rightly because He is holy and just.

Proclaiming His name leads to worship and obedience

When God reveals His name, He is not merely giving information, He is calling His people to respond. Israel was meant to live as a people shaped by what God is like. If God is truthful, His people must love truth. If God is merciful, His people must learn mercy. If God is just, His people must not pervert justice. In that sense, proclaiming the name of the Lord is not only for the sanctuary. It shapes everyday life.

Blaspheming the Name of the Lord

The holiness of His name and the seriousness of dishonor

And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16)

This passage underscores the holiness of God’s name and the seriousness of treating it with contempt. Under the Law given to Israel, blaspheming the name of the Lord was not treated as a minor offense or careless speech. It was considered a direct assault on God’s authority and character. That severity can feel startling to modern ears, but Scripture is teaching something that every generation needs: God is not to be treated as common, and His name is not a toy.

Blasphemy is not limited to profanity. At its core, it is the lifting of the heart against God, the despising of Him, and the dishonoring of what He has revealed about Himself. The name of the Lord is connected to His glory, and to speak of Him in a way that mocks or belittles is to sin against the very One who gives breath, life, and truth.

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. (Exodus 20:7)

Exodus 20:7 adds another layer. Taking God’s name “in vain” speaks of carrying His name lightly, using it emptily, attaching it to falsehood, or invoking it without reverence. Even when people are not openly cursing, they can still misuse God’s name by speaking as if they represent Him when they do not, or by using His name to give weight to their own desires. The point is clear: God’s name is holy, and His people must handle it with fear and love.

Reverence is not fear of punishment alone

Reverence for God’s name is not meant to be merely terror of consequences. It is meant to be a relational honor. If God is truly merciful and gracious, then His people should not want to dishonor Him. Respect for His name becomes a way of guarding the heart against casual unbelief. It trains the tongue to speak truthfully and the mind to remember that God is present, God is watching, and God is worthy.

Calling on the Name of the Lord for Deliverance

Faith expressed through prayer in the day of trouble

I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!” (Psalm 116:1-4)

In the Psalms, calling on the name of the Lord often rises out of affliction. It is the language of someone who knows where help is found. Psalm 116 is personal and vivid. The psalmist describes danger and sorrow, then tells us what he did: he called upon the name of the Lord. This is not magic. It is not a formula. It is faith turning toward the God who hears.

Calling on the name of the Lord for deliverance is an act of trust. It assumes that God is strong enough to save, compassionate enough to care, and near enough to respond. It is also an act of humility, because it admits weakness. Many people want deliverance without dependence, but the Bible repeatedly joins deliverance to calling on God. God’s people are not shown as those who never struggle. They are shown as those who run to the Lord in the struggle.

This also helps clarify what it means to “call” on His name. It is more than saying, “Lord,” while continuing in stubborn self-reliance. The calling described in Scripture is earnest, sincere, and Godward. It is the heart lifting its need to God and clinging to Him as Savior and Shepherd.

God’s name and God’s ear

Psalm 116 ties calling on God to the confidence that He hears. That matters because many believers are tempted to measure God’s nearness by feelings. The psalmist measures God’s nearness by truth. “He has inclined His ear to me.” When we call on the name of the Lord, we are not shouting into emptiness. We are praying to the living God, the Creator who invites His people to seek Him and trust Him.

The Name of the Lord as a Place of Refuge

A strong tower for those who live by faith

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

Proverbs 18:10 gives us one of the clearest pictures in all Scripture concerning God’s name. It likens the name of the Lord to a strong tower, a fortified place where the vulnerable can find safety. In ancient times, a strong tower was not decorative. It was survival. When danger came, people ran to the place that could hold against attack.

To say that the name of the Lord is a strong tower is to say that God Himself is a refuge. His name stands for His power, His reliability, and His covenant faithfulness. The righteous do not run to their own understanding as their final defense. They do not run to wealth, status, or human strength as their ultimate shelter. They run to the Lord. That is why this verse connects safety with the righteous, not because they are sinless in themselves, but because they are rightly oriented toward God in trust and obedience.

This refuge is not only for the moment of crisis. It is a way of life. The righteous “run” to it. That implies urgency and regularity. God’s people learn to make God their first place of safety, whether the threat is physical, emotional, spiritual, or relational.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

Psalm 20:7 strengthens this same truth. Trust always attaches to something. The question is not whether someone trusts, but what they trust. Scripture calls us to remember and rely on the name of the Lord, because He is the only refuge that cannot collapse.

Salvation in the Name of the Lord

The promise in Joel and its New Testament proclamation

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32)

Joel 2:32 directly connects the name of the Lord with salvation. This is not merely rescue from a passing trouble. The promise speaks of being “saved,” and it places salvation in the context of God’s deliverance. The emphasis is simple and strong: whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. God’s invitation is not presented as narrow in the sense of being reserved for a select few ethnic families only. It is presented as open to “whoever,” meaning any person who turns to the Lord in true faith.

Calling on the name of the Lord, in this context, is not casual speech. It is a response to God’s revealed truth. It is turning to Him as the only Savior, the only Deliverer. It includes repentance, because you do not call on the Lord to save while insisting on clinging to sin and unbelief. It includes trust, because you are placing your hope in God rather than in yourself.

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

Peter cites Joel’s promise in Acts 2, showing its living relevance. He preaches Christ, calls his hearers to respond, and anchors the hope of salvation in God’s faithful word. This is not a contradiction between Old Testament and New Testament. It is fulfillment. The Lord who promised salvation to those who call on His name is the same Lord who has provided salvation through Jesus Christ.

For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Paul later repeats the same promise in Romans 10, placing it in a clear gospel context. The consistent testimony of Scripture is that salvation is found by calling on the Lord in faith. The name of the Lord is not a charm; it is the revealed identity of the living God who saves. That is why the Bible can speak with such confidence: whoever calls on Him will not be put to shame, because the Lord is faithful to His name.

Blessing in the Name of the Lord

Welcoming the one who comes representing the Lord

Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. (Psalm 118:25-26)

Psalm 118:26 gives another important angle. The name of the Lord is not only called upon in prayer. It is also carried and represented. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD” is a joyful greeting, spoken for those who come as God’s representatives, those who come under His authority and for His purposes. The blessing is connected to the name because the mission is connected to the Lord. The one who comes in His name comes not merely with private ambition, but with a God-given commission.

In the Old Testament setting, this language fits the worship life of Israel and the welcoming of those who came to the house of the Lord. It also becomes richly meaningful in the New Testament because it is associated with the coming of the Messiah. The One who comes in the name of the Lord comes with God’s authority, God’s truth, and God’s saving purpose.

for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Matthew 23:39)

Jesus quotes this verse, connecting it to Himself. That connection strengthens the theme of this entire study: God’s name is bound up with God’s work. Where the Lord is truly at work, His name is honored. Where the Lord is truly recognized, His name is blessed. And where the Messiah is received as God’s answer, God’s name is not diminished but magnified, because God’s saving plan is being acknowledged.

Blessing and confession belong together

This also challenges us. It is possible to speak religious words while the heart is far away. But blessing “in the name of the Lord” implies sincerity. It implies agreement with God’s purposes. The Scripture shows that the right response to God’s messengers, and supremely to Christ Himself, is not suspicion and hardness, but reverent reception and worshipful confession. God’s name is honored when we respond to God’s truth the way He calls us to respond.

My Final Thoughts

The phrase “the name of the Lord” throughout Scripture is more than a religious expression. It speaks of God Himself, His character, His authority, and His saving power. From the earliest days after the fall, people began to call on His name, showing dependence and worship. When God proclaimed His name to Moses, He revealed that His name includes mercy, grace, patience, truth, forgiveness, and justice. Because His name is holy, Scripture warns strongly against blasphemy and against carrying His name in vain. Yet that same holy name is also presented as a refuge. The righteous run to it and are safe, and the afflicted call on His name for deliverance.

Most importantly, God ties salvation to calling on His name, promising that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That promise is preached openly in the New Testament and fulfilled in the message of Jesus Christ. The name of the Lord is also connected to blessing, because those who come in His name come under His authority and for His purposes.

As believers, we should learn to treat God’s name with reverence, not only in speech but also in the way we live. We honor His name when we trust Him, when we pray, when we obey His Word, when we refuse to use His name lightly, and when we look to Him alone for salvation and refuge. May the Lord teach us to call on His name with sincere faith and to walk in a way that brings honor to the One whose name is above all.