Jean’s Gospel: Introducing The Lord’s Prayer: Hallowed Be Thy Name

Introducing The Lord’s Prayer: Hallowed Be Thy Name

“Hallowed be thy name.”

 In this first petition, we pray that God’s name will receive the highest honor and be kept holy.

This first petition focuses on God’s name and holiness. Let us explore these terms for the substance of this petition. As with all of the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer, the better we understand each petition, the better we will be able to pray them.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19)

God by nature is ineffable and unapproachable. When Moses asked God His name, “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’” (Ex 3:14) But for our sake God also is relational. Therefore, He promises relationships and makes Himself available through His name. For example, in the Old Testament, God’s covenant name with the Israelites was “YHWH” (which most modern English Bible translations render “Lord”). “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” (Ps. 116:1-2)

When Jesus came, He made a New Covenant, promising new relationships between God and His people. For example: God will be our Father and we will be His children; the Son of God, our Lord, Jesus Christ, will be our Savior; and the Holy Spirit will be our Helper. All of God’s names, as revealed in the Scriptures, are inherently holy, but these names of the New Covenant, given to us through the Gospel, deserve the highest honor, because they hold the promises of citizenship in His kingdom and eternal life.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)

God has always been the Triune God (or “Trinity”). We get hints of the Trinity in the Old Testament, but it is not until the New Testament that Jesus revealed God as one God in three distinct Persons. This means that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all share in the same holiness and works and, therefore, are worthy of the same highest honor. Likewise, if one dishonors one Person of the Trinity, he or she is dishonoring the other two Persons as well. Because our salvation is bestowed in the names of the Triune God, when we pray this first petition, let us pray for the hallowing of our Father, His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Let us now turn to the hallowing of God’s name.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa 6:3)

The root of all holiness is in God alone. God by nature is holy. Holiness is one of God’s divine attributes, which conveys the following qualities: He is Almighty (Ps 91:1); He is unique and distinct from all creation (1 Sam 2:2); and He is opposed to sin (1 Pet 1:16).

By contrast, human beings and all of creation, by nature are unholy. Human beings are mortal, sinful creatures, and the rest of creation has likewise been corrupted by sin. By nature it is impossible for human beings to honor or keep God’s name holy.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Pet 2:9)

While God alone by nature is holy, He may share His holiness by separating and devoting people and things to Himself when and where it pleases Him. To provide a few examples: God blessed the seventh day and made it holy; He declared the ground before the burning bush holy; He made the Tabernacle furnishings holy; and He shares His holiness with people when the Holy Spirit calls them through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bestows them with repentance and faith.

It must be underlined that God’s holiness always belongs to Him. He shares it with his children, adopted through the Gospel, but our holiness is relational, it never belongs to us. Our holiness (or “sanctification”) is tied directly to our right standing (or “justification”) before God.

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3)

At the crux of this first petition – hallowed be thy name – is the problem that one must first share in Christ’s holiness before he or she can honor and keep God’s name holy. A person who has not shared in His holiness (or been sanctified) is unable and unwilling to hallow God’s name. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt 12:34)

“I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” (Ps 138:2)

This means there is a nexus between God’s name and His Word. For God’s Word must first be proclaimed by which repentance and faith in His name are given to individuals, who then are given Christ’s name (Christ-ian), and share in His holiness. This justification of lost sinners through the proclamation of God’s Word honors God’s name and manifests its holiness. When Christians continue to hear and study God’s Word, His Word continues its sanctifying effect, bearing the fruit of a godly life, which further honors and keeps His name holy.

Therefore when we pray this compact petition, we are asking our Father to grant us all of the following blessings:

1.To faithfully and continually receive Your holy Word. Sanctify us Father by Your Word, so that we honor and keep Your name holy by our thoughts, words and deeds. Keep us from profaning Your holy name. Rouse us to delight in worshipping You and hearing Your Word. Provide us with faithful churches and pastors who proclaim your Word in purity.

2. We intercede for all unbelievers. Father, grant them the opportunity to hear Your Word proclaimed for them in purity. You have promised that Your Word “shall succeed in the thing for which [you] sent it” (Isa 55:11). Have mercy on them and grant them repentance and faith in Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

3. Father, put a stop to, and end, all lies, heresies, blasphemies, false beliefs, false worship and false teachings against Your holy Word and Your holy name. Amen.

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.” (Trisagion Hymn)

Next week we will continue with the second petition: “Thy kingdom come.”

Copyright © 2016 Jean Dragon – All rights reserved.