E VERY Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.' A.R.V. When we have the exact words which the writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used, not one of these words can be exchanged for a different one with advantage or without injury.
If Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, uses words which were not in common use among his people before the captivity, but were used in the Euphrates region, it was best that he should do so; being acquainted with the literature of the East these words were a part of his language, and the use of them shows that the book was written by one in his circumstances, and is therefore genuine.
If John uses the words true and truth in the sense of real and reality (John 1:17; Rev. 21:5, and elsewhere), it was best for him to so use them. If he uses the word own ('so then,' 'therefore,' 'to return to what I was saying,' etc.) more frequently than others do, that is right; it is a part of his language.
If Paul uses the words just, righteousness in a Pauline sense, it is because they were the best words for him to employ.
It has been said that no two persons speak the same language. And thus it is that the words used and the peculiar shade of meaning in which they are used serve to identify the writer; and the words and their peculiar use demand careful study.
In different parts of the Bible, by different writers and in different ages, the Creator is called by different names. And in no instance can the name used be exchanged for a different one with impunity. Each name has its own peculiar significance and force which should not be overlooked. Thus God in Gen. 1:1 to 2:3 is translated from Elohim, meaning the Almighty. It would seem that men knew and worshiped the Creator only as the Almighty for 235 years, till at the birth of Enosh they 'began . . . to call on the name of Jehovah.' Gen. 4:26. In Genesis, second and third chapters, the writer of what the critics term the second 'tract' calls Him LORD God (Jehovah Elohim), while Eve and the serpent are quoted as calling Him simply 'God,' that is, Elohim, the Almighty. While, therefore, what is called the first 'tract' copied by Moses into the book of Genesis (Gen. 1:1 to 2:3) may probably have been written before A.M. 325, this second6one (Gen. 2:3 to 3:24) must have been written after the birth of Adam's third son Sheth, A.M. 235. Eve and her children had by this time learned that her first-born son was not the promised 'Seed,' the looked-for, longed-for Son of Man.
There are other names by which the Creator is called in the Scriptures; and each has its own use and meaning. Then, too, Jehovah and Elohim ('LORD' and 'God,' in the old version), are the most common. And they are translated by the apostle John, writing by inspiration, in Rev. 1:8; 4:8, as, He 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.' If, then, we ask the full meaning of the name of Jehovah, it is not merely the Eternal; it includes past, present, and future—He 'who is and who was and who is to come.' He has revealed Himself in the past, is revealing Himself now, and will complete the revealing of Himself in the future.
In Rev. 11:17 He is called only 'Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast;' the 'who is to come' is omitted; for this is after the revelation of Himself which He is making in this present evil world (see Rom. 9:17, 22, 23) is completed,—the mystery (something that was unknown but is now revealed, as the word always means in the New Testament) of God is finished (Rev. 10:7).
The name, then, by which He is called in any given passage is not a matter of no consequence. If He is called God, it is that we may think of Him as the One in whom is all power, the Almighty; if LORD, in the Common Version, or Jehovah in the American Revised Version, the Holy Spirit calls our attention to Him as the ever-living covenant God; if Lord, it is as Master and Ruler. To observe the name will often give fuller sense and greater force to the passage.
There are many other words worthy of careful study. Such are repentance, faith, obedience, hope, charity (or love), grace, mercy, and peace; also church, baptism, and Sabbath. The loose or mistaken use of the last three words is the source of support of many harmful errors. The Bible writers, guided by the Holy Spirit, always use words with precision. Perhaps it might be said the devil hates careful and precise use of words. In this matter let us strive to displease him. 'That your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may distinguish the things that differ.' Phil. 1:9, 10, marginal reading.