The Vocabulary of Messiahship
Names identify and describe. In biblical thought a name was an expression of the nature of its bearer. The Hebrew word for name is shem, meaning “memorial.” To declare one’s name was to reveal one’s self. Nowhere is the importance of properly descriptive names more evident than in names of Deity.
Alpha and Omega—The first and last letters of the Greed alphabet are used as a name title for Christ. They represent the timeless and eternal nature of the attributes of Deity.
Bridegroom—Christ is the Bridegroom. The church is his bride in waiting.
Christ—Greek Christos meaning ‘to anoint’. Hebrew Messiah meaning anointed one.
Creator—Both the Father and Son bear the title creator. All acts of creation are the labor of the Son under the direction of the Father. The exception is the creation of man.
Deliverer—Christ is the Deliverer. It is synonymous with Savior and Redeemer. See Savior.
Endless—As a noun, it is one of the names of Deity. It signifies His unending, eternal continuance.
Firstborn—Christ is the Firstborn, meaning that he was the first spirit child born to God the Father.
I am—This is Christ. It means that he is the eternal one who is from all eternity to all eternity. Similar to Jehovah.
Jehovah—This is the covenant name or proper name of the God of Israel. It is the Anglicized form of the name Yahweh which is derived from the Hebrew word meaning “to be”.
Jesus—Is the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew name Yoshua, which means “Jehovah is salvation”. In English it would be Joshua.
LORD—The most frequently used name for Christ in the scriptures.
Messiah—the anointed one.
Redeemer—In most cases used like Deliverer and Savior. But to redeem means to pay for, to acquire something in exchange for proper payment. Thus Christ is our Redeemer because he paid for our sins.
Savior—He who saves us from physical death and spiritual death.
Son of Man—The Father was known as Man of Holiness and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man of Holiness, or in its abbreviated form, the Son of Man. Joseph Smith received a revelation in which the question was put, What is the name of God in the pure language? The answer came, ‘Ahman’. A second question was, “What is the name of the Son of God?”, and the answer came “Son Ahman”. As nearly as we can tell, Man of Holiness is the English rendition of Ahman, and Son of Man of Holiness, of Son Ahman.