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In a previous blog article, I tried to summarize the view developed by Old Testament scholar, Carmen Imes, on what it means that human beings are made in God’s image. I have only summarized her view as I understand it from a conversation on the Holy Post podcast (with some thoughts of my own added in), but she wrote a whole book about it!

The book, Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters, was recently published as a prequel to her previous book, Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. The previous book on bearing God’s name, in turn, was distilled from Imes’ doctoral dissertation.

Her observations are profound in my book! (Which I don’t have because I am speaking figuratively now.) Having summarized her view on human beings being made in God’s image, I am turning now to the significance of bearing God’s name and not taking His name in vain.

Imes says we don’t bear (take on) God’s image because we are (already made in) God’s image, but we do take on (bear) God’s name if we are His covenant people. The significance of taking on God’s name is what is implicated in the third commandment: thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain.

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This commandment implicates our whole lives! We who take God’s name are His representatives in the world. We bear or carry His name, so what we do, and who we are, and how we represent God, who’s name we carry, matters deeply!

Every human being is made in image of God, but only God’s covenant people bear His name. Every member of the human race is invited to join the covenant community, but until people join themselves to God’s covenant community, they do not take His name.

Thus, Imes says, “It’s impossible for a nonbeliever to take God’s name in vain.” They haven’t taken His name at all, so they cannot violate the command not to take God’s name in vain. If a person doesn’t take God’s name in the first place, he/she cannot take His name in vain.

Remember that God revealed His proper name, Yahweh, only to His covenant people. Yahweh was not revealed to all people at the time the commandments were given to Moses. The name of God, Yahweh, was only revealed to Israel in the context of the covenant God made with them.

In New Testament verbiage, we are ambassadors of Christ if we have been born again and accepted Christ as our Lord. When we are born again, we take on the “heredity” of God as His children. When we accept Jesus as Lord, we “take his name”: we become identified as Christ followers, traditionally known as Christians.

Because we are followers of Christ who bear his name, everything we do and say is a reflection of Him. We are representatives of the kingdom of God. We carry His flag as we live our lives in the world. (If, indeed, we are not ashamed to be called by His name.)

If we reduce the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain simply to verbiage (don’t swear using God’s name), we fundamentally misunderstand the commandment. I am guilty as charged! Carmen Imes has opened my eyes.

Certainly, respect for God suggests that we should not use God’s name as a swear word, but the import and meaning of the commandment is so much more than that. It is wrapped up in what it means to have a relationship with God.

When we enter into a relationship with God, we take His name. Just as a child bears the name of her father, and a wife take the names of her husband, we bear the name and take the name of God when we enter into relationship with Him.

Bearing or taking the name of someone is much more than verbiage. It includes association, resemblance, representation, and more. I can’t recall the number of times people have said I resemble my father. Not just in my looks, but in some of my mannerisms and in other ways.

My children are often told they “look like a Drendel”. I am not even sure what people mean by that! I see them as distinctly different people and personalities, but others see a resemblance and mannerisms and other characteristics that are associated with my family.

The Ancient Near East (and many cultures around the world even today) are characterized as honor/shame cultures. In such a culture, the honor of the family name is paramount. Any actions or behavior by a member of the family that is shameful brings shame on the entire family.

The United States does not really have an honor/shame culture, but we value reputation. People in business, such as myself, work their entire lives to achieve and maintain a good reputation. Reputation has such value that we call it “good will”, and the good will of a business that is sold is often the most valuable component of the sale.

We have laws that compensate victims whose reputation has been harmed by deceit and falsehood. People will say that “a good reputation is everything”!

Another way of describing a good reputation is to say that someone “has a good name”. Thus, even in a culture that is not heavily influenced by an honor/shame mentality, people value their name.

We also understand that bearing another person’s name is a matter of grave importance and consequence. Laws of agency hold agents responsible to the principals they represent, and vice versa.

Thus, when an employee is careless during the course of employment and causes injury to other people, the employer can be held responsible. When a partner, or an officer of a corporation, or person acting in some other agency capacity signs a contract on behalf of an entity, the entity is bound by that contract.

When we take and bear the name of someone else, we become their representatives, and our actions and behaviors have significant legal, social, and other consequences for them. Thus, when we take God’s name and bear His name, our actions and behavior – everything we do and say – has consequences.

We have probably all heard someone complain about hypocrisy in the church. When outsides (or even “insiders”) see us (followers of Christ) acting hypocritically, saying one thing and doing another, being mean, spiteful, vindictive, unkind, ungrateful, gossiping, compromising values and not being a “good witness”, we do not represent God well.

Worse, we do damage to God’s reputation! We do damage to His “name”.

On the one hand, Jesus says:

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

On the other hand, if we dare to “go public” as a follower of Jesus, our behavior matters. We should not take His name lightly. We do damage to His name, and we violate the commandment not to take His name in vain if we do not live a life worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27) and worthy of the calling we have received. (Eph. 4:1)

Paul says we do this by being humble and gentle, patient, and bearing with one another in love. (Eph. 4:2) So often we focus on the warning of Jesus not to be ashamed of the Gospel, and we feel like we need to be gladiators for God. In reality, God wants us to be representative of His character.

God will accomplish His purposes, and He doesn’t need us to “draw swords” to accomplish His will. He does want us to be authentic representatives of His character, ambassadors for Christ, who understand the import and significance of the way we carry ourselves and bear God’s name to the world.