My Name Shall Be Great among the Gentiles

 

The passage above is a prophecy which God gave through the prophet Malachi, declaring that in the future His name would be great among the Gentiles, from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same. Since God surely fulfills what He has spoken (Num. 23:19, Ezek. 17:24), we can confirm through the New Testament, and also through us today, that this word has indeed been fulfilled just as it was spoken.

 

In fact, in the Old Testament age, God was not known among the Gentile nations as their God. This is because God Himself said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” and among many nations He chose the children of Israel as His holy people.

 

Exodus 3:6 “Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

Deuteronomy 7:6-7 “6For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 7Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples.”

 

Nevertheless, it is truly amazing that God caused not only the prophet Malachi, but also other prophets, to proclaim that when the time came, the gospel would be preached to the Gentiles and the name of God would become great among the Gentile nations. The Bible explains the reason for this as follows.

 

Romans 2:23-29 “23thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God? 24For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written. 25For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision. 26If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision? 27and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law? 28For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: 29but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

 

Acts 28:22-28 “22But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against. 23And when they had appointed him a day, they came to him into his lodging in great number; to whom he expounded the matter, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening. 24And some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers, 26saying, Go thou unto this people, and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive: 27For this people’s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them. 28Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear.”

 

Acts 13:44-49 “44And the next sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. 46And Paul and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth. 48And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. 49And the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region.”

 

Through the testimony of these passages, we can know that although the Jews boasted in the law of God, they dishonored the name of God by transgressing that law. And though they were God’s people, because they did not see or hear the word of God, this salvation turned toward the Gentiles.

Then, on the other hand, what would have happened if the Jews had received by faith the gospel preached by Jesus and by His disciples? Would the gospel have been preached only to the Jews, as in the Old Testament age? The answer to this is given through the following passage.

 

Romans 11:11-12 “11I say then, Did they stumble that they might fall? God forbid: but by their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

 

That is right. If the fall and failure of the Jews became the riches of the Gentiles, then if they had first received the gospel preached by Jesus and His disciples, Jesus Christ would have been preached even more abundantly to the Gentiles of the world. What, then, does this word teach us? It teaches us that God is not only the God of the children of Israel, but the God of all mankind.

 

Acts 10:34-35 “34And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him.”

 

Psalm 22:27-28 “27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah; And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28For the kingdom is Jehovah’s; And he is the ruler over the nations.”

 

That is right. Because God is the ruler over the nations, whoever fears God and walks by faith in any nation is received by Him. God is not one who judges people by outward appearance as man does.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 “But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart.”

 

Therefore, now there is no distinction at all between the Jew and the Greek, that is, the Gentile. “Whosoever” calls upon the name of God, that is, the name of Jesus, by faith can be saved. This is what the prophet Malachi prophesied, and this is the gospel that has come even to us.

 

Romans 10:12-13 “12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: 13for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord—the name of Jesus—shall be saved.”

 

Jesus is the One who is Lord of all. Therefore, the name of the Lord is not the name of Jehovah (Joel 2:32), but the name of Jesus. In the same context, the word spoken above through the prophet Malachi—“my name shall be great among the Gentiles, from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the Gentiles”—does not speak of the name of Jehovah, but of the name of Jesus. That is why the Jews of that time, though they heard the gospel preaching the name of Jesus, did not receive it, and sadly this continues even to this day. In the future, the Jews must see the name of Jesus made great among the Gentiles and, even through jealousy, believe that Jesus is God and receive salvation in the name of Jesus.

 

Romans 11:14 “if by any means I may provoke to jealousy them that are my flesh, and may save some of them.”

Acts 4:12 “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.”

 

Today, the fact that we Gentiles are able to hear the message of salvation through the name of Jesus, as we do now, is entirely because of the word of God proclaimed through the prophet Malachi and through many other prophets (Eph. 2:8, 11-13). According to the word He had spoken, God has made the name of Jesus great among us Gentiles. Therefore, we who have received this grace must not become proud. Rather, we must humble ourselves all the more, believe in the name of Jesus, and strive to live a humble life that exalts the name of Jesus.

 

Romans 11:20-22 “20Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. 22Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God’s goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

 

As this passage says, if we forsake our first love and our first faith, God will remove our candlestick out of its place, just as He did not spare the natural branches (Rev. 2:4-5). Therefore, we must always live humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus, in word and in deed. And if we live in this way for the name of Jesus, in every place, Jesus will always be with us in grace and peace.

 

Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 “...with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

 

Amen.