Lesson Five ~ El Shaddai, Almighty God, Part One

ALMIGHTY GOD, THE GOD WHO IS MORE THAN ENOUGH

Definition:

El Shaddai – El, the singular form of Elohim, means the ‘Strong One.’ Shaddai (#7706) is literally all-sufficient or self-sufficient, and is rendered ‘Almighty.’ This name also suggests the ‘plural of majesty.’ Shaddai comes from the Hebrew word ‘shad,’ meaning breast, or the many-breasted one, signifying nourishment, productiveness and supply.  It means ‘the breasted one’ ‘the strong nourisher,’ ‘strength-giver,’ ‘satisfier,’  ‘all-bountiful’, ‘unlimited,’ ‘the supplier of the needs of his people,’ and the ‘pourer or shedder forth of blessings.’ It is also derived from the word field – as the fields produce abundance. The Hebrew root word ‘shadad,’ means to overpower or destroy.

El Shaddai may be literally translated, ‘God the Mountain One.’ Like the mountains themselves, God is seen as strong and unchanging. El Shaddai reveals God not only as the one who creates and maintains the universe, but who initiates and maintains a covenant with his people. (Praying the Names of God, p. 42, Ann Spangler.)

 

The name “El Shaddai” is mainly associated with the "Covenant of Circumcision" and the miraculous birth of Isaac, which God had promised in His covenant with Abraham and Sarah.

Foundation Scripture:  "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me and be blameless (or perfect.) I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." Genesis 17:1-2

The Covenant of Circumcision and Summary of Genesis 17 and Genesis 18:1-15

As part of the eternal covenant with Abram, The LORD changed Abram and Sarai's names. Abram, "Exalted Father," became Abraham, "Father of many nations." Sarai, "princess," became Sarah, "Mother of Nations and kings." The Hebrew word for "LORD" is Yahweh, or Jehovah, and the letters 'ah,' which are the 'breath' sound of God's name, the "heth," were taken from the LORD's name and made a part of Abraham and Sarah's names. (Abr-ah-am and Sar-ah) God is saying He will be their God and the God of their descendants. Once again, God promised Abraham and his descendants the entire land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.

Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and Abraham’s seed. This sign showed that they were set apart from other people, and had entered into a covenant with their God.  Every male child, whether slave or free, must be circumcised on their 8th day. If they were not circumcised they were to be cut off from their people. The shedding of blood was a part of the covenant process. Circumcision sealed the covenant and reminded them of it.

Abraham laughed in amazement that he and Sarah would have a child at their age. Sarah also laughed in disbelief. God confirms that they will have a child, and that his name will be Isaac, which means 'laughter"! Abraham asked if Ishmael could live under the blessing. God said he had heard Abraham's request and would bless Ishmael and make him into a great nation. The covenant, though, was reserved for Isaac. God said Sarah would give birth to Isaac by that same time next year. That day, Abraham, Ishmael, and all of the males in his household were circumcised.

Another kind of circumcision is mentioned in the bible ~ "circumcision of the heart."

Circumcision of the heart in the Old Covenant

• "Circumcise your hearts…and do not be stiff-necked anymore." Deuteronomy 10:16

•  “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

• “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

• "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:33 NIV

These scriptures say that God will circumcise our hearts, and those of our descendants, so that we may love him, and live. He will give us new hearts, and put a new spirit in us. If our hearts are circumcised, we are going to love him. If we love him, we are going to obey him, because we want to please him. Having a new heart means that our LORD is alive in our hearts and we will have eternal fellowship with him. A new covenant was coming, and in it would be God's law written in our minds and on our hearts.



Circumcision of the heart in the New Covenant

"Using circumcision as a metaphor, (Paul) says that only the Holy Spirit can purify a heart and set us apart to God. Ultimately, circumcision cannot make a person right with God; the Law is not enough. A person's heart must change. Paul calls this change "circumcision of the heart." (Got Questions Ministries, "What is Circumcision of the Heart?")

"Someone born (physically) under the Old Covenant received the sign of that covenant (circumcision); likewise, someone born (spiritually) under the New Covenant ("born again," John 3:3) receives the sign of that covenant (baptism)." Got Questions Ministries, "Is Baptism the New Covenant equivalent of Circumcision?")

Our hearts are circumcised in Christ, by the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the law was to lead us to Christ so we could be made right in God's sight by faith. God is looking for committed, trusting and faithful hearts. We want the real deal of having Christ in our lives. We desire to know him on a personal and intimate level. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more wonderful and amazing than when he reveals himself to us in a profound way. Likewise, Christ wants the real deal with us. He wants all of us. He goes after us to reveal himself to us. We need to respond to him with a belief in him. We must believe that exists. We need to believe that God sent his Son to pay the price for our sins so that we could have eternal life with them. We cannot fake being a believer in Christ. We can't get baptized for "fire" insurance. God knows our hearts far better than we do. If we have received Christ in our hearts, he lives there, and our bodies are his temple. We can say we receive Christ as our Savior, yet we must believe it with our hearts, our spirits. When we do that, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, comes to live inside of us and we become one with him. If he has our hearts, he has us, and we have him.

 If our hearts have been circumcised, and he lives in us, we can trust that he is with us and will reveal his truth in every situation we face in life.

Supporting Scripture ~

• A CIRCUMCISED HEART  ~ “Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. A  man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.” Romans 2:25-29

• A CIRCUMCISION BY CHRIST ~ “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:9-14

• GOD JUSTIFIES US BY FAITH ~ “Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ”The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”  Galatians 3:6-14

•  THE LAW SERVED TO LEAD US TO CHRIST~ "Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” Galatians 3:23-25

•  WE ARE HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE ~ "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NAS)

• THOSE WHO BELIEVE GOD RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD ARE CREDITED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH ~ “Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to him. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. The promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace, guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God who gives life to the dead and calls those things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “It was credited to him were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:11-25

• See more about righteousness by faith in Romans 3:21-31 

Personal Applications: 

What is God’s covenant with you? What is His part and what is your part?

• "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

• "For it is with your heart that you believe, and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:10-13

• "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

• "But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises." Hebrews 8:6

Next Blog:

El Shaddai, Part 2