Topics / Godhead
Each one is a claim
Names and Titles of Christ
Scripture never settles on one name for the Savior. Each title states a relationship or a function, and noticing which one a passage uses is one of the fastest ways to see what the passage is actually about.
18 min2 sections
The titles, and what each is for
| Title | Where | What it claims |
|---|---|---|
| Christ / Messiah | John 1:41; Matthew 16:16 | The Anointed One — an office, not a surname. |
| Jehovah / I AM | John 8:58; Moroni 10:34; D&C 110:3 | The divine name of Exodus 3:14, used of Himself. |
| Immanuel | Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23 | 'God with us' — the name is a sentence about distance closed. |
| Only Begotten | John 3:16; Moses 1:6 | Unique in the flesh: a mortal mother, an immortal Father. |
| Firstborn | Colossians 1:15; D&C 93:21 | First among the Father's spirit children, with the birthright's legal weight. |
| Son of Man | Moses 6:57; Daniel 7:13 | Son of the Man of Holiness — and the figure who receives an everlasting kingdom. |
| Lamb of God | John 1:29; 1 Nephi 11:21 | The Passover lamb, and the one Abraham was told God would provide. |
| Good Shepherd | John 10:11; Alma 5:38 | One who knows the sheep by name and dies for them, unlike the hireling. |
| Bread of Life | John 6:35, 48 | Said at Passover, of manna, in a synagogue — and it emptied the room. |
| Redeemer / Gōʾēl | Job 19:25; 3 Nephi 9:17 | The kinsman obliged to buy family out of slavery. Kinship is the qualification. |
| Advocate | 1 John 2:1; D&C 45:3–5 | One called alongside to plead the case, on the basis of His own record. |
| Mediator | 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Nephi 2:27 | One standing between two parties who cannot otherwise meet. |
| Alpha and Omega | Revelation 1:8; D&C 19:1 | First and last letters: the whole of a thing, beginning and end. |
| The Word | John 1:1; D&C 93:8 | Logos — God's self-expression, and the agent of creation. |
Principle
Which name a passage uses tells you what is being asked of Him there — Advocate where judgment is in view, Redeemer where debt is, Shepherd where people are lost.
Taking the name
8There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
9And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.
The covenant is stated as a name rather than as a set of terms, and the sacrament prayer keeps the formula every week: willing to take upon them the name of thy Son. In a culture where a name carried lineage, obligation and belonging, taking one was closer to adoption than to endorsement.
What this topic holds
Every title of Christ is a doctrinal claim compressed into a term of address.
Taking His name is the form the baptismal covenant takes, and the sacrament renews it weekly.
Check your reading
3 questions01What does the title Gōʾēl require of the Redeemer?
02What does 'Immanuel' mean?
03How does King Benjamin describe the covenant?
Where to go next
Sources