Name

By Linda Mihalic

A name is a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought is designated, called, or known. To name means to identify, specify, or mention by name.The Oxford English Dictionary

Name is both the Creator’s—and a creator’s—primary law of expression as an abstract law of being, and law of doing. The name of a thing is a word, part of The Word, no matter what part of speech is under consideration—whether a noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction or article. The name of a thing is directly rooted in that thing’s source of being, life and existence. This is true of all things as potential or in existence. Nothing can come into existence unless God names it. God is the Source of All, including the names of everything.


“Name, identity, has a fixed meaning in a universe of change.”


God Himself remains essentially nameless and unnamed to His creations, which are all subsequent and subordinate to Him. The designation, God, comes from Old High German, Got, originally a neuter-gender noun that transitioned to masculine after the advent of Christianity. Name Greek όνομα

So, God, although nameless, holds all names within His being. All things have a name. Every creation must be numbered, named and declared good and very good. Name dictates the form of everything in Creation; number dictates its place within the heavenly hierarchy.

Name is the principle governing the use of the spoken Word, which is let in English and latet in Hebrew (לָתֵת), without which no creation can occur. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."—Genesis 1:3-4.

To let a thing be is to call it into form by naming it — "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field."—Genesis 2:19-20.

Adam accurately identified and named all the creatures brought before him, proving to the Elohim (God’s host of lesser ministering creator gods) that he was ontologically anterior and superior to the rest of the animal kingdom, the living creatures. Being able to name things properly means that one can see the coordinate relationship between the soul and the thing, and to speak the Word that defines it. Only then does the thing come into form. Thus, in the mystical kabbalistic sense, the name is the thing.

Name is the topic of discussion in Plato’s Dialog, Cratylus. According to British Idealist and Platonic scholar A. E. Taylor,

"Cratylus…holds that the inventors of the first names must have known the truth about things in order to give each its "true" name, and also that the truth about things can only be discovered by the study of names. How then did the original makers of names discover it? Perhaps, says Cratylus, the first names were of a superhuman origin; language began as a divine revelation, and its divine origin guarantees the "rightness" of the primitive names."







Edna Lister on Name

The very name of Christ invokes God’s Power.—Edna Lister, Beatitudes, January 29, 1933.


Identity has a fixed meaning in a universe of change. When dealing with a system of change, identity is how things are named. We name family relationships, planets and luminaries in our solar system, hot and cold, day and night. These things may change size, shape or place, but we can always discern a continuity of identity through its name. So it is with soul.—Edna Lister, Philosophy, January 27, 1936.


From the innermost Source to the universe’s outermost periphery, the absolute principles of equilibrium and harmony express as and act through six fundamental principles of Light, color, tone, number, and name, which designates form.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.


Name governs the spoken Word. The original Word is the Logos — "God said, "Let Light be’ and Light is."—Genesis 1:3. (YLT version) "Let there be Light" precipitates Light as unnamed life sparks into a place where God may gestate them in the form of their new name. "God saw the Light, that it was good."—Genesis 1:4.


By naming your prayer molds and declaring them good, God’s potential power kinetically sends substance into the final condensing vibration to make that substance visible. Every earthly creation must follow this formula, you must number, name and declare them good.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.


Once God numbers and names the life sparks, no one can change the vibration, so they forever vibrate in harmony with the living soul for whom they are named.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.


The principle of name is the magnet that must attract the Love-as-substance to fill your prayer mold before it can become visible. The first magic Word is LET and the final magic name is Good. To add "This is good and very good" to "Let there be Light," is the secret of all miracles. Without this formula, miracles may be long-delayed, and your molds may not become visible form. "Let" complies with the law of "believing to see," believing that you already have that for which you ask.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.


Recognition, which means "to know again," is a universal faculty that you use to place a person or a thing, to name it. You recognize something when it strikes you hard enough to affect your consciousness. Recognition names it, reveals its value, and you either accept or reject it.—Edna Lister, Five Steps in Ascension, April 16, 1950.


Jesus warns us of the danger of calling another names in contempt: "Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."—Matthew 5:21. If you even think a name, you set the law of action and reaction into operation. Like a boomerang, whatever you aim at another returns to strike you.—Edna Lister, The First Days, June 17, 1951.


All the names of God in the Bible are different phases of expressions of the one life.—Edna Lister, June 19, 1951.


God gives universal substance a new name and number as He bestows the living soul.—Edna Lister, The Candle of Glory, June 24, 1951.


You stamp your name in black with every ugly epithet you call another, as you create darkness. Nothing lies between blessing and cursing; no difference separates a country and a man you curse—you invest your soul substance in both. You invest soul substance in whatever you condemn. In an extreme case, you could lose your body by criticizing your worst favorite, who lives on your soul substance. You give him a chunk of you, opinion by opinion, until you have nothing left. You must recall all the soul substance you invested as you stamped your name all over those whom you have criticized and condemned.—Edna Lister, I Agree in Time, July 1, 1951.


God bestows your credits as intuition and illumination when you love Him and magnify His name.—Edna Lister, July 15, 1951.


How can you learn the geometry of the universe if you do not memorize its mathematical rules? You cannot get proper answers unless you learn rules. Call things by their proper names or you cannot know success.—Edna Lister, July 24, 1951.


If you want to lift darkness, call it by name—for instance, jealousy. Say, "Let Name now desire to be lifted above her jealousy."—Edna Lister, The Flaming Sword, July 29, 1951.


The full name of every living soul incorporates "I AM THAT I AM," the name of its Creator.—Edna Lister, November 25, 1951.


Your spoken word is always stamped with your name. You stamp every word that passes your lips with your name and number. To make your words miraculously healing, add more love. Watch as love puts a seal on your lips, as love charges your thinking, words and actions with enough of love of God in which is no darkness of self. Watch love in action until you become absorbed to the point of ecstasy, until no sound or dissonance can penetrate love’s magnetic walls. That point of lifting changes malformations into perfect form in the "twinkling of an eye." Your spoken word of love in naming acts as the cohesive power of the universe. Name a person, declare perfection, and love instantly begins the conversion.—Edna Lister, November 29, 1951.


A middle name is usually a hidden name that may reveal what lessons you must work out in life. With a married name, the woman takes on the spiritual debts and responsibilities of the new family she joins, because she accepts the new name.—Edna Lister, November 29, 1951.


God is God’s name above; good is God’s name on earth. If you call upon one of God’s hidden names, you can release greater Power than you know. You must properly devote yourself to the Source and hold fast to illumination and gratitude or the Power can return as force to strike your weakest point. An attitude of joy as you call the name of God as good upon your creations instantly invokes the same Light that makes the invisible visible. Invoke the truth that Light absorbs darkness.—Edna Lister, The Magic in the Sky, October 5, 1952.


Good is God’s name on earth and carries the vibration of the original Emanations. God will not tolerate anything with His name on it to escape being changed back to its original likeness.—Edna Lister, Jesus, the Teacher, October 3, 1954.


Evil is nameless before God. With a glance, you can fill any evil thing with the harmony of God. Do not curse the evil, but fill it with God. God sees evil only as lacking in Light, and right there, you can declare it good.—Edna Lister, Jesus, the Lawyer, November 28, 1954.


The name of Jesus the Christ has more Power all the time, a growing, expanding, increasing Power.—Edna Lister, Manna From Heaven, August 21, 1955.


"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."—Acts 19:13-17.

The evil spirit knew the name of Jesus, but asked the sons of Sceva, "Who are you?" They imitated what they had heard Paul say, but words spoken without consciousness of their meaning are weak and work only sometimes. A miracle is the reverse. Tune into the miracle station of unconquerable faith and all Power. Every time you use Jesus’ name, another vast wave flows over you and through you. It goes forth and collects itself.—Edna Lister, Miracles or Demonstration? September 4, 1955.


Light, color and tone form three inner vibrations. Number, name and form are the points at which Light takes on increasing density of outer form. It takes the first three vibrations of Light, color and tone to make number; it takes the first four to make name, and it takes all five to make form.– Edna Lister, Numbers and Names, July 10, 1956.


Your God-given number and name fill everything in your life when you speak the Word.—Edna Lister, Numbers and Names, July 10, 1956.


"This is good" causes each life spark to ascend to its original name vibration, and healing comes through the Oversoul’s fervency.—Edna Lister, Being Without Self, November 2, 1958.


In the beginning, God named us good. No one can rename you or take your God-given name. God is not taking a poll about whether you need a new name. You are accepting an earthly name when curses or name-calling hurts. To strengthen your understanding of this, say, "I AM that good, I AM. I AM that joy, I AM. I AM good and shall stand under the Light." I AM is the name God gave each soul to earn on earth. Your God-given name is "I AM good."—Edna Lister, Manifestation, May 24, 1959.


You must assume responsibility for everything your name touches.—Edna Lister, I AM the Life, October 18, 1959.


All that you declare good is named and numbered "good" above.—Edna Lister, When Prayer Is at Work, June 4, 1961.

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Stories That Illustrate the Name Principle

"Let," "Name" and "Good" — Creative Principles: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.—Genesis 1.


The Tower of Babel: And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.—Genesis 11:1-9.


Abram Becomes Abraham: When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I AM the Almighty God; Walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.—Genesis 17:1-8.


Sarai Becomes Sarah: And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.—Genesis 17:15-16


I AM THAT I AM: Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.—Exodus 3:13-15.


The Light of the World, the Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.—John 1:1-14.


The Seven Sons of Sceva: Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.—Acts 19:13-17.

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New Testament on Name

And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.—Luke 10:17-20.


Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.—John 14:12-14.


Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.—Acts 2:14-21.


I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.—Ephesians 3:14-15.


Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.—Philippians 2:5-11.


Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.—Revelation 3:12.

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Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field.—Genesis 2:19-20.


Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.—Genesis 3:20.


Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.—Genesis 4:25-26.


Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.—Isaiah 43:1.


I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.—Isaiah 45:3.


In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.—Micah 4:1-5.

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Edna Miriam Lister
1884—1971
The original Pioneering Mystic,
Christian Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.


Edna Lister


Etymology of name: Old English nama, from Proto Germanic namon (cf. Old Frisian nama, Old High German namo, German name, Dutch naam, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name"), from Proto-Indo-European nomn‑ (cf. Sanskrit nama, Avestan nama, Greek onoma, onyma, Latin nomen "name." The verb is from Old English namia.


Name is a primary law of expression, an abstract law of being and a law of doing.


Quotes

Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.—W. H. Auden

He said true things, but called them by wrong names.—Robert Browning


References

Auden, W. H. "A Certain World," as quoted in Oxford Essential Quotations (3 ed.) Susan Ratcliffe, editor. Oxford University Press online, 2015; eISBN: 9780191804144.

Browning, Robert. "Bishop Blougram’s Apology," The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1895, p, 358.

Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, 2024.

The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).

The Holy Bible, Young’s Literal Translation (YLT), Robert Young. Edinburgh, London: A. Fullarton & Co., 1863.


Taylor, Alfred E. "Cratylus," Plato: The Man and His Work. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1937, 82-88.

The Oxford English Dictionary: Compact Ed., 2 vols. E.S.C. Weiner, editor. Oxford University Press, 1971.

Suggested Reading

Sedley, David, "Plato’s Cratylus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (Fall 2013), Edward N. Zalta, ed. [accessed March 1, 2017].


Related Topics

See Form

See Identity