Scripture Reading: Gen. 4:16-26; 12:8; Psa. 99:6; Jer. 33:3; Rom. 10:12-13; 2 Tim. 2:22
Ⅰ
In human history Enosh was a landmark—the landmark of one who called upon the name of Jehovah—Gen. 4:26:
A
Enosh was a frail believer who called upon the name of Jehovah to enjoy Him as his portion—Rom. 10:12; Eph. 3:8:
１
The name Enosh means "frail, mortal man."
２
Enosh realized that he was weak, frail, and mortal, so he had no trust in himself—2 Cor. 4:7; 1:9:
ａ
If we would escape the second fall of man, we need to realize both the vanity of human life and the frailty of man—Eccl. 1:2; 2:14, 17.
ｂ
If we have this realization, we will have no trust in ourselves—2 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 3:3.
B
Jehovah is the name of intimacy, the name for God coming into an intimate relationship with man—Gen. 4:26; Exo. 3:13-14:
１
The name Jehovah means "I am who I am," that is, the self-existing and ever-existing One, the One who now is and who forever is—v. 14:
ａ
The name of our God is the verb to be; He is the eternal One, and only He is—Lev. 19:3-4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30-32, 34, 36-37.
ｂ
To believe that God is implies that we are not; only He is, and all of us are nothing—Heb. 11:6; 2 Cor. 12:11b; 1 Cor. 3:7; Gal. 6:3.
ｃ
As the self-existing and ever-existing One, God is everything; whatever we need, He is—John 8:58; 6:48; 8:12; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1a; Hymns, #78.
２
For Enosh to call upon the name of Jehovah indicated that this frail person lived not by himself but by the great I Am, the ever-existing, eternal One—Gen. 4:26; Gal. 2:20.
Ⅱ
The history of calling upon the name of Jehovah, which began with Enosh, the third generation of mankind, continues throughout the Bible:
A
Abraham "built an altar to Jehovah and called upon the name of Jehovah"—Gen. 12:8.
B
"Moses and Aaron among His priests, / And Samuel among those who called on His name— / They called out to Jehovah, / And He answered them"—Psa. 99:6.
C
"What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as Jehovah our God is whenever we call upon Him?"—Deut. 4:7.
D
"Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that You would richly bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand would be with me, and that You would so keep me from evil that it would not grieve me!"—1 Chron. 4:10a.
E
"Revive us, and we will call upon Your name"—Psa. 80:18b.
F
"I have called out to You, / O Jehovah, every day"—88:9b.
G
"I will take up the cup of salvation / And call upon the name of Jehovah"—116:13.
H
"There is no one who calls upon Your name, / Who stirs himself up to lay hold of You"—Isa. 64:7a.
I
"Call unto Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things, which you do not know"—Jer. 33:3.
J
"Then I will change the language of the peoples / Into a pure language / That they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, / To serve Him with one accord"—Zeph. 3:9.
K
"They will call on My name, / And I will answer them; / I will say, They are My people, / And they will say, Jehovah is my God"—Zech. 13:9b.
L
"It shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved"—Acts 2:21; cf. Joel 2:28-32.
M
"There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him"—Rom. 10:12.
N
"To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours"—1 Cor. 1:2.
O
"Pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart"—2 Tim. 2:22.
Ⅲ
The proper Christian life is a life of receiving the Spirit continually by calling upon the name of the Lord—Gal. 3:2, 5; Rom. 10:12:
A
In the Christian life, nothing is more crucial than the constant receiving of the Spirit—Gal. 3:2, 5.
B
If we would receive the Spirit moment by moment, we need to keep ourselves open to the Lord and exercise our spirit to call upon the name of the Lord.
Ⅳ
The Spirit is the heavenly air for us to breathe; by exercising our spirit to call upon the name of the Lord, we breathe in the Spirit and thereby receive the Spirit—John 20:22; Gal. 3:2; 1 Thes. 5:17; Hymns, #255:
A
To breathe spiritually is to receive the Spirit continually—John 20:22; Gal. 3:2.
B
When we breathe in the Spirit by calling upon the name of the Lord, we both exhale and inhale; we breathe out the negative things and breathe in the positive things of the Lord—John 1:1, 14, 29; 6:48; 8:12; 15:1; 20:22.
C
Many Christians today have stopped their spiritual breathing; as a result, their spiritual life has come to a standstill.
D
Prayer can become our spiritual breathing, and we can turn our prayer into breathing by calling upon the name of the Lord—1 Thes. 5:17.
E
The way to live Christ is to breathe Him, and the way to breathe Him is to call upon Him without ceasing—Phil. 1:19-21a.