Does the Bible tell us we cannot address God as “You”?

(Abridged Version, 15 July 2008)

by DR JOHN SCLIM
Addressing God has been a matter of concern for many years to those who address Him as Thou; they are indignant that God is
addressed as You today. Surely, if God would not want us to address Him as You, He should have told us so in His Word. We will
have to find out whether the Bible does really speak against the use of You in addressing God. We must not turn to history, culture,
politics, society, etc, but to the Scriptures – “to the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah 8.20) to know the answer to this issue. First, we
need to know what a principle is in the Word of God.

Principles in the Word of God

As the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever (Heb 13.8), so is His Word. The world we live in changes every
day, but His Word never changes. Then you may ask how is God’s Word going to keep up with the time? It does not need to for
already it is bang up to date, and even to the future. What makes it so? The principles that God has laid down in His Word make His
Word relevant and applicable today.

A principle is a rule or standard that governs or influences our conduct and actions, and there are many principles in the Word of
God. They may be found out indirectly from the evidence provided by scriptures. Let us take, for example, the principle of punctuality.
Where does it say in the Bible one should not be late for a church meeting on the Lord’s Day? Of course we will not find a scripture
that says “You shall not be late for meeting,” but we can find from the example set by the Lord Jesus Christ: “And when the hour was
come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.” (Luke 22.14) As the Lord Himself is punctual, can we – without a good
reason, or barring any unforeseen delays or circumstances – be late for meeting and expecting Him to wait for us?

Another example from the Word of God is the principle of greeting. Depending on cultural situation and occasion, there are many
forms of greeting, which can be expressed in an audible or/and physical manner. The Bible tells us to “greet one another with an holy
kiss” (Rom 16.16; 1Cor. 16.20; 2Cor 13.12; 1Thes 5.26), which was a custom in those days, but, today, we greet one another with a
handshake. This does not violate the principle of greeting, nor cause offence to God or man.

The principle of hallowing God’s Name

The model prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to His disciples begins with this petition: “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed
be Thy Name.” (Matthew 6.9 and Luke 11.2) What does “hallowed” mean? How does He want us to hallow God’s Name? According
to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the word “hallowed” comes from the Greek hagiazo meaning “to make
holy” (from hagios, “holy”), and it signifies “to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing the opposite of koinos,
‘common’.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says “hallow” “embraces the idea of marked separateness;” and has an
“underlying idea of the separateness of holy nature or holy use.”

God’s people should set His Name apart, sanctify it, and not make His Name a common denominator. His Name stands for
everything that represents Him – “for all that a ‘name’ implies, of authority, character, rank, majesty, power, excellence, etc., of
everything that the ‘name’ covers: of the ‘Name’ of God as expressing His attributes, etc.“ (Vine’s Dictionary) So what does not set
God or His Name apart, or what makes Him common with the gods that the people of the world worship, or what demeans,
degrades, and debases God’s attributes, character, majesty, is not hallowing Him or His Name. What does not give a “marked
separateness” to His Name - that “separateness of holy nature or holy use” – is dishallowing His Name.

Does the use of You in addressing God hallow God’s Name?

We already know you is today used to address the person or people we are speaking or writing to. You is used in prayer and
worship. A man can praise God and tell Him “You are a good God,” and, in the same breath, at home, to his pet, he says, “You are a
good dog.” As you can see, You is used for God, man, and animal. There is not the “marked separateness” - that separateness of
holy nature or holy use.” The use of you here does not set God apart from man and animal. It mixes God with them. It brings God
down to their level. It blurs the distinction between God and man. It does not hagiázō God’s Name. You is found in modern English
translations of the Bible, where it is used for God, man, animal, angel, and even Satan. You is promiscuously used, It dishallows
God’s Name.

What about Thou? Thou and you have been in use for hundreds of years. Both pronouns are found in the King James Version
(1611). Those who use the King James Bible know that thou (or thee) is used in the singular, whereas you is used when more than
one person is meant. We see thou and you used together in this commonly quoted example:

Luke 22.31,32
31. And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Can you see the distinction between thou and you in the above scriptures? The you in verse 31 refers to the disciples, and thou,
thee, and thy in the other verse refer to Peter alone. That is the beauty of the King James Version. But in modern English translations
of the Bible, this distinction is not borne out – you can mean singular or plural. As a result, it causes difficulty in understanding,
whether God or man is meant, or whether it means one or many. Their translators had not seen the light!

No doubt, in the King James Bible (also known as the Authorised Version), Thou is used in addressing God, man, angel, and Satan,
but, today, thou is no longer used to address our fellow men (they will laugh at you if you do). God has deemed fit to elevate Thou
and set it apart for Himself. It is wrong to consider Thou as archaic. Thou is still used by many believers today, in churches, in prayer
and worship, by preachers, church leaders, and Bible teachers. The modern English translations of the Bible, where you is
promiscuously used for God and man, can never supplant the King James Bible and the use of Thou in addressing God.

God knew from the beginning (He is an Omniscient God) that men would one day address Him as You in the English language, and
so has put principles in His Word that His Name be hallowed, but, because men are ignorant of these principles, they use You for
Him. This “ignorance God winked at,” and commands those who know Him and fear Him to hallow His Name.

Are there other scriptures forbidding the use of You in addressing God?

Yes, there are other scriptures.

1. Sanctifying God

Look at the following scripture:

Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. (Isaiah 8.13)

The word “sanctify” comes from the Hebrew kādhash and is equivalent to the New Testament Greek verb hagiázō. It is setting God
apart.

We know the Israelites served the Lord and the calves (created by Jeroboam, and it was infamously said of him that “he made Israel
to sin”), and worshipped God and Baal. They did not hallow or set Him apart from the gods they worshipped. They were asked to
hallow Him. Today, in the English Language, we sanctify God when we address Him as Thou. Using You to address Him can never
sanctify Him.

2. Profaning God

There is a word in the Old Testament that tells us not to address God as You. The word is “profane,” and God commands His people
not to profane His Name but to hallow Him.

“And ye shall not profane My holy Name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel.” (Leviticus 22.32)

The word “profane” comes from the Hebrew chalal, and has the sense “for common use” (The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia). So you is “for common use” today, that is, it is promiscuously used, as shown above, and so profanes God. It also
comes from the Latin profanus, before (that is, outside) the temple. We read how the Lord Jesus Christ “went into the temple of God,
and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that
sold doves.” These people had profaned the temple of God. (Matthew 21.12) They brought unholy things (that is, things from
outside) into the temple. Addressing God as You is unholy (or irreverent, as some have called it), and should not be brought into the
church (not the building, but the meeting itself). The local church is a temple of God, (1Corinthians 3.16-17; 2Corinthians 6.16).
God’s Word tells us: “Holiness becometh Thine house, O LORD, for ever.” (Psalm 93.5) There should be no unholy things or
activities that mar this holiness, And addressing God as You profanes the church. God’s Word warns us: “If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. “ (1 Corinthians 3.17) Think!

Putting a capital letter for pronouns relating to God hallows His Name - it separates or distinguishes God from man - He from he, and
Him from him. We do not know why Bible translators do not see this principle. However, today, most people write the pronouns for
God beginning with a capital letter (also found in certain King James Bible and modern English translations). It is not that they have
been told to begin the pronouns for God with a capital letter, but they think it is right to do so as it distinguishes God from man and
makes understanding better. Surprisingly, the same people do not see anything wrong in addressing God as You.

Scriptures, and the principles involved, have already been shown that it is wrong to address God as You, Bible societies, Bible
scholars and translators, and others cannot say it is still all right to use You in addressing God (they can never produce scriptures to
support their stand for using You for God). They should henceforth address God as Thou, Thee, Thy. To use You for God grieves the
Holy Spirit of God, and we are asked not to grieve Him. (Ephesians 4.30)
You may distribute the article intact, without making any changes to it. There are other important points (for example, “this
distinction is not in the original languages” argument) that are not mentioned in the article, but are discussed in the
unabridged version, consisting of ten pages. For more information, please write to DR JOHN SCLIM at this email address:

drjohn.sclim@gmail.com

“Read with interest your article on our addressing God publicly and would be in agreement with the same.” (Canada)

About DR JOHN SCLIM . . .

He is an Allergy Specialist and Consultant. He authored five books: “Children’s Allergies,” “Asthma Attacks!” “Beware of Allergies,” “The Highly
Educated, the Rich and Powerful” (this book has touched lives) and “Except Those Days Be Shortened.” The last two books tell why it is so difficult for
the highly educated, the rich and powerful to know God and why the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is very near, and what happens to the world after
He comes (for more information on these two books, visit the Coming World Event Website at http://comingworldevent.weebly.com, whose purpose is to
proclaim the nearness of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. How he came to be saved is told on the Books Page of the Website, About five months
later after he was saved, he was baptised in a Gospel Hall, and later received into fellowship of the Assembly meeting in the Gospel Hall.