Name Above All Names

Some men are born into a great name. This occurs when a child is born into a royal family. Others make their name great by achievements or have a great name conferred upon them, by a king or queen. However, Jesus is great because He inherited a great Name. His Name is great due to His tremendous achievements and because a great Name was conferred upon Him. He inherited a greater Name than any angelic being or hosts of heaven (Hebrews 1:5). He is heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) because He is the Son of Almighty God (Matthew 3:17). According to Hebrews, Jesus is, "the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence." (Hebrews 1:3 AMP) 

The Apostle Paul tells us, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those (beings) in heaven, and of those (beings) on earth, and of those (beings) under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) Jesus' Name comes to Him as an inheritance. What it must have been to have inherited this Name from His great Father-God. The writer of Hebrews declares, "For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? (Hebrews 1:5) This tells us that He inherited a greater Name than the angels, but in Philippians we saw that it declares God gave to Him the Name which is above every name. The inference is that there was a Name known in heaven, unknown elsewhere, and this Name was kept to be conferred upon someone who would be worthy of it. The only one worthy is the Lord Jesus.

In His prayer for the church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul prays, "the eyes of your (our) understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." (Ephesians 1:18) Paul continues to pray, "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come, and He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:19-23) Jesus not only inherited a more excellent Name than any other being in the universe; The Father not only gave Him a Name above all other names in which every being in the three worlds shall bow and confess His Lordship; but here, God has seated Him in the highest place, and has made Him Head over all things. For what purpose?

For the benefit of the church, every believer! God has made this deposit on which the Church has a right to draw from, for Her every need. He has given to Jesus the Name that has within it the fullness of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9). Therefore, the church has the right to use His Name over all the powers of darkness. We have the right to use His Name in our prayers. We have the right to use His Name in our praises and worship. His Name has been given to us to use in His place. It carries the same power and authority as though He were still physically here on earth as He was nearly two thousand years ago, saying and doing what is revealed in the four gospels. Praise the Lord! However, this is only the beginning of the wonders and the value of the greatness of His Name. The Apostle Paul tells us, "When He (Jesus) had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them." (Colossians 2:15 AMP) 

The picture here is of Christ in hell engaged in awful combat with the hosts of darkness (also see Psalm 88). It gives us a glimpse of the tremendous battle and victory that Jesus won before He rose from the dead. The margin reads, "Having put off from Himself, the principalities and powers." It is evident that the whole demon host, when they saw Jesus in hell, simply intended to swamp Him and overwhelm Him. However, after three days and nights, the verdict was spoken from the throne of God, that Jesus had met the demands of justice, the issue of sin was settled and man's redemption was now complete. At that moment, Jesus was justified in spirit (1 Timothy 3:16); He was made alive in spirit (1 Peter 3:18); hurled back the hosts of darkness (Colossians 2:15); struck a paralyzing blow upon Satan, (Hebrews 2:14) and took from him, his spoils (Matthew 12:29; Luke 11:21-22; Revelation 1:18) He then rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:4) and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).

Jesus not only had taken from Satan the keys of death and of hell, but He had also taken from him the very armor in which Satan trusted (Luke 11:21-22). He defeated the devil, He has defeated death, He defeated hell, and He stands before the three worlds, heaven, earth and hell as the undisputed victor over man's enemy and ancient destroyer, the devil. He stands as the Master and the Ruler of the Universe. His Name is above every name, and at His Name we can understand how every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The authority and power in His mighty Name has been given to His church, that is, every believer. All He was, is in His Name. All He is today, is in His Name and His Name is ours. He gave His Name to us that we might carry out the will of the Father (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:17-20)

If only our eyes were opened and our souls would dare rise up now, today, into the realm of power and authority where the Name of Jesus would mean to us all that the Father has vested in it. That all believers would act upon our great, unlimited promises, privileges and inheritance in Christ Jesus. If only our minds could grasp the fact that Satan is paralyzed, destroyed, stripped of his armor by the Lord Jesus, condemnation, guilt, unworthiness, disease, sickness, poverty, and all that Satan and sin has lorded over humanity, would simply be seen as being subservient to all believers in the Great Name of Jesus. Then it would become quite easy to live in the abundant life that Jesus has purchased for us, His Church.

These things are not mere fantasy, high and lofty thinking, unobtainable or only for a select few believers, but for all who believe. Jesus said,  "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it. (John 14:12-14 AMP) Notice, that the only condition to do the things that Jesus did and even greater is to believe. Do you truly believe? If so, know this, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

There Is Something About That Name

I would like to give you something to think about. "The measure of the Lord's ability to work in and through a believers life, is measured by the value that the believer places upon His name." Now at first glance most will begin to quote some scripture such as, Matthew 28:18 "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." and  Philippians 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name..." These are certainly true, but, what do verses of scripture like these really mean to you? What value do you truly place in and on the name of Jesus?

Observe the following scriptures, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  (John 14:13-14) "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:23-24)

If you do not believe what Jesus said in these verses to be true, then and now, then the posiblitiy exists that you have placed little value on Matthew 28:18, Acts 4:12 and Philippians 4:9 not to mention most of the Bible. How can I make such a statement and know that what I am saying is true? Has Jesus lost His authority? Is there another name by which men can be saved? Is His name no longer above every other name? Absolutely not! In fact the promises that Jesus made concerning the believers use of His name is not only for the early church but also for all believers until His return. As staggering as that may seem, He has given the believe the power of attorney to use His name. It is ours to use and when you really meditate on that, the reality is, what is already ours does not require faith. With this in mind let's look at and consider these scriptures..."

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20) "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11) 

"Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

(Ephesians 5:20) "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17) "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14) "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment." (1 John 3:23)

These are certainly not all the scriptures that emphasize the name of Jesus, but we can see that the name of Jesus touched every phase of the believers life in the early church. His name was upon their lips, in their hearts, it filled their thoughts, answered their prayers, it was in their preaching and teaching, it healed the sick, raised the dead and basically made what seemed impossible simply possible all the time. My prayer is that every believer begins to truly believe and act upon the Word of God. I pray that we permit the Lord to open the eyes of our hearts so that we may know the riches of His glory and that we operate in the power of the name that is above every other name, the name of JESUS.

Great is His Name

The incarnate Son of God was manifest to restore humanity to the place that God had originally intended. All that Adam was before he committed treason and forfeited the dominion and authority that God had given him over creation, was God's goal of the restoration of man. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. " (Romans 3:23) This means that not one human being could ever satisfy justice for Adam's transgression. So God Himself would be the only candidate that could fulfill such an incredible undertaking.

The Apostle John tells us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) and "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14) The angel Gabriel announced to Mary, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:31-33) and so it was, Deity and humanity came together. The Word was conceived in the womb of a woman, became flesh and His name is JESUS.

The Apostle Paul tells us, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those 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)

Because Jesus willingly gave up His sinless, perfect life for every man, woman and child, "God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name." In other words, God the Father has super-eminently exalted Jesus, has given Him the highest position above all else and there is no other name that can be compared with his. It stands alone! Hebrews tells us, "having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews 1:4) These things are very important for all believers to understand because not only is the name of Jesus above every other name, His name carries with it all authority in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. This means that every created being in those three realms must bow in submission to His name.

We may be quick to say "amen" to this, but the possibilities that surround His name are beyond our understanding. Basically, in His name, He has given the church (believers) "carte blanche" to all the resources and promises of God. The good news in this is, all believers have been given the legal use of His name so that, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This mean the devil, every evil spirit and every demon. We see this played out in the ministry of seventy other disciples that Jesus sent out, "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." (Luke 10:17) Let us take note that this was before His resurrection and the exaltation of His name. So think how much power and authority the believer has today in His name. Honestly, it is almost incomprehensible.

God did not do this for Himself. He made this tremendous, stupendous investment for the benefit of all humanity and now is made manifest through the church (all believers). He made this investment so that all who would believe upon the name of Jesus would have the liberty to use His magnificent name to meet their every need and also to enforce what Jesus' death and resurrection has secured, especially the power over the enemy. However, all of these things that the name of Jesus provides for the church do not manifest simply because the Bible reveals these things. Faith must be released through the believer and then the believer must act upon his released faith."But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

So let us remember this; God the Father has bestowed upon Jesus honor, glory, power, all authority and has "seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:20-23) Glory be to God!!!