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!!!