Most of us have heard the phrase, “What’s in a name.” Studies have revealed that names play a significant role in peoples’ lives in just about every country and territory in the world. Parents give their new-borns names that will stick for life. Some people feel that their names define them and definitely affect their personality. We know that different names mean different things.
When it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He was given the Name Jesus. The Bible tells us that “She [Mary] shall bear a Son and you shall call His Name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Granted the name Jesus is a common human name. However, when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, “salvation” comes only in His name, which had to be a divine act by the all-wise God His Father. The Bible states, “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name” (John 20:31). Also, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This alone separates Jesus’s name from all other similar similar names.
Isaiah spoke prophetically of Jesus’s name in this way, “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). Here we see the tremendous meaning of His name.
So many things have been, and continue to be, accomplished in and through the all-powerful name of Jesus. We can’t live without that great name. The apostle Paul exhorts us, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 5:17). Not only is salvation in the name of Jesus, we are also “justified” in His name. “And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:11). “Justified” means “to declare righteous,” because christians are treated as righteous because Jesus bore our sins on the cross, being “made sin for us.”
The following is a list of other things that are accomplished in the name of Jesus. Prayer is most effective when we pray in the name of Jesus. “Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). The name of Jesus also means security. “The Bible declares, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).
The first apostolic miracle took place when a lame man was healed as Peter and John were entering the temple to pray. That healing occurred in Jesus’s name. Peter said, “I have no silver and gold but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk … and immediately his feet and anklebones were made strong” (Acts 3:6-7).
When Christ commissioned the eleven disciples, He told them, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). Jesus’ disciples joyfully reported to Him that the demons were powerless because of His name. “The seventy-two returned with joy saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Luke 10:17).
James 5:14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with the oil in the Name of the Lord. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. A great Savior. A great Name.