17.03.2006
Introduction
[I remember as a young Christian (30 + years ago) listening to a tape by one of the great classical Pentecostal teachers, Bob Mumford. In listing signs of Holy Spirit renewal he spoke of the increasing use of “the name of Jesus”.
Mumford was correct in his diagnosis, for in the New Testament the powerful presence of the kingdom of God is linked to the name of Jesus e.g. believers do miracles and heal in his name (Mark 9:39; Acts 3:6; Acts 3:16; Acts 4:10; Acts 4:30); believers drive out demons in his name (Mark 9:38; Luke 10:17; Acts 16:18), they are baptized into his name (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts 10:48; Acts 19:5). Forgiveness and cleansing from sin “is to be proclaimed in his name” (Luke 24:46; Acts 10:43; 22:16; 1Cor 6:11). The apostles are emphatic, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).]
There is an excitement in the name “Jesus”. But it is gradually falling into disuse in some parts of the church e.g. television interviews with pastors of several of the largest churches in Australia in the past three years did not mention “Jesus”. There does not seem to be, however, a problem in speaking about “God”.
This is true also of the prayers one hears – they are addressed to “God” or “Lord God” or the like. But it is not clear which God is being addressed; in the New Testament, the identity of “God” is that he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 15:6; 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3,17; 1 Pet 1:3 etc.).
[The greatest evangelist of the eighteenth century George Whitefield, persistently prayed: “May the name of Whitefield perish from off the earth! And may only the name of Jesus be glorified!” (Which of our most famous preachers of today prays this?)]
I doubt very much that a phenomenon like this has ever occurred in the history of the church today, except perhaps during the Arian controversy of the fourth century, when the church was in danger of abandoning the trinity.
[Such trends are worrying – example of an elder in a church twenty years ago, he was becoming disillusioned with orthodox Christianity and questioned the deity of Jesus, I noticed he started dropping “in Jesus name” from his prayers. Later he left the church and embraced the “New Age”.]
[I have taught my students to conduct the “Jesus test” on preachers: time the preacher up until he/she mentions “Jesus” and check to see if the preacher uses Jesus as an illustration of a principle (e.g. faith, influence) rather than the reality itself (Col 3:2). Many are appalled by the results.]
The last time I heard a visiting interstate speaker they failed the “Jesus test” badly. Their first reference to “Jesus”, “God” can mean anything to anyone, was 20 minutes into the sermon, and then only as an example of their main point.
[In my recent experience the most shocking incident of the abandonment of the centrality of Jesus in the church occurred on the last evening of the David Wilkerson conference here in November last year. David’s preaching was manifestly Christ- centred. But in this meeting people were led in song for 20 odd minutes without the name of Jesus being mentioned once! So powerfully grieved was my spirit by this side-lining of the crucified Lord that I could only conclude that this was an event being supernaturally controlled, and that the spirit of antichrist had entered the meeting, “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:3).]
[Other examples abound, I am driving home listening to Sonshine fm and a Christian song comes on, I think written by a local artist. The tune is tremendously catchy and the skill level manifestly high. But who is it that I am asking to “Rain on me”? In whose “presence” is it “I am free”? This song could be heartily sung by Bahai’s, Krishna’s and so on. (Like “Amazing Grace” sung by an Indian cult.)] Then a brochure arrives in the latest Koorong Books catalogue from one of the bible colleges in Perth. Inside there are 30 + references to “you/your” and not one reference to “Jesus”. This is scary.
It is not helpful simply to observe this problem; we need to ask why it is happening and what God would want to do about it.
The Father names Jesus
“Jesus” is a human name; even though the Word was with the Father in eternity, Jesus of Nazareth was not (Nazareth did not exist). Only when the Word became flesh could he receive a human name. The name the Father gives the Son defines his identity, Matthew 1:21 – 23 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). God is now present with humanity as Forgiver.
Jesus was not named after a human father, as was the custom (Luke 1:59- 63) because he did not have a human begetter.
[ Exodus 20:12 12 “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.] (To use the name “Jesus” is therefore to honour his Father.) This is because Jesus was not the seed of the man but of the woman (Gen 3:15). The New Testament is very careful how it expresses this, Galatians 4:4 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, What Peter said about us could have been said of Jesus conception 1 Peter 1:23 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.]
He was not begotten of flesh but became flesh (John 1:14). He was begotten of the Father through the Spirit. He is the one who is “born from above”; “ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matt 3:17). This means his person is essentially eternal.
[That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6). 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. (1 John 5:18).]
Jesus was uniquely aware that his relationship with the heavenly Father was the source of his authority. John 8:38 38 “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence.” This is also the key to the authority of the apostles in the early chapters of Acts. A sense of being in the presence of the Father is missing today.
[They were aware in the Spirit that Jesus was in the Father’s presence just as Paul was aware in his spirit when writing of Jesus being the image of the invisible God etc. It was not just a Damascus road experience. When they used the name of Jesus they were aware of His relationship with the Father and His place in the Father’s house.]
Confusing Signs with Personal Presence
Jesus brought with him the presence of heaven, this however was not properly realised by the disciples when he was on earth.
Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them,[ “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.] 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
The disciples did not understand that the meaning of demonic submission to the name of Jesus on earth related to their relationship with his Father in heaven. They were like ministries today which are fixated on signs, wonders, crowds and numbers to authenticate their spiritual identity. People measure or gauge their relationship to Jesus by outward success or manifestations instead of looking to him. They do not seem to realise or rejoice in the fact that their names are written in heaven, in the presence of the Father. There is an outstanding example of this in Acts 19.
Acts 19:11-17 [11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.] 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. [They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.] 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour.
Jesus told various stories of people who would claim identification with him at the judgement and be excluded from God’s kingdom.
Matthew 7:21-23 [21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day,] ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Luke 13:25- 27 [25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’] 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’
The first group, of wonder workers, did not recognise what “Lord” meant. In saying to the other group, “I do not know where you come from” Jesus is denying that any earthly association is the basis of salvation. To know Christ after the flesh does not gain admission into his kingdom.
Rebels attach greater significance to signs than to the name. In his dialogue with God after receiving the divine name, Moses says “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” God then gives him a series of signs – the staff will turn into a snake, his hand will turn leprous and the water of the Nile shall turn into blood to persuade the Israelites that he has seen the God of their fathers (Exodus 4:1-9). Both Moses and God knew that the revelation of the name would not be enough for this group of rebels, who in the wilderness would cry out for miracles (Num 20:10).
In order to test Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees “asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” 2 He answered them,… 3… ’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. (Matt 16:1 -3). In asking for a “sign from heaven” the opponents of Jesus refused to believe that he was the sign from heaven, they did not understand “the signs of the times”, that in Jesus earthly ministry the power of the kingdom of heaven had broken into the present evil age. His death and resurrection, the sign of Jonah, would be the final evidence of his heavenly identity.
What was it about the Pharisees and Sadducees that made it impossible for them to recognise that Jesus was sent from heaven? [(Note Nicodemus confusion about Jesus identity, he recognised Jesus as “sent from God” because of his signs, but did not understand that Jesus was more than a prophet (John 3:1, 4, 9,12).]
It was because they possessed in themselves the ultimate criterion of rebellion –the one for which there is no forgiveness, they did not believe they needed forgiveness. Hence it was impossible for them (compare Mark 2:1- 12) to recognise the King from heaven.
This agrees with the Old Testament pattern Exodus 23:21 21 Pay attention to [the angel I send before you] him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. Isaiah 63:9-10 9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
Where there is a deliberate breaking of the covenant there can be no forgiveness (Deut 29:20).
The Old Testament presence of God in the Name on earth is the opposite of what the Name of Jesus means for us – the name of Jesus forgives, when God is with us he forgives.
Matthew 1:21,23 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
The Name of the King
The clearest revelation of what the name of Jesus means is in the cross. Jesus had already told Pilate that “my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). So that when 19 Pilate … wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19). We can only understand this to be a political statement about his supposed crime.
There is someone however who understood that the Saviour was a King.
Luke 23:39-43 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In his conscience the thief knows that he is a rebellious son of Abraham, and that according to the old covenant there can be no forgiveness for intentional sinners like him. From the beginning deliberate rebellion against the King [1 Timothy 2:13-14 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.] meant exclusion from his glorious presence.
But this rebel had just heard something that no-one had heard before, Jesus praying to the Father in heaven, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). The Father reigns where sin is confessed as guilt and when Jesus said “Father forgive them” he confessed their guilt on their behalf. It was not possible that the Father could not forgive them, because Jesus – in his name – had the authority to plead for forgiveness. The Father could not, not forgive them.
Because Jesus prayed, all people are forgiven. [John 1:29 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 2 Corinthians 5:19 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.]
They may rebel against it but they have to be forgiven because there is an agreement between earth and heaven in accordance with his prayer “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Jesus, as a human, has to perfectly embody his own teaching on prayer. Therefore, when Jesus prays for them on earth that they be forgiven, it has to be the will of the heavenly Father to forgive them.
The thief saw this. This is what turns his heart in faith. He knows that you do not rebel against a friend, companion, comforter, etc. but against a King. The Saviour must be a King because only the King has the sovereign power to forgive the rebel. He knows there is forgiveness for the rebellious sons of Adam and of Abraham.
If Jesus is really the King, then as the thief asks, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42), he understands that the King has willed his own death. Luke 23:40 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
The thief understood that Jesus was unjustly under the same condemnation as himself; he understood that as King, Jesus was being crucified by those subject to His power and authority and that the Father had willed that His own Son die for rebels.
This is the consistent testimony of the apostles
Acts 4:24-28 [24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. 27 Indeed] Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
[Acts 2:23 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.]
The apostles and the thief both have a clear perception of the authority of Jesus as King. They see a self-sacrificing King whose sovereignty extends to his willingness to end all of his earthly attachments. As He hung on the cross, Jesus was appropriating to himself his name (“forgiver”) and internalising it like never before. As a child, in casting out demons, in healing the sick or raising the dead, feeding the hungry, Jesus was not actually saving those people from their sins in an internal and eternal sense.
Something more had to happen for Jesus to truly forgive. At his arrest he says,
Luke 22:53 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” In the darkness of the cross (Luke 23:44) = Mark 15:34 as he bore our sin it was as if the Father was not reigning. It was as if there was no forgiveness. The testimony of the prophets was being fulfilled,
Isaiah 53:12 12 …he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Only as Jesus went more deeply into being a Saviour did he finally take his name fully into himself – by choosing not to be saved from our sins, but to identify with rebels under the curse of God. Galatians 3:13 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
[Deuteronomy 21:22-23 22 If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, 23 you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.]
Inside the church we develop the problem of the Pharisees, we soon forget that we are rebels. Humans are first of all rebels before they are addicts, victims etc. We will have a revelation of the exaltation of Jesus to heaven in proportion to our insight into his humiliation on the cross – that He willingly identified with rebels.
The Exaltation of the Name of Jesus
The cross was the launch pad of the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into heaven. In Hebrew thought, a name stands for who a person is. Therefore God honours his own name as he honours himself.
Psalm 138:2 2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
This reminds us of the hymn to Jesus is Philippians,
Philippians 2:9 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is actually a quote from Isaiah 45:23 [23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.] where God says this about himself.
It is therefore a very clear identification of the status of the name of Jesus with the name of God. The name that is given to Jesus is “the name” i.e. the name that appears in the Old Testament as LORD/Yahweh/Jehovah. This is the name that was revealed to Moses.
Exodus 3:13 – 16 [Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, ]“Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
The revelation of the name “Jesus” is therefore as significant to the New Testament as that of the LORD in the Old. It means that God now has a human name and the focal point of that name is in heaven where Jesus is, not upon the earth.
The Heavenly Reign of Jesus as Priest – King
A priest stands to sacrifice, but a King sits to rule. Jesus is the priest who having completed his offering rules as King from heaven.
Hebrews 8:1 [The point of what we are saying is this: ]We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
Hebrews 1:3 [3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.] After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
The Word became flesh so that as King he might pray for his subjects, the authority of His prayers is fully operative because it is the King in heaven who is praying. Hebrews 7:25 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. By invoking his name before his Father his prayers for our forgiveness must be answered because of the great intercession of the cross,
Isaiah 53:12 [12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. ]For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
[Hebrews 7:1-2 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ]
Jesus is currently fulfilling the Messianic prophecy,
Isaiah 9:7 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. [He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.]
The apostles understood these things about the heavenly exaltation of the name of Jesus,
Peter knew this, 1 Peter 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, [5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.]
Paul taught it,
Ephesians 1:3 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
[Ephesians 2:6 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 1:19-2119 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.]
John’s entire framework in Revelation is about the Lamb on the heavenly throne.
During the days of Jesus’ flesh, the disciples’ focus was on the miraculous events on the earth, but now there is a realisation of heavenly association and power in the eternalising of forgiveness.
The apostles could not imagine deviating from the name of Jesus in any way; 2 Corinthians 1:18-20[ 18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”] 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
They knew the principal promise, upon which all the rest depended, was forgiveness.
The Power of Apostolic Ministry in the Name of Jesus
The apostles seemed to possess an authority in ministry that is rare today. They understood that the Holy Spirit always brings forth the name of Jesus with power. He did this at his conception,
[Matthew 1:18,20 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit….20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.]
Luke 1:3535 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
It is the communion between earth and heaven that commenced with the naming of Jesus that we see continuing in the book of Acts, so that what Jesus began to do and teach on earth (Acts 1:1) from the Father in heaven he now does from heaven in the presence of the Father through the apostles. The Holy Spirit connects heaven and earth as he connected Jesus and the Father in the days of Jesus earthly life. Apostolic authority is the same compelling authority that was present in the praying of Jesus which won over the thief on the cross because it gave him the understanding of the identity of Jesus.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father brings the name of Jesus forth again and again and again. There is healing and salvation in that name because when the name comes forth, Jesus comes forth in authority, power and conviction. If the Father gives you that name and you utter that name in the power of the Spirit, Jesus himself actually comes forth from your mouth because you are in communion with him the heavenly King.
Identifying with the Scandal of the Cross
Luke 9:-23 -26 23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
We have forgotten that the cross was a tremendous public scandal. The name of God was scandalised through the cross of Jesus. The Jews persecuted the early Christians, not because of their claim that Jesus was the Messiah, but because of the claim that the Messiah was a crucified man. Jesus has to be a false Messiah because they believed the cross was the divine and human sentence of condemnation upon the claim that Jesus is King. In the Roman world, Jesus suffered the supreme penalty which identified him as a convicted and crucified criminal (Cicero– Roman should not even use the word “cross”.). 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. (1 Cor 1:22-23).
To the degree that we embrace the public scandal of the cross on earth, to that degree we will experience the Father’s pleasure in his King in heaven. Paradoxically, the connection between earth and heaven is the scandal, embarrassment, alienation and public derision of the cross. (It is not the resurrection which is the scandal.)
This is something theologians call “the scandal of particularity” – that only in the particular name of a crucified person, Jesus of Nazareth, is there salvation.
Acts 4:12 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
There is a name in heaven and a name under heaven (which is on the earth) and the God who indwells us gives us to speak this heavenly name. As the children of God speak the heavenly name, God the Father grants salvation. It is the gift of the Father, through the Holy Spirit, to speak the name of the heavenly King and Saviour Jesus. As the Father first named Jesus and brought him forward as the seed of the woman, so the Father brings forth the saving power of that name again as we speak that name.
Earthly or Heavenly Authority
There are only two sources of authority – heaven (God) or earth (man). This is why Jesus asked the Teachers of the Law, “John’s baptism, was it from heaven or earth?” (Matt 21:25). God’s Word is a heavenly Word because it is the Word of the heavenly man (1 Cor 15:47).
[Isaiah 55:10-1110 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.]
God’s Word is the person of Jesus and it is actually the presence of Jesus that confronts the people through the proclamation of the gospel. He is the creative, saving, judging and eternal Word.
Those who speak of God without speaking of Jesus are making a claim to author the Word of God from themselves. They are claiming a fatherhood without the Father who is in heaven, this was the sin of Adam. The authority by which the language of the gospel is being changed in many churches is that of earth, it is begetting a movement which is not of the Father. The Church needs to remember it is a woman, a bride and not a Father. The woman does not impregnate herself, spiritually this is what the Church is trying to do. The true Word by which the church is made pregnant with the things of God is the Word which comes from the Father – it is Jesus.
Authoring Eternal not Corruptible Things
There is an important consequence of this loss of the name of Jesus. What is birthed in the flesh is temporary, only that born of the Spirit is eternal.
1 Peter 1:2323 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. The seed is the Word who is the resurrected Son of God. [3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,]
[1 Corinthians 15:42-49 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. Acts 2:23-24 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.]
When men, like Adam, author a word, they can only author something that is corruptible, perishable, temporal, but when Jesus is spoken, what comes forth is eternal life.
Why is the Name of Jesus being Disregarded Today?
If the name of Jesus is being disregarded, the root cause is unbelief about forgiveness. The situation Jesus faced when the 72 returned from their ministry journey is repeating itself – assurance of salvation is being measured by ministry results not one’s relationship (through Jesus) with the Father in heaven (Luke 10:17 -19). In many ways ministry and leadership has become a substitute for forgiveness. (Hence “burn out” etc.)
The name of Jesus means “to save people from their sin”. If Christians are not dwelling on the name of Jesus they cannot be sure of their forgiveness, in this situation they will experience guilt and guilty people do not want the presence of the heavenly Father because it is experienced as condemning. The decline in the use of the name of Jesus is a subtle demonic and psychological operation to avoid the presence of God on earth as it is in heaven. Substitutes must be sought for the true presence of God to pacify the conscience and persuade believers they are serving God. The avoidance of the name of Jesus means the person must be fearful of condemnation. We are progressively losing the central revelation of scripture, that in the name “Jesus” the God of the Bible is present to save rather than to judge.
Crowds are always happy to have an earthly Saviour – provider but a heavenly King is another matter. [(John 6:25-27 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”), Acts 17:77 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”]
When Jesus says to the disciples “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20), this means the same thing as when He was born – that the heavenly presence of God the Forgiver is with us. This is the revelation we need.