November 30, 2007
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Names are very important. They distinguish us from others. They tell others who we are.
Parents put a lot of thought into the name they will give their child. Names often carry on a family line or heritage. In Biblical times, a man’s name represented his character; it stood for his authority and power. They kept very good records; thus we have genealogies.
Although boring at first glance, genealogies have their purpose. Matthew begins his book with a genealogy to prove to his Jewish audience that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and a descendant of David, a fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah’s line. I love that also through this genealogy the only women listed are Rahab, a gentile harlot saved by her faith in the Israelite’s God, Ruth, a Moabite woman who because of her faith was grafted into the olive branch to receive nourishment from the olive root, and finally Mary of whom Jesus was born of a virgin birth.
Names often affect who we believe we are. When people grow up hearing derogatory statements about who they are, they often begin to believe them. You’ll never amount to anything, you’re so stupid, you’re crazy, you’re a bad kid, ect. Names affect others! As a former special education teacher, I once heard a sad comment from a student. I was going to teach him a quick way to calculate without having to use his fingers. I said, “I’m going to teach you a FAST way to do math!” His response made me very sad. He replied, “I can’t do that; I’m a slow learner.” He had believed what everyone had said about him to the point of not even thinking it was possible to be any different.
When God changes our lives, we have to have our minds (thinking) renewed. We have been told many things contrary to the truth about who we are. God gave people new names such as Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul, and Jacob to Israel. Their new names were symbols of how God had changed their lives.
Jacob had lived a life worthy of the meaning of his name—deceiver. When God changed his name to Israel (Genesis 35:10), he understood who he was and the power of a name change. In Genesis 35:18, Rachel died as she gave birth to Israel’s youngest son. “As she breathed her last — for she was dying — she named her son Ben-Oni. (which means son of my sorrow) But his father named him Benjamin” (which means son of my right hand). Israel had learned from personal experience that a negative name would have a negative impact on his son.
As we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are adopted as His sons and become heirs with Christ. We are grafted in by faith. We become part of the royal family. As we are proved faithful in the small things, we are given more power and authority through His name. It is much like someone who can be trusted by another enough that the latter will give power of attorney to the former to handle his affairs.
In John 15:15-17 Jesus is speaking to his disciples when he says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. By using Jesus’ name, we show who gives us the authority and power. It is Jesus Himself who gives our prayers their power.
We are all given different levels of authority. As we grow in Christ and as God requires more from us, He will also give us more authority in His kingdom. We must be intimate with Jesus and know who we are in Christ to carry this authority. As we are given more authority to affect a larger realm of influence, the demons recognize that authority and know our name, because they must submit to the authority Christ has given us.
In Acts 19:13-16 the Seven Sons of Sceva were using the name of Jesus without knowing God and it got them in a lot of trouble! 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." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 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.
It is time we build our intimacy with Jesus. As we do, saying the name of Jesus will have more power in our lives! We are heirs with Christ and it is time we represent who we are in Christ. It is time we carry on Christ’s heritage and represent His character in authority and power. It is time the demons know our name!
Janet F.