THE NAME OF JESUS
BY CARRIE F. JUDD
By the exceeding
mercy of God His believing children are privileged to live in the power of that
name which is above “every name that is named, not only in this world, but also
in that which is to come,” and which is the only name, “under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved.”
In the name of
Jesus, by faith in His name, we can successfully meet all the opposing powers
of darkness, for by confessing the name of Christ, we are placing ourselves
under the protective power of Him Who by His mighty acts and excellent greatness
hath made His name glorious.
What must be the greatness and glory of our all-conquering
Lord, Whose name is “above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.”-(Phil. ii:9,10) The time will soon come when this
confession must be made, even by those who are now denying Christ; but, alas!
There will be a vast difference between confessing His power now in “the day of
salvation,” and confessing His power in he day of judgment, when it must
destroy those who have continued to rebel against Him.
“Now is the accepted time,” when all true disciples of our
Lord must declare the glory of His name, not only by word, but by their every
deed. Sin in every form prevails in the world; “evil men and seducers are
waxing worse and worse,” and “they mystery of iniquity doth already work.” It
is a thought of the deepest solemnity that if we are not glorifying the name of
our Lord, we are profaning it. If we profess to be followers of Christ, and yet
are living for the glory of self, failing to proclaim to a dying world the
power of the gospel, we are taking Christ’s name in vain.
“My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of
Hosts,” and if we do not live lives of purity and power, that His name may be
exalted, we shall hear His voice in warning, and at last in condemnation. “if
ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay
it to heart to give glory unto My name, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will
even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed
them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” –(Mal. ii:2.)
O, beloved friends, may God in His mercy enable all of us
who profess to be followers of Christ to “lay it to heart,” to make His name
glorious in all the earth, and then shall we hear the blessed words of peace:
“Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing
in His wings.” (Mal. iv:2)
Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, to-day and forever,”
and therefore His power and mercy remain the same. His arm is not shortened
that it cannot save, but the sad unbelief of those who call themselves His
followers prevents His doing “many mighty works” among them.
Our Lord has aid, “All things are possible to him that
believeth,” and again we have His wonderful promise, “Verily, verily I say unto
you, he that believeth on Me, the works
that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these he shall do; because
I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.”-(St. John xiv:12,13.)
If we live in the power of Christ, and do all things in His
name, His glory will be manifested in us, and He will confirm the word and work
of faith “with signs following.” In His participating commission to His
disciples, in connection with the preaching of the Gospel to every creature, He
specifies the signs which “shall follow them
that believe,” and we know the secret of a true disciple’s power when we observe
that all of these wonderful works were to be done in the name of Jesus Christ. “In My name shall they case out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover.”-(St. Mark xvi: 17,18.)
Our power to preach the Gospel effectually, and in connection
with it to rebuke demons and disease, is all derived by faith in Him to Whom
all power belongs in heaven and in earth.
When Peter healed the impotent man at the gate of the
temple, he bade him arise and walk “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,”
and when the people marveled, Peter “answered unto the people, ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us as though by
our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” The disciples had no “power
or holiness” of their own; it was all derived from “the Prince of Life,” and in
His name were all their words of love and zeal spoken, and their deeds of mercy
performed.
Peter proceeds to magnify the power of God by declaring to
the wondering people that this miracle has been wrought in the name of Jesus. “The
God of our fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus… and His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man whole form
ye see and know.”-*(Acts iii:16.)
Notice the accuracy of the expression here used by Peter. He
does not merely say that faith in
Christ’s name was the cause of the miracle, lest the people should look at the
disciples’ faith as something marvelous in itself, but the chief assertion is, “His
name… hath made this man whole,” and the explanatory phrase “through faith in
His name” is thrown in as a necessary condition, but not as the ruling thought.
How many of us, in a strange error of unbelief, are looking
constantly at the state of our faith, instead of looking entirely away from
self to the power of Jesus’ name, and thus exercising the only true faith. It is
not only our privilege, but our duty, to manifest to the world of the power of
Jesus’ name in the healing of sinful souls and diseased bodies, and whether we
rebuke demons or bid sickness to flee, we shall find that Name all availing to
cast out the evil works of the enemy.
“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all
that call upon Him in truth.”
“My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever
and ever.”
