Jesus: “In the Name”
Jesus” is a name to some; a person to others. Christians use His name all the time, hoping “the name” used at their own command will carry the authority of His person. Most times, in all honesty, nothing happens.
If Christ is not a person with whom I fellowship and learn of and know and obey, I will be amiss to shout His name upon a situation and expect change to occur. In Luke 9:1-6, Christ set a precedent and gives us clear instructions how to use His name with authority.
While on earth, Christ sent his disciples on a particular mission out to the surrounding cities of Jerusalem to heal the sick and cast out demons in His name. He commanded them to use His name for that mission, and gave them permission and authority to use His name.
As a result, the words “in His name” for them became the effective weapon against sickness and evil forces, but only because they had been given His command and authority to use it.
Christ was a person whom they loved, and to whom they listened and obeyed. His "name" was not a tool they were able to pull out and use upon a problem, a sickness, to bring about their own wishes apart from Christ’s will and command.
Think about a man who goes to the white house and informs the gatekeepers that he comes in the name of King Charles of England. If the man knows King Charles and has truly been sent by him, then the man will be received under the true authority that is King Charles. If on the other hand the man is hoping to wield power for purposes not backed by the King, he will be sent away. There will be no authority for him in the name, King Charles.
We want our friends and loved ones healed and delivered, and we know this desire is noble and good. Despite our noble wishes, however, using the name of Jesus will have no authority to heal our friend unless we have been given the direct command from Christ to use His name for that specific situation.
God knows better than us, what our friend stands to gain from what we consider to be for them a “bad” circumstance or situation. This is why we must be in fellowship with Christ to know what He wills for a moment and a particular problem. Peter tried to keep Christ from having to endure the “bad” experience of the cross, but was reprimanded by Christ for doing so because He knew the cross experience was the Father’s will.
Deliverance from pain and sickness is not always how God means to lead us. Sometimes it is the tool He uses to mold us or accomplish in us something for His good will towards us. We can’t throw the name of Jesus at every problem as a way of wielding our own desires upon the situation, unless we hear the command from Christ to do so.
We will never know “when” to use His name under the direction of His will if He is not first a “person” to us with and to whom we fellowship and listen. In Mark 16:17, Jesus tells his disciples that “…these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues…”
This verse is considered to be the great commission by most theologians. It has become the scripture upon which every Pentecostal Christian today stands when using the name of Jesus. It was never intended to be a formulaic way for us to pray. Praying change over a situation will not accomplish any change to that situation just because I pray it in Christ’s name if it goes against His will.
Mark 16:17 is obviously true, but it comes under the precedent first set forth by Christ in Luke 9, as mentioned above. The precedent is this: His will for a particular problem precedes His command. To know His will we must know His person, and be in fellowship with Him. Unless He gives us command to use His name against a sickness, saying His name against that sickness will do nothing to make the person well.
Do you allow God to be trusted, even if He means to walk you thru the suffering instead of around it? Is Christ a person for you or a name? Has praying “in the name of Jesus” become a ritual, a “formula” ? Do you wait for a command from Christ to use His name, or do you just wield it in prayer over a situation, according to your own wishes?
