DAY 4: The Names of Jesus and Their Meanings

It is safe to say there’s a lot of praying going on in many languages and traditions with hopes that our heart-felt cries will achieve our desired results. We have an identify with Jesus Christ who is our Great Redeemer, our Lord and Savior. The name of Jesus is synonymous with the name of God because he reveals the true nature of God. To “believe in the name of Jesus” is to believe in the nature of God as expressed in human life. To take the Lord’s name in vain is to use God’s (Jesus’) name in ways inconsistent with God’s (Jesus) sacred nature. I wonder how many times I’ve (we’ve) used God’s/Jesus’ name with a self-righteous, vengeful heart (in vain). “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” 1 John 3:23 (NKJV)

Jesus has literally given us His name. The change of character and nature of persons found in the Bible is often expressed in the change of their name. Simon confessed that Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus changed his name to Peter, the rock on which he would build his church. Saul, the oppressor of Christians, became Paul, the great evangelist, after his encounter with the risen Christ. Let’s not forget Abram, Sarai and Jacob, among others. To truly know someone’s name is to know them intimately. Like Adam and the animals, Jesus understood the nature of God. The full nature and disclosure of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” Colossians 1:15–17 (NKJV).

When we use that name, we are confessing that He is mine and that we are His. It is like going to the bank of heaven, knowing I have nothing deposited. If we go in my name, we will get absolutely nothing. But Jesus Christ has unlimited funds in heaven’s bank, and he has granted me the privilege of going to the bank with his name on my checks. To pray in Jesus name is to ask for His authority, and to ask for His authority is to seek in accordance too His will as revealed in His word.

When we pray in Jesus’ name, we may expect the answer in accord with the value of his name. So, we can pray with great and excited expectation. Jesus has been given many names: Counsellor, Son of Man, Son of God, Immanuel, Rabbi, and more. The word “Christ” means anointed. It comes from the Greek “Cristos”, and is a translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah, “meshiyach”, which means “anointed” or “chosen one.”

While other titles suggest elements of Jesus’ character (great teacher and spiritual leader), the name and title, Jesus Christ, embodies them all. To pray in the name of Jesus is to pray in the nature of, with the heart of, holding the values and world view of Jesus. If we truly surrender our will to God, we pray in union with, and as, Jesus Christ. It doesn’t give our words special authority but invites our intention to be in the nature of Jesus; to align our words with Jesus’ heart. Believing that there is “power in the name” doesn’t mean we can use Jesus’ name to insure our desired outcome. It means there is power in the nature of divine love, mercy, forgiveness, patience, hope. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:6–8 (NKJV).

Jesus’ authority rested with his submission to the Father, so our authority rests with our submission to him. 0To ask in his name is to ask according to his nature, and his nature is one of submission. This, by the way, is why prayers that ask for things contrary to the Word of God will never be answered. It is much the same as the legal arrangement known as the power of attorney. In such matters one person may represent another in his absence. Jesus has given every believer unlimited and general power of attorney in all matters and with the right to use his name in every situation. “The literal name ‘Jesus’ is not inherently powerful; it is powerful because of Jesus Christ, the person, God incarnate, who made a way for our salvation. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” John 14:12–13 (NKJV).