Everyone likes a good story. My stories come from my own experiences; something in each experience reveals a truth about God that I decide to write about.
With this article, though, I’m led to write about a study I did with my Sunday morning class. The urgency of the times is prompting my spirit to get out as much information as possible about the truth of God’s Word.
If you are a long time reader of my blog, you may remember that I am teaching through John 13-17 on Sunday mornings. You can read some of the articles about that study here. Jesus refers to His Name ten times in these chapters. However, when we got to John 15:21, I sensed the need to stop and do an intermissive study on the name of Jesus. Listed below are things we learned that believers could do in the name of Jesus.
SALVATION is offered through His name and only through His name
- Baptism (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, 10:48, 19:5, 22:16)
- Confession, repentance & forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:43, 22:16; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 John 2:12)
- Become children of God (John 1:12)
- Believe (John 2:23; 1 John 3:23, 5:13)
- Not condemned (John 3:18)
- Spirit indwells & teaches (John 14:26; Acts 2:38)
- Salvation (Acts 2:21, 4:12; Romans 10:13; 1 Corinthians 6:11)
- Extended to the Gentiles (Acts 9:14-16, 10:48, 15:14-18; Romans 1:5, 15:9)
- Grace & apostleship (Romans 1:5)
The Believer can PERFORM POWERFUL ACTS through His name
- Prophesy (Matthew 7:22, James 5:10)
- Drive out demons (Matthew 7:22; Mark 9:38, 16:17; Luke 9:49, 10:17; Acts 16:18)
- Miracles (Matthew 7:22; John 10:25; Acts 3:6, 4:30)
- Speak in new tongues (Mark 16:17)
- Have power through prayer (John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-26; 1 Corinthians 5:4)
- Faith in His name enables powerful acts (Acts 3:16)
- Do everything in His name (Colossians 3:17)
- Speak the Word & prophesy (James 5:10)
- Pray for & anoint the sick (James 5:14)
The Believer can REACH OUT TO OTHERS in His name
- Give a cup of cold water to a little one (Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41)
- Welcome a little child (Matthew 18:5; Mark 9:37; Luke 9:48)
- Two or three come together (Matthew 18:20)
- Unity (1 Corinthians 1:2, 1:10, 5:4)
- Go out into the world (3 John 1:7)
We have ABUNDANT LIFE through His name
- Hope (Matthew 12:21)
- Blessed (Matthew 21:9, 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35, 19:38; John 12:13)
- Protected (John 17:11-12)
- Life (John 20:31)
- Stengthened (Acts 4:7-10)
- Confident, bold, and lack fear (Acts 9:27-28)
- Thankful in everything (Ephesians 5:20)
Believers will endure PERSECUTION because of His name
- People will leave homes & families (Matthew 19:29)
- Counted worthy to suffer for Him (Acts 5:40-41)
- Risk our lives (Acts 15:26)
- Persevere & endure hardships (Revelation 2:3)
- Remain true & don’t renounce our faith (Revelation 2:13)
- Keep the word and not denied His name (Revelation 3:8)
How Believers VIEW HIS NAME
- Fear & honor (Acts 19:17)
- Praise & glorify (Romans 15:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; Hebrews 13:15; Revelation 15:4)
- Bow before Him (Philippians 2:9-11)
The name of Jesus is power - the power of salvation, miraculous acts, outreach, abundant life, and endurance. Why? Because He humbled Himself to leave the glory of heaven, to live as a man, to die for our sins, and because He resurrected to eternal life three days later. "For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow - of those who are in heaven and on the earth and under the earth - and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).
No comments:
Post a Comment