There is Power in the Name of Jesus!

Published 4/19/2013           Updated 08/17/2019

In the name of Jesus, In the name of Jesus,

We have the victory.

In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus,

Satan has got to flee.

Who can, therefore, stand before us

When we call on that great name?

Jesus, Jesus, wonderful Savior we have the victory.  (Author unknown)

What exactly is a name?

What exactly is a name and why do we all have one?  A name is a word or combination of words by which a person, place or thing is identified.  The purpose of a name is to differentiate one thing from another.  Wouldn’t it be strange if we all had the same name?  Let’s say we all were called Betty Jean.  If I said, “Betty Jean come and get this dollar”, either everybody in the room could get up to get the dollar or maybe nobody would.  That would be confusing.

Sons of George

George Foreman is a famous boxer who has around ten children.  All five of his sons have the name George.  They are George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI. But even though they have the same legal names, some differentiated by a number, they still had to have a way to differentiate one from another, so they have nicknames.  The four younger sons are “Monk”, “Big Wheel”, “Red”, and “Little Joey”. His two daughters are Freeda George and Georgetta. So, even in that interesting situation, they still had to have a unique and clear name to avoid confusion.

Names have the ability to “script” a person’s life

Names have specific meanings and they sometimes “script” a person’s life, because some individuals try to “live up to” their name.  Therefore parents need to be very careful about how they name their children.  My own first name is Alfreda.  Alfreda is the feminine form of Alfred and it means wonderful counselor.  Interesting enough, isn’t it, that I am often found counseling?  To show you that names can script a baby’s life, let’s suppose a child was named Delilah or Jezebel.   Delilah was the woman in the Bible who caused Samson to fall and Jezebel was an evil woman married to Ahab.  If an individual tried to live up to those names, the outcome could be disastrous.

The value of a good name

We all know how important it is to have a good name.  We live a clean life, protect our credit and pay our bills on time so that our name is kept clean.  One of the reasons that identity fraud can be so terrible is because our reputation can be slaughtered by someone who fraudulently misrepresents himself as us. That person can then cruelly destroy our good name.  The Bible says in Proverbs 22:1 (KJV)

¹ A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

We can be assured that the name of Jesus is a good name and it represents a powerful and holy man.  A very short time before Jesus was to be betrayed, beaten, persecuted, and crucified for your sins and mine he handed us, his church, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.  What was that weapon?  It was the ability to ask our heavenly Father for anything, as long as we used the name of Jesus.  John 16:23-27 says:

²³ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
²⁶ At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
²⁷ For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Jesus’ name was gifted to us, His Christians

Just a few days before He would be crucified, raised from the dead, take a quick trip to heaven,  walk again on the earth among men for a limited time, then re-ascend into heaven where He now stands in intercession for you and me, He gave us this wonderful and powerful gift.  He was giving the church a most powerful and legal weapon to use after He was gone.  By allowing his disciples, and ultimately you and I, to use his name, He gave us his Power of Attorney.

Christians have Jesus’s Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a written document or letter that is used when someone wants another adult to handle their financial or property matters.  If someone becomes unable to make their own decisions (e.g., in a coma, mentally incompetent, etc.) they may need another adult to make decisions for them.  When my grandmother became too ill to take care of her own business she gave me her Power of Attorney.  Because Jesus was preparing to finish His work on earth, He knew that we would need the power to carry His work on.  All believers have full, legal, redemptive, gospel, blood-bought, promised and family right to use the name of Jesus in several different situations:

Some situations in which we might exercise our Power of Attorney 

1.  In salvation

Matthew 1:21 (KJV)
²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Acts 4:11-12 (KJV)
¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

2.  In baptism

Matthew 28:19 (KJV¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 3.  In worship

Matthew 18:20 (KJV)
²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

4.  In combat and in healing

Mark 16:16-18 (KJV)
¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
¹⁸ 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.

5.   In Preaching

Luke 24:46-47 (KJV)
⁴⁶ And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
⁴⁷ And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

6.  In Prayer

John 14:13-14 (KJV)
¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  
¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

7.   When receiving the Holy Ghost

Luke 11:9-13 (KJV)
⁹ And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
¹⁰ For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
¹¹ If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
¹² Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
¹³ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

All of the things that we have spoken of today are for the blood-washed, born-again Saints of God.  The name of Jesus is not to be used by the unsaved.  If an unsaved individual attempts to use the name of Jesus for any reason other than repentance, they are attempting identity theft and have no right to do so.  But the good news is if the unsaved individual wants to be saved he or she can be saved.  Then, they can feel free to use the name of Jesus.  I have heard of many testimonies in which the name of Jesus caused people to be healed, accidents to be averted and needs met.  One outstanding testimony follows that saved one of my friend’s life.

Testimony of Bro. and Sister “H”

Bro. and Sis. H. gave a testimony about their shared experience when she used the name of Jesus.  Sis. H. gave her heart to the Lord, which made her husband very angry.  He didn’t want his wife to be saved.  One night, as she was preparing to go to church, he began to choke her.  Just before she passed out, she was able to say “In the name of Jesus!”  Suddenly, “something or somebody” grabbed the husband, threw him against the wall and began to rough him up.  He said that the entity rolled him, twisted him and tumbled him head over heels out of the front door, across the street and down the block.  He could not see anyone, but when he finally came to himself he was leaning against a telephone pole, dazed, some distance from his house.  Needless to say, he repented and gave his heart to the Lord.  The name of Jesus is powerful! 

Everyone will honor the name of Jesus one day

We might as well get used to honoring and bowing to Him now because Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that the day will come when everyone will honor that name.

⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Since Jesus has given us this powerful weapon, let’s use it to the glory and honor of God so that the work that Jesus started can be finished through us.  May God bless you all