What's in a Name? All Power of Heavens and Earth
Authority on Earth as in Heaven
There is power in the name of Jesus. We may have heard that preached from pulpits and sung in worship songs since childhood. The question is, do we really believe it? More important, do we walk in that reality? Many will say there is power in Jesus' name, yet they live as though Jesus never rose from the dead. Recognizing the power in Jesus' name is key in understanding the flow of authority. But before we can utilize the power in His name, we must believe Jesus is real, alive, and fully present!
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 if Christ is not risen, then we are still in our sins, our faith is in vain, and we are to be pitied among men. On top of that, we would be calling Paul, the disciples, and more than five hundred others false witnesses because they all claimed to have seen the risen Jesus (v. 6). In other words, if Christ didn't rise from the dead, Paul and the other disciples were liars of the worst kind. "But," Paul said, "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (v. 20, NIV)
Peter affirmed this also. Knowing he was abut to be martyred for his faith, Peter said, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Pet. 1:16). The same guy who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed would now rather die, even in a horrific fashion, than to deny Jesus. Why? Because like Paul, he had seen the risen Jesus.
Power Given at the Great Commission
Jesus is indeed risen and is now reigning in heaven, and whenever a believer declares His name in faith over any situation, spiritual authority is immediately released and flows down through that believer. The name of Jesus enforces what the blood of Jesus has accomplished.
Right before His ascension into heaven, Jesus revealed this truth to His disciples in the Great Commission: "In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sink, and they will recover" (Mark 16:17-18,). Here, Jesus was teaching His disciples how to use His name to exercise the spiritual authority they had been given as they responded to His call to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).
The Name Above Every Name
The name of Jesus carries the heaviest weight in both the spiritual and natural realms. Think about this for a moment. When someone explodes with anger, you never hear them shout "Oh, Buddha!" or "Mohammad!" They always use the Lord's name. In movies and TV shows, the popular thing among unbelievers is to degrade the name of Jesus. Have you ever wondered why? It's because Satan knows Jesus is the most powerful name in the universe. At that name demons tremble, and so should we. We should have a holy fear of the power in the name of Jesus. Satan wants that name to be devalued and made common, to be trampled on, so people lose sight of how much power it holds.
Nothing in any physical or spiritual place is higher than the name of Jesus. The Bible tells us, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth" (Phil. 2:9-10, ). His name is above everything in the second and third heavens, including all the angels, created beings, rulers of darkness in high places as mentioned in Ephesians 6:12, and departed saints. The name of Jesus is above everything in the strata of space that includes the sun, moon, starts, planets, and galaxies.
When it comes to things on the earth, the name of Jesus is higher than any force of nature, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. His name is higher than the most powerful leader or celebrity. Everything under the earth—demons, departed spirits, and all darkness—must bow down! If something has a name, it is subjugated to the highest authority of all—the powerful name of Jesus!
According to Hebrews, His name is higher than the angels:
...having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. -HEBREWS 1:4
When Jesus was seated at God's right hand in heavenly places, His name was exalted above everything past, present, and future, as Ephesians 1:20-21 states:
...which He worked in Chris when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
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