One morning years ago, I greeted an aged disciple on the way back to my office at The Way International Headquarters, where I was serving at the time. I could tell that his heart was full as he responded to me with words that still impact my life to this day. With an expression of love and conviction, he said, “We must never forget the name of Jesus Christ. We should use it every day. That is where our power is, in the name of Jesus Christ.” As he went on his way that day and many other times since then, I’ve pondered the depth and importance of his exhortation. I should use the name of Jesus Christ every day—that is where my power is—in the name of Jesus Christ.
God has given to us power and authority in the name of Jesus Christ to carry out His Word and will just as Jesus Christ would if he were personally present. In legal terms, acting in someone’s name is called the power of attorney. It is “the legal right to use the name of the person who has given you the power.” Every born-again believer in the Church of the Body has the legal right to use the name of Jesus Christ and all the power that God has invested in that name.
In The New, Dynamic Church we read, “If the Church has been given the power of attorney, it has only as much power as is in the name of Jesus Christ. If the name of Jesus Christ has power, and that name has been given to you, then you have the power of attorney to execute in that name whatever resources he has available.”
In order for us to understand the great power and resources we have, we need to first understand how powerful the name of Jesus Christ is. There is tremendous spiritual power in our power of attorney because Jesus Christ is the name above all names.
Philippians 2:9 and 10:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.
Jesus Christ inherited a name above every name in heaven and in earth. He inherited it by being the only begotten Son of God, just as a firstborn son would inherit the legal rights that are inherent in his immediate family’s name.
Also, God gave him a name above every name, as we saw in Philippians 2:9. God chose to highly exalt Jesus Christ and give him a name above all names.
Additionally, Jesus Christ acquired for himself a name above every name. He did this by leading captivity captive and spoiling principalities and powers of the adversary, triumphing over them, as stated in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 2.
Ephesians 4:8:
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Colossians 2:15:
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Jesus Christ inherited a name above all names, God gave him a name above all names, and he acquired for himself a name above all names—those are three magnificent reasons for the power in the name of Jesus Christ. Those are three rock-solid realities of the power we have in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12:
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
In this verse, the Apostle Peter was declaring the power in the name of Jesus Christ that had just healed a man. No other name has that power to bring deliverance to men. There is tremendous spiritual power that we have been given in our power of attorney.
God gave Jesus Christ a name above every name, and He has given us the authority to use the name of Jesus Christ to bring His power to pass. Barron’s Law Dictionary adds that in a power of attorney, “one person, as principal, appoints another as his agent and confers upon him the authority to perform certain specified acts or kinds of acts on behalf of the principal.” Jesus Christ left this world to be seated at the right hand of God. Therefore, God has given to us, His children, this power of attorney, the authority to use the power in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke about this in John 14.
John 14:12-14:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Here the Word declares that we can do the works that Jesus Christ did and greater. What are some of the works Jesus Christ did?
Mark 1:41 and 42:
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him [the leper], and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Once Jesus Christ received the revelation from God that he could touch the leper, he reached out with the power of God, commanding God’s will into reality, bringing cleansing and healing to the man. On another occasion, Jesus Christ ministered to a man with a withered hand.
Mark 3:5:
…he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Jesus Christ spoke to the man according to the revelation he had received from God, “Stretch forth thine hand.” The man believed that these words spoken were God’s will and stretched his hand forth and was healed.
In these situations, Jesus Christ was convinced of God’s will. He spoke God’s promises into existence by the authority and power of God. He spoke the Word with believing. He exercised his ability to operate God’s power….
This is an excerpt from the May/June 2008 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2008 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
For more information on subscribing to The Way Magazine, Click Here