Faith in the Name
"Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant (child) Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12-16 NIV)
Hello Saints,
I Love the book of Acts – it is Jesus in action through His disciples; or maybe we could say, the book of Acts is Jesus in action through Holy Spirit, through His disciples; or maybe we could say, it is God the Father glorifying His son through the ministry of His Holy Spirit filled disciples. Do you get it? It’s God; it’s Jesus; it’s Holy Spirit; it’s the disciples Jesus chose and trained carrying on the same ministry Jesus told them they would do if they believed in Him (Mark 16:16-20; John 14:12)! It’s God invading Earth by glorifying the death and resurrection of His Son, as His disciples go and declare the Gospel with signs and wonders following! It’s Good News! It’s the news every age and every generation need to hear – it’s what every person on Earth needs to hear – every person from every tribe and tongue and people. The Good News is JESUS! If that is the case…why is that name so offensive; why does it cause such a reaction; why do people hate that name and want to kill the prophets who speak that name? Why is it OK to talk about “God”, but not so OK to talk about Jesus? Because when you mention the name of Jesus, you are qualifying which God you are talking about. Jesus is excluded from the pantheon of gods worshipped on this planet. He is the One, the holy and righteous One, the Author of Life, the God of the Bible incarnate, the great and mighty Jehovah, even Yahweh in the flesh – the second person of the Trinity – the embodiment of the only wise God, the Lord of heaven and earth: “if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:9); “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30). Mentioning faith in Jesus means exclusivity, intolerance. “Do you believe in Jesus”, I ask. “Sure, I believe in God”. “Are you saying Jesus is God”, I respond. “I never said that!” responds the defensive subject. “So which god do you believe in?” I challenge. “You know…the one everybody believes in…it’s all the same god just different expressions of it/him/her”. Have you had these conversations? I have. People are lost and confused. They have been deceived. The role of the preacher of the gospel, which is the role of everyone who has come to believe and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, is to preach the One true God, even Jesus the Christ. This is what the book of Acts is about – it is God through His spokespeople, empowered by Holy Spirit, declaring who the true, one and only God of the universe is, proving the crucifixion and resurrection of this God - Jesus by performing signs and wonders thus giving them an opportunity to preach Who really did the miracle! I encourage you to read the book of Acts, (for today read 3-5), and really meditate on the sermons that are preached, which are rich in theology and wonderfully expound the ministry of Jesus the Son of God. Take the short passage above. It is a power-packed, truth-filled passage that declares that Jesus is the Son of God. Verse 13 literally reads, Jesus is the “child” of the God of the Hebrews; every good Bible will have a footnote stating this fact, which also occurs in verse 26. Scholars have told us that the word “paida” (servant) in the Greek language actually meant a young child servant who was assigned to serve and minister to the king. Jesus the Son of God was sent on behalf of the King of the universe to minister to us.
Now, that’s just the intro 😊. Peter and John had just been a conduit for God’s healing to take place, by raising a crippled man up to his feet, making him “completely in perfect health” – every ligament, bone, muscle back in perfect working order – a man who had never walked, for he was born crippled – now walking and leaping and praising God! People obviously were amazed by Peter and John. The disciples were quick to deflect the praise away from themselves and give glory to the resurrected Son of God – the real reason for the miracle. Peter uses the attention given to preach a convicting sermon about who Jesus really is, their guilt in putting Him to death, and their need to repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness of sins (vs. 19). Why was the man healed? Not because of Peter and John, but because of “faith in the name of Jesus… It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him” (vs. 16). The name of Jesus is powerful and offensive – powerful enough to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and save a lost sinner – yet offensive enough to cause religious people to freak out and want to kill those who proclaim that name alone as the source of power and freedom. The name is not a magic formula - just say it and watch what happens – no, it is what and who that name represents – God in the flesh! Notice it is not just the name of Jesus, it is FAITH in the name of Jesus. As Peter will boldly declare in chapter 4, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (meaning: rescued, delivered, preserved, made well) (4:12). What kind of faith? Not just a mental, intellectual belief, but rather a faith in which one is willing to put their whole trust in and receive into their being as a core foundation for living that shapes their whole worldview, confidence, reliance, and hope. Where does this kind of faith come from? It comes from Jesus – He is the object of and source of our faith. There is power in His name because when we truly believe in what that name represents, we are invoking God – all that He is, represents, accomplished through His death and resurrection, His nature, His attributes and His power. We are declaring that we are His representatives, sent on His behalf to bring glory to Him. As His ambassadors, we carry His authority and work on His behalf with His power flowing through us. He is the object and source of our faith. Whatever we perform on His behalf, should be for His glory. See… we don’t chase healing or a certain healer, we chase Jesus and put our faith in Him, knowing that He is working through an anointed servant. Faith comes from Him and is directed towards Him. We remember that healings are to draw people to Jesus and His mediatorial work of salvation, which includes healing (1Peter 2:24). The name of Jesus is powerful! Many songs have been written declaring the fact that “there is power in the name of Jesus”. That power is only released and received when one has the right faith, a faith that comes only from Jesus. The name can be misused as a magic formula which will result in dire consequences (Acts 19:13-17). Let’s ask ourselves, “what does the name of Jesus really mean to me?” Do I think of God Almighty come in the flesh, or is the name just a means to an end? Do I live to bring glory to Jesus by furthering His kingdom and magnifying His person and work, desiring people to have true faith in Him? Do I exalt the name of Jesus?
All hail the power of Jesus’ name! At that name, one day… every single knee in all of creation will bow, and every single tongue will confess that the One who bears that name is Lord of all!
Exalt the Name of Jesus!
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