When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. – Hebrews 1:3-4 NASB

What’s In A Name?

Apparently, a lot.

When we named our first son, Christopher, it sounded right to us. We would write it out longhand and look at it. We played with his initials. We thought of others we knew with the same name. We didn’t want him to have the most common name for the year. Apparently more parents of boys born in the US in 1980 did exactly the same thing that we did. It was the number two name for the year, and the entire decade of the 80s.

In the beginning, it was just scrawls on a page. Now he’s one of my beloved sons. He’s also a brother, uncle, and very good daddy to two of my grandkids. When I hear the name Christopher, there is so much more to it than just those initials on a page.

But the Father used His name to be more than an identifier. God used His name to teach us about His nature. In the end, we see that Jesus became the embodiment of all that God loaded into His own name. One of the reasons we believe Jesus is God stems from His adopting the form the Father used, first with Moses.

Moses asks,

“Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” – Exodus 3:13

And God’s answer is an enigma,

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” – Exodus 3:14

But as we learn from the history of Isreal, and later from the life of Jesus “I AM” included an ellipsis–“I AM…”–which He amplified repeatedly as the children of Israel and later the disciples needed revelation.

I AM your Provider.
I AM your Healer.
I AM your all Sufficient One.
I AM your Peace.
I AM the Way.
I AM the Truth.
I AM the Resurrection and the Life.

But this name, Jesus, Yeshua, is the one that gets all the honor.

This big bite from Philippians gives us an amplification of that the writer of our letter is saying here in verse 4.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:5-11

Paul includes similar language when he writes to the church in Ephesus,

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:21-23

The overarching reality is that Jesus is worthy of our praise. This name, Jesus, should be on our lips in praise and is one of our greatest weapons against the wiles of the evil one.

The name of Jesus is above every name, any name.

Does your condition have a name? Jesus’ name is bigger.

Does the mountain you want to see thrown down have a name? Jesus’ name is stronger.

Can you put a name on the circumstance that’s eating your lunch? Jesus’ name is greater.

Jesus is the name above all names.

When we translate the Hebrew name Yeshua into English we find Salvation.

As the angel told Joseph in a dream about the birth of his step-son,

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21

Perhaps the greatest power in His name is found in Romans. When I was a boy in Stockade (kind of like a Christian version of Boy Scouts) a dear brother in the Lord, Bob McCarthy, called it TNT.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. – Romans 10:9-10

Jesus holds all authority.

As we take His name and speak, as His ambassadors, we are backed by all His authority.

Jesus wields all power.

When we command circumstances and problems inspired by satan and his minions, we hold that power in our mouth.

You begin to see why the Father didn’t want His name taken in vain. When we use the name of Jesus and esteem it lightly, we disgrace the most powerful and wonderful and beautiful name.

What’s in a name?

Everything.

Thanks for coming by today.

Walk in the light

Ben

If you want to catch up to us in our study of Hebrews, check the Hebrews page, here.