KNOWING, EXPERIENCING, AND LIVING THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST FOR THE GENUINE CHURCH LIFE
Message Five
Doing All Things in the Name of the Lord Jesus
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:17; Phil. 2:9-10; Eph. 1:20-21; John 5:43; 14:26; 15:26
I. The highest name in the universe, the greatest name, is the name of Jesus— Phil. 2:9-10:
A. The Lord emptied Himself, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself to the uttermost, but God exalted Him to the highest peak—vv. 7-8.
B. By His exaltation, the Lord has been given the name which is above every name, far above every name that is named—Eph. 1:20-21.
C. From the time of Christ's ascension, there has never been a name in history higher than the name of the Lord Jesus—Phil. 2:10-11.
D. The name is the expression of the sum total of what the Lord Jesus is in His person and work—Eph. 1:21.
II. In the name of the Lord Jesus actually means "in the Lord Himself," for the name denotes the person—Col. 3:17:
A. Being in the name of the Lord Jesus means that God has committed His Son to us, that we partake of His name, and that the Lord has given Himself to us and is willing to acknowledge everything that we do in His name—1 Cor. 1:30; John 3:16; 14:12; 2 Cor. 12:2; Col. 3:17.
B. It is vital for us to see that to be in the name of the Lord Jesus means that we are one with Him, that we are in Him and He is in us—Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 3:27-28; Col. 1:27:
1. To be in the Lord's name is to be in His person, in Himself, and to be in the sphere and element of all that He is—Rom. 8:2; 1 Cor. 1:30.
2. To be in the Lord's name is to live by the Lord and to let the Lord live in us— Gal. 2:20.
3. When we are in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are in Christ, Christ is in us, and we are one with Christ—Col. 1:27; 3:1, 3; John 15:4-5.
III. As revealed in the Gospel of John, our being in the name of the Lord Jesus involves the Divine Trinity—5:43; 10:25, 30; 14:26; 15:26:
A. John 5:43 says that the Son came in the name of the Father, and 14:26 says that the Father sent the Spirit in the name of the Son; in these two verses the Divine Trinity is revealed:
1. To say that the Son came in the name of the Father indicates that the Son and the Father are one—5:43.
2. To say that the Father sent the Spirit in the name of the Son indicates that the Father is one with the Son—14:26.
B. The Son came in the name of the Father and did things in the name of the Father—5:43; 10:25:
1. The fact that the Lord came in the name of the Father means that He came with the Father and in the Father.
2. The Son was one with the Father and lived by the Father, and the Father worked in Him—6:57; 14:10.
C. The Father sent the Spirit in the Son's name, and the Son sent the Spirit from the Father—v. 26; 15:26:
1. The Spirit being sent by the Father in the Son's name implies that both the Father and the Son are the Sender of the Spirit—14:26.
2. According to John 15:26, the Son sent the Spirit from the Father.
3. The Son sending the Spirit from the Father and the Father sending the Spirit in the Son's name refer to the same thing.
4. Both the Father and the Son send the Spirit; this indicates that the Father and the Son are one—10:30.
IV. In our daily life and our service in the church, we need to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus—Col. 3:17:
A. Because the name denotes a person, to do things in the name of Jesus means to do all things in His person—v. 17; Rom. 6:3; 8:1; 1 Cor. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:17:
1. Doing all things in the name of the Lord Jesus is the basic aspect of our Christian life—Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17.
2. We should be able to say that we do the ordinary things of our daily life in the name of the Lord—1 Cor. 10:31.
B. Our service in the church requires that we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus—Rom. 1:9; 6:6; 7:6; 12:1, 7; Col. 3:17:
1. Our service must be initiated by the Lord and be according to His desire— Matt. 7:21; Phil. 2:13; Eph. 1:9, 11; 3:2, 7-11.
2. The service for the building up of the church is a life-ministering service— the service of supplying others with the divine life—2 Cor. 4:12; Rom. 12:1, 7:
a. Church service is to supply life, for it is a service of life—8:2, 6, 10-11.
b. As serving ones, we need to be deeply impressed with the necessity of being able to minister life—1 John 5:11-16.
V. Our speaking—all our words—should be in the name of the Lord Jesus— Col. 3:17; Eph. 4:25, 29; Matt. 12:36-37:
A. No corrupt word should proceed out of our mouth but only that which is truthful and gives grace to those who hear—Eph. 4:25, 29.
B. "Every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment"—Matt. 12:36:
1. An idle word is a non-working word, an inoperative word, having no positive function and being useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren.
2. Idle words are redundant words, incongruous words, unnecessary words, and gossiping words—v. 36.
3. In the day of judgment those who speak such words will render an account concerning every one of them—vv. 36-37.
VI. The Gospel of John makes it clear that we should pray in the name of the Lord—14:13; 15:16; 16:24, 26:
A. There are a great number of Christians who do not know that it is necessary for believers to pray in the name of the Lord—14:13; 15:16; 16:24, 26.
B. Praying in the Lord's name means that we are living in union with the Lord, are united with Him, and allow God to be manifested through us—15:4-5, 7; 13:31-32.
C. When we pray in the name of the Lord, the Lord prays together with us—15:7.
D. In John 14 through 16 the Lord Jesus clearly pointed out that prayers in the name of the Lord by those who live in the Lord are prayers that accomplish God's will— 14:13; 15:16; 16:24, 26; 4:34; 5:30; 6:38:
1. All real prayers in the name of the Lord are in accordance with God's will— Matt. 6:10; 12:50; 26:39, 42.
2. Praying in the name of the Lord is equal to doing God's will and accomplishes God's will— John 14:13; 15:16; 16:24, 26; 6:38.