DOING EVERYTHING IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS
In Ephesians 5:20 Paul says, "Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God and the Father," and in Colossians 3:17 Paul says, "And in everything, whatever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." These verses indicate, first of all, that we have been put into a oneness with the Lord. Because we are one with Him, we can use His name. If a person who is an employee of a company goes to a bank to do something for his company, he goes representing that company, and the bank recognizes his oneness with his company. If someone at the bank asks him his identity, he should respond with the name of his company, because the bank only recognizes his company’s name, not his name. This illustration conveys some of the meaning concerning being in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Our experience of the Lord Jesus involves three things: His name, His person, and His reality. The Lord’s name is Jesus Christ, His person is His reality, and His reality is the Spirit. The Father is embodied in the Son, and the Son is realized as the Spirit. The Spirit is the reality of Jesus Christ, and this reality is His person. This is demonstrated whenever we call on the Lord’s name. When we call on the Lord’s name, the person comes. When we call "O Lord Jesus," the person who comes is the Spirit. Thus, the name is very important. The second stanza of hymn #73 written by M.E. Barber in Hymns says, "To breathe the Name of Jesus is to drink of Life indeed." To call on the name of the Lord Jesus is to drink of the Spirit.
Whenever you mention the name of the Lord Jesus, you refer to Him and touch the fact that Jesus Christ is one with you and you are one with Him. If you go to visit a brother and say, "Brother, I come to see you in the name of the Lord Jesus," this means a great deal. You must realize that whenever you say such a thing, the Lord’s presence is with you. This is because to mention His name is to have the Spirit with you. His Spirit is His person, His presence. The more you mention the Lord’s name, the better it is. To speak the Lord Jesus’ name a thousand times a day will help us to overcome.
The New Testament says that we have to do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17). To do things in the name, to call on the name, to mention the name, reminds us that we are one with the Lord Jesus. To do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus should always remind us that He is one with us, that we are in Him and He in us, that He lives in us, and that we should live in Him. Though we may forget these items, the facts still remain. We have been put into Christ.
To baptize people is to baptize them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). First Corinthians 1:30 says that God has put the believers into Christ. This happened at baptism. We were baptized into Christ and into the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3). Now Christ is living in us. This is such a marvelous fact! Once we have believed and have been baptized, it is impossible to get rid of this fact. Now to mention the name of Jesus Christ is so full of meaning.
When we mention the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it cuts off all sinful things. The name makes the fact of being one with the Lord Jesus so real, living, and convincing. To say the name of Jesus chases away all the demons and all kinds of opposing factors. When you say the name of Jesus, you are comforted and enlightened. Whether you feel that Jesus is with you or not, He is with you in fact.
When we are in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are in Christ, Christ is in us, and we are one with Christ. When we say that we are doing things in the name of the Lord Jesus, the entire universe is reminded that there are people who are absolutely one with Christ. The angels honor this and all of the demons are afraid of this. The demons are afraid of any mention of the name of the Lord Jesus. We not only mention the name but also mention the fact that we are in the name of the Lord Jesus. To make such a declaration means a great deal. If we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are victorious. If we do not do things in His name, we are defeated. We should be able to say that we do the ordinary things of our daily life, such as going to the barber shop or going shopping, in the name of the Lord Jesus. If we cannot say this, we must realize that we have been defeated. When we come to the meetings, we say and do things in the name of the Lord Jesus. But do we do things in our home and daily affairs in the name of the Lord Jesus? It may be that the practice of being in the name of the Lord Jesus is just a religious formality with us. Colossians 3:17 says that we must do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus.
(Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
