What might Jesus have meant when He said we are to act/ask ‘in My name?
That is, how are we to act or ask in the name of Jesus?
It may be understood that the name of a person in the Bible signifies the qualities of that person. Therefore, the name of the Lord Jesus signifies all of the divine qualities that we know are in Him and which proceed from Him.
And it is because Jesus “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” Hebrews 1:3, that the name of Jesus signifies all of the divine qualities of Father God.
And the divine qualities of the Father represent the essential and unchanging nature and character of God. And foremost in the essential and unchanging nature and character of God is the love that the Father has for Jesus the Son of Man*.
Speaking anthropomorphically, the Father loves Jesus the Son of Man with all His heart, with all His soul, with all His mind, and with all His strength.
And it is this same attitude and magnitude of love that the Father has for Jesus, that the Father and Jesus have so graciously extended to all people everywhere.
From this then we might conclude that to act or ask ‘in His name’ means to act or ask from our heart with a measure of this same love that the Father has for Jesus the Son of Man. Maybe then we can expect our actions to be more effective and our prayers to be more affective.
Act In My Name
Mark 9:36, “Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me. 38Now John answered Him, saying, Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us. 39But Jesus said, Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40For he who is not against us is on our side. 41For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
John 14:25, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
Mark 16:17, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Ask In My Name
John 14:10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 12Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17These things I command you, that you love one another.”
John 16:22, “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. 23And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. … 26In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
Expect to Receive for My Name’s Sake
Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 19:29, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
Mark 13:9, “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. … 11But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. … 13And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
John 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
| Also see |
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| * Jesus the Son of Man |
| The Purpose and Premise of this Website |
| Other Websites Relevant to this Topic |
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| Stand to Reason – In the Name of Jesus |
