In His Name
Excerpt
Statements made about God in the OT are now made about Christ in the NT (cf. He. 1:7–12). The most frequent name for God in the OT, Yahweh (LXX Kyrios, “Lord”), now becomes the Church’s favorite name for Christ. The Church’s earliest confession of faith in Christ was in all likelihood “Jesus is Lord” (cf. Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:9–11). Hence, all that can be said about the name of Yahweh — that prophets prophesy in that name (Jer. 20:9), the righteous trust in that name (Isa. 50:10), people call upon that name (Ps. 105:1), etc. — can be and is said about the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:17f; Jn. 14:1; 1 Cor. 1:2).
Jesus’ disciples prophesied “in his name” (Mt. 7:22), cast out demons “in his name” (Lk. 10:17), performed miracles “in his name” (Mk. 9:39), etc. With the use of this expression, it becomes evident that the disciples spoke and acted like Jesus, in His place, and with His authority, as did the prophets of Yahweh in the OT (see Acts 4:7–10). Similarly, the gospel is to be preached in all the world “in his name,” i.e., by His authority, and thus be made effectual to save people (Lk. 24:47), justify sinners (Acts 10:43), and forgive people their sins (1 Jn. 2:12). More
Hawthorne, G. F. “Name.” Ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised 1979–1988 : 482. Print.
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