No other name
No other name!
"There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." No other name! That's what Peter said. That's precisely what he said. And that's what the Church of Jesus Christ has been saying for nearly 2,000 years. No other name! Jesus alone is Saviour and Lord. He Himself hath declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me: He's the One, the Only One, who died for the sins of the world. He's the One, the only One, who came back from the dead and got up from the grave. No other name! That's basic! That's fundamental! That's incontrovertible! To them that know, it's non-debatable! "There is no other name under I heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Look where you will as far and as long as you can touch every square inch of land beneath the expansive heavens and view every inhabitant who ever lived on planet earth and you'll come up with the clear, lucid testimony-"No other name!"
A name was supremely significant in ancient times, especially in the east. One's name is still special in the east. E. Stanley Jones mentions in one of his writings an African convert who was so impressed and so thankful for the great change that Christ had made in his life that he changed his name to "After." That was his new name -"After." When he looked back at what he was before, he said I want now to be known as "After." The New Testament word for name in the Greek is "Onoma;' and "Onoma" is that which is representative of character and reputation. One's name is what one is. Onoma comes from Onomi -"to help." The name helps us know the thing or the person. Name characterizes being. You and your name are synonymous. That's why God incar- nate couldn't have just any name. His name had to coincide with His person. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins." The western world has shown less regard for the significance of "onoma:' We buy little name books and search for a name that sounds good. Sometimes we simply name a child after some relative, or else we try to be uniquely different. Some of us parents had better get ready to answer a certain question one of these days, "What were you thinking about when you named me?" It was a different scene in the east. In the case of that baby born in Bethlehem, there was a meeting of both tradition and reve- lation. JESUS was His NAME! It could not have been other- wise. For as in no other case, His name represented PURITY, POWER and PROMISE. He was without sin. He had the authority and the resources to do whatever He needed to do. And He could speak with absolute assurance concerning what would happen in the lives of those who trusted and followed Him. Purity, power and promise were all encouched and en- shrined in the name Jesus. That's why He could guarantee so much by His name. Listen to Him -"Whosoever shall receive a little child IN MY NAME, receiveth me." ", . . where two or three are gathered together IN MY NAME, there am I in the midst of them." "And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, FOR MY NAME'S SAKE shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." ", . . whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink IN MY NAME. . . shall not lose his reward." Listen to Jesus -"IN MY NAME shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues." "And whatsoever ye shall ask IN MY NAME that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything IN MY NAME, I will do it." And in the Upper Room He declared, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send IN MY NAME, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." I tell you, the name of Jesus represents PURITY, POWER and PROMISE. The young Church understood the meaning of the name of Jesus and went forth in the strength of that name. And in a real sense, that's all they had. They had no money, no property, no political clout, no civic influence, no social standing. All that they had was His name. And that was enough. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost and opened the doors of \ the Church by saying -"Repent and be baptized every one of you IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." About 3,000 came forward. Incidentally, there are those who put a doctrinal stamp on BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF JE- SUS ONLY. They take strong issue with those who follow the formula enunciated by Jesus Himself in Matthew 28:19 -"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Such persons do not understand who Jesus really is. Peter does not supersede Jesus and Peter does not contradict Jesus. Peter knew who Jesus was. At Caesarea Philippi, Peter declared- "Thou art the Christ." Peter was with Jesus when Jesus declared -"Before Abraham was, I am." "I and the Father are One." And "When you've seen me, you've seen the Father." The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are One- One God who reveals Himself in three ways. The Father sent the Son and the Son sent the Spirit. They're together right now just as they were before creation's dawning when they declared in unison -"Let US make man." Those who espouse a doc- trine of "baptism in Jesus name only" do not understand that when they do that they're covering the total territory, for when you lift up the name of Jesus you're talking Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The early Church was a name claiming crowd. The very first time Peter and John encountered a difficult situation, they made use of that name. They came upon a lame man at the gate of the temple. That man asked them for alms. Peter replied, "silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." And throughout the narrative, the name is lifted up. The people were amazed at the healing of this man who had been lame for better than 40 years. Peter told them about Jesus, the Prince of life whom God raised from the dead. And he said-"And HIS NAME, through faith IN HIS NAME, hath made this man strong." So full of purity and power and promise was the name of Jesus, that when the elitists of Israel brought Peter and John to trial, Peter stood boldly and declared -"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that BY THE NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even him doth this man stand by you whole." The authorities ordered them to not speak or teach IN THE NAME of Jesus. Peter and John answered, "We can't promise that. We're name claimers. All that we have is a name. And we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." They returned to the company of believers, had a prayer meeting, and asked God that more "signs and wonders may be done by the NAME OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS." They kept on operating in that name, so much so that they were rearrested. At the trial before the same council they were asked, "Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?" Peter and the other apostles answered at once, "We ought to obey God rather than men. Mr. High Priest, we understand your order, but we're operating under a prior order given by a higher power. You tell us not to teach in that name. Obviously you don't know the power of that name. We were eye- witnesses; better yet, we ourselves were delivered by that name. And we delight in that name. Why, the more we declare it, the more we want to declare it. As a matter of fact, we rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame FOR HIS NAME. And by the way, the last time we appeared before you, I told you there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." "NO OTHER NAME! NO OTHER NAME!"
The Apostles stayed with the NAME. They proceeded IN THE NAME and they succeeded because they stayed WITH THE NAME. Now, I'm about to step on some toes, and I have to. I'm convinced that one of the real impediments to the witness of many Churches in our time is a failure to stay with the name. Many Churches are doing more in the name of government than they are doing in the name of Jesus. Churches all over the land are operating programs with government grants, having to get proposals approved and then funded; and then having to submit themselves to Caesar's scrutiny. I take the Scriptures very seriously. The Book says, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's:' The Early Church wasn't funded. The Apostles didn't court Caesar. They challenged Caesar. They stayed with the name. If you stray from the name, you're subject to find yourself in a state of role reversal. Peter and John were able to help the lame man because they were there to declare-,'In the name of Jesus-rise up and walk." You can't declare "In the name" if you're at City Hall asking for alms. As I read the Bible, I don't find prophets and preachers asking favors of politicians and princes. Moses didn't play patsy with Pharaoh. You don't find Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego hobnobbing with Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel wasn't down at the Palace bopping with Belshazzar. Paul never nicknacked with Nero. John wanted no invitation to Domitian's dinner party. They all refused to eat the King's meat. When you know that the name is enough, you stay with the name. I refuse to believe that the Church's witness is dependent on government grants and public philanthropy. If you stay, you won't stray. If you stay with the name, God will supply your every need. Stay with the name of Jesus. For there's NO OTHER NAME. It's the only Heaven-sent, Heaven-sponsored name. It's the only saving name. There's NO OTHER NAME. Somebody said, "What about Buddha?" NO OTHER NAME! What about Confucius? NO OTHER NAME! What about Zoroaster? NO OTHER NAME! What about Mohammed? I said - NO OTHER NAME! How about some Guru? NO OTHER NAME! How about Haire Krishna? NO OTHER NAME! How about Hinduism? NO OTHER NAME! How about Mind Science? NO OTHER NAME! How about all the others? I told you - NO OTHER NAME! Stay with the name!
Take the name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe;
It will joy and comfort give you,
Take it then where e'er you go.
Take the name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every snare;
If temptation round you gather,
Breathe that holy name in prayer.
Stay with the name! Tell everybody everywhere -"There's NO OTHER NAME!" And when you pray, before rising from your knees, remember to say-,"in the name of Jesus." I love that name! It soothes my doubts. It calms my fears. It makes my sorrows cease. "Jesus!" How I love the name. It encompasses everything we need for all time. Jesus! My, what a name. Don't you know who He is? Jesus! That name needs other titles to fully express it. There's no name like His name. Jesus-the Only Begotten, the Word, the Author, the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus-Son of God, Son of Man, Light of the World, Bright and Morning Star. Jesus - Rabbi, Master, Teacher, Lord. Jesus - Head of the Body, Living Bread, Chief Cornerstone, the Second Adam. Jesus- Son of the Most High, Saviour, Redeemer, Friend of Sinners. Jesus - Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. Jesus-Branch, Bridegroom, True Vine, Good Shepherd. Jesus - Lily of the Valley, Rock in a weary Land, Shelter In The Time Of Storm, Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Jesus - Ruler, Judge, Prophet, Priest. Jesus-Door of the Sheepfold, Son of David, Seed of Abraham, Stone Hewed Out Of The Mountain. Jesus- Dayspring From On High, First Begotten Of The Dead, The Resurrection and The Life, The Faithful with the name!
What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and grief’s to bear.
What a name! "God hath exalted Him and given Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under heaven, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father." STAY WITH THE NAME!