Valarion
New Member
I have been wondering about this for a long time, and it is a question about the name Jesus. It's not about spelling or pronunciation, even though I have seen different uses and that is also at the back of my mind. This ties more in with the nature of his sacrifice though.
Question: Is the power of His name internal or external to whoever uses it?
The root of this question is the fact that a name is not only an identifier, but that it denotes a reputation as well.
Let me give some examples, each with two different views to make my question clear (I know this is a bit of strawmanning or shoehorning, but please excuse for the sake of showing my question):
Example 1: I say a prayer in the name of Jesus.
External View: The name has power external to the one who prays (me), and through faith in the name and by grace, the Holy spirit or angels or God answers the prayer or not.
Internal View: The name has power internal to the one who prays (me), and through faith in the name and by grace I understand the reputation of Jesus, that he counted his life and flesh as personally unimportant, even gave them up for the selfless will of God as an example for us. So I pray for spiritual things and not fleshly things; nothing fleshly beyond basic needs at least, since the material things are unimportant to me too. The prayer is answered or not.
Example 2 I feel oppressed by a demon or evil spirit. I compel it to leave me in the name of Jesus and it goes.
External View: The power of the name scares the demon or evil spirit away, due to His authority.
Internal View: I know my Lord overcame the self when he resisted the devil and his temptations, while in the body of a mere man. That gives me courage and strength to resist, and so by his name I have authority over my flesh, and with that faith the evil flees.
I think the reason this question about where the strength of the name lies is important to me, since I have trouble with understanding what 'life' means, and an internal view can help in understanding that.
It seems we can be physically alive, but spiritually dead, seen in the words "let the dead bury the dead" in Luke 9:60 This can show that you can be physically and spiritually dead also (second death in revelation).
You can be physically and spiritually alive, and I think this is being born again, and on those the second death has no power, even though those can still physically die.
This is also mentioned in John 11: 25,26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live (spiritual), even though they die (physical); and whoever lives (spiritual) by believing in me will never die (spiritual). Do you believe this?” <- I inserted the comments in brackets.
I guess a modified way of putting my question is: Does faith in the name of Jesus bestow power from God on us to save our lives, or does it change how we value our own physical lives, does it make us pursue selflessness and the will of God and so escape physical death by undermining it, and the self's importance? Do we become one with a selfless concept: Love, which is eternal?
I struggle to understand how God said that we surely will die in Eden, while the serpent said we would not, yet today we believe in an eternal personal self.
The fascinating thing about that story in Eden, where we gained the knowledge of good and evil, realised we were naked and suffered the penalty of death; is that it matches with what we see in the fossil record. How when our ancient ancestors became more 'self' aware they started to wear clothes, and realised the loss of self in death and started to bury the dead with ritual. But I know many Christians don't like or even hate this topic, or to even consider it, so I won't even name the theory
What is your take or scriptural truth about the name of Jesus?
Question: Is the power of His name internal or external to whoever uses it?
The root of this question is the fact that a name is not only an identifier, but that it denotes a reputation as well.
Let me give some examples, each with two different views to make my question clear (I know this is a bit of strawmanning or shoehorning, but please excuse for the sake of showing my question):
Example 1: I say a prayer in the name of Jesus.
External View: The name has power external to the one who prays (me), and through faith in the name and by grace, the Holy spirit or angels or God answers the prayer or not.
Internal View: The name has power internal to the one who prays (me), and through faith in the name and by grace I understand the reputation of Jesus, that he counted his life and flesh as personally unimportant, even gave them up for the selfless will of God as an example for us. So I pray for spiritual things and not fleshly things; nothing fleshly beyond basic needs at least, since the material things are unimportant to me too. The prayer is answered or not.
Example 2 I feel oppressed by a demon or evil spirit. I compel it to leave me in the name of Jesus and it goes.
External View: The power of the name scares the demon or evil spirit away, due to His authority.
Internal View: I know my Lord overcame the self when he resisted the devil and his temptations, while in the body of a mere man. That gives me courage and strength to resist, and so by his name I have authority over my flesh, and with that faith the evil flees.
I think the reason this question about where the strength of the name lies is important to me, since I have trouble with understanding what 'life' means, and an internal view can help in understanding that.
It seems we can be physically alive, but spiritually dead, seen in the words "let the dead bury the dead" in Luke 9:60 This can show that you can be physically and spiritually dead also (second death in revelation).
You can be physically and spiritually alive, and I think this is being born again, and on those the second death has no power, even though those can still physically die.
This is also mentioned in John 11: 25,26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live (spiritual), even though they die (physical); and whoever lives (spiritual) by believing in me will never die (spiritual). Do you believe this?” <- I inserted the comments in brackets.
I guess a modified way of putting my question is: Does faith in the name of Jesus bestow power from God on us to save our lives, or does it change how we value our own physical lives, does it make us pursue selflessness and the will of God and so escape physical death by undermining it, and the self's importance? Do we become one with a selfless concept: Love, which is eternal?
I struggle to understand how God said that we surely will die in Eden, while the serpent said we would not, yet today we believe in an eternal personal self.
The fascinating thing about that story in Eden, where we gained the knowledge of good and evil, realised we were naked and suffered the penalty of death; is that it matches with what we see in the fossil record. How when our ancient ancestors became more 'self' aware they started to wear clothes, and realised the loss of self in death and started to bury the dead with ritual. But I know many Christians don't like or even hate this topic, or to even consider it, so I won't even name the theory
What is your take or scriptural truth about the name of Jesus?