The Name Above Every Name
Devotions:
We have been looking at the authority that we have in the Name of Jesus. There are three ways to gain a name of importance and power: to inherit the name, which Jesus did, to gain the name by conquest which also Jesus did and to have the name bestowed upon you because of some great deed that you did. In England commoners who do great service to the crown can have bestowed upon them knighthood and be from then on have the title sir added to their name.
Jesus, by His obedience to the Father had bestowed upon Him a Name of honor.
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:5-11 NASB
So we see that the Name of Jesus, which represents the person, which is distinguished, carries all authority in heaven, on earth and under the earth. He gave the authority to use His Name in place of Him, to the church. Every knee must bow and yield when we use that Name. It is not a religious decoration that we put on the end of our prayers. It does not depend on how many times we say it but whether we believe that we are releasing the authority of heaven by using that Name. We do not pray using His name to see what might happen but we pray using His name because we know what will happen when we speak that Name, Jesus.