Authority In A Name
God created man with a purpose. Upon finishing this master piece of creation, God told man to, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:28) Man’s first act of subduing creation was to give each living thing a name, (2:20). What you name you can rule. This established the principle of headship. God gave Adam his name, and then Adam gave Eve her name and also named his children, thus establishing God’s order of authority in the family.
The following of this divine order was short-lived, though. Instead of obeying the authority that was from above, (God), Adam listened to and obeyed whom he was supposed to lead, (Eve), (3:17). This sin resulted in man’s loss of authority, his condemnation, and spiritual and subsequent physical death. This rupture from God’s intended purpose brought forth the war of the sexes, pursuit of equality, abuse of authority and the chaos of rebellion. Man lost his authority, but God did not lose His. He was still Sovereign and on the throne.
Let’s turn the pages of history forward a few thousand years to the birth of Jesus. The Son of God was sent into time and space by Father God. He was divinely conceived and was named by God. His name, Jesus, (meaning Savior), described His purpose. Although He was the Son of God, Jesus recognized that His authority came from His relationship to the Father and was only available to Him through obedience to His will. Jesus said: “…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19)
From the beginning of His ministry, many observed that Jesus’ authority was not of this world. Jesus taught with authority, He exercised authority over nature, He expelled demons with just a word, and He healed the sick and even raised the dead. All because He was obeying the will of His Sovereign Father who had sent Him. He came to earth in the name given to Him by His Father and what He said and did attested to the its validity. The Roman centurion recognized that Jesus had authority from God over sickness, just as he had civil authority from Rome over his soldiers. Jesus called the centurion’s understanding of authority: Faith. The people, who are under authority, find it easy to believe in Jesus. All authority in Heaven and on Earth is in the Name of Jesus.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Mat. 8:5-13; 28:18; Gen. 1-3; Is. 9:6; John 3:34; 5:19, 30; I Cor. 11:3