What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?
Here's Jesus Himself using the phrase 'in my name':
Many will come in my name, saying 'I am He' and will lead many astray. (Mark 13:6)
This is a very strong understanding of 'in my name'. Here to act "in Jesus' name" is to act as Jesus and to appear to others as Jesus.
Well now - Jesus Himself asks you to pray to the Father 'in His name' (John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23). So when you come to the Father, come as Jesus. Come as son, come as christ (anointed one). Call on God Most High with Jesus' own cry - 'Abba, Father' (Mark 14:36 <=> Gal 4:6). By the Spirit, you are so identified with the Son in prayer that you pray as Jesus. And the Father hears you as His very own Beloved.
Jesus does not point the way to prayer, nor simply blaze a trail and ask you to follow along. He incorporates you into Himself in His own self-offering to the Father. As you pray you are not outside the Trinity. But neither are you a fourth member of the Trinity. You are in Christ, filled with the Spirit of adoption, calling on your Abba, Father.
That's prayer "in Jesus' name." But of course we do all of life - whether in word or deed - "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians 3:17). We don't only approach the Father "clothed in Christ", we approach the world "clothed in Christ." That's our true identity. More true than any phony masks we wear.
I say this stuff with glib assurance but as I write I realise I have no idea of the magnitude of Christ's mediation both to God but also the world!
I believe this post is what is known as a 'keeper'.
Glen - this is really helpful stuff. It's one of those concepts that in once sense I know, but when it's spelt out in this way, it makes me want to go and pray... and do all of life 'in the name of the Lord Jesus, to the glory of God the Father'.
One can pray in Jesus' name exclusively from the vantage point of his characteristic death on the cross by which alone "everyone will worship him as God and know him by the same name", a.k.a., "I Am Who I Am." (John 8: 21-28 based on Ex. 3: 1-15 and Zech. 14: 1-9)
He really says "Many will come in My name, saying "I Am" and will mislead many".
That is so significant and the translation adding 'He' takes away from the fact that He is the "I Am". It messes up the point He is making.
That's why I still use the 'new american standard bible' and can't bring myself to study with any other version of the bible, because the NASB always puts those little added words (that are supposedly to make the meaning clearer) in ITALICS, so you know it was added not what was originally said.
I still can't understand why all the new translations that have come out the past 20 years or so do not utilize this major tool. I was all set to start using the ESV and bought one only to find they still haven't picked up on the idea of italicizing words that have been added for clarity.
Until one starts doing this, I will continue using my old cover-less ragged NASB.
Lack of personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, based on his Spirit-active death on the cross, is the real cause for the deception of others (Matt. 24:5) and the self-deception predicted to be disastrously exposed on Judgement Day (Ibid, 7: 21-23). It concerns primarily Christians.
Woldeyesus,
What part does the resurrection play in your thinking?
If you mean the garden-variety resurrection, I have happily dissociated myself from it since many years.
Otherwise, I am one of the witnesses to his top secret resurrection (Matt. 27: 50-56; Acts 1: 21-22).
But hang on,
Isn't the resurrection of Matt 27:50-56 a resurrection of other saints rather than of Jesus himself?
Are you a gnostic? It sounds to me like you put spiritual experiences before anything else and believe that knowledge of Christ is a secret thing, not revealed to everyone. That sounds pretty gnostic.
LET SCRIPTURE BE MY JUDGE!
I am willing, ready and able to be corrected on the following two conditions, viz.: THAT IT IS NOT WRITTEN 1) Christ himself rose from death on the very day he died immediately followed by many of God's people who had died (Matt. 27: 52-53); and 2) Christ's divine identity and authority proved more than sufficient to remain unchanged by death and also connect all past, present and future fruits thereof including Moses and Elijah! (Ibid, 16: 13-28; Luke 9: 28-36)
"The Son in prayer that you pray as Jesus. And the Father hears you as His very own Beloved"..What a well said..Just love it.Every time we pray to our heavenly father as a son as a Jesus as a true Christ.He takes us in Him and pray to that almighty.This is the post who explain the true meaning of the phrase ‘in my name’:Thank you so so much for sharing this post with us.
Love and Blessings.....
Linda,
What if the "figures of speech" about the Father used by Jesus change to plain language and the distinction between the Father and the Son proves spurious just as anticipated? (John 16: 25-26)
eye opening! Thank you.. i'll be sharing..
woldeyesus - you want Scripture to be your judge - excellent. In Matt 12:40, Jesus says: "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
In 1Cor 15:3-4, Paul says "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures"
If Christ was raised as soon as he died, why bury the body? And if his resurrection wasn't bodily (as well as what hope is there), why do Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have all that stuff about the tomb being empty? Why do you get stuff like Luke 24:39, where Jesus points out that he has a body?
As for the scriptures you give- Matt 27:52-53 - where does it say about Jesus? and Matt 16:13-28 includes this verse (21) "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
Any secret, Good Friday, resurrection of Jesus is so secret it's not in Scripture, with Scripture keeping up Jesus' third day talk.
Si Hollett,
1) Not only does the debut of the powerful demo. of Christ's death on the cross (Matt. 27: 50-56) stand on its own, it is also a decisive climax of the death-defying characteristics of "the Messiah, the Son of the living God" as first foretold (Ibid, 16:18), confirmed by Moses and Elijah (Luke 9: 28-36) and accepted as the uniquely "new and living way" of worship (Heb. 10: 19-25) .
2) You quoted Matt. 12:40 completely out of the context of godlessness and evil characteristic of apostasy.
3) Paul's expression "raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15: 3-4) refers to a qualitative perfection of God's self-revelation in the following precedents, e.g., the "tree of life" in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2: 8-9); "a flame coming from the middle of a bush on fire but not burning up" (Ex. 3: 1-15 with a promise for a big encore), etc.
4) Christ's resurrection is about making more known "the God of the living, not of the dead" (Matt. 22: 29-32). Good Friday resurrection of Jesus, requiring radical change in man's way of thinking, is all over the Scriptures in general and the gospel in particular (Ibid, 16: 22-23).
woldeyesus,
You cite Matthew 16 twice in support of a Good Friday resurrection. It reads:
" 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
I'm wondering what could ever persuade you out of your own position? You seem to be someone who has placed themselves out of the way of all authority, even the word of God. It must get lonely all by yourself.
Here is an extract of the framework developed in the Gospel according to Matthew.
1) "... on this rock foundation (a.k.a., 'the Messiah, the Son of the living God', 16:16), I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it" (v.18)
2) The litmus test is proposed in v. 21
3) The requirement of a radical change in man's way of thinking is made clear vs. 22-23.
There is more!
1) Dying is the 'decisive climax', the revelation of death-defying? I'm not denying death-defying, I'm affirming the stumbling block of a crucified and dead Messiah. And again, you quote Matt 16 which clearly has Jesus saying 'on the third day...' - are you saying he was lying, even to his inner circle.
2) It is interesting that Matthew has Jesus proclaiming his third day resurrection to the godless and evil apostates that think they know everything (in 12:40) before his disciples (in 16:21). Maybe this removes the idea of secret knowledge that only the disciples had? Only godless and evil apostates that think they know everything refuse to recognise the sing of Jonah, with the Son of Man in the ground until the third day.
3)I'm struggling to get through the jargon and buzzwords you've added to try and make you sound more correct (massive religiosity there), but surely (while day 3 of creation, where the tree of life was created is a big thing Paul is talking about - firstfruits, etc) Paul isn't talking about some trees here, but Christ. He's received this from Peter and John, about Jesus, who probably gave them the Emmaus road sermon from the OT showing 'raised on the third day'.
4) You haven't given any scriptures that talk of a Good Friday resurrection - in fact you've give (again) Matthew 16 - here you ignore the context where, in the verse before, Jesus says that on the third day he'll be raised the day before. What Peter seems to be attacking is the notion that Jesus will die and be raised on the third day, which is what you deny has happened. Get behind him Satan!
Si Hollett,
Am I saying "Jesus was lying"? God forbid!
There has never been anything, in principle and practice, more difficult to understand, believe in and be committed to than the power of personal vision of God's image of self-sufficiency, a.k.a., "the resurrection and the life" with its multiplying effect, which "not even death will ever be able to overcome" without a radical change in man's way of thinking facilitated by Christ's discipleship training. (John 11: 25-26; Matt. 16: 18, 22-23; 28: 18-20)
Moses was no exception (Ex. 3: 1-15). We, on the other hand, have put the whole issue under the carpet as "theologically incorrect". Haven't we?
One can see here the application of a pedagogical method of programmed teaching by Jesus to his disciples for one of whom (the impulsive Simon Peter) the whole concept seriously backfired!
That is why it proved necessary to recall the pioneering LIVE testimonies by Moses And Elijah as they were overheard in the Transfiguration whose effect on Peter proved negligible. (Ibid, 17: 1-13; Luke 9: 28-36)
Cases of breakthroughs were slow, few and isolated. The ground was partially broken by the wife of Zebedee and her two sons (Matt. 20: 20-28) followed by today's unsung heroine of Bethany (Ibid, 26: 1-13) accounting for their committed "standing close to Jesus' cross" (John 19: 25-42) .
All the other disciples did not get their bearings before 40 days of rehabilitation after Christ's death (Acts 1: 1-5).
I pray that this exchange of comments will bring as many of us as possible to stand close to Jesus' cross. AMEN.
woldeyesus - I can't penetrate a lot of your linguistic religiosity there, but I notice you talk about the difficulty, despite clear (ie, unlike yours) testimonies to the truth, to grasp the truth revealed in Scripture. I'm praying for the Spirit to reveal to you the truth.
Earlier you asked if we could show that a Good Friday resurrection of Jesus is not written - I've tried to show that a Good Friday resurrection makes Jesus a liar, as he talks about rising on the third day a lot. At the moment, I cannot see how you are not calling Jesus a liar (which is something you have said you don't want to do) when he talks about the third day.
Let me lay down a gauntlet to you - show that a Good Friday resurrection is written in the Scriptures and explain what all this third day stuff actually is about. However, there's a caveat - you need to explain it simply: no mass of theological and philosophical jargon - if the Kingdom belongs to little children (Matt 19:14), it must be explainable to a child. If you can do this - great, you'll have surprised me, but persuaded me; if not, then may I suggest that Glen's post about you simply being your own authority and not God's is correct.
Pingback: Memorialist Prayer « Christ the Truth