THE NAME ABOVE EVERY OTHER: JESUS

Even though our names are powerful, only one name has the power to change every piece of our world: the name of Jesus. Through that name, you are rescued, redeemed, and restored. The name of Jesus forms the foundation and the transformation of all other names.

The book of Colossians declares boldly, defiantly, that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Col 1:15). Because humanity did not bear God’s image as we were meant to, Jesus came as the definitive and decisive imago. Jesus shows us what God is like and how we can be more like God. And perhaps most importantly, Jesus makes this happen.

Because of Jesus’ loving sacrifice, his blood, his stripes, his resurrection power, and his name, sinful humans are able to bear God’s image and wear the names God has for us as we were always intended to. And Jesus did all this by living into his own name: Immanuel, God with us.

Jesus, who is fully God, became fully human so that humanity could be fully restored. In Jesus, the medium was the message; Jesus—as totally human and totally divine with no division, separation, confusion, or change—makes the way and is the way for us to be reconciled to a divine God.

In Jesus, we find the one name, the true name, the exalted-above-every-other name, the name that holds all things together, the name that has no beginning and no end, and the name that is the beginning and the end. While most names are a proclamation or a statement of identity, Jesus’ name is the only name that does something—a lot of somethings.

No other name can even compare. You are known because he longs to know you. As you seek to understand your own names, remember that the uniqueness and beauty of your identity has profound significance only because of the name of the one who made you.

Through the Spirit’s work in our lives, we are able to become more and more like Christ, shedding the false names and identities we have collected throughout the years and instead living into a true, lasting one. But this identity isn’t meant just to serve our fragile ego—it is meant to embolden us so that we may bless every person we encounter. Your life and your names exist to point you and the world around you toward the greatest truth: that in all our brokenness, our hurt, and our sin, there is but one name above it all. Jesus.

Ask 

• What are some ways God is calling you to use the names he has given you? 
• What is your greatest takeaway from this idea of names and naming? How will you live your life differently because of it? 
• The name of Jesus changes everything. How has Jesus changed your understanding of your own “namedness”?

Pray

Lord, help me internalize all the names you’ve given me so that through them, I can grow in the image of Christ. When I am hurting, help me look to Jesus. Show me the names I need to remind myself of most, names like Beloved, Known, Seen, Child of God, Imago. Let me rest securely, with my identity firmly rooted in the one name that matters, the name above all names: Jesus. Amen.

Were you encouraged in learning about your true names and identity? Learn more about Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything  by Aubrey Sampson.

Taken from Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everyting by Aubrey Sampson. Copyright © 2021. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.