Understanding What's in a NameSample

Names Become Tangible

The name your parents gave you doesn’t determine your success in the Christian life. Rather, it’s because you take on the name of Jesus–the name above all others–that you’re able to become all He created you to be.

When God entered into a covenant with Abraham, He didn’t promise him wealth or fame. He promised Abraham a good name (Genesis 12:1–2). Abram would become Abraham, and Abraham would take on real substance and significance. He would be the faith-filled father of God’s chosen people, and it would be from Abraham’s descendants that the Messiah would ultimately be born. Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word." (John 17:6) The word manifest means to take on tangibility. Wondrously, Jesus’ incarnation made covenant-keeping God the Father tangible to humanity.

Paul writes to the Philippians, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9–11) God has given Jesus the name that’s above every other name. That means no matter what the thing you’re facing is called, Jesus is called something greater. So if names like cancer, depression, divorce, redundancy, or anything else threaten to overwhelm you, or claim to be bigger than Jesus’ name, you can rest assured that Jesus is far superior to those names in every way.

Our success in the Christian life isn’t based on the name our parents give us but on the name God gives us. When we accept Jesus’ invitation, He welcomes us into Himself: we’re then found in Him (Colossians 2:6). We bear His name, and we begin to take on His characteristics, making His name tangible at work, at home, at church, and in every other arena of life. Take some time to review what God has shown you about names and their significance. Your Heavenly Father has adopted you and you bear His family name. You’re a coheir with Jesus Christ, whose name is above any other. It’s no longer just you who lives–but Christ who lives in you. And greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. May you begin to see the nature, character, quality, and substance of Jesus being formed in you, and may you boldly carry the marks of His authority and power.