IN THE NAME OF...
In the Old Testament, prayers and invocations were usually made in the name of the Lord, our God. There are multiple examples of this throughout the Bible, such as:
“then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God…”
(Deuteronomy 18:7)
“…and to bless in the name of the Lord…”
(Deuteronomy 21:5)
…he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
(2 Samuel 6:18)
“…tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord…”
(2 Chronicles 18:15)
…in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
(Psalm 118:10)
In the New Testament, however, although the phrase is still used, it is more often used in connection with Christ or in direct reference to Christ Himself. As we see in the following examples:
“…Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
(Luke 13:35)
“…Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!…”
(Luke 19:38)
“…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
(Acts 3:6)
giving thanks always for all things to God the father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Ephesians 5:20)
…whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
(Colossians 3:17)
But have you noticed that we never pray or invoke anything in the name of the Holy Spirit alone, only in conjunction with God and Jesus?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
(Matthew 28:19)
Is this because of the different aspects of each personality of God? After all, we are told that God is love and that those who love God are loved in return. But there are many gods worshipped throughout the world and invoking the name of god could be referring to any one of these so called deities. The God of the Bible may be love but that is not the god that many refer to. On the other hand, Jesus is specific to the Son of the Living God and there is no doubt as to whom one is referring when they are praying in the name of Jesus, and through that Name, to God Himself. There is only one God who sent His Son to be a sacrifice for us all, and therefore doing anything in the name of Jesus refers only to the true God.
As for the Holy Spirit, well, He is not meant to be a conduit from us to God but rather from God to us and is the teacher of true wisdom.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
(John 14:26)
“For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
(Luke12:12)
It is to the God of love, who is identified positively through His Son who became a sacrifice for us all, and who subsequently sent us ultimate wisdom though the Holy Spirit, that we make our requests known; with the Holy Spirit teaching us what to say.
In the name of the God of love, the Son of sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit of wisdom; it really is something to think about.
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