by Kenneth Copeland
Have you heard other Christians praying in Jesus’ name, but can’t figure out why? Well, I’m going to answer that question. Of course, the reality is so much bigger than that one question. The truth is that Jesus’ name has an unparalleled authority and power that you and I and every other believer can access.
First, you must realize that Jesus inherited His name from Almighty God. That means it’s God’s own Name. It’s the Name that in the Old Testament is translated LORD (as in Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower”). It’s the Name that was considered by the Israelites to be so powerful and holy that they reverenced it too much to say it and eventually the proper pronunciation was lost.
This is the most awesome, powerful Name that exists, and Jesus obtained it by inheritance. It was conferred on Him after He purged our sin through the work of redemption, when He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,” and God said to Him, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Hebrews 1:3, 8).
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Philippians 2:9-10).
Just think of it! The Name Jesus inherited, the Name God conferred on Him after His ascension to the throne of grace, is God’s own divine Name. Therefore the only way to measure its greatness and grandness is by measuring the power of God Himself, and that can’t be done.
God’s power is immeasurable—and every bit of it is in His Name!
That’s shouting ground right there, but it’s not the whole story. According to Romans 8:17, you and I, as believers, are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” so that Name belongs to us just as much as it belongs to Jesus. It belongs to every born-again child of God because, as the Apostle Paul said, it’s the Name “of whom the whole family [of God] in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:15).
This is the reason the Church is referred to in Scripture as the bride of Christ. We’ve been covenanted to Him in a holy matrimony before God Almighty and, just as a bride takes the name of her husband in an earthly marriage, we’ve been given Jesus’ Name.
Most Christians haven’t fully grasped this yet. They might have a little revelation of it. They might understand that they’ve been authorized to use Jesus’ Name at certain times to do the work of God. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The truth is, we’ve not only been authorized to use His Name but we’ve been named after Him.
His Name is our name!
We have as much right to it as my wife, Gloria, has to the name Copeland. She doesn’t have any qualms about using that name. She wields it with the same authority and confidence that I do. She can write it on a check, take it to the tellers at the bank, and they’ll smile and give her every last dime in my account. Why? It’s her name and her account as much as it is mine.
The authority that’s been invested in us as believers is beyond our wildest imaginations. Because we have God’s Name, we not only have the right to speak for God, we have the right to speak by His grace as God. In fact, when we speak His Word by faith the devil can’t tell the difference between us and God Himself. That’s why it’s so important to pray in Jesus’ name and to understand the power and authority available to us when we do.
When the enemy sees us coming his way, dressed in the spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6—wearing the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness, our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, holding up the shield of faith, and looking at him through the faceplate of the helmet of salvation—the devil doesn’t know who’s in that armor. He just knows he’s looking at God’s fighting suit. So as far as he’s concerned it’s either the Father God Himself or His Son, The LORD Jesus Christ.
“But Brother Copeland,” you might say, “God and Jesus are perfect. I’m not. Sometimes I sin or make mistakes. Won’t the devil see that and realize it’s just me inside that armor?”
Not if the moment you sin you immediately repent and run to the throne of grace. Jesus is always there and He’s faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness—instantly, right on the spot. There’s nothing the devil can do about it, either, because your righteousness isn’t based on your own perfect performance. It’s a gift from your heavenly Father who sent Jesus to be made “sin for us…that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
I’m talking to you about praying in the name of Jesus. But really, I’m teaching you that you are qualified to wear God’s armor and wield His authority. Yes, sometimes we’ll make mistakes and fall short, but that doesn’t mean we will ever lose our connection with Jesus. By faith we’re in Him. He’s the head and we’re the body.
Even in a natural sense, the head and the body don’t have two different identities. When I walk into a room no one ever says, “Here comes Brother Copeland and his body.” No, the head and the body are one. They have the same identity and the same name.
That’s how it is with us and Jesus. We’re one. We have the same authority He does. We wear the same armor, and we have the same all-powerful Name!
Hebrews 2:11-14 says it this way:
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee…. Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
At times, when you put on the armor of God, you may feel like it’s too big for you. You may be aware that you have some growing to do spiritually before you fill it out. But that doesn’t change the fact that, according to those verses, the Lord Jesus Christ has called you His brother. You’re born of God just as surely as He is. You and He have the same DNA. Spiritually, you’re identical twins.
It’s no wonder the devil is terrified of you. It’s no wonder he flees when you resist him!
You bear the Name of the One who conquered him in awesome, awful combat in the pit of hell. You bear the Name of the One who destroyed him and stripped him of his authority. The all-victorious One who, “having spoiled principalities and powers…made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).
No matter what you encounter, have faith in the name of Jesus. Take your place, seated with Him in heavenly places—“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named” (Ephesians 1:21). It’s your chance to overcome every obstacle!
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