November 22 - LD 47, Day 4: Jesus, Name Above
Every Name
by Rev. Andrew Lanning
Read: Philippians 2:5-11
As we saw last time,
God’s name is His revelation of Himself. To know God’s name is to know God. We
also saw that God’s name includes more than His proper names. Wherever God is
revealed, there is His name.
This time, we see the
ultimate revelation of God’s name: Jesus Christ.
God is pleased to reveal
Himself most fully in Jesus. We can distinguish three ways in which Jesus fully
reveals God: in Jesus’ name, in His person, and in His work.
First, God reveals
Himself in Jesus’ name. The name Jesus is made up of two words:
Jehovah, salvation. As God told Joseph through the angel in Matt 1:21, “…thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people
from their sins.” Therefore, Jesus’ name reveals Him to be the outstanding
demonstration of God’s love and faithfulness. God is not only the great,
unchangeable Jehovah, the I AM THAT I AM; He is also
the merciful Savior who delivers His people from their sins. God’s unchangeable
mercy for His elect people is revealed in the sending of Jesus. Jesus’ name is
a constant testimony to God’s people: Jehovah, your God, saves you. As Phil 2
says, Jesus’ name is above every name, and this brings glory to God.
Second, God reveals
Himself in Jesus’ person. Jesus is the eternal Son and the eternal Word, the
Second Person of the Trinity. In that Person are united the divine and human
natures of Christ. Therefore, all who look upon Jesus look upon God Himself. For that reason, Heb 1:3 calls Jesus “the
brightness of His [God’s] glory, and the express image of His [God’s] person.”
This is also why Jesus Himself taught in John 14:7-9: “If ye had known me, ye
should have known my Father also . . . . He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father...”
Third, God reveals
Himself in Jesus’ works. The powerful teaching and the mighty miracles of Jesus
all revealed the glory of God. This explains what Jesus means in John 17:6 when
He prays to God, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.” Immediately after this, Jesus
goes on to recount the work that He performed in keeping them. By Jesus’ mighty
works, God is revealed.
What a glorious name
belongs to Jesus! God most fully reveals Himself in this Jehovah-salvation.
And therefore, it is the only name under heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts
4:12)!