The Power of Jesus' Name

"All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"

If you can relate to the days of hymnals, you might have opened one in which "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" was featured on the very first page. Called "The National Anthem of Christendom," this hymn was composed in 1779, by a man who has been all but forgotten--which, I would infer, was his intent. Edward Perronet, the son of an Anglican priest, worked closely with John and Charles Wesley in the First Great Awakening that swept Britain and its colonies in the early 1700s. The lyrics of this great hymn, complete with its endearing archaisms, present the timeless truth of Scripture's simplest message, "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 2:10-11).

All hail the pow'r of Jesus' Name!

Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,

Ye ransomed from the fall,

Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget

The wormwood and the gall,

Go, spread your trophies at His feet,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Go, spread your trophies at His feet,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Let every kindred, every tribe,

On this terrestrial ball,

To Him all majesty ascribe,

And crown Him Lord of all!

To Him all majesty ascribe,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Oh, that with yonder sacred throng

We at His feet may fall!

We'll join the everlasting song,

And crown Him Lord of all!

We'll join the everlasting song,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Taking less than five minutes to sing, this great hymn offers more in five verses than some composers today offer in five songs. With booming pipe organ, full orchestra, and resounding congregational singing, this song almost knocks you off your feet. What is the power of Jesus' Name?  Angels fall at His feet and crown Him Lord of all; those ransomed from the Fall and saved by His grace fall at His feet and crown Him Lord of all; those from every tribe on the globe ascribe Him all majesty and crown Him Lord of all. And, oh, that, with this "sacred throng," we at His feet may fall and crown Him Lord of all! This song lifts Jesus higher than all and puts all of creation at His feet, both now ("Let [this very moment] angels prostrate fall") and for all eternity ("the everlasting song"); both in heaven ("angels prostrate") and on earth ("this terrestrial ball"); both saved ("ye ransomed from the fall") and unsaved ("every kindred, every tribe"). The power of Jesus' Name is defined yet indefinable. He saves, He reigns; He remains "Lord of all."

In rugged simplicity, this song compresses the truth of the gospel with unifying repetition of its central command. Sung ten times in five verses, this command to "Crown Him Lord of all" rings out across the centuries as a rebuke to all false religions created by Satan and celebrated by man. The Lordship of Christ is the central fact of time and eternity. And how is His Lordship properly worshiped? By falling at His feet and crowning Him as Lord. Why? Philippians 2:5-11 tells us why. Our wonderful Lord left His throne with God the Father, made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:5-8). "Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a 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).

Paul makes the link crystal clear: there is not even one word squeezed between "Cross" at the end of verse eight and "Wherefore" at the beginning of verse nine. The highest glory of the universe is ascribed to our Lord because He took upon Himself the lowest depths, bearing the weight and shame of our sin upon the Cross. Subtract this fact from history, and we have no Christ at all. The third verse of Perronet's hymn, following Philippians 2 very closely for all of its lyrics, provides a direct reference to the Cross, all while enjoining sinners who truly love Christ to "ne'er forget." Forget the Cross, and we have forgotten our Christ. Forget our sin, and we forget our need for Christ. Eloquently evoking a sense of both the sinner's "wormwood and gall" and Christ's--for His was surely ours--Perronet captures the imagery of the bitterness and gall Christ literally tasted at Calvary.

Tragically, this third verse is "forgotten" today, even when the hymn itself is still sung. Omitted perhaps for its archaic vocabulary--"wormwood and gall"--this verse commands sinners to spread their trophies at His feet. What trophies are these? The crowns they have won through salvation in Christ. And what crowns are these? Any honor due them for souls won through their witness for Christ. And we cannot fail to notice that the theology of this hymn rings true: all of named creation, whether in heaven or on earth, is giving trophies, crowns, and glory to Christ for all eternity. Notice the bolded words of this hymn above and see that Christ Himself is the focus of every verse, without deviation and multiple times, with the one exception of the opening line, "All hail the power of Jesus' Name." This song tells us why Christ's Name has power, and it immediately shifts the emphasis from the power of His Name to the power of His Person.

What is a False Use of Jesus' Name?

Why is this shift significant? In keeping with Paul's passage in Philippians 2, this song captures the truth of the gospel, such that no one can take Christ's Name in vain, coveting His power while shunning His Person. And yet, Christ Himself makes clear that false prophets will do exactly that: they will call Him "Lord, Lord," while disregarding obedience to the things that He says. They will substitute daily obedience for signs and wonders that fool almost everyone except the Lord. Saddest of all, they will have fooled themselves, professing "in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name? and in thy Name have cast out devils? and in thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23). We would like to think that this is the exception and not the rule--"not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven," but, in truth, "many will say to me in that day"--that they have used Christ's Name to accomplish great things. In reality, they will have broken the Third Commandment and taken God's name in vain. And they will not be held guiltless.

And how do we know a false prophet from a true? "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10). And what is this will? Our daily portion of bread--not a storehouse, but enough for today; not the prosperity gospel, but sustenance; forgiveness--for ourselves and ours for our debtors; shielding from temptation and deliverance from evil. This is what we are to pray for--not the sensational things but the central things, the simple things, apart from which life is meaningless. Central to God's will is not that we have things but that we become like Him--on earth, as it is in heaven. And this is how we hallow our Father's Name.

These Scriptures show us two vital truths about the power of Jesus' Name: the power of His Name is always connected to His Person and is always connected to our person. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). We have no business wielding Jesus' Name as the "vagabond Jews, exorcists" did in Acts 19:13-17. "Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 'We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.' Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?' Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified" (Acts 19:13-17). Notice that the Name of the Lord was magnified by being restricted. No one was entitled to use His Name if they did not know Him. For them, His Name had no power.

When we contrast these two passages showing a false use of Jesus' Name, we notice that, while the Jewish pretenders of Acts 19 had no power, the false prophets in Matthew 7 apparently did. How is this possible? The fact that Jesus casts them out, saying "I never knew you," shows that the "Jesus" they used to perform their miracles--prophesying, casting out demons and doing many wonderful works--was a different Jesus. This fact equates their power with witchcraft. Scripture is clear that Satan comes as an angel of light, as Paul points out in II Corinthians 11:13-15, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.   And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." Do we not indeed see this very thing happening today, thousands of years later? Many popular false prophets have dubbed themselves "apostles" or, worse yet, "little gods," performing signs and wonders in the Name of Jesus.

Why would Satan cloak his power in the Name of Jesus? Wouldn't he be running the risk that people will believe on Jesus and be saved? We must remember that neither the "sheep's clothing" nor the wolf underneath is authentic, for the "sheep's clothing" points to a sheep that is already dead. There is no sheep. The sheep's clothing actually comes from the sheep the wolf has slain. What does this mean for us? Despite displays of power, there is no efficacy in any of Satan's works to bring about true salvation. All he can offer is a momentary thrill, and it will look ever so innocent, ever so real. And the more popular these displays of power become in what is now known as "prophetic worship" among many Christian song artists, the more we witness the fulfillment of Jesus's words to His disciples in Matthew 24:24, "For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24). The Apostle Paul also warns us of this phenomenon in II Thessalonians 2:9, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders." Satan's power will masquerade as Christ's power.

But we dare to believe that the same Lord who commanded us to watch and pray against the clever deceptions of false christs will be faithful to reveal to us who they are, despite their bewitching use of His Name. It would not be an overstatement to say that, given our Lord's warnings of almost universal deception in the last days, we might with good reason interpret any Christian leader's widespread popularity as the first sign of danger. This should be especially true if he or she is raking in the millions in Jesus' Name. Can any of these spiritual celebrities say with Peter, "Silver and gold have I none: but such as I have give I you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6)? Do a Google search of Christian celebrities' annual salaries and net worth and engage in some deep soul-searching along the way.

What Is the Biblical Context behind Jesus' Name?

The very thing that we are most judged for doing these days--using the Word of God to discern doctrinal error and false teaching--is the exact thing we must be doing to avoid being seduced by false spirits. But the cult of personality that has swept our culture for the past several generations places a premium on likeability. It is almost impossible to question a Christian celebrity once he or she has gained charismatic appeal. But this is exactly as Satan would have it. Does that mean we disregard the command in I John 4:1 to "try the spirits"? And what is the test? "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby we know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:1-4).

There is a lot more here than meets the eye. First, He is Jesus. His Name means "He saves." Any setting aside of this fact, and you have a different Jesus. Second, He is Christ. This means He is Messiah, the "Anointed One." Everything the Bible teaches about the Messiah and His anointing is fulfilled in Jesus. Set the title of "Christ" aside as superfluous, and you render Jesus' mission powerless. Notice how many popular teachers talk about Jesus but casually omit ever referring to Him as "Christ." Does this matter? Indeed, it does. Third, He "is come" in the flesh. The incarnation of Christ would at first appear to have a broad scope of acceptance, for almost all Christian denominations believe this, don't they? And yet, believing that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" requires a lot more unpacking than would at first appear.

The King James' wording, "is come," captures the sense of the perfect tense in the Greek, meaning far more than merely that Jesus Christ "has come" in the flesh, like an Old Testament theophany. This point is crucial, for the text means that Jesus, having come in the flesh, is still flesh. His coming in the flesh is a permanent fact with ongoing relevance. Hebrews 13:8 makes clear Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." That means He still retains the body that God prepared for Him (Hebrews 10:5). He does not change forms. Yet the prevalent heresy known as modalism teaches that Jesus no longer has a body but is now the Holy Spirit. The eternal body of Jesus Christ is one of the strongest proofs of the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. And yet this doctrine is under attack from some very surprising sources, including even recent big names in the Southern Baptist Convention.

The fourth fact inseparable from the identify of Christ is that which is the central theme of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." This fact the Apostle Paul makes clear in I Corinthians 12:3, when he says that no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Notice that in these two Scriptures (I Corinthians 12:3 and I John 4:1-4) at least one, if not both, of the words, "Christ" or "Lord," always attaches to Jesus' identity. We can begin discerning false teaching that chips away at either of these two words, for there is indeed much use of Jesus' Name today that fails to proclaim Him as Christ and Lord, despite the otherwise supposed power of His Name. "Lord" means that He is equal with God the Father and the Lord of all creation. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).

Subtract any of these truths, and you have a different Jesus--a Jesus of Satan's making because he is a Jesus who does not save. Oh, he will appear to give you what you want, but he doesn't save you from your sins. Everyone loves a Jesus who blesses me, who "gets" me, who heals me, and who has compassion for me, but the Jesus Whom we crown as Lord for all eternity is crowned because of His finished work on the Cross. He bled and died to free us from our sins. Although the preaching of the Cross brings unavoidable offense (Galatians 5:11), we must without apology proclaim the doctrine that divides all false teaching from true, even if doing so costs us our very lives. Let us stand faithfully with the Apostle Paul, who boldly proclaimed, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). And let us believe Christ's promise, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32-36).

Conclusions:

Christians must exercise all caution and Biblical discernment in partaking of any display of Jesus' power as supposedly demonstrated through supernatural use of His Name. Let us remember what Paul says in Colossians 3:16-17 and discover the true power of Jesus' Name: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Colossians 3:16-17). Let us faithfully proclaim the Christ of Scripture and forever hail the power of Jesus' Name, not merely with our lips, but especially with our lives!

Grace Community Church singing, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr1ddOoi_QQ&list=RDGMEMgGOgHdkrBSNHvacS9Sp8bg