THE NAME OF JESUS
Derek G Coull
Matthew 1: 21, 23
Acts 3: 4-6
We read this scripture in the Acts of the Apostles this morning where we were gathered, and it gave me some impression as to the greatness of the name of Jesus in relation to this occasion for the gospel preaching. These scriptures in which we have read of the Name of Jesus are very important. It is intended not only to be recognised by us as any other name or a great name - there are many great names in the world; the name of Jesus is not only a great name but it has great meaning and great effect.
Here in Matthew, it says that “thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins”. So it was to have meaning - great meaning. What a matter that every time that anyone thought of the name of Jesus they were to think of the fact that God had provided a Saviour. That is quite simple, the fact that this name was given so that you might think of God as a Saviour God as seen in Jesus.
And then in our second scripture as to His name, it says His name is “Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us’”. So it was not only that Christ was to be seen as a Saviour, but we are to see God Himself in the Person of Jesus. What a matter, that God in His love and in His mercy would not only make provision for us, but He would make Himself known, and want to be known. What a wonderful matter that God wanted to be known.
And then where we read last of all in the Acts of Apostles, the Name of Jesus Christ and His work was to have a practical effect.
The question then that bears upon us is: ‘What does the name of Jesus mean to us?’. What does it mean to me, to you, to man in general? What does the name of Jesus mean, because the name of Jesus bears not only upon every person but on every walk of life? We can think of governments of this world and of the powers that be; and we may think of tragedies and of opportunities, all these things: the name of Jesus can have impact and influence on everything.
The name of Jesus means everything to God. Think of that: the satisfaction of the heart of a holy God in the Person of Jesus! It was so much so that the heavens were opened. The heavens had not been opened in that way before. God had opened them before and had done certain things but never, ever, until Jesus came on to the scene had the heavens been opened and the greatness and glory and the satisfaction of God in one Person been announced. What a Person He must be! And here we have His birth; you might wonder if what is said of Him could not have waited on some evidence of the greatness of the Person. Such was the greatness of the Person of the Lord Jesus that from the point of His birth He was to be marked out as unique, because He was a sinless, holy Person, who was to be One in whom God Himself could be truly seen. There had never been such a one before. What a Person!
And right at the point of His birth God gave this instruction that His name should be called Jesus, for a very specific reason. God knew that this Man was not only His Man - and we must be careful what we say as to the Lord Jesus - but I think it would be right to say that God marked Him out because of His perfection, His glory, and also what He would be able to do. What a Person! If you look at young babies when they are born, you wonder what they are going to be, who they are going to be like, what their characteristics are going to be, and whether they are going to be another person for the testimony. But when it comes to Christ, God marked Him out. Think of that; think of the uniqueness of this Person, and: such was His glory and greatness that the angel could say this of Him, “for he shall save his people from their sins”; “he” is emphatic. There is no one else: there would be no other name given under heaven, no other name. Think of that: He, He alone.
So this Person is important; more important than any other man, and you should come to know Him. It says “he” - God is drawing attention to Him today. He drew attention to Him here, and He is still drawing attention to Him today because He is a Saviour: the Saviour of the world. What a Person! What an opportunity, therefore, we have today. This was not just for that day; there is no time limit attached to this; there is no start and finish here. There will be an end; we will come to that shortly, but as long as we are here “he” is still available today. “He”: what a man! “He shall save his people from their sins”. It is not ‘maybe’, not if this happens or if that happens. This is not in the hands of the governments of men: this is God. This is God’s statement: “he shall save his people from their sins”. What a One, and therefore He is to be known of men, men like you and me. God has made this statement in order that it should be heard and in order that it should be taken up by men, women, boys and girls.
And so we are here today, and this statement has not changed. And God has not changed; Christ has not changed. The sinful state of a human race has not changed. Why did God need to say this? God looked down and saw the state of the human race. He had seen it from Adam and Eve, all the way down through, and nothing had changed; nothing at all. Men may say that society improves. No, it does not; that is just fantasy; it does not improve. Nor does fallen man, and he never will improve. The only time there is any improvement in man’s condition is in coming through Christ to God. What a matter to think of - the sorrowful state of man on the one hand, and the greatness of this Man on the other. So there is an opportunity for man to be changed, and be made acceptable before God. It is because of the fact that we are sinners this statement was made: “He shall save his people from their sins” - “from their sins”.
What about you, friend? Do your sins still trouble you? Are your sins still attached to you? Have you still to account to God for your sins? If you do not know Christ, you will have to answer to God for them. God is a holy God and a righteous God. Some people may say that God cannot be a very loving God if He is going to make man answer for his sins; how can that be a matter of love? Well, if you understand the righteousness of God and the holiness of God then you start to understand the love of God. The love of God has acted in order that His holiness and His righteousness might be maintained, not just for time but for eternity. And they will be maintained; there is no question as to that. And so what stands against you being righteous before a holy God is yourself. That is the only thing - you: you have a decision to make as to your condition as a sinner before a holy God, and the decision is yours. Nothing will change otherwise, but your decision can make a change before God; think of that.
God today in Christ, is offering to you that He shall save you from your sins. This becomes intensely personal. God is presenting in the glad tidings a Saviour in this Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is presenting Him to you and me today. He is presenting Him to the whole world, in order that man may stand righteously before a holy God eternally. It is not just for a short period of time; that is not the thought here. The thought here is that God has a remedy that is going to last and can be acceptable to Him for eternity. Such is the value and the greatness and the glory of Christ.
The greatness and the glory of the work that Christ has done on the cross for God is enough to satisfy God eternally! - in order that you might stand before a holy God eternally and be acceptable to Him according to the glory and the excellence of a holy God. What a matter! What about you, friend? Have you got that portion? Have you got that certainty in your heart?
So we see here a Saviour. And then it says, “Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us’”. Christ came here to evidence the love of God. Think of that; think of the life of Christ; think of the work that was effected in order that this statement could be made that “he shall save his people from their sins”. Think of the Lord Jesus Christ walking according to the will of God - going even to the cross, that very place, and manifesting “God with us”. Such was His glory and His greatness and His power and the efficacy of what He has done that it was evident that God was there amongst men, showing forth the love of God in everything that He did and every step that He took. He was showing it forth in order that the love of God could be made known and would have an effect. And so we see “God with us” in Him.
When He was reviled did He revile again? No. You think of the movements and the evidence of God in Christ that could be physically seen amongst men at that time. What a thing to behold! And you too can behold Him today by faith. Think of the greatness of that. Some might say Christ is historic; He is not a mere historic Man. He is a Man that lives in glory today; He is the only Man that is alive in glory today according to God. There will be others like Him, but today Christ is in heaven, a glorified Man and a Saviour. And He is there today because of the efficacy and the greatness of the work He completed on God’s behalf. He was not as Man amongst men, but God was with men. Think of that. He went to the cross and took up your liabilities and my liabilities; He took them upon Himself and suffered the wrath of a holy God and died, in order that this great matter of sin should be answered for; and in order that this great opportunity of salvation should be offered today to you and to me.
And so it is, “God with us”. What a matter to think that God went to such an extent as that to present Himself to man in the nearest possible of circumstances: not in power from heaven, not in a lightning strike, not in any other thing which He could quite easily have done, and quite rightly have done. He had the authority to do it, but He chose to come in and evidence His love in a Man in order that He could sacrifice Him for your sins and for mine. And in order that He could offer to you free forgiveness from your sins; so that He could have you as a righteous person before Him eternally: what a matter!
And so we find where we read in the Acts of the Apostles that salvation works out practically; this is nothing fanciful; this is not just a story. It is not just that He was to be a Saviour for our sins. He was amongst men and the evidence God’s love, but He is to have an effect in lives, and that is still so today. And so this man proved it; he got the blessing of it. Peter says, “in the name of Jesus”. There is power in the Name, wonder-working power in the name of Jesus. If you will come to know this Person today, if you come to appreciate the work that He has done, and come to appreciate the value of His precious shed blood, you will find what this wonder-working power is. For this man - it was instantaneous. It says that he sprang up, and his ankle bones were made strong. And the effect of it was seen in testimony. That is what we enjoyed this morning; not only was the man made well but he was brought into great blessing and privilege before God. The gospel is not just about salvation from our sins,; it does not just relieve you from your sins but it brings you into every blessing according to the great thoughts of God. God has given us a foretaste of everything according to His desires and according to His will. And He has given us the opportunity to taste of everything as if in eternal conditions already. What a God!
And so this man was just starting out, but he entered into the great centre of it in this great matter of praise. He was hoping to get something of this earth from Peter and John. “Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaræan rise up and walk. And having taken hold of him by the right hand he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God”. Praising God: there is an outcome for God. And I would that there would be an outcome for God in each and every one of our hearts today.
What a result! This is the result that God is looking for, the result that He was looking for when Christ was born, and the result that He was looking for when Christ walked amongst men. This is the result He was looking for when Christ was on the cross, and the result He is looking for today in your heart and in my heart. Is this for your benefit? Yes, but for His glory eternally, most definitely. And is it for His praise and for His worship now? Yes, such is the greatness of the work of God and the love of God that we may enter now into the very presence of God Himself and be at home there in relationship with God, at a level which is acceptable to a holy God. It has to be in Christ.
Do we know what it is to have a relationship with God in Christ? We may know what it is to be freed from our sins, and to be set at liberty before a holy God. You might know an element of it. If we are to enter into it, we need the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Your own resources are not any use: this is not an earthly matter, we are now talking about a heavenly matter, and an eternal matter. They are God’s matters, and if you are to enjoy and enter into these things in fulness then you need to have what God provides. You need God’s blessed Holy Spirit, the power, the wherewithal. The blessed Holy Spirit helps you to enter into spiritual things, and enjoy them according to the mind of God.
Well, so it will be eternally. When does the day of grace end? We are not told. And, friend, you do not know either: if you are still in your sins , what a terrible thing to think that it might end very shortly; it might end now. What a thing that the Lord could come today and take us to be with God eternally. Sometimes we sing, ‘Eternity’s begun’ (Hymn 94) because we feel it in our spirits, and we enjoy it in our spirits, but one day we will know it in actuality. And, friend, if you are still in your sins, you know nothing about this, nor can you enter into the enjoyment of it. Be sure of this that God is not going to change His mind: He has sent Jesus Christ; He proved His love to man, having Him amongst men. He has proved His love to man; He has proved His thoughts to man; and His purpose and His counsel to man. Indeed, and He has gone further than that: He has brought man into the secret of His own affections. But if you are still in your sins, you will know nothing about it. Be sure that God will require an account from the sinner; you will be challenged if you have a remedy. And when you do not have a remedy, and you refused His remedy, you will be condemned in your sins. He gave the opportunity of His love and you chose not to accept it. So now a holy and a righteous God is a judge. What a matter to think that these things will come about. One who does not know Christ as your Saviour will come under judgment, be condemned by God, condemned to an eternity in hell. Now men do not like to talk about these things, but the gospel is about you and God; it is about our sinful state before a holy God, and it is about our eternal salvation.
And so today God is offering the gospel again. What a God! How many times has He offered it? Once? The hymn says,
Once, yea twice, He may have spoken
(Hymn 253).
You might have to say it is not just once or twice but thousands of times. How many times have you heard the gospel? Do not turn away from God; do not refuse His offer of a Saviour today, because you may not get another opportunity. God in His love and His mercy not only seeks you as a Saviour God, but that you might come to know Him in relationship which suits God Himself. And that is what is available to us all. That is what is available to every man today. God’s resources are infinite, and He has the basis to forgive every single one that comes to Him today. He has room in His presence to accept all. What a wonderful resource God has. Resources are tight in this world, and space is tight, and things are changing. No so with God: God has room for all, and He is waiting with hands outstretched today to bless all. If you do not know the blessing of God, come to Him today through Christ and enter into this blessing.
The gospel takes us from simply knowing Christ as Saviour into the blessing of relationship, sonship before a holy God; and the opportunity to share with saints here on earth the great things of God, to know what it is to enjoy these secrets. Then the greatness of it opens up to us in Ephesians, which speaks of the greatness of Christ and the assembly. All these things are to be enjoyed by the believer. What a God! He gives us it all freely.
May we enter into it, and may God receive His portion, for His Name’s sake.
Loanhead
29th August 2021