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Matthew 1 is a chapter of names. We have spent considerable time on the names of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even on the names of Tamar and Rahab. The last two names, however, Jesus and Emmanuel, are more than wonderful. Although the last part of Matt. 1 seems to deal with the birth of Christ, it actually deals with the names of Jesus and Emmanuel. In this message I am burdened to give you a hint concerning how to dwell on these names.
Jesus was the name given by God, whereas Emmanuel was the name called by man. The angel Gabriel told Mary that the child she would conceive was to be called Jesus (Luke 1:31). Later, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and also told him to call the child Jesus (Matt. 1:21, 25). Hence, Jesus was a God-given name.
The name Jesus includes the name Jehovah. In Hebrew, the name God means the mighty One, God the Almighty; and the name Jehovah means I Am — I Am That I Am (Exo. 3:14). The verb “to be” in Hebrew not only refers to the present, but also includes both the past and the future. Hence, the correct meaning of Jehovah is I Am That I Am, the One who is now in the present, who was in the past, and who will be in the future and in eternity forever. This is the name of Jehovah. Only God is the eternal One. From eternity past to eternity future, He is the I Am. Therefore, the Lord Jesus could say of Himself, “Before Abraham came into being, I am” (John 8:58). He also said to the Jews, “Unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins,” and, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am” (John 8:24, 28). We must realize that Jesus is the great I Am and believe in Him as the great I Am.
Because the name of the Lord is the I Am, we may say, “Lord, You told me that Your name is I Am. Then, what are You?” His answer will be, “I am whatever you need.” The Lord is whatever we need. If we need salvation, He Himself will be salvation to us. We have a signed check with the space for the amount left blank, and we may fill in whatever we need. If we need one dollar, we may insert one dollar. But if we need one million dollars, we may insert one million dollars. If we feel that we need one billion, we simply fill in this amount. The check covers whatever we need. Whatever you need, Jesus is. Do you need light, life, power, wisdom, holiness, or righteousness? Jesus Himself is light, life, power, wisdom, holiness, and righteousness. Everything we need is found in the name of Jesus. How high and how rich is this wonderful name!
The first element included in the name of Jesus is Jehovah. The second is the Savior. Jesus is Jehovah-Savior, the One who saves us from all negative things: from our sins, from hell, from God’s judgment, and from eternal condemnation. He is the Savior. He saves us from everything God condemns and from everything we hate. If we hate our temper, He will save us from it. He saves us from the evil power of Satan, from all our besetting sins in our daily life, and from every bondage and addiction. Hallelujah, He is the Savior!
Jesus is not only the Savior, He Himself is also our salvation. Do not ask Him to give you salvation. Instead, you should say, “Lord Jesus, come to me and be my salvation.” Jesus will never give you salvation. He will come to you as salvation. We believers do not realize how much we need to be saved. Every day, every hour, and even every moment we have something from which we need to be saved.
In the messages on Genesis 1 we spoke about the need to grow in life. But what does it mean to grow in life? On the positive side, to grow in life is to enter into the riches of what Christ is. On the negative side, it is to be delivered from certain things, or to forsake certain things. Although we are small men, we have accumulated many negative things. Probably you do not realize how many negative things you have accumulated. Wherever we go, we collect things. We pick up a great many negative things, and we acquire a number of habits from which we need to be saved. As you are reading this, you may not sense that you need salvation from anything. Suppose, however, you were suddenly raptured to the heavens. If you were taken to the heavens right now, you would immediately sense that you need a great deal of saving. To grow in life is simply to be saved from all unnecessary things, from all that is not needed for our living. If you have the light, the exposure of the fourth-day lights, you will say, “Lord, save me!” At such times we realize that Jesus is truly Jehovah as our Savior and our salvation.
The name of Jesus is above every name (Phil. 2:9-10). No name is as high and as exalted as the name of Jesus. Whether you hate Jesus or love Him, whether you are for Him or against Him, you realize that the name of Jesus is a special name. History tells us that during the past two thousand years, everyone has recognized that His name is the highest name, that it is an extraordinary name. My burden in this message is to point out to you that this exalted name of Jesus is for us to do many things.
Firstly, the name of Jesus is for us to believe in (John 1:12). We all must believe in the name of Jesus. This is not an insignificant matter. We should not only say that we believe in the Lord Jesus, but also declare that we believe in the name of Jesus. When we preach the gospel, we should help people not only to pray, but also to make a declaration to the whole universe that they believe in the name of Jesus. Whenever a sinner comes to believe in the Lord Jesus, he should declare, “Today I believe in the name of Jesus!” This makes a great difference.
The name of Jesus is for us to be baptized into (Acts 8:16; 19:5). Among some Christians there is a controversy regarding the name in which they baptize people. Some argue strongly that we must baptize people only in the name of Jesus. Others insist on the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These two groups argue, debate, and fight. Actually, it is not a matter of in the name, but of into the name. We baptize people into the name of Jesus. The name needs the person, and the name is the person. Without the person, the name means nothing. To be baptized into the name of Jesus means to be baptized into His Person. Suppose a certain young man has just believed in the name of Jesus. What should we do? We should baptize him into the name of Jesus, that is, put him into Jesus. This is not a ritual nor a ceremony of accepting a religious member. It is an act of faith in which we take one who believes in the name of Jesus and put him into this name, baptizing him into the Person of Jesus. Romans 6:3 says that many of us have been baptized into Christ Jesus, and Galatians 3:27 says, “As many as were baptized into Christ.” This is the reality of being baptized into the name of Jesus.
The name of Jesus is also for us to be saved. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved.” The name of Jesus has been given to us purposely that we may be saved. The name of Jesus is a saving name.
To the lame man whom he met at the gate of the temple Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I have, this I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!” (Acts 3:6). Immediately the man was healed. Then Peter said to the people, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene...this man stands before you well” (Acts 4:10). This testifies that the name of Jesus is also a healing name. We may call on the name of Jesus for healing from any kind of sickness.
The name of Jesus has been given to us so that we may be washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor. 6:11). As defiled persons, we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. I read 1 Corinthians 6:11 for years without seeing a crucial point: in the name and by the Spirit. The name is closely related to the Person and to the Spirit. If the name of Jesus were an empty name, how could it wash us? How could it sanctify and justify us? This would be impossible. However, this name is linked to the Spirit. The Spirit is the Person of the name and the reality of the name. Therefore the name can wash us, sanctify us, and justify us. The Spirit is one with the name. Jesus is the name of the Lord, and the Spirit is the Person of the Lord. When we call on the name of a real person, that person comes. The name of Jesus is linked with the Person who washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies us. This is not merely doctrine or theory — it is reality. When we believe in the name of Jesus and are put into the name of Jesus, we are placed into a living Person, that is, in the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies us.
The name of Jesus is for us to call upon (Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:2). I was a Christian for at least thirty-five years before I found the secret of calling on the name of Jesus. I thought that calling on the name of Jesus was the same as praying. Eventually, from the record of the Bible, I discovered that praying is one thing and calling is another. Fifteen years ago, I did a great deal of praying, mostly on my knees. I did not know the secret of calling upon the name of Jesus, nor did I know that calling is different from praying.
Many of us have experienced praying, but with little inspiration. However, when we call on Jesus for five minutes, we are inspired. Try it! Many of us can testify that when we prayed in the old way, we sometimes prayed ourselves to sleep. But calling on the Lord never puts us to sleep. On the contrary, it stirs us up.
Acts 9:14 says that Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus, tried to damage all the saints. He intended to go from Jerusalem to Damascus to bind all those who called on the name of Jesus. This verse does not say that he was about to bind all those who prayed to Jesus, but all those who called on Jesus. By this one verse we can see that the early Christians were those who called on Jesus. Whenever they prayed, they called. They called upon the name of Jesus, and that became a mark of recognition.
The Bible does not say that whoever prays shall be saved. It says that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). Suppose that I am a sinner and I believe in the Lord Jesus. You help me to pray, and I say, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. You are my Savior. You love me. You died on the cross for me. Thank You.” Although it is good to pray this way, praying like this makes it very difficult for the Spirit to get into us. However, if you would help me to call, “O Lord Jesus,” louder and louder, it would make a big difference. When you preach the gospel, do not try so hard to change people’s thinking. Instead, help them to open up their being, their heart and their spirit, from deep within and to use their mouths to call upon the name of Jesus. If you help new believers to call on the name of Jesus in this way, the door will be open wide for the Spirit to enter in. There is no need to pray with vain words. After calling on the name of Jesus ten times, you will be in the heavens. Your sins will be forgiven, your burden will be lifted, and you will have life eternal. You will have everything.
Even for a believer of many years, the best way to touch the Lord Jesus, to enjoy the Lord Jesus, to share something of the Lord Jesus, is not to say very much, but to go to the Lord and call, “Jesus! Jesus! Lord Jesus!” Call on the name of Jesus and you will taste something. “The same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him” (Rom. 10:12). Many times, our words are too vain. It is better just to call, “Jesus.” If you call on His name, you will taste Him and enjoy Him. The name of Jesus is a wonderful name. We all need to call on Him.
We may also pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24). This does not mean that we pray a long prayer and conclude it with the words “in the name of Jesus.” That is too formal. However, I do not oppose this, for I have done this many times. Rather, I would say that in our prayer it is good to call on the name of Jesus and say, “O Jesus! Jesus! I come to pray!” In the name of Jesus, you will have a real burden to pray, and it will be very easy to have the assurance that your prayer has been heard and answered. If we call on the name of Jesus, we shall have the assurance that we shall receive what we have asked.
After the Lord Jesus told us to pray in His name, He proceeded to say that the Spirit will come to dwell in us (John 14:13-17). This indicates that the indwelling Spirit has very much to do with our prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus. In order to pray in the name of Jesus, we need the Spirit. When we are in the Spirit, we are in the reality of the name of Jesus in which we are praying.
The name of Jesus is also for us to be gathered into (18:20, Greek, into). Whenever we come together to meet, we should be gathered together into the name of Jesus. Although we may meet for the purpose of having the life-study, we do not gather into the life-study, but into the name of Jesus. Whenever you come to a Christian meeting, you must realize that you are being gathered once again into the name. We have been put into the name of Jesus, but we are not yet very deep into Him. Hence, we need to come back again and again to be gathered into His name. We can all testify that after every meeting we have had the sense deep within that we have entered further into the Lord. The Christian gatherings will bring us more deeply into the appreciation of the name of Jesus.
The name of Jesus is also good for casting out demons (Acts 16:18). To know the power of the name of Jesus, use it to cast out demons. Demons know the power of the name of Jesus better than we do. Demons are subtle. From our experience in China, where there were many cases of demon possession, we have learned that when we cast out demons, we must tell them that this Jesus is not the ordinary, common Jesus, but that He is the designated Jesus. We must say, “Demon, I come in the very name of Jesus, the Son of God, who was incarnated to be a man, who was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, who was raised in Nazareth, who died on the cross for my sins and for the sins of this person that is possessed, who was resurrected from the dead, and who has ascended to the heavens. I come in the name of this Jesus, and I command you to leave!” Immediately, the demon will depart. However, if you say, “I cast you out in the name of Jesus,” the demon will not listen. Demons know the power of the name of Jesus. When you cast out a demon, there is no need to pray that much. Simply say, “I come in the name of the designated Jesus, and you must go!” When Jesus comes, demons must flee.
The name of Jesus is for us to preach (Acts 9:27). When we preach, we must preach in the name of Jesus. Preaching in the Lord’s name must be done in the Spirit, for the Spirit is the Person of the Lord and the reality of His name. When we preach in His name, we need the Spirit to make it real.
Through all the things that can be done in the name of Jesus, we see that whatever we do and whatever we are must be in the name of Jesus. Never forget the name of Jesus. His name is a sweet name, a rich name, a powerful name, a saving name, a healing name, a comforting name, and an available name. This is the name that is exalted, honored, and respected. And it is the name feared by the enemy.
Satan hates the name of Jesus. In 1935 the church in my home town was revived, and we were all burdened to preach the gospel. Every night we went to the streets to preach. One night, as we were preaching on a street corner, a man about thirty years of age was very bold to scoff at the name of Jesus. A brother went up to him in a very nice way and asked if they could have a little talk. When he agreed, the brother asked, “Have you ever met Jesus?” He said, “No.” Then the brother asked, “Have you ever heard of Jesus?” Again, he said, “No.” After that, the brother said, “Has Jesus done something bad to you?” He said, “Never.” Then the brother inquired, “You have never met Jesus, and He has never done anything bad to you. Why then do you hate Him?” He replied, “Although I’ve never met Him and although I’ve never been damaged by Him, I still hate Him.” Then the brother asked, “Why don’t you hate me?” The man answered, “I don’t hate you; I hate Jesus.” “Why?” inquired the brother. “I don’t know,” said the man. Then the brother asked, “Sir, may I relate a fact to you?” The man consented and the brother said, “Let me tell you, you do not hate Jesus. It is someone else who hates Jesus. Why? Because you have never met Jesus. It is not you!” When the man asked the brother who it was who hated Jesus, the brother answered, “It is the Devil within you who hates Jesus.” By all this we see that Satan utilizes people to attack the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9).
As a believer, you probably have had the following experience. When you are about to talk to others about Plato or Abraham Lincoln, you do not feel ashamed; but whenever you talk to people about Jesus, a strange feeling comes over you. When the Chinese speak about Confucius, they feel glorious. We should also feel glorious whenever we speak to others about Jesus, but often we do not have a glorious feeling. Instead, we have a rather strange feeling. This is devilish! In this universe and on this earth there is a devilish element that is against Jesus. You have no problem as long as you are talking about the world situation, the economy, science, and so many things; but whenever you talk about the name of Jesus, you have a strange sense. This comes from the Devil. Because Satan and all his demons hate the name of Jesus, we must proclaim it all the more. We must be bold with this name and say, “Satan, Jesus is my Lord! Satan, stay away!” We need to shout the name of Jesus.
If you read the book of Acts, you will see that in the early days the religionists attacked the name of Jesus, forbidding the believers to preach or teach in that name (Acts 4:17-18; 5:40). The Pharisees warned Peter and John not to preach in the name of Jesus, not to do anything or say anything in His name. It was all right to preach the Bible, but not to preach in the name of Jesus. Satan hates the name of Jesus because he knows that God’s salvation is in this name. The more we preach in the name of Jesus and the more we pray to Jesus, the more people will get saved. This is the reason Satan hates this name.
When the Apostles were persecuted, they rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). Is this not wonderful? They even hazarded their lives for this name (Acts 15:26). Because Satan attacks the name of Jesus with all his evil power, we must learn to suffer for this name.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord Jesus praised the church in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name. We should never deny the name of Jesus. We should deny every other name, but keep the name of Jesus. We must testify that we do not belong to any person or to any sect, but that we simply belong to Jesus. The name of Jesus is the only name we own.
Now we come to the second name, Emmanuel (1:23). The angels did not speak to Joseph or Mary of this name. Rather, Emmanuel is the name called by people who have had a certain amount of experience. Whenever you have some experience of Jesus, you will be able to say that He is God with you. Jesus is nothing less than God with us. This is our experience. God told us that His name is Jesus. But as we receive Him and experience Him, we say that Jesus is God with us. This is wonderful.
Often we turn to our mind and ask the question, “Is this Jesus the very God?” We may be confident that He is the Son of God, but we may not yet be assured that He is actually God Himself. When I was young, I was taught by some fundamental Christian teachers to be careful of saying directly that Jesus was God. I was taught that the Son of God was different from God Himself. Therefore, I was told not to say directly that Jesus was God. I was told that I must pray through Jesus to God. I received a teaching that suited the human concept. However, after much practice, the more I prayed, the more I realized that this Jesus was simply God with me. To argue by theory is one thing; to experience the fact is another thing. Quite often, Christians do not agree with their experience; instead, they agree with their concepts.
I believe that all Christians have this experience. Deep within, do you not have the sense that, according to your experience, Jesus is God? You do, but you dare not say this in doctrine. However, you should not consider Jesus as someone other than God. Jesus is nothing less than God Himself. He is not only the Son of God, but also God Himself. Some good writers have said that apart from Jesus we can never find God. God is with Jesus, and God is Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was not only with God, but the Word was God (John 1:1). This Word became flesh and was called Jesus.
When we experience Jesus, He is Emmanuel, God with us. We have heard that Jesus is our comfort, our rest, our peace, and our life. Jesus is so much to us. If we would experience Him, we would immediately say, “This is God! This is not God far away from me, or God in the heavens, but God with me.” Whenever we experience Jesus in a certain way, we realize that Jesus is God with us. Jesus is our salvation. After we experience this salvation, we say, “This is God with us to be our salvation.” Jesus is our patience. But when we experience Him as our patience, we say, “This patience is God with me.” Jesus is the way and the truth, but when we experience Him as the way and the truth we say, “This way and this truth are just God with me.” Hallelujah, Jesus is God with us! In our experience, He is Emmanuel.
Whenever we are gathered together into the name of Jesus, He is with us (18:20). Once again, this is Emmanuel, God with us. The presence of Jesus in our meetings is actually God with us.
Jesus is with us all the days, even until the completion of the age (28:20, Gk.). “All the days” includes today. Do not forget about today. Many Christians think that Jesus is present all the days, except today. But Jesus is with us now, today!
Jesus is not only among us; He is in our spirit. Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” This Jesus who is with our spirit is Emmanuel, God with us.
We can never separate the Spirit from the presence of Jesus. The Spirit is simply the reality of Jesus’ presence (John 14:16-20). This presence is Emmanuel, God with us.
When we call on the name of Jesus, we receive the Spirit, who is the Person, the reality, and the realization of Jesus. First Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one can say, Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit.” Whenever we say “Lord Jesus,” we are in the Spirit and we receive the Spirit. We have all been under the influence of tradition, thinking that we must fast and pray before we can receive the Spirit. However, it is simple to receive the Spirit — just call on the name of Jesus.
According to Isaiah 8:7-8, the enemy may try to take over the land of Emmanuel. Do not think this word is only for the children of Israel. Today our spirit is the land of Emmanuel. Thus, we ourselves are the land of Emmanuel. The enemy, Satan, with all his army will do everything He can to take over this land of Emmanuel, that is, to take over our spirit and our being.
Isaiah 8:10 tells us that because God is with us, the enemy can never take over the land of Emmanuel. Although Satan has tried his best to take you over, you are still here. Perhaps during the past week Satan tried twenty-one times to take you over, but he failed every time. You are still here because of Emmanuel, because of God with us. This Emmanuel is Jesus. Today we may enjoy Jesus and experience Him in such a real way as our Emmanuel.
