“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:17

What’s in a Name?

When Paul asks that our words and deeds be said and done in the Name of Jesus, what does he mean? What would it mean if you gave someone permission to say or do things in your name?

Today we actually do that all the time. Whenever we sign contracts, checks, tax forms, loans, and a host of other documents, we put the integrity and promise of our “name” behind the legal requirements we are committing to. In this case, “in our name” means “appeal to, reference to, or representative of an authority.”* The signature, words, and name represent the person, promise, and entirety of the person with authority: the person called by that name.

When given the authority to use the name of another person, we are their representative. It is as if they themselves are saying, signing, or doing the thing promised. If your boss sends you to get office supplies at a store in his name you are signing or paying for something on the boss’s behalf. The boss’s authorization to use his name puts your signature within the boss’s authority. If I authorize you to act for me “in my name,” you are fully able to act “as me” as I would. We actually understand this idea quite well and do it all the time without a thought.

What doesn’t it mean?

To sign in someone’s name doesn’t mean that the signer can perform, pay, or complete the requirements of the contract or proposition. The authorizing authority alone has those abilities and qualifications. The signer requires 1) authorization by the authority, and 2) permission to request or promise something within the authorizing authority’s desired expectations. In other words, the person whose name you are acting in must want you to do the thing and have given you permission to do it.

This is very pertinent to the verses that talk about Christ-followers praying, speaking, or doing things in the name of Jesus. There are many verses, many right out of the mouth of Jesus in the gospels, telling Christ-followers that they are within the authorized group to pray, to speak, or to act in His name. Those who are within His fold, His flock, His sheep, i.e., those who believe in Him, are the ones He has authorized to act and pray in His name and to see answers to prayer.

Some verses that relate:

• “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14
• “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11
• “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10
• “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:18
• “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:10-11
• “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20

However, the other part of this question is that signers must represent the authorizing authority and only sign for what the authority authorizes. In other words, the signer will not be authorized to request things not according to or even against the will of the authority. You don’t go to the office store to buy supplies for work and your boss and then decide, “Oh, I like that computer, I think I’d like one of those, too” and then sign for as if it were authorized. Obviously, doing that would be unlawful.

We need to realize that the same principle works for prayers and actions done in Jesus’ name. We can’t expect Him to answer prayers that are outside of what He would want or authorize just because we can speak as if we were saying a magic word. To expect Him to have to hear us if we say things in a certain way (or any other trick like that) is not understanding what it means to be under His authority. (See the post, “Naming Names“).

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) As Jesus’ followers, we need to be listening to Him closely, learning of Him deeply, meditating, studying, hearing, reading, memorizing His words, so that we understand what He is saying to us. We want to live in His word, in His name. As we grow to hear Him better, we will be better at discerning between what He is saying to us and what we just want to hear. We will be better at living out lives that reflect His purposes for us.

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* Dictionary definition https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/in-the-name-of