The Power of The Name of Jesus - Acts 3-4

Acts 4:8-12 (ESV)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

To set the scene for the above passage we have to go back to the beginning of Acts 3.   Peter and John had come into the Temple area and a cripple man asked them to give him some money.   That man was a staple at the entrance of this area.   Instead of giving him money, however, Peter said the following:

Acts 3:6 (ESV)

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

The man was instantly healed and could walk.   When questioned by the people who observed this miracle, Peter said this:

Acts 3:16 (ESV)

And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Now, as in the above passage, when asked by the religious leaders to explain all this, Peter says the same thing:

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

When John, who was beside Peter that day, would later write his first epistle to the church.  He would go on and explain to the church that the growth in our Christian walk begins with knowing your sins are forgiving.  And how does John state that to the church?   

1 John 2:12 (ESV)

I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

The apostle understood the power in the name of Jesus.   The phrase name of Jesus is used countless times in Acts and the Epistles.   We ought to never forget we are saved by the name of Jesus and we ought to proclaim His name. The name Jesus is used over 1,000 times in the New Testament.   We ought to use it daily to claim victory in our lives and to conquer sin in our lives. 

Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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.