the name

​In the beginning God gave all dominion and authority to Adam.  He gave Adam a name that was above all names.  One day God rounded up all the animals and brought them to Adam so he could give them names.  But when Adam obeyed the serpent he put all that he had under satan’s headship.  He was no longer in the image of God so his name was severed from the dominion he once had.  There was no name in the earth for four thousand years. Mankind was at the mercy of satan.
 
Hebrews 2:14-15 Jesus became flesh that through death, He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage. 
 
From Adam to Jesus men feared death because they didn’t know what would become of them.  Religion exploited the minds of men, offering them a comfortable place in the “after life” if they would adhere to the tenets of the religion.  Everyone who died went to hell, some in torment, some in the bosom of Abraham.
 
If a man’s religion is true, then a man in that religion could die and be raised to life.
 
If a man is raised from the dead, then everything he said was true.  Jesus was a man with all the limitations of a man.  He was the second Adam, a man born without sin.  He was God’s Lamb. He would be offered for all the sins of all men forever.  We talk about Jesus defeating the devil on the cross but that’s not real accurate.  The devil was defeated when Jesus rose from the dead, He never sinned but was made to be sin.  The devil lost the power of death when Jesus was raised from the dead.  What He endured, He did for all mankind.  The man Jesus defeated the devil so at the Name of Jesus the devil must submit to Him.
 
Mark 16:17 These signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name you will cast out devils and you shall take up serpents.
 
What are these serpents?  Anything or anyone the devil uses to do his dirty work.  If you believe Jesus died and rose again and confess this with your mouth, He has given you His Name.  Now the roles are reversed.  You were afraid of the devil, but now he is afraid of you. If you rightly discern the Word of God and practice it, you will make the devil homeless.  If the Lord would have given power to our own name like He did Adam, we would lose it the first time we sinned.  His Name will always have power because He will never sin.  We can’t lose our dominion because it’s all in His Name. 
 
Philippians 2:9 God has highly exalted Jesus and gave Him a Name above every name.
 
We should be using the Name of Jesus more than our own name.  When it comes to spiritual authority, our name means nothing to the devil, he doesn’t even care about our connection to Christ.  But when he hears that Name, he has no choice but to follow orders.  I dearly love to keep that Name before the devil.  Sometimes I command him to worship the Lord with me.  If he gets a little too pesky, I remind him where he will spend eternity and where I will be.  The Father has given us a Name, don’t neglect such a gift, use it every day and keep the devil out of your life. 
 
 
 
 

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