Names as a part of covering

In the Old Testament (Covenant) we learn the value of names. In the revelation of each Name that God gave to different men at different times, we see the power in each Name of Jehovah. In the practice of covenant making we have seen the exchange of names. Today I want us to see names as an aspect of covering.

As Satan has fought the knowledge of covenant by destroying the practice of covenant or at least the distortion of the practice, man has lost much of his faith in the power there is in this way God ordained to relate and move in this realm among men. When we, as humans, know only the result of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we have faith only in what we can do and produce because we really only "know" what our control can produce. Everything God does is a "miracle" and His Word is dissected into different "philosophies". Without understanding that God will interact and commune with us through His covenants with us, we desperately grasp for enough faith to "make" Him answer our prayer.

Matthew 28:18-20 New Living Translation (NLT) 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

First, Jesus established that His authority was now (because of the cross and His resurrection)the joining of the authority of heaven (God's realm of Spirit) and the authority of earth (the authority given to Adam over all this realm). Second, He used the connective word, therefore, to show that the covenant command (expectation) hinged on this authority. Third, the action of fulfilling this expectation on earth was to be under the Name of the Authority of Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We call this the Great Commission but it is the response the Church is to give to the Covenant Jesus made for us. Making disciples is a response everyone of us can do, but that is another lesson for another time!

Mark 16:15-18 (NLT) 15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

This portion takes the mystique out of moving in ministry. "These signs will accompany those who believe..." "IN MY NAME..." Jesus left all He earned for us in the power and authority of His Name.

Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV) 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is the name of covenant that is our covering. Nothing can withstand the power in that name.

In marriage a man gives his name to his wife. All that he is and all that he has accomplished and earned is in his name. She is responsible for protecting and enriching that name by her life under his protection. It is the same for the Church that Jesus died to create. We are responsible for how we live under the protection of His Name. We magnify His Name by our response.