What’s in a Name?

November 4, 2024

 Sometimes we use words so frequently that we don’t bother to ask ourselves what they mean. We assume we know when maybe we don’t. With Christian language, it can be that way with the words “believe in his name” as we find it in John 1:12—

“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” —John 1:12

In Bible times, names meant something. They described a characteristic or a hope. When Jesus called a man named Cephas to be his disciple, he renamed him Peter, “the Rock.” In the Old Testament, a woman learned that her husband was killed in battle and the ark of God had been captured. She went into labor pains, gave birth to a son and named him Ichabod, which means “the Glory has Departed.”

The name Jesus means “Savior.” Believing in Jesus’ name is when we recognize who Jesus is, and receive him as the One who is able to save us from our sins—all the ways we fall short of being the best that God intends us to be. It’s pretty simple, but supremely important.