DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS

Author Unknown

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Colossians 3:17). To do something “in the name of the Lord Jesus” means to do it by His authority. Christ has ALL authority (Matthew 28:18), and so whatever we do, we must have His authority behind it.

Suppose I took my vehicle to the shop and told the mechanic to change my spark plugs. To put it another way, I authorized him to change my spark plugs. If he did that, he would be acting by my authority. He would be doing that in my name. But let’s suppose he decided on his own that I needed a new transmission, installed it, and then presented me a bill for $1500. I would be very upset about that, because I did not give him the authority to replace my transmission. In replacing my transmission, he acted on his own.

That’s what we’re talking about in relation to the authority of Christ. We cannot act on our own. We must do only that which Christ has told us to do. And it’s not enough to say that we’re doing it in His name. Jesus addressed that problem in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Here were some people who said they were doing things in Jesus’ name when in fact they were practicing lawlessness. They were acting without authority. They called Jesus “Lord,” but they did not treat Him as Lord.

Colossians 1:18 reminds us that “Christ is the head of the body, the church.” The human body does not act until it gets a signal from the head. Likewise, God’s spiritual body, the church, should not act until it gets a signal from the Head, Jesus Christ. If Christ tells us to do something, then we do it. If He does not tell us to something, then we don’t do it. Read again the words of Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”