The Name of Jesus
2020-08-01
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Because there is none other name under heaven whereby we are saved, we need to determine what is meant by “name.” This is not without controversy, because there are a few different groups out there that make this mean something other than what is intended. First, I will discuss what this really means. Then I will discuss two main groups that teach something else. First is the oneness group. The other is the Yeshua only group.
What Is a Name?
Your name is not only what your parents call you. A name can mean reputation: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). This is said of the Lord: “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psalms 148:13). Note that we do not call the Lord by the name “Excellent.”
To do something in the name of somebody else is to do something on the behalf of that person, and in that person’s authority. For example: “For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever” (Deuteronomy 18:5). The priests and Levites here are ministering on behalf of the LORD, and He gave them authority to do so.
When we see the phrase “in the name of Jesus” or a related phrase, whether it be a healing, or a baptism, or something, the event is executed in the Jesus’ authority, or on His behalf.
Oneness View
When the Oneness Pentecostal comes to the Great Commission passage, they stumble at the following verse: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). They say that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have the same name, and then they jump to Acts. Everywhere they see that people were baptized in the name of Jesus, and they conclude that the common name is “Jesus,” and therefore conclude that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the same person with the same name, denying the Trinity.
However, if we take the definition of “name” to mean authority, we see that this can not only be easily reconciled, but it also makes more sense. Jesus just said in Matthew 28:18, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). The authority of Jesus came from His Father. Then immediately after He declared this authority He received from the Father, He says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). The context of Matthew 28:19 demands that “name” means authority. The disciples were to baptize in the authority of the Godhead.
If someone asks you, “Were you baptized in Jesus’ name only?” then you are dealing with someone who likely believes in the oneness of God, and not the Trinity. Also, this implies that they believe in magical, superstitious words uttered at a baptism that make it proper. It does not really matter what someone utters at your baptism. It matters whether you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved, and it His authority and power on your life that makes a difference.
Yeshua Only View
There are some groups out there that believe you should not call Jesus “Jesus,” but “Yeshua.” It should be stated that calling Jesus Yeshua is not wrong in and of itself. This name is transliterated into the name Joshua in English. Compare the following:
And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:11).
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness” (Nehemiah 8:17).
Notice the son of Nun is called “Joshua” in Exodus 33:11 and “Jeshua” in Nehemiah 8:17. This is might be because of the evolution of the Hebrew language over time. The post-exilic books often have different spellings of names than earlier on in the Bible. The letter “J” in transliterated names in the Old Testament is the Hebrew letter yod, which is pronounced like a “Y.” This is your “Yeshua.”
In the New Testament, Joshua the son of Nun is referred to as “Jesus”:
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David (Acts 7:45).
For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day (Hebrews 4:8).
This name Yeshua was transliterated into Greek first in the New Testament, and then the English translators transliterated it again. These three languages have different phonologies and alphabets. Greek has a declension system that adds the suffix “-s” at the end of some masculine nouns, including proper names. Also, in Greek, if I understand the first century Koine Greek phonology correctly (and I might not!), there is no “sh” sound, so it is rendered in the closest phonological sound, which is “s.” That is how you go from “Yeshua” to “Jesus.”
Yeshua is not improper to say, but it is wrong to say you can ONLY pronounce the name this way. For example, if Greek really does not have the “sh” sound, an average Greek person will never properly pronounce His name! This was the case in ancient Ephraim:
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand” (Judges 12:6).
They did not have the “sh” sound in their dialect; it was apparently always pronounced “s.”
Also, what if you have a speech impediment, and you cannot pronounce the name Yeshua properly? Does that place a curse on you?
The bottom line is that the emphasis on the name of Jesus is on His authority, not on your speaking ability and being born into a nation with the “correct” linguistic background.
Also, if you speak English, you want to use the name of Jesus because otherwise many people will get confused on what you are talking about. The Bible uses the name Jesus. “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9).
Conclusion
When doing something in the name of Jesus, it means something is done on behalf of Jesus and in His power and authority. Anything else is carnal superstition based on false views of the Godhead or linguistic knowledge.