Bible study notes

In Jesus’s Name

What it means to pray, heal, baptize and live “in the name of Jesus,” traced through the Old and New Testaments, and how far the picture of a bride taking her husband’s name holds.

A name in the Bible

In modern use a name is mostly a label. In Scripture a name stands for the person: their character, reputation, presence and authority. To “know the name” of someone is to know who they are (Psalm 9:10).

When Moses asked God’s name, God answered with His identity: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:13–15).
When God “proclaimed His name, the LORD” to Moses, He described His character: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:5–7).
The temple was “the place the LORD your God will choose… to establish as a dwelling for His Name,” meaning His presence (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11).
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10). The name is a refuge because the person is.

The third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7), uses the Hebrew verb nasa, “to lift up” or “to carry.” It covers careless speech, but it also means: don’t bear God’s name emptily. Israel carried His name as His people, and a life that contradicted Him did exactly that.

God also placed His name on His people. The priestly blessing ends, “So they shall put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:24–27). Israel is “called by My name” (Isaiah 43:7; 2 Chronicles 7:14).

The name of Jesus

“Jesus” is the Greek form of Yeshua (Joshua), meaning “the LORD saves.” The angel explained the choice: “you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). His name is His mission.

After the cross, the Father exalted Him and “gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9–11). Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:23, where every knee bows to the LORD. The name above every name is God’s own.

Jesus also came “in My Father’s name” (John 5:43). He did His works in the Father’s name (John 10:25) and made the Father’s name known (John 17:6, 26). So the pattern of acting in someone’s name starts with Jesus Himself, who perfectly represented the Father.

Every way the New Testament uses it

Grouping the references by what is done “in the name” shows how far the phrase reaches:

Done in His name	Example	References
Believing and being saved	“No other name under heaven… by which we must be saved”	Acts 4:12; John 1:12; 3:18; 20:31; Romans 10:13; 1 John 3:23
Forgiveness	Sins forgiven “through His name”	Luke 24:47; Acts 10:43; 1 John 2:12
Baptism	“Be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ”	Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5
Prayer	“I will do whatever you ask in My name”	John 14:13–14; 15:16; 16:23–26; Ephesians 5:20
Healing	“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk”	Acts 3:6, 16; 4:7–12, 30; 9:34; James 5:14
Deliverance	“Even the demons submit to us in Your name”	Luke 10:17; Mark 16:17; Acts 16:18
Preaching and teaching	Told “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus”	Acts 4:17–18; 5:28, 40; 8:12; 9:27–29
Gathering	“Where two or three gather together in My name, there am I”	Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 1:2
Kindness to others	Receiving a child, giving a cup of water, in His name	Mark 9:37, 41; Matthew 18:5
Church authority	Discipline and commands given in His name	1 Corinthians 5:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:6
Suffering	Rejoicing to be “counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”	Matthew 10:22; Acts 5:41; 9:16; 1 Peter 4:14
All of life	“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”	Colossians 3:17

The last row settles the matter on its own. If “in Jesus’s name” were a phrase to attach to prayers, Colossians 3:17 would make no sense. You can’t say a phrase over every word and deed. You can do every word and deed as His.

Is it just a formula?

Scripture gives two sharp warnings that the words alone do nothing.

The sons of Sceva

Seven itinerant exorcists tried using the name as a spell: “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.” The spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” and overpowered them (Acts 19:13–16). They had the correct words but no relationship with the person.

“Lord, Lord”

Jesus warned that some will say, “Did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” and He will answer, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21–23). Using His name, even with apparent results, is not the same as belonging to Him. False prophets also spoke “in My name” without being sent (Jeremiah 14:14; Matthew 24:5).

On the other side, Peter explained the healing at the temple this way: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man… has been made strong” (Acts 3:16). The power is in the person the name stands for, received by faith in Him. So saying “in Jesus’s name” is good and biblical, but it is shorthand for something much bigger.

What “in His name” means

Putting the references together, four strands run through them:

1. Authority

Acting by His authority, not your own. The council asked Peter, “By what power or what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7). In the ancient world an envoy who came “in the name of the king” carried the king’s authority. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go…” (Matthew 28:18–19).

2. Representation

Acting as His agent and in line with His will and character. “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador’s word carries weight only while it matches the government’s policy. So praying in His name means asking what He would ask: “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

3. Union and ownership

Being baptized “into the name” (Greek eis to onoma, Matthew 28:19). In first-century business papers the same phrase was used for payments credited “to the name” of an account holder. Baptism transfers you to Him. You now belong under His name.

4. Faith and dependence

Relying on who He is and what He has done. “By faith in the name of Jesus” (Acts 3:16). We come to the Father not on our record but on His: “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (John 16:24).

The bride taking her husband’s name

The picture of a wife taking her husband’s name fits the Bible’s own imagery well, and Scripture uses it more than people often notice.

The church is Christ’s bride. Paul calls marriage a “profound mystery” that points to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25–32; 2 Corinthians 11:2), and Revelation ends with the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7; 21:2).
Being called by a husband’s name meant belonging and protection. In Isaiah 4:1, desperate women say to one man, “just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!” To bear a man’s name was to be under his care.
God gives His bride a new name. “You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow… as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:2–5).
Believers will bear His name. “Upon him I will write the name of My God… and My new name” (Revelation 3:12), and “His name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). James speaks of “the noble name by which you have been called” (James 2:7).

Where the picture fits

Identity. A wife who takes her husband’s name is publicly his, and he is publicly hers. “Christian” itself means “Christ’s one” (Acts 11:26).
Shared standing and inheritance. A wife could act and transact in her husband’s name and share his estate. Believers are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17) and come to the Father on the Son’s standing.
Shared reputation. Whatever the wife does reflects on the name she bears. “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:24). This is the third commandment again: carry the name worthily.
It begins with a covenant, not a performance. The bride doesn’t earn the name. It is given in a covenant of love (Ephesians 5:25–27).

Where it has limits

The authority is His, not transferred to us to use as we like. A wife might use a joint account freely. The name of Jesus can’t be used for an agenda He doesn’t share. Asking “in His name” for something against His will is like signing His name to a letter He’d never write.
It is not equal partnership. Christ is Lord as well as bridegroom. The bride’s authority flows from submission to Him (Ephesians 5:24).
The church corporately is the bride. Individual believers share in that as members of the body, not each as a separate bride.

The ambassador picture is a helpful companion. Marriage shows the belonging and intimacy behind the name; the ambassador shows how the authority works in practice.

Living it out

Pray as His representative. Before closing “in Jesus’s name,” ask: would Jesus put His name to this request? Jesus’s model prayer starts with “hallowed be Your name” and “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:9–10).
Pray with confidence, not timidity. You come on His standing, not your own. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16).
Minister with dependence. When praying for healing or deliverance, the authority is real, but it is His. Peter’s “what I have I give you” (Acts 3:6) came from a life spent with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
Carry the name well. Your words, work, marriage and conduct all happen under His name (Colossians 3:17).
Expect cost. The apostles were beaten for the name and left “rejoicing that they had been counted worthy” (Acts 5:40–41).

Summary

In Scripture a name stands for the person: character, presence and authority.
Jesus’s name means “the LORD saves,” and He has been given the name above every name.
Believers are saved, baptized, pray, heal, preach, gather, serve, suffer and live in His name.
It is not a formula. The sons of Sceva and Matthew 7 show the words without the relationship are empty.
“In His name” means by His authority, as His representative, belonging to Him, and trusting in Him.
The bride taking her husband’s name is a strong biblical picture of this: belonging, shared standing and shared reputation, with the authority always remaining His.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)