Satan’s chief effort in religious circles is to eliminate or weaken the presence or power of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. “Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever beaten the devil.” To pray without understanding the power of Jesus’ name and the fact that God the Father has ordained that His Son’s name be the name of authority is to misunderstand Holy Truth. God the Father gave this prophecy about Jesus to Isaiah the prophet and then Matthew repeated it to show that Jesus was the fulfillment. “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust” (Matthew 12:17-21). God the Father chose to exalt the Son. Now, you understand why His name is so hated and why the entire Son/Father relationship is under attack.

The relationship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost is a mystery in Holy Scripture. It is clearly taught that God has revealed Himself in three persons, but the full explanation is above our human minds to completely understand. Remember, if we could understand God, that would make us equal with Him. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Let’s look at the clear expression of Apostle Paul concerning the Father’s appointment of Jesus’ name and authority. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

This is one of the grandest statements in the Pauline Epistles. Jesus was eternally with the Father but is here shown to have consciously chosen to temporarily lay aside that divine position at the Father’s intimate side and to become a servant in the presence of men. In the form of Divine God, the Father could not walk into the presence of fallen, sinful flesh. But the Son of God, maintaining His eternal divinity, could lay the form of that divinity aside and robe himself with flesh and make His visit into the world of flesh.

How did the Son of God perform such an incredible task? He did it by assuming a position of mankind totally without reputation. In other words God the Son was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Ghost as a helpless, weak, embryonic baby. He was born after nine natural months of development, frail and totally dependant on Mary and Joseph, his stepfather. This infant son was “God Emmanuel, God with us, and God in the flesh,” but because He assumed no position of holiness or reputation, He could live among the sinful until He proved His own holiness by His own personal surrender and action. Then when that holiness was proven by His actions, He would die to redeem the very flesh He had visited.

Paul the apostle said it clearly, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). He was totally without sin in conception or in life. Being conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, He was not a partaker of human depravity. There was no sin nature, as Adam was tempted even before he became the carrier of an evil nature, so Jesus was tempted. The Bible says that His temptation “was in all points like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). But contrary to the first Adam, “Jesus did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” (I Peter 2:22).

Jesus said it plainly. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:17-18).

Jesus died for our sin because He made the conscious choice to die. Even the Father gave this commandment. The power to lay down His life was His to perform. The power to resurrect on the third day was His to express. It was all the clear choice of God the Son, Who laid aside the form of His eternal divinity to become an expression of the human and in that God/man person to die for the redemption of all mankind. Not only was He dying to redeem the souls of man, He was dying to redeem the fallen universe and to judge the evil person that created the crisis of sin.

The Holy Scripture declares that God the Father, upon viewing the entire sacrifice and results of His only Begotten Son’s accomplishment, makes a clear decision. Paul says, “Wherefore (or because of) God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name…” (Philippians 2:9). Here is a picture of God the Father acting and making a choice regarding His Son. It is impossible to intelligently confuse this action. The Father is so delighted with the accomplishments of His Son that He elevates His name to be greater than any other name. To try to obscure the distinction between the Father and His Son would reduce our God to the level of confusion reserved for the false gods.