The name of Jesus has been given to us so that we may be washed, sanctified, and justified. As defiled persons, we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. I read 1 Corinthians 6:11 for years without seeing a crucial point: in the name and by the Spirit. The name is closely related to the Person and to the Spirit. If the name of Jesus were an empty name, how could it wash us? How could it sanctify and justify us? This would be impossible. However, this name is linked to the Spirit. The Spirit is the Person of the name and the reality of the name. Therefore the name can wash us, sanctify us, and justify us. The Spirit is one with the name. Jesus is the name of the Lord, and the Spirit is the Person of the Lord. When we call on the name of a real person, that person comes. The name of Jesus is linked with the Person who washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies us. This is not merely doctrine or theory-it is reality. When we believe in the name of Jesus and are put into the name of Jesus, we are placed into a living Person, that is, in the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies us. |