Contact Us At: thediscernerquarterly@gmail.com

Sunday, 16 August 2026

the Name Of

J e s u s:

It’s for Life,

Not Just for Christmas

-3-

Within The Church at large, The Name of The Lord has become little more than a tagline or cliché. As we continue to examine the claims of E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin concerning Jesus Name, we will come to see that layered between the thin sheets of their teaching is a New Age Christology. Their beliefs concerning Christ are almost identical to the Gnostic concept of The Pattern Son. This is as untenable as it is unbiblical. They deliberately ignore the context of the text, its object & its subject. The Church seems to have forgotten that The Bible is a Hebraic book, revealing the God of the Jews & The Messiah. It is not American or European. Western, Gentile Christianity has reverse engineered many false doctrines through The Scriptures & as a direct result of rabid hellenisation, The Church experiences the ill effects of false teaching. The Christ of the Charismatic Movement & modern Neo-Pentecostalism is a heretical & diabolical caricature. They teach that Jesus Christ is not the supreme, unique Son of God. They say that when He died at the cross, it was a place of defeat. They preach that He literally became sin, taking on the nature of satan. They teach that He went to hell, where He suffered & was unceremoniously tortured by the devil & his demons. As a result of this, He had to be born again, like a sinful man. They say that He is not the only begotten of The Father. This is the Christ of the Charismatic Movement & modern Neo-Pentecostalism. This is who they worship. This is whose name they invoke. This, is not The Messiah.

In our last article, we began looking at the principle of soba semachot or simchah (seem-KAH); the fullness of joy.

⁹ And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength ¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. ¹² And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. (Nehemiah 8:9-12).

This is relational, not transactional. The disciples would have recognised this theme & most especially because the backdrop of The Lord’s discourse was The Feast of Tabernacles; a type & shadow of The Millennium. This could also feasibly be included in the day of which The Lord spoke, as well as the era of The New Covenant. We will come to this in our next meeting.

The twelve would not have believed the lies that have been told by E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin. The Name of Jesus is not a meal ticket & yet these men’s teachings have more in common with the fullness of their stomachs than it does with the fullness of joy. Ezekiel says, ‘Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.’ (Ezekiel 16:49). Let’s continue our look at Kenneth Hagin’s teaching.

‘Jesus said, in regard to the use of His Name in prayer: 24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Hitherto means up till now, or till this time. In other words, up till the time that Jesus was speaking here to the disciples, they had asked nothing in His Name. Now He is speaking to them about a "new day" upon the earth, and He is telling them, "Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.". Here in John, Jesus not only gives us the use of His Name in New Covenant prayer, but He also declares that the prayer prayed in His Name will receive His special attention:’. Sorry Ken, but there isn’t a single place in the text that indicates this. It is not true.

Hagin continues: ‘John 16:23 ...Verily, verily, I say unto you. Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, he will give it you. Notice what Jesus is saying: You ask of the Father in My Name—I will endorse it—and the Father will give it to you.’ The text doesn’t say that Ken. Jesus did not say that He would endorse any & every prayer, prayed in His Name.

He goes on: ‘What an amazing prayer promise! Yet because we did not understand what Jesus said, and because we were religiously brainwashed instead of New Testament taught, we watered down the promises of God. We tacked on something Jesus did not say. We added something else to it. "God will, if it is His will—but it might not be His will," we have said..’. Well Ken, isn’t it funny that James counsels us to proceed with caution along these lines, in case you’d forgotten.

¹⁵ For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that (James 4:15).

Hagin continues: ‘You don't find that kind of talk in the New Testament.’. Yes you do! We’ve just seen what James had to say & John says something similar in his epistle, Ken.

He concludes: ‘People have gone along without answers to prayer, saying, "It must not have been His will, because He didn't do it. If it had been His will, He would have done it." Jesus stated God's will here in John 16:23,24.’.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

No Ken, it is you who tacked on something that Jesus didn’t say. You do find that kind of talk in The New Testament. It is you who needed to be New Testament taught. It is you who did not understand what Jesus said!

These word of faith arguments are as small minded as they are short sighted. Hagin’s assertions & assumptions have no teeth & hold no water. John says, ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (1^st John 5:14-15). Whatsoever we ask, according to His will. According. To. His. Will. With these things in view, let’s go back to John 14 & John 15, where Jesus made similar statements to those of John 16.

¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-15).

These words are not said in isolation. Jesus begins by saying, ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’ (John 14:1). He tells His disciples that He goes to prepare a place for them. He is the way, the truth & the life. He is the revelation of The Father. ‘Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. ¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father (John 14:11-12).

It is as plain as day that it is these works & greater works that the disciples were to ask for, resulting in The Father being glorified in The Son. Read Acts.

The Lord Jesus continues, telling them that they should keep His commandments & that He would pray for the coming of The Comforter. He says, ‘Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.’ (John 14:19). This is not the first time The Lord used these words. He castigates the Pharisees, saying, ‘…Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come’ (John 7:33-34).

²⁰ At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. ²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? ²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. ²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. ²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you (John 14:20-25).

Hagin’s narrative begins in John 16, but The Lord began this discourse before then. Again, in John 15, Jesus tells His disciples the following; ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.’ (John 15:16). Is this a promise of guaranteed, answered prayer? No. It is not. Is The Lord Jesus telling His disciples that they will get anything they ask for? No. He is not.

The Lord is confirming something significant about Himself as Messiah, to the twelve. As Jews, they knew the magnitude of The Name of The Lord. Remember; The Name of The Lord is as much Him as He Himself. Here, Christ is hammering home the Divine superiority of His Name. He is God. He is Their Lord. He is Their King. He is Their Messiah. Keep His commandments. Obey His voice. Bear fruit. Then, they can approach The Father. Then, they can ask in His Name; because they want whatever it is that He wants. His will becomes theirs! His will must also become ours.

¹⁹ Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. ²⁰ For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. ²² For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: ²³ That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him (John 5:19-23).

²⁶ For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; ²⁷ And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man (John 5:26-27).

³⁰ I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me (John 5:30).

³⁶But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. ³⁷ And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. ³⁸ And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not (John 5:36-38).

⁴³ I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. ⁴⁴How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. ⁴⁶ For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:43).

The disciples knew the power of His name. They had seen that power & experienced it firsthand.

²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (Matthew 7:22).

³⁸ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. ³⁹ But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For he that is not against us is on our part. ⁴¹For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41).

⁴⁹ And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us (Luke 9:49).

¹⁰ And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name (Luke 10:17).

The Name of Jesus & all it represents, far from being a lucky charm or godly guarantee, is our access to The Father. In that place of fellowship, we find fullness of Joy & He makes known His will. Because of Who Jesus is & what He has done for us, His Name bears the same dimensions in the New Covenant as The Name of The Lord bore in The Old. Hagin & Kenyon's book lied! Now, where did I put my petrol & matches?

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

Sunday, 2 August 2026

the Name Of

J e s u s:

It’s For Life,

Not Just For Christmas

-2-

In our last meeting, we began looking at the counterfeit claim that The Lord Jesus gave His Church an unqualified legal right to use His Name; the power of attorney, if you will. This belief is largely based on the artificial teachings of E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin. In order to give foundation to their falsehoods, both men have systematically ignored the Messianic trend of Scripture & opted for a gnostic view of Christ instead. Hagin’s liberally plagiarised book, The Name of Jesus, endeavours to prove that Jesus gave The Church a blank cheque, in order for us to ask for & receive anything in prayer. Is this really what The Lord did? Leaning heavily on E. W. Kenyon’s writings, Hagin hammers out a premise that is slimmer than a supermodel. What has The Church at large done with this presumed power of attorney? What have the purveyors of this teaching within Charismania & modern Neo-Pentecostalism produced? Well, the movement has dressed itself sumptuously & situated itself very comfortably in luxury. It eats well & has steadily grown fat, because in their world there is little or no separation between church & steak. It ignores the poor in its midst, regularly instructing them to believe heartily & give generously. It has become a sickening caricature. Its assumed illumination flickers violently & the hill of sand that it is built upon, is slowly giving way under the weight of the movement’s obscene bulk. It denigrates Christ. It exalts man. All of this is done in Jesus’ Name. The believing Church must tackle this fundamental issue to its root & it has to do it quickly. It must do it now!

Kenneth Hagin made the following claim concerning The Name of Jesus, in his book of the same title: ‘I have not prayed one prayer in 45 years (I'm talking about for me and for my children while they were young) without getting an answer. I always got an answer—and the answer was always yes.’. Wow, that’s quite a record Ken. How did you manage that?

He continues: ‘We come bringing the Name of Jesus! And God's Word works today, just as much as it ever did. "Ask the Father in My Name," Jesus said. "I will endorse that, and the Father will give it to you." This puts prayer on a purely legal basis for He has given us the legal right to use His Name. As we take our privileges, and rights, in the New Covenant and pray in Jesus' Name, it passes out of our hands into the hands of Jesus; He then assumes the responsibility of that prayer, and we know that He said. "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hearest Me, and I know that Thou hearest Me always." In other words, we know that the Father always hears Jesus, and when we pray in Jesus' Name, it is as though Jesus Himself were doing the praying— He takes our place.’.

Really Ken? You mean that The Father cannot tell the difference between our petitions & those of The Lord Jesus Christ, when we utilise His Name in prayer? Do you actually mean that Jesus is our Prayer Broker?

He goes on: ‘This places prayer not only on legal grounds, but makes it a business proposition. When we pray, we take Jesus' place here to carry out His will, and He takes our place before the Father.’.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

Brethren, do you have any idea how thin the doctrinal ice actually is here? If Hagin is to be believed, The Church has hit the jackpot! He is saying that The Lord gave The Church a cast iron, twenty four carat, hallmarked guarantee for answered prayer. Well? Is Kenneth Hagin to be believed? No. He is not. Lifting a verse out of its context does not institute a truth, any more than a single Swallow constitutes a spring or summer.

Before The Lord offered His disciples this so called ‘business proposition’, an ‘unqualified legal right to use His name’ & the ‘power of attorney’, He said something that blows Kenyon & Hagin’s theories right out of the water. Jesus begins this portion of His discourse with the words; ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.’ (John 16:1). He continues, telling them they’ll be thrown out of Synagogues & even suffer martyrdom at the hands of those who believe they’re doing God’s will. He tells them that He is going back to The father, but that He will send The Holy Spirit to them. He knows that they are sorrowful. I would have been solemn too. Wouldn’t you? Jesus tells them, ‘A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.’ (John 16:16).

²⁰ Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. ²¹ A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. ²² And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. (John 16:20-22).

Jesus tells the disciples these things in order to encourage & keep them. Then He gives them a contrast between the sorrow they are feeling & the joy which is to come. Remember, Jesus isn’t speaking to Americans or Europeans. He isn’t speaking to Lawyers either. He is speaking to Jews.

²³ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. ²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. ²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. ²⁶ At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: ²⁷ For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. ²⁸ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father (John 16:23-28).

Jesus is not saying, ‘..tag my Name onto the end of your prayers & you will always get what you pray for..’. However, He did say something that is regularly skipped over. ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:24). Moreover, this was not the first time The Lord spoke to His disciples along these lines. We will see this when we go to John 14 & John 15. Buckle up, buttercups.

The phrase ‘..that your joy may be full..’ does not mean you’ll be ecstatic when you ask for & then receive whatever you want. No. Instead, the disciples & any Jew worth their salt, reading these words in John’s Gospel, may have immediately thought of familiar portions of Old testament Scripture. Remember, Jesus isn’t speaking to Americans or Europeans. He isn’t speaking to Lawyers either. He is speaking to Jews.

The disciples were sorrowful because Jesus was going away, but He spoke to them of a day when they would see Him again & in that day they would have direct access to The Father, in His Name. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, using my Name. This is not a ‘business proposition’ This is not an ‘unqualified legal right to use His name’. Nor is it the ‘power of attorney’ These terms are all transactional. The Lord Jesus was speaking of something more than that. He speaks of something relational. This fullness of joy is the principle of soba semachot or simchah (seem-KAH). Only YHWH can give us this & He does it by allowing us access to Him & His presence, in Jesus’ Name. In His Name, not in His place; because no one can take His place!

The Lord Himself experienced deep sorrow as He approached the cross; ‘And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.’ (Matthew 26:37) & yet Hebrews tells us, ‘Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus’ statement was not plucked out of thin air. It was plucked out of God’s Word.

⁸I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. ¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ¹¹ Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalms 16:8-11).

In telling the disciples to ask in His Name, The Lord is demonstrating His authority, His dominion & His mastery. He is showing them His Divine credentials. He is not telling them that they can get whatever they want in prayer, simply by uttering His Name as an incantation. The Name of Jesus is not a magic wand! He is telling them that because of Who He is & what He will accomplish, they & we by extension, can have access to the fullness of joy the Psalmist speaks of. Peter quotes these verses in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost.

²⁵ For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: ²⁶ Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: ²⁷ Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ²⁸ Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance (Acts 2:25-28).

Their joy will be full because He is showing them the path of life to The Father. In His presence is the joy that no one takes away from them. At YHWH’s right hand is Messiah & in His Name we have access to our Father. This language is relational, not transactional. No Bulls. No Goats. No Heifers. No Turtledoves. We approach YHWH in The Name of Jesus. Because of Who He is. Because of what He has done. To teach or to preach anything else, is to flirt with damnable heresy in an uncomfortable proximity. We will come to this in our next meeting.

There is no delegation of the use of Jesus’ Name to The Church, in order to guarantee that the answer to our prayers will always be yes! I know you’ve done that. I’ve done it too. How did it work out? There is no endorsement of any of our requests, simply because we wave The Name of The Lord as if it were a lucky charm, while we quote Scripture as if The Bible was a book of spells! There is no extension of any legal right to His Name for whatever we want. That would negate the pure grace of God that has been granted to us, because of the finished work of Christ at the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9).

²⁹ His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. ³⁰ Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. ³¹ Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? ³² Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:29-33).

Kenneth Hagin is dead wrong. His doctrine is a gross misrepresentation of the words of The Lord Jesus Christ & the most grotesque of false pretences.

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; ² (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) ³That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full (1^st John 1:1-4).

¹² Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full (2^nd John 1:12).

If the false preposition foisted upon The Church were true, why didn’t the disciples ask for the overthrow of Rome & the destruction of their enemies? Why didn’t they go out trawling & pull in huge draughts of fish, all with gold coins in their mouths? Why didn’t they go barefoot water skiing on The Sea of Galilee, during storms? All that they would have had to do, was use The Name of Jesus. Well, I’ll tell you why. They didn’t do these things because that is not what The Lord meant by what He had said to them. What The Lord Jesus taught about His Name was not about the disciples & not about us. It was & is all about Him.

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The Name Of

J e s u s:

It’s For Life,

Not Just For Christmas

-1-

I cannot think of anything that has been used & abused more than The Name of The Lord. It is wilfully blasphemed by the world & sadly taken in vain by The Church. We call on it. We sing about it. We end our prayers with it. We address the powers of darkness using it. The Name of The Lord is precious & should be treated as such, most especially by His Church. Unfortunately, it has become little more than a magic wand with which we attempt to rubber stamp our prayers, in order to guarantee answers in our favour. That has to change. In this short series of articles we will look at what The Church has been taught by leading lights within the Charismatic movement & modern Neo-Pentecostalism. Unbiblical, irreverent claims have been made by some, on, as well as in, Jesus' Name. We have to take it back! Before we get into the nitty gritty of the falsehoods surrounding The Name of The Lord, we have to make something abundantly clear; The Name of Jesus encapsulates all that He is. Beyond the arguments about whether we say Jesus, Yeshua, Iesus or Iēsous, is the matter of which person we are actually talking about. If you go to Mexico City & open the phone book, there are thousands of individuals with the name Jesús. Are demons cast out in the name of one of those men? No. The Watchtower invokes His Name. Mormonism invokes His Name. Seventh Day Adventism invokes His Name. Christian Science invokes His Name. The Christadelphians invoke His Name. Are they all petitioning the same Lord Jesus Christ as the believing Church? No, they are not. Even within The Church at large, there is another Charismatic, Neo-Pentecostal Jesus, who is inept, having laid aside His power & glory. He has to have man’s permission to act. He is bound to & restricted by the principles of the force of faith. In his death He took on the sinful nature of satan, experiencing spiritual death & torture in hell, before eventually being born again. The Catholics have a Jesus who is a glorified mother’s boy & organised Protestantism promotes a Christ that accepts anything & everything from sanctioned anti-semitism to blatant agnosticism & atheism. This is not the biblical Jesus. This is not The Son of God. This is not our Saviour. In these meetings we will be examining the use & abuse of The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever The Church at large claims as its mission, is being done in Jesus’ Name. But is it an accurate representation of Christ?

Brethren, do you recall singing Caroline Maria Noel’s great hymn, ‘At The Name of Jesus’? It is a rousing song of praise. Find it & sing it. It’s quite a tune. ‘At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, every tongue confess Him, King of glory now; ’tis the Father’s pleasure, we should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning, was the mighty Word.’.

What about Newton’s glorious theme? ‘How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.’. Edward Perronet’s thunderous anthem exhorts us, right out of the gate, as he blasts; ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name, let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.’.

Those words are drenched in sound doctrine. Not feelings. But truth.

We could go on & on. We’re also familiar with expressions such as ‘Stop, in the name of the law.’. ‘Open up, in the name of the king.’. These are pictures of human authority, but they are a far cry from the Divine power of The Name of The Lord.

Charismatics & Neo-Pentecostals alike have fallen into a particular disposition of teaching regarding The Name of Jesus, promoted & popularised in the main by two men; E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin, respectively. Technically, Kenyon’s work is the main culprit, because Hagin shamelessly plagiarised the writing of Kenyon, until he was unceremoniously outed in 1983. Many thanks to Mr. D. R. McConnell’s excellent work; A Different Gospel. I wholeheartedly & enthusiastically recommend it.

With these things in view, what has The Church at large been taught concerning Jesus’ Name. Well, let’s look at what Kenneth Hagin said. ‘The only good book devoted entirely to it (the subject of The Name of Jesus) that I have found is E. W. Kenyon's The Wonderful Name of Jesus. I encourage you to get a copy. It is a marvellous book. It is revelation knowledge. It is the Word of God.’. No. It ain’t.

Cheers Ken, but for biblical reasons I have to strongly disagree. Kenneth Hagin loved Kenyon’s book so much, that he brazenly plagiarised large portions of it & published said sections in his own book, without giving credit where credit was due. Hagin did this much in the same way that he had when he ripped off the writings of J.A. MacMillan for his book The Believer’s Authority. These issues were highlighted in our very first article ‘Betrayal: A Clarion Call to Defending The Faith Once Delivered to The Saints’.

My aim here is to properly eviscerate demonstrably false doctrine purported to The Church at large, regarding The Name & Person of Our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Before we delve into the matter at hand, we have to look at what The Name of The Lord actually meant to those who lived in its radiance. The Name of The Lord is as much Him, as He Himself. For those who treat it with the casual abandon of a cheque guarantee card, I issue a warning. Hitherto you may have said & done things with The Name of Jesus, out of ignorance. Stop it. Now.

Because of erroneous teachings referencing The Name of The Lord, The Church at large has settled for the transactional, rather than the relational. Understanding Jesus’ Name ought to correct that, but often fails to do so because of the nature of the instruction surrounding it. If you have a copy of The Name of Jesus by Kenneth E. Hagin & or E. W. Kenyon's volume on the same subject, burn them. They make excellent kindling. Take your Bible & examine the claims these men made, in the light of The Scriptures.

⁷ Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7).

¹² And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:12).

¹¹ Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11).

Word of faith doctrine concerning The Name of Jesus has violated all of those commands. Surely the propagators of these falsehoods went to one of their favourite translations to check, before poisoning believers with damnable heresy. They will often go to their version of choice, The Amplified Bible, which says this; ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].’ (Exodus 20:7emphasis added).

This goes way beyond the common, popular invocation of The Saviour’s Name & title, or the exclamation oh my G’d; calling upon Deity for no real reason. In fact, taking The Lord’s Name in vain is to attach the Divine Name to any word, action or endeavour that is diabolical & diametrically opposed to the truth. False doctrine, false teaching & false prophecy all fall into this category. To take, or bear The Name of The Lord in vain, is to seek to endorse, authorise, guarantee or warrant falsehoods using His Name, as if The Lord were signing off on the undertaking. That is why whoever does this will not be held guiltless. They will not be innocent.

His Name is so holy that it is considered ineffable. Remember, The Name of The Lord is as much Him, as He Himself. If we take His Name in vain, if we attach it to falsehood, if we disregard its power, its dignity & fail to reverence it; we are in real trouble & we are in real danger.

²⁰ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. ²² But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries (Exodus 23:20-22).

The ineffable Name of The Lord holds such authority & commands such power that the Jews will not speak it. They refer to YHWH as Adonai or HaShem; The Name. God puts His Name, His authority, His dominion & His power within the angel, as a type of Christ Who would come bearing the Divine Name later. This is not to say that Christ was originally an angel that later became Messiah. That is the Arian Heresy.

Jesus came in His Father’s Name. He made the ineffable, effable. He made the invisible, visible. He made the unapproachable, accessible. This is The Lord Jesus Christ. This is The Eternal Son. This is our Saviour. His Name is to be exalted. His Name is to be revered. His Name is ever to be worshipped, trusted & adored.

We who are not Jews, have little or no idea what bearing His Name means. We neither love it, nor fear it. Yet we will casually use it with a cavalier attitude. If The Church doesn’t reverence His Name, how can we expect The World to? Let’s consider carefully what we do & say in His Name. The received wisdom of word of faith doctrine concerning The Name of The Lord begins with a statement Kenyon made, which was later reiterated by Hagin.

‘E. W. Kenyon began his book The Wonderful Name of Jesus with this personal account: One afternoon, while giving an address on "The Name of Jesus" a lawyer interrupted me, asking: "Do you mean to say that Jesus gave us the power of Attorney; the Legal Right to use His Name?". I said to him, "Brother, you are a lawyer and I am a layman. Tell me—did Jesus give us the Power of Attorney?. He said, "If language means anything, then Jesus gave the church the Power of Attorney.". Then I asked him, "What is the value of this Power of Attorney?". He answered, "It depends upon how much there is back of it, how much authority, how much power this Name represents.". Then I began to search to find how much power and authority Jesus had. All the power, and all the authority that Jesus had is invested in His Name!.. The measure of His ability [the measure of the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ] is the measure of the value of that Name, and all that is invested in that Name belongs to us, for Jesus gave us the unqualified use of His Name.’.

This statement sounds feasible enough, but when examined more closely it makes little or no sense. This meshes perfectly with the word of faith movement’s obsession with legal rights & privileges. If The Lord Jesus truly gave The Church the power of attorney, or the legal right to use His Name, does this apply only to American law? What about The UK & wider Europe? What about Africa, or Asia? More to the point, if this is a question of legitimacy, surely it’s Jewish law that we should be looking into, if it is in fact the case that Kenyon’s assertion is correct. I put it to you that it is not.

I’m not talking about erecting buildings or establishing institutions. I mean discovering what The Lord actually meant when He used the phrase ‘In My Name’.

Jesus did not give The Church the unqualified use of His Name. There was no blank cheque written for us. This view is wrong. It is erroneous. It is Hellenistic. It is hedonistic. I would contend that (for want of a better phrase) it is Jesus Christ Himself Who possesses the power of attorney. He came & acted in His Father’s Name as only He could, because He alone is Saviour. He alone is The Son. He alone is The Word. We see this in Messianic prophecy.

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10).

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

² But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2).

The Lord promised His Saviour to fallen mankind. The seed of the woman. The power to bruise a head far outweighs the power to bruise a heel. The power to save. The power to absolve sin & dissolve its consequences. The power to govern & rule. The power to grant eternal life. To remove leprosy. To open eyes bling from birth. To cast out dumb spirits. This is Messiah. If there were anyone with a true power of attorney; it is Him. Mr. Kenyon & Mr. Hagin are wrong. Dead wrong. Go & get yourself some petrol & some matches. You’re gonna need them.