This is Part 9 of our 15-part series walking through Session 1 of “The Assassins Among Us.” Check out the blog for previous posts.
ELEMENT 8: THE BLESSING – CARRYING GOD’S NAME
Numbers 6:22-27 records the Aaronic Blessing:
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.'”
Notice the final verse: “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
God puts His name on His people. This isn’t ceremonial language. This isn’t religious metaphor. This is covenant reality—God identifies His people by placing His name upon them, and He commits to blessing them.
AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
But here’s what most believers miss: Carrying God’s name comes with both authority and accountability.
Exodus 20:7 warns about misusing God’s name:
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
When God puts His name on you, you represent Him. You carry His reputation. You speak with His authority. But you also bear the responsibility of not profaning that name through your conduct.
This is why the blessing comes after the first seven elements of preparation. You don’t get to carry God’s name into battle until you’ve been properly positioned, cleansed, consecrated, and tested.
THE NEW COVENANT REALITY
But under the New Covenant, God does something far greater than placing His name on us externally.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 prophesied what God would do:
“I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Notice the transformation: God doesn’t just put His name ON us. He gives us a new heart, puts His Spirit WITHIN us, and empowers us from the inside to walk in obedience. This is internal transformation, not just external identification.
YOUR NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST
Revelation 2:17 speaks of the new name we receive:
“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”
Here’s the New Covenant reality: God gives you a new name—a new identity in Christ—AND He places His Spirit within you to transform you from the inside out. You don’t just carry His name externally; you’re indwelt by His Spirit internally.
This is why the Old Covenant couldn’t produce what the New Covenant produces. Israel carried God’s name, but they didn’t have His Spirit dwelling within them to empower obedience. They had external identification without internal transformation.
But in Christ, you have both:
A new name (Christian—Christ-bearer, belonging to Him) A new heart (transformed desires and affections) A new spirit (regenerated, made alive) His Spirit within you (the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, empowering you)
This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy.
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
Romans 8:9 establishes who truly belongs to Christ:
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”
This is critical: If you carry the name of Christ, you have the Spirit of Christ. The two are inseparable. You cannot claim to belong to Christ while living in the realm of the flesh, ignoring or resisting the Spirit of God who dwells in you.
The new name and the indwelling Spirit are the marks of the New Covenant. You’re not just called by God’s name—you’re transformed by God’s Spirit.
THE RESURRECTION POWER WITHIN
Romans 8:8-11 contrasts those who live in the flesh with those who have the Spirit:
“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Notice what this means: The same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you if you belong to Him. You don’t just carry His name externally—you carry His Spirit internally. This is the source of your authority in battle.
THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME
Philippians 2:9-11 reveals the power of the name we carry:
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The name you carry—the name of Jesus Christ—is the name above every name. Every knee bows at this name. This isn’t motivational language. This is spiritual reality.
When you enter the battles ahead, you enter with His name, His Spirit, and His authority.
The enemy recognizes the name of Jesus Christ. Demons tremble at that name. Darkness flees before that name. Not because of who you are, but because of whose name you carry and whose Spirit dwells within you.
THE WARNING
But here’s the critical question: Are you carrying His name with clean hands and a pure heart? Are you living in the Spirit or in the flesh?
Acts 19:13-16 shows what happens when people try to use Jesus’ name without genuine relationship:
“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
The demons knew Jesus. They recognized Paul—a man who genuinely carried Jesus’ name and walked in the Spirit. But these seven sons? “Who are you?”
You cannot carry God’s name in authority if you’re not walking in the relationship and obedience that name requires. You cannot invoke Jesus’ name while living in the flesh and expect spiritual power. The enemy knows the difference.
2 Timothy 2:19 makes this clear:
“But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'”
APPLICATION
- Do you understand the weight of carrying the name of Jesus Christ?
- Are you living in a way that honors or dishonors that name?
- Is the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ—actively at work in you?
- Are you trying to use His name without walking in relationship with Him?
- Would the enemy recognize you as belonging to Christ—or ask “who are you?”
You carry the name above every name. You have the Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwelling within you. This is your authority for the battles ahead.
But authority without obedience is presumption. The name without the relationship is empty religion.
TOMORROW: Element 9: The Offerings of Consecration
We’ll discover why unified worship is essential preparation for unified battle.
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