John 14:13-14 …To ask in His Name (01/21/17)
“I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If in my name you ask for anything, I will do it.”
~ Jesus (John 14:13-14)
As is so often the case when reading Scripture, there are many subtleties in this passage worth realizing – namely:
A) The Truth that the deeper essence of the phrase “in my name” is critical, as it means not “while worshiping me” (which Jesus did not want us to do – see Mark 10:18, John 5:41, John 7:61, John 8:50-54, John 12:44 et al), but rather “in a way that harmonizes with the actual meaning of my name – which is ‘God will guide to salvation’ (Yehoshua) and ‘God is within us’ (Emmanuel)” …
B) The Truth that “the Father” for Jesus was an internal essence (John 14:20) composed of perfect, unconditional Love (Matthew 5:48) — not an external entity of wrath &/or judgment …
C) The Truth that this explains why the Father is glorified “in the Son” and not by the Son …
D) The Truth that the only thing that can be properly asked for “in [his] name” is the opportunity to be of service to others — an opportunity that is truly omnipresent in all our lives, which explains why it was so easy for Jesus to make this guarantee — for making such a request does not require that anything be manifested that isn’t already (and indeed always)
Amen … Let us all realize it is indeed so
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