In Our Name

By Terry Wardle

Most Christians have at least some understanding of the notion that we are, upon receiving Christ, to live our lives in his name. We are to let his life move through us in our daily lives, being his hands and feet on earth. Most of us get that to at least some degree.

Recently, in rereading for the third time, J. B. Torrance’s classic, “Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace,” I was struck by a concept I had not considered seriously before. Torrance said, that Jesus came to in every way stand in our stead before God. In point of fact, that means that he lived, and served, and suffered, and died, and was resurrected ---- “In our name.” Jesus’ incarnation was nothing less than his ministry of mediation, standing in for us before God. Now, that life, lived in our name, is credited to us, and as a result we can enter the intimate relationship Jesus has with the Father, through the power of the Spirit. Christ in our name lived and died, so that now we can experience all the blessings, authority, and power of His name. Wow, this demands some serious meditation, and most certainly gratitude.