Lesson 22 — A Christian's Power of Attorney

1. 1 A CHRISTIAN'S POWER OF ATTORNEY

A CHRISTIAN’S POWER OF ATTORNEY

The New Testament teaches unlimited power for all believers. This has been discussed to some degree in other lessons and supplements, but in this lesson we want to give the scriptural foundation for such a doctrine.

The Bible doctrine of divine agency is clearly expressed in Scripture. Agency in the business world is that relation between two or more persons by which one person (the agent) represents another (the principal) in the transaction of lawful acts of business. Agents are of two kinds, general and special. A General Agent is authorized to represent the principal in all of his business, or in a business of a particular kind. A Special Agent is authorized to do some specific thing, as sell a farm, buy a house, or transact some special business for the principal.

Any person who is capable of free and intelligent action may act as the principal. Also any person of this caliber can act as an agent. A lunatic, imbecile, or infant, or anyone incapable of action in his own right or one who is of unsound mind and understanding cannot act as either principal or agent.

The authority of an agent may be constituted in three ways: by deed under seal, by writing, or by mere word. Express authority is given to an agent by what is called the power of attorney. The principal is liable for the acts of agents when they are acting in fulfillment of the agency business, and the agent who conceals his principal is himself responsible to third parties. An agent cannot appoint a substitute or delegate power to another without the consent of the principal.

Authority of an agent may be terminated in several ways: by the express revocation thereof by the principal, by renunciation of such power by the agent, by the death of either the principal or the agent, by the expiration of the time for which the agent was given authority, by the bankruptcy or sale of the business of the principal, and by the insanity of either the principal or the agent. Termination of authority becomes effective the moment the agent and the third parties receive notice of it. An agent cannot receive any personal profit from any business transacted for the principal other than a salary or commission.

Persons dealing with the agent should investigate and ascertain the authority of an agent. One should always require evidences from an agent of his authority before doing business with him.

Whenever it becomes necessary to delegate to an agent power to sign notes, checks, or other legal documents, it is advisable to grant such powers in a written document and to have it recorded in court. Such document is usually called the power of attorney. It should be signed by the principal and witnessed, and acknowledged before an officer, the same as a deed. It should set forth exactly and explicitly what the attorney or agent has power to do. A simple form of the power of attorney is as follows:

“KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That, I, John Doe, of Atlanta, County of Fulton, and State of Georgia, have made, constituted and appointed, and BY THESE PRESENTS do make, constitute and appoint, John Smith, true and lawful attorney for me and in my name, place and stead, (here state the purpose for which the power is given), giving and granting unto my said attorney full power of authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever, requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully, to all intents and purposes, as I might or could do if personally present, with all power of substitution and revocation, hereby ratifying and confirming all that my said attorney or substitute shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal the second day of January, one thousand nine hundred and forty-nine.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the Presence of

John Doe (Seal)

II. Biblical Proof for the Christian’s Power of Attorney

All men have the legal and redemptive right to use the name of Jesus in asking and receiving from God. This puts prayer on a purely legal basis.

“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” Matthew 18:19-20; “These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents (see Lesson Fourteen, V, II); and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” Mark 16:15-20; “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. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” John 14:12-15; “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; “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full . . . At that day ye shall ask in my name” John 16:23-26.

These statements are the direct words of Jesus Himself and certainly express the Christian’s power of attorney. He has given us unqualified use of His name to carry on the work of God in this world. All that God has invested in His name is ours. As Paul expressed it, “All things are yours . . . And ye are Christ’s; and Christ’s is God’s” 1 Corinthians 3:21-23. He gives us assurance that all prayer prayed in His name will receive the special attention of both Himself and His Father and our Father. It is just like saying, “You ask of the Father in My name; I will endorse it, and the Father will give it.”

If modern Christians could only wake up and realize their rights in the New Testament, and would exercise their full authority according to their rights, there would be no failure, no sin, no bad habits, no unhappiness, no defeat, no sickness, and no want among them. As we have seen in Lesson Ten, all of our wants have been promised by God, not only our needs.

When men pray in the name of Jesus they pray by His authority, and it is as if Jesus Himself were praying. God always hears Him, as proven in the gospel records. At the grave of Lazarus He said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always” John 11:41-42. If Christians would pray by His authority and realize the power of such prayer, they would have more confidence in answered prayer. They would realize that God always hears Jesus, and that when they pray by His authority it will always be answered, as stated in the above passages.

When men pray in the name of Jesus they should not only believe that they are praying by His authority but also that the prayers pass into His hands, and that He assumes responsibility for the answer. He says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do” and “I will do it” John 14:12-15. He said of the Father, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, he will give it you” John 16:23-26. Paul said of the Father, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things” Romans 8:32.

Christ is not only our substitute in atonement, but He also takes our place before God to ever live and make intercession for us according to the will of God Romans 8:34Hebrews 7:25. His work then was not completed at the cross. He still is our High Priest before God (Heb. 4: 14-16). He is our Advocate or Defense Attorney when we are accused before God by the devil 1 John 2:1-2Revelation 12:10. Where is there any room for failure to get what is asked if we would only come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy to help in time of need and leave our case in His hands, as we are commanded to do in Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-23? There can be no failure in any one case if true and unwavering faith is exercised James 1:5-8Hebrews 11:6. Prayer is a business proposition and should be the chief business of our lives. This is true because the chief business of our lives needs much prayer to make it a success.

The above Scriptures about praying in His name were the last that Christ uttered before He ascended to the Father. They are part of the commission of the Church in evangelizing the world and reconciling it to God. In these passages we have the Christian’s power of attorney covering the defeat of satanic forces that hinder the gospel work. “In my name they shall cast out devils.” This was true of the first preaching tours of the disciples before the cross Matthew 10:1-20Luke 9:1-9Luke 10:1-20Mark 6:7-13; and this was true after the cross Acts 2:43Acts 3:6-7Acts 5:12-16Acts 6:8Acts 8:1-21Acts 16:16-34Acts 19:11-20.

There is power in the name of Jesus. The demons said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know,” that is, we know that Jesus and Paul were our masters and we obey them, but we know nothing about you seven men whom we have never met in combat Acts 19:11-20. Jesus said, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth” Matthew 28:18. By His authority men were commissioned to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and God would stand by them and defeat all demons powers in the name of Jesus. This was to continue “even unto the end of the world” Matthew 28:18-20. In other words, If men will go and preach the truth, it will set men free from demon powers wherever and as long as truth is preached. Jesus sent the disciples out to make disciples in all nations and promised to back them up with signs following which would confirm the preached word Mark 16:15-20Hebrews 2:3-4. All men who preach have a perfect right to cast out devils and to have all the signs of the gospel following them. If this is not true of them, they are poor representatives of God and are failing to do as they are commissioned by God.

The name of Jesus means much to the Father. He will always honor this name for it means to Him that redemption has been completed and the world is saved from eternal rule by satanic powers. It means to the Father that His eternal plan of a perfect and sinless society on Earth and in the whole universe is guaranteed. This means more to the Father than our finite minds can now grasp because of the lack of understanding of the scope of the plan of God for man. The Father recognizes all that the name of Jesus implies. He knows that we have a legal and family right to use this name in prayer. The Father knows that the right use of this name will deliver all men from sin, sickness, and failure in life. It is the glory of God to recognize the name of Jesus in prayer and to answer according to the faith exercised.

To Satan and demons, the name of Jesus means their utter defeat, humiliation, banishment to the lowest Hell. It means they are now defeated and that they have to loose any person that they control in any degree when the name of Jesus is used against them. They obey that name and fear and tremble when it is used in faith. They flee when they are resisted and rebuked by this name.

To the Church, the name of Jesus means that any thing that is needed or wanted in life now and hereafter will be granted when it is used in unwavering faith. All the infinite resources of God belong to the Church, and nothing is impossible to the believer who launches out into full and free use of the name of Jesus.

God’s plan for the Church is to get and use the full power of attorney and carry on business for God and Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit as Christ carried on the work of God by the Spirit when He was on Earth. This we have seen in Lesson Twenty. If there is any failure to carry on this work, and do even greater works than Christ did, it is not the failure of God. It is not the lack of power and authority in the name of Jesus. It is not because redemption is not complete and man’s case has been lost in the High Court of Heaven. It is not because the devil is stronger than God. It is not because the Holy Spirit has failed in enduing men with power. It is simply because the Church has failed as a whole and individuals have failed in particular to exercise their God-given rights and privileges as taught in the gospel, and become endued with power from on High.

The Church as a whole today does not understand the true purpose of the body of Christ in the world. The average person does not understand the true issues between God and Satan. Satan is taking advantage of this ignorance and unbelief and holding back the great usefulness of the Church in the Earth. He is defeating Christians by the millions. He is making them believe that it is not God’s will for them to get what they want in this life. He makes them fear to use the name of Jesus in prayer and in daily conflict against him and his demon forces. As long as the Church lives in this ignorance it will be defeated in doing the works of God that should be manifest today in every local church as it was in the early churches.

Many thousands of religious people deny, more or less, the essentials of the gospel faith such as the virgin birth, the incarnation, the deity and sinlessness of Jesus, His redemptive work, His death, burial, resurrection, and His ascension to Heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit, the power of the name of Jesus, the Christian’s power of attorney and many truths that would make the Church victorious in the world over all enemies. As long as this condition prevails, the New Testament type of Christianity will be very little manifest.

It is highly important that men get a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. For this reason we have taken most of these two lessons to give you the truth about Jesus Christ. If He is divine, He is our Lord. If He is our Lord, He has a right to intervene in human affairs. His gospel should be obeyed and His name honored and exercised in all authority over demons and sin and sickness and all the ills of life. All that is built around Him should be cherished and upheld. Men should still follow His pure example of godliness and consecrate themselves to follow Him in righteousness and true holiness. Women should pledge their lives to Him and preserve their purity and womanhood for the sake of themselves and of coming generations. Children should be brought up to love, respect, and follow Him throughout life to the all-glorious future with Him. All men should seek to obey His teachings to the letter and strive to reproduce New Testament Christianity in life and in power so that multitudes can be saved, healed, and blessed with prosperity and health and victory over all enemies of God and man.

III. Christ’s Power of Attorney

There are several ways in which Christ obtained all authority in Heaven and in Earth to give to men to carry on His work throughout this age. If men are to be given the power of attorney it should be clear to them that Christ has the right to give them that power and the extent to which it is to be exercised by them. The following is the sevenfold way Christ obtained His great name and the power of attorney:

1. 1 HIS DEITY

   By virtue of being God by nature, and of being the creative agent in the making and upholding of all things, He has the right to have this authority. As God He could be the only one capable of this honor Colossians 1:15-18Hebrews 1:1-3.

1. 1 BY BIRTH

   Not only because of His deity, but also because of His humanity, Christ has obtained this place before God and man as the Saviour, Life-giver, and the Power of God. “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:21. This person was “Emmanuel” or God with us Matthew 1:23Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 9:6-7. Jesus was born to be the King of the Jews and the Saviour of the world John 19:36-37Luke 2:11, 25.

1. 1 BY HIS SINLESSNESS

   Jesus was the only human being that ever lived without sin since the Fall. He was the only one that could atone for man, for the substitute had to be sinless, as we have seen in Lesson Nineteen, Point IX. He was made in the likeness of flesh that sin controlled, but His flesh was not sinful flesh or under the dominion of sin, as was that of all other men Romans 8:1-32 Corinthians 5:211 Peter 2:21-25. Because of His sinless life God blessed Him above all other men: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” Hebrews 2:9.

1. 1 BY HIS PREPARATION

   From childhood Christ prepared Himself for the work that His Father sent Him into the world to do. Certain passages make this plain (see Lesson Twenty-one, Point IX).

1. 1 BY HIS ANOINTING

   Because of His humanity and earthly limitations as a man and because of His sinlessness and preparation for a divine anointing, God gave Him the full anointing of the Holy Spirit to enable Him to achieve greatness in three worlds—Heaven, Earth, and Hell. By this anointing, as predicted in Isa. 11:1-2; 43:17; 61:1-2; and fulfilled in Mt. 3:16-17; Lk. 4:16-21; Acts 10:38; Jn. 3:34, He gained eternal fame in all the universe.

1. 1 BY HIS ACHIEVEMENTS

   By what He accomplished for God and man He is great. Death, Hell, and the grave were mastered by Him, as well as sin and demons on Earth. Every enemy of both God and man was fully conquered. Redemption was made complete. God and man became reconciled, and God’s eternal plan for man will be realized. His fame even reached to the highest Heaven and the lowest Hell, and all creatures must bow the knees to Him Philippians 2:5-11Colossians 1:16-21Colossians 2:14-17Ephesians 1:20-23Ephesians 4:7-11Hebrews 2:14-151 Peter 3:22Revelation 5:1-14Revelation 7:11. His achievements in life on Earth are recorded in the gospels as being so many that if they were written, even the world could not contain the books that should be written John 21:25. His achievements in death were even greater than those in life. For His work in death, God has highly exalted Him above every name, and every tongue must confess Him as Lord to the glory of God the Father Philippians 2:5-11.

1. 1 BY INHERITANCE

   Paul speaks of Christ as having been appointed “heir of all things . . . he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (the angels, Heb. 1:1-14). Some men have obtained a great name and great fame by birth, by being great students, by making thorough preparation for some specific work, and by their achievements; but no other man has obtained such fame in all realms of the universe as Christ and by all the means by which He became famous. Some men have obtained temporary and local fame, but Christ, by all the above mentioned means, has gained universal and eternal fame.

It is this super-exalted, eternal person that has authority in Heaven and in Earth and who wants to confer the power of attorney upon all believers. Now all believers can do the works of Christ and greater works than what He did, because, as He said “I go unto my Father” John 14:12-15. He is today exalted at the right hand of the majesty on High, angels, principalities, and powers being made subject unto Him Ephesians 1:20-231 Peter 3:22. He now upholds all things by the Word of His power, and, as the Head of the Church and as the Custodian of the power of attorney, He can and does bestow full and legal authority upon all believers who get to know the truth and who will tarry until they are fully endued with power from on High Luke 24:49Acts 1:8.

God has on deposit in Heaven all that the Church needs now or ever will need. This is for the exclusive benefit of the Church to carry on the work that Jesus began both to do and to teach. The Church has a right to draw to the limit of its faith. There are no limitations if faith will be unlimited. The only limitation is man’s unbelief and doubt as to what he can have from God for himself and for the world in which he is the agent of God to act in the place of Christ. All the power that is in the name of Jesus is ours, and if there is any limitation in God, then there is a limitation to the power in the name of Jesus; and naturally there will be limitations to us who use the name to get what we want. Since God is not to be limited, let us not limit what is in the name of Christ and what we can get through this name. We have the right to use His name against our enemies, in our petitions, in our daily conflict, in our work, in our worship, and in all we do.

There is no question of the authority of Christ to confer the power of attorney upon all Christians. There is no question as to the legality of such a transaction. He demonstrated His own power of attorney in using His Father’s name. He said, “I am come in my Father’s name,” and the works He did were “in my Father’s name” John 5:43John 10:25John 17:6, 11. Because He was faithful in the exercise of His power of attorney in acting in the place of His Father on Earth and doing the works that His Father would have done on Earth, God has given Him all the glory that He had before He came into the world John 17:1-5. God has given Him all power in Heaven and in Earth so that He could confer this power upon anyone whom He sees is worthy to represent Him as He represented God.

Christ conferred this power upon others while on Earth (Mt. 10; Lk. 10). How much more can He now confer it upon men since He has spoiled principalities and powers and finished redemption! In actual combat with the powers of Hell when all the demon hosts intended to swamp Jesus and overwhelm Him, He proved Himself more than their master when He shook them off and hurled back these evil forces, as pictured in Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 2:14-15. At that time Satan was defeated and his power over the lives of humanity was broken once and forever. The devil is now a defeated foe, waiting only until the time Christ dispossesses him from the Earth. Christ is now the undisputed victor over all evil forces. He is the champion of man in his cause to regain His original dominion. He is now the Lord of all with a name above every other name except that of His Father. He has been entrusted with all power to confer it upon any and all who will fully cooperate with Him in the age-long struggle to defeat Satan in the lives of men. The early believers after the cross fully exercised this power Acts 1:8Acts 2:43Acts 3:6-7Acts 5:12-16Acts 19:11-20.

IV. Christian Exercise of the Power of Attorney

All Christians are commanded to use the name of Jesus “in salvation” Matthew 1:21Acts 4:12; “in baptism” Matthew 28:19; “in healing” Acts 3:6-7, 16; “in preaching” Luke 24:47Acts 8:12; “in miracles” Acts 3:16Acts 4:30Mark 9:29; “in judgment” 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; “in appeals to others” 1 Corinthians 1:10; “in prayer” John 14:12-15John 16:23-26; “in faith and repentance” John 1:12John 3:18Acts 10:43; “in praise” Hebrews 13:15; “in all gatherings” Matthew 18:20; “in consecration” Matthew 19:29; “in charity” Mark 9:41; “in singing” Romans 15:9; “in combat” Mark 16:17Luke 10:17Ephesians 6:10-18, and “in all things” Colossians 3:17Ephesians 5:20.

The name of Jesus and free use of His name is the Church’s deposit. Definite contact with God must be made and faith in the name exercised, and authority as a child of God to write checks on the Bank of Heaven must be settled before any believer can properly use the name of Jesus. Sinners have no right to use His name except in repentance Acts 2:21Acts 10:43Luke 24:47. Sinners cannot perform miracles in His name Acts 19:11-20. Any believer can use His name in all the ways mentioned above. No special faith is necessary to use His name. Just simple, ordinary, child-like faith in God and the work of Christ is all that is necessary to get what one wants. “Have faith in God . . . shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith . . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” Mark 11:22-24Matthew 21:21-22.

The theory that faith is not necessary to use the name of Jesus and get what is asked is not scriptural. Faith is necessary in every thing we ask of God Hebrews 11:6James 1:5-8. The fact that no special faith is emphasized in certain passages or that faith is not mentioned at all in some promises does not mean that faith is not necessary. One must learn to study and believe all Scriptures on a subject and obey all of them if he wants results in asking and receiving from God.

Let us illustrate the necessity of faith and the exercise of the power of attorney. A number of years ago a man gave me a blank check to write in any amount that I needed to buy the best overcoat I could find. In this case I did not know how much the man had in the bank or how much he expected me to pay for a coat. He put no limit on the amount, I was to buy the best coat in town, or what I wanted. I was timid and backward and was afraid that if I filled in the check for too much he would not like it and would not give me anything else. I wrote out a check for $18.50 and got the cheapest coat in town. It was a good coat, but not the best. If I had it to do over again I would not hesitate to get what I wanted and what he really wanted me to have; but fear of what he might think if I took advantage of his generous offer kept me from getting what I could have got. That is the situation with the average Christian and God.

There can be no doubt about how much is on deposit to our name in Heaven. There can be no doubt that there is plenty for all, but we are fearful that we will bankrupt God and the universe if we ask for what we really want. We get according to our faith and according to the amount we write a check for and no more. The divine cashier always honors checks signed in the name of Jesus by any believer. Many times we go without because we do not write enough.

A number of years ago in California a woman prayed for $50,000.00 to build some rest homes for missionaries. She prayed until she had the assurance from God that her prayer was answered. She had one lot that was vacant; so one day a man came to the door and asked if she would lease this lot to him to drill an oil well on. The Lord spoke to her, saying this was the answer to her prayer. She leased the lot and retained royalty rights. A well was drilled and produced oil until she had exactly the amount she prayed for. Then the well went dry. She got exactly what she had faith for. This is always the case. Jesus said, “according to your faith be it unto you” Matthew 9:29. Anyone can sign a check on the Bank of Heaven for what he wants, or he can sign one for his bare needs, and he will receive as he believes God Psalms 84:11Mark 11:22-24.

Christ and the early Church used the power of God and showed all men how to ask and receive and how to use the power of attorney. They wrought miracles and signs among the people, and this gave them many doors of opportunity to win souls. It gave them authority in their calling and an open door in the communities where divine works were done, with the exception of but a few places where early Christians were rejected. They believed in God and manifested the supernatural in confirming what was preached.

Every born-again Christian has the right to use this name to get what he wants. The weakest child of God will be honored by God if He serves Jesus Christ and continues in the light of God’s Word. Healing, health, salvation from sin and habits, and material blessings of all kinds are for all in abundance. All that Jesus was, His name still is to the believer. Very few are availing themselves of all this power, but if Jesus tarries very long and this message gets out among Christians, they will begin to see the truth and will practice it. The time will come when multitudes of people will understand the secret of faith in God and will use their power of attorney and do great and mighty things in the name of Jesus.

You who read these lessons should be openhearted and believing; you should seek God and build up faith in the Christian’s power of attorney. Let us all realize that Satan is a defeated foe and is helpless before the power and might of the name of Jesus when it is invoked by faith in the heart. Sicknesses and sins and all the results of the Fall have been conquered by Jesus Christ. At His rebuke they all must give way. May God open our eyes to the blessings in store for all who will accept the truth and truly exercise faith in the name of Jesus and in the gospel of the New Testament.

The Christian’s power of attorney includes authority to do the works of Christ and greater works than He did John 14:12-14. It covers everything God has promised in all the hundreds of wonderful and unlimited promises. It covers every need in this life and that which is to come 2 Corinthians 1:202 Peter 1:3-41 Timothy 4:8.

It is appalling how far the Church has backslidden and got away from the New Testament program. The true spiritual life and power with God is very little understood by the best Christians of today. One would think by listening to the average preacher today that the devil has gone out of business. The sooner we wake up in the modern church and believe that the heavenlies are filled with demons who seek to defeat every believer and hinder every prayer, the sooner we will take up arms against them and cooperate with God against them.

In dealing with demon spirits we must be clean Christians and free from sin or they will mock us if we try to cast them out. We must also know the power of the name of Jesus and we must know how to use this name. We must take a definite stand against them in His name and refuse to be defeated by them. Whatever the need, it can be supplied in the name of Jesus. The enemy that hinders us from getting this need supplied must be resisted and He will flee. James said, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” James 4:7. We must understand that we are representatives of God and that we are taking the place of Christ in this world to cast out demons. Christ has taken our place before the Father to represent us and defeat Satan who accuses the saints before God day and night. We are acting in Christ’s stead on Earth as He is acting in our stead in Heaven. The believer’s position in Christ gives him a standing before God that Christ had when He was here. We rebuke demons and heal the sick in His place and at His command. We are in Christ and Christ is in us, and we have the right to legally represent Him on Earth.

Christianity began in miracles and is propagated by miracles. Its founder was a miraculous man and a miracle worker. His every phase of life and death was miraculous. His resurrection guarantees the continuance of miracles. Every new birth, every prayer answered, and every victory in the Christian life is a miracle. When reasonings and questionings about Christianity take the place of faith and power, Christianity becomes fruitless and dead. Christianity is the life of God in man through Christ; it is the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in the work of Christ on the cross. Man craves the miraculous and the man that can produce divine works gets a great following. Men are easily deceived by demons and by counterfeit miracles because of the natural human hunger for the power of God. What a pity! Men are turning from the miracle-working Christ to demon powers, and the Church is asleep not even knowing what is happening. When anyone seeks to bring the power of Christianity back to the churches he is cast out as a fanatic and a deceiver by the average church. If we take the power of God out of Christianity we have only a form of godliness 2 Timothy 3:5.

The Bible is a record of miracles, and the man that can produce them gets the crowds, whether he is false or true. This love of the miraculous is not a mark of ignorance but man’s longing for the spiritual power that comes with knowing God and hungering for God. Every revival in any generation has produced miracles. Education does not eliminate the desire for the miraculous. That desire is only intensified as education reveals how dependent upon the unseen man is. It is not a mark of scholarship to deny the miraculous. It is the mark of a fool. An outpouring of the Spirit in any community today will produce a revival of miracles. All normal men crave the supernatural, and no man is satisfied until he finds God in reality in His life.

The miracle element in men has caused them to invent, discover, investigate and experiment with the unseen laws all about us. This is why we have so many wonderful things in modern times. The miracle realm is man’s natural realm. He is by nature a creature created to experience the supernatural in various ways. Men are again coming to know that faith and trust in God as they simply and consciously live in the realm of God through Jesus Christ.

The name of Jesus stands for justice, love, righteousness, holiness, peace, power, influence, happiness, liberty, life, light, joy, friendship, judgment, salvation, home, Heaven, and all that is good. It has been the greatest name of all ages among men. Some have died for it and some have hated it enough to be damned because of it. It is the hope of the world and the joy of all saints.

The most wonderful truth for saints is that of the free and unreserved use of His name to carry on the work of God in the Earth and to act in His stead among men in defeating sin and Satan. Think of it! A human being—just an ordinary believing one—given the full power of attorney to act in the place of God in the world! Men are the only visible agents of God in the world. Why should not God desire them to fully represent Him with great power and authority to prove to men that God is great and powerful? From the way the average man represents God among men, it would seem that Satan is greater and more powerful than God. All arguments from these weak and failing representatives of God are not convincing to unbelievers that God is the greatest.

The purpose of the power of attorney and its normal use among men is to confirm the Word of God and prove to men that God is the Supreme Being of the universe. All representatives of God should be like Paul, who said to the Romans, “I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God . . . I have fully preached the gospel of Christ . . . And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” Romans 15:18-19, 29. He said to the Corinthians, “I will come unto you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” 1 Corinthians 4:18-20.

The proper use of the name of Jesus will heal the sick, cast out devils, make one immune to poisons, give one an answer to every prayer, give health and prosperity, and will perform miracles and defeat all the powers of the devil. God never intended there should ever be a change made either in His methods of preaching or of confirming His Word.

Before the cross the disciples used His name to defeat Satan Matthew 10:1-20Mark 6:7-13Luke 9:1-6Luke 10:1-20. Even men who did not follow the apostolic band did miracles in the name of Jesus Luke 9:48-50. These disciples were commanded to use His name to get whatever they wanted John 14:12-15John 15:16John 16:23-26. They used His name after the cross and turned the world upside down Acts 2:38-39Acts 3:6-16Acts 4:5-18, 29Acts 5:12-16, 28Acts 8:12Acts 9:15-17, 27Acts 16:16-18Acts 19:11-20Acts 26:9.

Not only do the gospels and the book of Acts teach the Christian’s use of the power of attorney, but in all the epistles we have scores of references as to how believers are to use the name of Jesus in every phase of life 1 Corinthians 1:2, 101 Corinthians 5:41 Corinthians 6:11Ephesians 5:20Philippians 2:5-11Colossians 3:172 Thessalonians 1:11-12, 3Hebrews 13:15James 2:7James 5:141 Peter 4:141 John 2:121 John 3:231 John 5:13. In 2 Thess. 1:11-12 we have a prayer that the name of Jesus should be glorified in saints. How can we glorify His name other than in the way the early Church did? The name of Jesus was preached among the heathen, and it wrought such miraculous things that multitudes turned to God. They represented His name and used it to defeat all demon powers. This name became the center of all work for God. This should be the place His name holds in all modern church work. When this becomes true again men will have and use the Christian’s power of attorney.