The Name
By David Willoughby

And neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

THIS IS a message on the name of the Lord. I want to just preach about Jesus, to brag about Him a little bit. He’s the one who is going to take us through. If He doesn’t, nobody will.

The revelation of the name of Jesus is a progressive one. God did not, in the very beginning, fully reveal His name, His identity or His completeness. But, as Isaiah said, it was a matter of here a little and there a little, line upon line, and precept upon precept.

God started it by revealing Himself to Abraham as Elohim, a name that expresses the fulness of the divine nature. All the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, knew God through what we call the Elohistic combinations. They knew Him as E1 Shaddai, which means the Almighty God. They knew Him as El Elyon, the most high God. They knew Him as a God who was high, lifted up, one that inhabited eternity, whose name was holy. They knew a majestic God, they knew a marvelous God. They served and walked with a God whom they believed created the heavens above and the earth beneath, the seasons, and all that was. They served the Almighty God, the everlasting God.

So far as the patriarchs went, that was the extent of the revelation at that time. Because this is the story: here a little and there a little, precept upon precept. These were holy men, but God didn’t reveal Himself to just anybody. God is rather particular and choosy as to whom He reveals Himself. That’s how sacred, that’s how precious He is. So Abraham got a glimpse of God. He got a peek at the
identty of the Lord.

Later, there was another man who was supposedly the meekest man who had ever lived. His name was Moses. He was a shepherd on the backside of the Midian desert for forty years, up to the age of eighty. One day he saw a strange sight. A bush was on fire and yet was not being consumed by that fire. The Bible says that he turned aside to see such a sight. As he approached that burning bush, an audible voice came out of it, called him by name, and said, “Moses, take your shoes off; the very ground you are standing on is holy ground. I am hereby ordaining and commissioning you to go unto Pharaoh and to be a leader among my people. You are to tell Pharaoh, ‘Let my people go.”‘ Of course, Moses, being the meek man that he was, said, “But Lord, I’m nobody. Who am I? They won’t believe me. Who shall I tell them sent me?”

The voice came back and said, “Moses, you go tell them I AM THAT I AM hath sent me unto you.” We serve a God who is the great I AM. God always speaks of Himself in the present tense. He is not a great “I will be,” or a great “I have been.” He is not in the past tense or the future tense. We serve a God that is an ever-present help in the time of need. He is alive now, and he is full of love now. He is a miracle worker now. He is the I AM. He is a God of the present tense.

Well, God wasn’t done with Moses yet. He worked him over again. They had a prayer meeting over there in Exodus chapter six. While Moses was praying, God spoke and said, “I appeared unto your fathers by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah, was I not known unto them.” So there you have another revelation.

The name Jehovah is commonly regarded as God’s Old Testament redemptive name. It means “God will save.” That was the name which delivered Israel from Pharaoh, that was the name which redeemed them from Egypt’s bondage.

God wasn’t done yet. He continued to reveal Himself in divers places and at different times and to different ones through what is called the Jehovahistic Combinations. God revealed Himself unto David as JehovahRanh, “the Lord is my shepherd.” He revealed Himself in one place as Jehovah-Shammah, which means “the Lord is there.” He revealed Himself in another place as Jehovahjireh, “the Lord will provide.” When Israel fought against the Amalekites in the field of battle as they journeyed in the wilderness, God revealed Himself as Jehovah-nissi, which means “the Lord is my banner, or the Lord is my victory.” Later, God revealed Himself as Jehovah-Rapha, “the Lord that healeth thee.” Then He revealed Himself as Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord is our righteousness. In another place He revealed Himself as Jehovah-shalom, “the Lord our peace.” And then He revealed Himself as Jehovah-Sabaoth, which means “the Lord of hosts,” or the God of battle, the undefeated, with a perfect, unblemished record. There are eight or nine of these Jehovistic combinations.

These revelations came to different men. Maybe it was Ezekiel or Jeremiah, or maybe it was some other prophet, but God was busy revealing Himself. It was a matter of here a little and there a little, precept upon precept, line upon line. The revelation of God was progressive. God didn’t just jump out and say, “Well, here I am; you know everything about Me there is to know.” No, He hid Himself, and revealed just little glimpses of Himself as He went along.

Keep in mind that while all of this was going on, while all these Elohistic and Jehovahistic combinations were being revealed, somewhere in heaven there was a big top secret being kept. It had been kept secret from the foundation of the world. There were several men in the Old Testament who tried to learn that name. Jacob was one of them when he wrestled with the theophany, and said, “What is your name?” the “man” wouldn’t tell him. It was a question that was not answered because it wasn’t time for the secret to come out.

Years later, the angel of the Lord appeared unto a couple, and told them of the coming birth of Samson. The man’s name was Manoah. The angel did marvelous things in front of them, and before he left, they said, “Pray tell us what is your name, that we may honor you when the child is born.” And he said, “Why is it that you ask my name, seeing it is secret?”

Surely God was revealing Himself, but don’t you know that God always saves the best to the last? That’s what that ruler of the feast said to the bridegroom at the wedding in Canal “Why, you have kept the good wine until now” (last).

God always saves the best until last. In this dispensation, we’re living in the day of God’s best. If you don’t get in on it, it is your own fault. God is making it available. I’m talking about experience. I’m preaching about the experience that God didn’t hoard or keep to Himself. We’re in a glorious dispensation.

God also saved the best for the last with respect to the revelation of His name. There was a secret being kept all that time, but I’m so glad that I can announce unto you that there came a time when God instructed His angel Gabriel to carry the secret down to a virgin named Mary, who lived in Nazareth.

When the angel appeared unto her, he not only came with greetings and salutations from God. He did more than that. He brought to light a name greater than any name that has ever been named, both in this world or in the world to come. He said, “Mary, the Holy Ghost shall overshadow thee, and thou shalt bring forth a son. Joseph is not going to name the boy; you’re not going to name Him. This name was determined before the earth was ever created, this name was determined before the foundation of the world, to be the only name that would take away and remit sin. Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”

The secret was out; it wasn’t a secret anymore. The great Creator became our Savior. He that was rich became poor that we, through His poverty, might become rich. The divinity put on humanity, that humanity might share His divinity. He became a man, that we might lay aside the man and put on the Holy Ghost, put on Christ, and make it to heaven one day.

There is power in the name of Jesus. That’s the name that folks were baptized in the Book of Acts. That’s the only baptism they had in the New Testament church. You cannot find where one person in the Bible was baptized in the titles, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is not in there. Acts chapter 2, chapter 8, chapter 10, and chapter 19, all teach that they were baptized in some form of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Out of all the Apostles, which one had the keys to the kingdom of heaven? Andrew? Philip? John? Who was it? Simon Peter. And he used them. He opened the door to the Jews in the second chapter of Acts. Later, he opened the door to the Samaritans (Acts 8). And then he opened the door to the Gentiles (Acts 10). In all three cases, he was in on it somewhere. In every case, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

I believe that Matthew was right there, jumping up and down, clapping his hands, saying, “Amen! Preach it Peter.” I don’t believe there was any debate among them. Someone said, “I believe that there ought to have been a Peter-Matthew Debate.” No, there was no need for that, because they didn’t contradict one another. Peter fulfilled what Jesus commanded, and what Matthew wrote about.

They tell us that the Gospel of Matthew wasn’t written until 62 A. D., and Pentecost was in 30 A. D. How do you think people were baptized for thirty-two years before there was any Matthew 28:19? I’ll tell you: They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they weren’t they just couldn’t get into the kingdom. That’s all there was to it.

I’m not afraid of Matthew 28:19. I love it; I’m all for it. Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” That is a command. We are not to recite the command, we are to obey the command. That is where a lot of preachers make their mistake. They get over the candidate and say, “I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and then they don’t do it. They just “threaten” the candidate with it. There isn’t any mention of the name involved. Instead of obeying the command, they are actually only reciting the command.

That would be like my telling you to go over and open the door. So what do you do? You go over to the door, and stand there and say, “Go open the door.” You’re just parroting what I said; you’re not actually obeying what I said.

God doesn’t want anyone to just repeat those words, “Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” Those are not names, they are just titles. The command of Matthew 28:19 is fulfilled in the use of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the name of the Son? Is it “Son?” No! Then if this is not the name of the Son, why should anyone use it in baptism. The name of the Son is Jesus. Matthew 1:21 said, “… thou shalt call His name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

If the name of the Son is Jesus, then, pray tell, what is the name of the Father? Maybe this verse will give you a little hint: “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:4).

What is your last name? What was your dad’s last name? You were born with the name you inherited from your father. I didn’t choose Smith or Jones or Roberts, when I came into this world, I came with a name tagged on me. My father determined what that name would be. That name would be Willoughby.

By that same token, when Jesus Christ came into this world, He said, “I am come in my Father’s name….” (John 5:43). If the name of the Son was Jesus, then He received the name by inheritance. You can put two and two together. That should give you an idea what the Father is saying. I believe that Jesus was God’s Old Testament secret name that was not fully revealed until Bethlehem. Thank God, we can know it today as a saving name, as a redemptive name, as a mighty name, as a lovely name.

Even the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. Jesus said, “But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, . . .” (John 14:26). Paul said, “. . . which is Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” He said again “. . . for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Thank God, the Apostle Peter understood what that name was. That name was the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

You might say, “Well, what difference does it make?” The next time your boss gives you your paycheck, turn the check over, write “son” on the back and try to get it cashed. If you’re a father, write “father” on the back, and see if you can get it cashed. If you are a daughter, write “daughter” on the back, and see if you can get it cashed. No, the bank will reject all such endorsements, for those are just titles.

I’m a father, I’m a son, and I’m a minister, but I’m just one person. Even though I’m a father, that’s not my name. And even though I’m a son, that’s not my name. If I were to come into Tulsa International Airport and someone were to pick me up there at a certain time, someone who didn’t know where I would be, he wouldn’t get on the PA system, and say, “Would son please come to the American Airlines ticket counter.” Why there are hundreds of sons out there. He would have to call for David Willoughby, and then I’d know that he was after me.

There is no authority in titles, but, praise God, there is the authority of heaven in the name of Jesus. The Bible says that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. If you don’t bow now, you will later. If you don’t confess now, you will later. Everybody is going to admit it sooner or later, but I’d rather do it sooner, than to be forced to do it later. I want to do it willingly. I love the name of Jesus.

When you are baptized in Jesus’ name, your sins are remitted, never, never, to be brought up against you again. The name of Jesus erases it all.

I’m so glad for the name of the Lord, the strong and mighty tower. The righteous run into it and are safe. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” What is that name? It is Jesus!

Sweetest note in seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue; Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus, blessed Jesus.
It is the name that angels adore, and demons fear and dread before. I’m glad for the name of the Lord. I believe it is part of the gospel message.

You must be baptized in that name. The Bible teaches it. The encyclopedia teaches it. When the Bible was written, and in the days of the Apostolic church, baptism was always administered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the Roman Catholic church that changed it. During the dark ages, and down through the centuries, this church has caused the wrong formula for baptism to be officially accepted and approved. It is not based on the Bible.

If you’re going to be baptized, you ought to do it right.

Let’s go by the Book; what do you say?

The name of Jesus is tremendous; I can’t say enough about it. He has a blessed name, a wonderful name, and He is just the same as His lovely name. We serve a great and mighty God.

I’m glad I know who Jesus is. I’m glad I know Him not as the second person of the heavenly committee of three, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

If I were a trinitarian, I’d be embarrassed to even go to church on Easter Sunday, because I wouldn’t be sure who raised Jesus from the dead.

I asked a trinitarian one time: “Who raised Jesus from the dead?”

He said, “Well, God the Father raised Him from the dead.”

I quoted him Galatians 1:1, “. . . neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” I took him over to John 2:19, where Jesus spoke of the temple of his body. He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.” I just kept smiling, and said, “Now who raised Jesus from the dead?” But I wasn’t through yet. I took him over to Romans chapter 8:11, which says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” That tells us that it was the Holy Ghost that raised Jesus from the dead. I just kept smiling, and then I said, “Now, who raised Jesus from the dead?”

Don’t tell me that it took three different ones to get Him out of the grave. Wouldn’t it have been rather embarrassing if the Father had shown up to raise the Son from the dead, and the Son had said, “Wait a minute! What are You doing here? I said I’d do it.” And the Holy Ghost had elbowed His way in, and said, “Wait a minute! You’re both wrong. I said I’d do it.” Then the Father had said, “No! Don’t you remember? I said specifically that I would raise Him from the dead.”

I don’t believe there were any arguments in the Godhead on the first Easter Sunday morning. On that great resurrection morning, he raised Himself from the dead by the power of God the Father.
God is a Spirit. There is but one God, and that God manifested Himself as the Father in creation, as the Son in redemption, and as the Holy Ghost in the infilling experience. That ought to make sense to anybody.

If there were a trinity, its members would be guilty of keeping secrets from one another. Luke 10:22 says, “. . . no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” That doesn’t even mention the Holy Ghost. He’s out in the cold. Then over in Mark 13:32, it says “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” If the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate persons, that means there are at least two things the Holy Ghost doesn’t know, and one thing the Son doesn’t know.

Revelation 19:11, 12 talks about Jesus Christ coming back riding on a white horse, clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and on it a name written which no man knoweth but He Himself. That makes about three things the Holy Ghost doesn’t know, one thing the Father doesn’t know, and one thing that the Son doesn’t know. So if there are three separate persons in the Godhead, none of them is capable of knowing all things, and they are all guilty of keeping secrets from one another.

I’m glad for the great gospel light. I’m glad for the day that the Holy Ghost comes along, rolls the curtain back and you see Jesus Christ. Flesh and blood cannot reveal it unto you, but it takes the Father which is in heaven.

This Jesus I’m talking about is wonderful. He is all together lovely. He has a name above all others, and He is absolutely fantastic.

Someone said to me, “He can be just about anything you want him to be,” and that’s true. He is versatile. To the astronomer, He is the bright and morning star. To the architect, He’s the sure foundation. To the builder, he’s the door. To the banker, He’s the owner of the cattle on the thousand hills. To the baker, He’s the living bread. To the bride, He is the bridegroom. To the doctor, He is the great physician. To the educator, He is the wisdom and knowledge. To the farmer, he is the Lord of the harvest. To the horticulturist, He is the true vine. To the jury, He is the judge of all men. To the philosopher, He is the truth. To the lawyer, He is the advocate with the Father; Christ Jesus the righteous, winning our case with His own blood. To the soldier, He is the sword and shield. To the sailor, He is the master of the sea. To the traveler, He is the way. To the florist, He is the lily of the valley and the sweetest rose of Sharon. To the mortician, He is the resurrection. To the sinner, He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. To the geologist, He is the rock of ages and to the zoologist, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. To the seeker, He is the Holy Ghost.

There is nobody, dead or alive, who can be compared with my Jesus. You may name me someone who was great in one field, and I’ll name you someone in that same field who was equally as great. Examples would be–in baseball, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; music, Beethoven and Mendelssohn; prophets, Elijah and Elisha; spiritual leaders, Moses and David. Match them stride for stride, accomplishment for accomplishment. Nobody has ever stood alone; everyone has had his equal somewhere down the line. You name someone in any category, and there came along someone else who equaled him.

But when I mention the name of Jesus, I mention meone who stands alone, and there is none that you can put beside Him. There is nobody in front of Him, behind Him, or beside Him. There is none equal to Him. There is nobody to be compared with Him. Thank God, He is the highest person I know. He is the most magnificent one I know.

Several years ago, over in Saudi Arabia, a Christian encountered a Mohammedan priest. This priest had a rosary hanging around his neck, and on that rosary there were one hundred and sixteen beads. Each one of those beads stood for a name or a title of his god, Allah. When he encountered that Christian, he began to rattle those names, all one hundred and sixteen of them. When he got through, he looked at that Christian, and said, “All right, now I’m done, it’s your turn. What have you got to say about your Jesus?”

The Christian had to hang his head, because he couldn’t think of too many things to say about his Lord.

All I can say is that I wish I had run into that Mohammedan priest. My study is not complete, but not long ago I began to make a personal survey on the titles and the names of the Lord Jesus Christ that are mentioned in the Bible. I want to give you a few of these, so you will have a general idea of what the Bible has to say about your Lord and Christ. I have scripture for every one of these.

Jesus is the last Adam, He’s the advocate, He’s the Almighty, He’s the Alpha and Omega, He’s the author and finisher of our faith, He’s the bread of life, He’s the beginning and the end, He’s the captain of our salvation, He’s the chief shepherd, He’s the chief cornerstone, He’s the counselor, He’s the Creator, He’s the Comforter,
He’s the deliverer, He’s the everlasting Father, He’s the eternal God, He’s the good shepherd, He’s the image of God, He’s the King of kings, He’s the law-giver, He’s the Lamb of God, He’s the lion of the tribe of Judah, He’s the Lord of lords, He’s the resurrection and the life, He’s our Passover, He’s the Son of righteousness, He’s our shield, He’s the true vine, He’s the faithful witness, and He’s the Word of God.

You can talk about Mohammed and Confucius, but they can’t hold a light to my Jesus. You may say that Buddha and Mohammed did great and mighty deeds. So what! My Jesus brought freedom to the captive. He took away their ashes and gave them beauty. He unstopped deaf ears, opened blind eyes, and healed all manner of diseases and sickness.

You say, “Mohammed not only lived for what he believed; he even died for what he believed.” So what! So did my Jesus. He went to Calvary and died for people like you and me.

You say, “Mohammed was buried, and his shrine is among us even today.” Jesus was also buried, and His shrine is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year.

But that’s where the comparison ends. Buddha, Mohammed and Confucius may have lived good lives, and said and did great things. Then they died, were buried, and their bodies turned to dust. But my Jesus did something on that third day after He was in the grave that no Buddah, no Mohammed, no Confucius ever did. He arose, and He is living in the hearts of His people. He is alive forevermore. He is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

In the early days of Pentecost, the devil fought the Azusa Street revival. A black man by the name of W. J. Seymour was sitting behind two orange crates one night, praying. Two rowdy boys came in, trying to break up the meeting. Brother Seymour just quietly and calmly got up from behind the crates, walked up to the pulpit, pointed his finger at those boys and said, “I bind you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” God froze them right there on the floor. They couldn’t move one muscle. The name of Jesus is a name to be reckoned with.

A few years later, two preachers saw the light on baptism in Jesus’ name, and they baptized one another in that name. Their names were Frank Ewart and Glenn Cook.

Glenn Cook, a famous evangelist, went to St. Louis to preach, and from there he went on to Indianapolis. This was the home of the noted preacher, G. T. Haywood.

J. Roswell Flower, who was then General Secretary–Treasurer of the Assemblies of God, wrote to Brother Haywood that Glenn Cook was headed for Indianapolis with the erroneous, “new issue” doctrine. To which Brother Haywood replied, “Your warning came too late; I have already been rebaptized.” He soon baptized his entire church, 465 members, in Jesus’ name.

Still later, Andrew Urshan stood up one night and preached about the mighty God in Christ. While he was still preaching, God confirmed it with signs following. One woman sitting in the congregation got up, shook her fist at him, and said, “You will die for giving that kind of a message.” She went out the door immediately, and didn’t even stay to hear the complete message. She was struck down by a vehicle, and was killed.

The name of Jesus is not a name to take lightly. It is not a name to cast aside or reject. It is a name to love and to cherish and hold dear to your heart. Take the name of Jesus with you. If you will fall in love with the name of Jesus, if you will fall in love with the lovely Lord, and worship Him and praise Him, He will give you the desires of your heart.

This Sermon Was Transcribed From Cassette Tape.

Biography Of David Willoughby

Unfortunately, a promising life loaded with spiritual T. N. T. was stolen from the midst of the fellowship of the church of Jesus Christ, November 17, 1973. We do not question the design or the sovereignty of an omniscient God. We do regret that we cannot still share the excitement generated by a ministry that probed deeply, edified greatly, and enriched immeasurably the lives of those of us who had the privilege of listening to David Willoughby preach in his unique, forceful, persuasive, and thought-provoking manner.

The sermons in this book were messages that were preached and tape recorded. They breathe and live. For some strange reason, the works of those who are deceased take on greater significance and added importance. In this case, it can be pertinently stated that death did not add any significance to the powerful thought that is expounded with sincere reverence from a man whose life was filled with prayer, whose heart burned with holy zeal and ardor, whose tongue was truly the pen of a ready writer.

Had David Willoughby lived, and had these messages been printed during his life span, they would have been equally as forceful and meaningful. But because life has ceased for him on this earth, and because his audible voice has been stilled, these documents of truth become especially precious.

David Willoughby was born April 1, 1945, and graduated from Harry E. Wood High School on June 5, 1963, with a four-year grade average of fractionally under perfect. He was a member of the National Honor Society, and was given an engineering scholarship to Purdue University. The call of God, so strong on his life, urged him into the ministry. He attended Western Apostolic Bible College in Stockton, California, and graduated with high, high honors. He was ordained to the ministry April 5,1968, in his home town, Indianapolis, Indiana.

He was married on April 25, 1970 to Elaine Reames. To this union was born a daughter, Andrea Ruth, February 28, 1972.

As you read and reflect upon the thoughts of these sermons, and upon the interesting manner in which they are stated, enjoy them to the fullest, and thank God for the special few years that were given to this man to proclaim the gospel he loved with all his mind, soul, and spirit. Cherish the fact that hours of prayer, meditation, and research were poured into these rich pronouncements. The death of the physical man by no means confines the power of the preached Word. “God’s truth is marching on.” These profound utterances of human thought through the anointed channel, David Willoughby, will live on.

Nathaniel A. Urshan

This Material Is Copyrighted And May Be Used For Study & Research Purposes Only.