Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name; and to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written. Acts 15:14,15
The Jerusalem council of AD 49 (approximately) had a very tough issue to resolve. At the time, most of the Christians were Jewish, and certainly all of the Christian leaders were Jewish. They had thousands of years of history in which God’s dealings with humanity were all through His earthly people, the Israelites. For many of these people, nothing else made sense but that God’s new dealings with people, Christianity, should also be through those same Israelites. That meant continuing many of the ceremonial laws into which they were deeply steeped. They could not imagine an uncircumcized Christian. But that general assumption had been challenged when Peter saw salvation extended to the uncircumcized Roman centurion Cornelius, and Paul and Barnabas experienced the same in a mighty way during their missionary journey. In our text, James seeks to reconcile the conflicting camps by referring to the prophet Amos, declaring that a work among the Gentiles was always in God’s plan. In doing so, James coins a term that is very precious to us today.
A people for His Name! What a lovely title for the Lord’s people today! We are a people who gather unto His Name, who seek to honour and promote His Name, who live our lives as a testimony unto His Name, who stand in opposition and contrast to all of those who would blaspheme His Name. We are reminded of the words of Malachi 3:16: Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His Name. There is indeed an honour and a privilege to be representatives of that Name.
When we consider the One to Whom we gather, we wonder why anyone would want to take another name. There are good and godly brethren and sisters who do not appreciate this. They are missing much. The words of Matthew 18:20 remind us that it is only by being gathered unto His Name that we can truly claim His presence. That assurance of His presence is very precious to us whether we meet to remember His death, to study His Word, or to proclaim His Gospel. His presence preserves reverence among the Lord’s people, a reverence that is glaringly absent from those places where His Name is not important.
We are a people for His Name. To this end was the Gospel brought to us. And to this end we carry the Gospel to others. -Jim MacIntosh