JESUS CHRIST: NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME

Jesus Christ is Lord

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The name of Jesus, who is the Christ, is above all other names because of who He was and is. He is our Advocate with the Father, who pleads our cause daily. Everyone should bow down to Him in humble adoration and gratitude for His infinite atoning sacrifice. Because of Him all will be resurrected and live forever. Jesus suffered, bled, died, and was resurrected for us. He is our Savior and redeemer. Jesus alone is the true Messiah for there is no other.

JESUS CHRIST: ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER

Jesus Pleads Our Cause Even Today

3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.

--Doctrine and Covenants 45:4

Jesus is our advocate with the Father. He pleads our cause even today with the Father for our benefit and welfare. An advocate is a person who supports or recommends a particular cause or thing. An advocate is:

1. A champion
2. An upholder
3. A supporter
4. A backer
5. A spokesman
6. A campaigner
7. A fighter
8. A crusader

Jesus is all these for us since He is the divine Son of God.

He it is who suffered, bled, and died for us to glorify the Father, this being the Father’s will. Jesus shed His innocent blood for us guilty sinners. He did no wrong, but we do, and He still loves us enough to lay down His life in our behalf so that we might live.

JESUS CHRIST: ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)

We are God’s children. We have all sinned and continue to violate the laws and statutes of God daily, whether it be within the realm of sins of commission or sins of omission. Either way, we need some way and someone to champion our cause, the strait and narrow way of Christ-like living. Jesus Christ is this champion, this advocate with the Father that we need to reconcile us to the Father. Jesus is our support during our trials in mortality. He is the propitiation for our sins; in other words, He restores the peace of God back to us after our departure from the perfect ways of God and brings us back to Him. Jesus advocates or fights our battles with satan. Satan, Lucifer, seeks to destroy us and tear us down, to make us miserable as he is.

GRACE: Christ seeks to support and sustain us, to lift us up. “It is by grace that we are saved after all we can do” (See 2 Nephi 25:23). Grace is divine assistance, Godly help. After all we can do, Christ comes to us and gives us grace. If we stray away from Him, His grace goes away from us in proportion. If we strive to follow Him and obey Him 100% of the time, then His grace is sufficient for us to live and enjoy the abundant life, the type of life He is pleased with. Qualify for the grace of Christ by living the obedient life.

Jesus: His Atoning Influence

What is the most important commandment?

1 John 2:1-2

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus is our Advocate (Helper, Comforter, Intercessor) with the Father. All have sinned and continue to sin. Disobedience to God’s commandments distances us from Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Thus, we must constantly repent and improve our souls by obeying all God’s laws and statutes and especially work on those that we are having trouble living with exactness.

President Harold B. Lee said, “The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you're having the most difficulty keeping today. If it's one of dishonesty, if it's one of unchastity, if it's one of falsifying, not telling the truth, today is the day for you to work on that until you've been able to conquer that weakness. Then you start on the next one that's most difficult for you to keep.”  (President Harold B. Lee, Church News, May 5, 1973, p. 3)

Our disobedience separates us from the presence of God, and Jesus, the mediator, reconciles us to the Father, restores God’s peace to our hearts, since He is our Advocate. Jesus propitiates (calms and soothes) us as we repent of our wrongs. This applies to all people through the entire world and the countless worlds beyond this mortal earth. For this earth is only one of the worlds without number Jesus has created under the direction of the Father. His atonement is infinite, which means there are no ends to His atoning influence.

Seek to sin not.

With His Stripes We Are Healed

Book of Mormon--Mosiah 14:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jesus is the Great Atoner. He was foreordained in premortal life to come to this earth and be the Savior, Redeemer, and Atoner of the world for all. He was smitten, spit upon, smote, cursed at, scourged, and crucified-all for the atonement and reconciliation of humankind. While in gethsemane, Jesus suffered the pains and afflictions of everyone past, present, and those who will yet be born, and here is when he sweat great drops of blood from every pore so great was His pain and suffering. He even asked the Father to remove this cup from Him, but if it wasn’t the Father’s will, then Jesus would endure and suffer through it. This He did.

He suffered the Atonement so we could have peace, and as a result of His stripes, His seven special wounds, we are healed of our sins and shortcomings.

His seven special wounds included:

1. Print of the nail in His left hand
2. Print of the nail in His right hand
3. Print of the nail in His left foot
4. Print of the nail in His right foot
5. Print of the nail in His left wrist
6. Print of the nail in His right wrist
7. The spear wound in His right side

In addition to Jesus’ seven special wounds, He received body torture from the scourging, from the crown of plaited thorns pressed down upon His head, and whiskers of His beard were pulled out.

“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6).

He suffered for the pains and sicknesses of all mankind.

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Book of Mormon, Alma 7:11).

Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. Without Him, we are as nothing. May we praise and thank Him humbly from the depths of our hearts forevermore. Above all, may we live so that our good lives demonstrate and reflect our abiding love for Him. Our lives show the depth of our love, commitment, and devotion to Him.