There Is A "Name It & Claim It" Theology In Scripture...But Not What You Typically Think
The beauties of the doctrine of adoption
Name It & Claim It
Though the prosperity gospel has many different forms, one of the most popular themes in the movement is the “Name It & Claim It” teachings. You just name what you want in this life and claim it by God’s power. God is a genie. He is a means to your end. Your best life is now when you name it and claim it!
This is a perverted teaching that millions have fallen for. But, is there an actual doctrine in Scripture about “naming & claiming”?
How The Genealogy of Jesus Proves The Point
Matthew begins his Gospel with a magisterial genealogy of Jesus. Over and over again you will read: “So-and-so was the father of so-and-so”. This pattern goes on and on until you get to verse 16 when it says, “And Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.”
Jeannine Brown, examining the Greek language, says, “Matthew uses the relative pronoun ἧς, which is a feminine, singular, genitive pronoun. If [Matthew] had wanted to indicate that Jesus came from both Joseph and Mary, he would have used a plural masculine form (ὧν). By using a feminine, singular relative pronoun, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is the offspring of Mary. He will reaffirm that something special is going in 1:20 (Jesus is conceived ‘from the Holy Spirit’).”1
But, you might ask, doesn’t this take away the theological significance of Jesus coming from Joseph’s lineage? Brown raises the question: “How does Jesus come from Joseph’s lineage if he is born from Mary and not Joseph?” Great question! “[Matthew] unravels the puzzle in 1:18-25 by emphasizing in narrative fashion that Joseph adopts Jesus into his family and so into his family line. In that social context, it was the father’s prerogative to name his children (cf. Luke 1:59-63). By naming Jesus, Joseph effectively adopts him as his own.”2
D.A. Carson comments on Matthew 1:16 saying, “Legally Jesus stands in line to the throne of David; physically he is born of a woman ‘found to be with child through the Holy Spirit’ (1:18).”3
What does all this mean? It shows us an actual rich doctrine of “name it and claim it”. Yes, that is not the preferred way of speaking, but it gives something of a picture. Jesus really and truly was “claimed” by Joseph and brought into the loyal line by Joseph being commanded by God’s angel to “name” Jesus.
How Does This Apply To Us?
Surely you can see the parallels in this text with what happens in our adoption. God the Father claims us by naming us His own. Isaiah 43:1 says, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” See the connection between redeeming, naming, and claiming.
Listen to this amazing explanation of this verse by Alec Motyer: “‘To call by name’ (40:26) is a direct personal relationship involving having a specific plan and place for the one named. In Israel’s case (7) ‘calling by name’ included ‘being called by my name’ (cf. 4:1). Like a true and glad-hearted Boaz (Ru. 4:3–10), the Lord redeemed and married his Israel. Hence the triumphant shout You are mine!/‘Mine you are!’”4
A massive theme in the Bible is God calling His people by name. All throughout God’s Word we see Him drawing near to sinners, calling them by name, sometimes re-naming them, and redeeming them. The New Testament is filled with this theme as we think about how we are now called “saints, sons, Christians, holy, priests, Israel” and much more. The Book of Revelation shows how this naming has secured us in the realm of heaven. Revelation 13:8 contrasts the people who worship the Beast with those who worship God. The former are described as: “everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” In other words, when God has named us and put us in His book of life, He has claimed us as His own and secures us until the very end.
How does this happen to us on a personal level? There is a doctrine in Scripture which we call “effectual calling”. Westminster Larger Catechism 67 says that effectual calling is:
The work of God’s almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he does, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.
When God saves His people, He does not do so in an impersonal way. Though He calls a multitude, He calls them individually and personally. To do the work of effectual calling, as stated above, it is clear that this must be individual and personal. God knows who He is calling. And by personally calling His people, He is claiming us as His own. God is the ultimate “name it and claim it” God. Once named in God’s book of life, always named in God’s book of life.
How Does This Change Our Functional Identity?
Dunn, NC has only 14,000 people but their local newspaper has a 112% penetration. How is this possible? It is because everyone in their town (and more outside) read their paper. But, why? Simple. Their motto is: “Names, names, and names.” People delight to see their names in the paper.
I remember when I first saw my name in the paper. It was exhilarating! It told a story about me. That story informed me about myself. As I participated in sports, this become slightly more regular as reporters would write about our high school or college or pro team. Whether good or bad, I was caught up in letting those stories tell me who I was.
We are all telling ourselves a story about who we are. And at times we might find ourselves wondering, “What comes to mind when others hear my name? Is it the same thing that I think about myself?” That question can be scary. It can influence insecurity and pride. But, how do we know what the true story is? What is our ultimate identity?
Our story is God’s Story. Our true name is what He has bestowed upon us. I will never understand myself rightly until I understand Him and His Story rightly. There is no such thing as truly knowing myself if I don’t put the priority on knowing God and His Story. Because God has named me, I can only know myself when I know Him.
Your adoption is as real as it gets! John talks about how when we are born again into God’s family, we are given a legal standing and new spiritual DNA. John 1:12-13 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right (legal) to become children of God, who were born (DNA), not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”5 You are actually brought into the family of God because you have been truly united to Jesus. This is who you are!
Because of adoption, God has named you and claimed you as His own. And because of this, you are just as secure today as you will ever be!
Jeannine K. Brown in Paul N. Jackson, ed. Devotions on the Greek New Testament Vol. 2 (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI 2017), p. 17.
Ibid, p. 17-18.
D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 68.
J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 331.
Parentheses mine.