The ultimate password

And the winner is… 123456, with a staggering 3,018,050 uses! The runner-up, 123456789, trails far behind with “just” 1,625,135. If you need a clue as to what I’m talking about, in third place is simply: password — clocking in at 692,151 uses.

Yes, it’s the latest global password survey from Nord Security, compiled across 44 countries. And it shows one clear thing: millions of people still have no idea how risky their password choices are. Yet in our digital age, passwords are as essential as the keys to our home.

That said, passwords are undeniably a pain. In the early days of the internet, you’d often be caught in a queue somewhere, having to invent a password that was both secure and memorable. As cryptography expert Bruce Schneierputs it: “The problem with passwords is that they are either easy to remember and insecure, or secure and hard to remember.”

For many of us, passwords are now part of everyday life — a concept barely imaginable a few decades ago. I don’t recall ever needing a password before going online in the late 1990s. The only equivalent was the number on my bike lock back in student days!

Before the internet, passwords were mostly for soldiers to confirm identity. But as always, the problem was remembering the password — especially under pressure.

One of my favourite scenes is from the film A Bridge Too Far, when British officer Lt. Col. Digby Tatham-Warter explains why he carries a rolled-up umbrella into battle. It’s not for the weather — it’s his way of identifying himself to his fellow soldiers. He confesses he can never remember the password, but is confident: “No British soldier would ever shoot a man carrying a rolled-up umbrella!”

 Passwords in the Bible? Surprisingly, yes.

During a civil war in the Old Testament (Judges 12), the Gileadites tried to stop survivors of the Ephraimite tribe from escaping across the Jordan River. Their tactic? A linguistic password. They made each person say the word “Shibboleth.” The Ephraimites couldn’t pronounce the “sh” sound, saying “Sibboleth” instead — instantly giving themselves away.

Fast-forward to World War II, and Allied soldiers used a similar tactic. Knowing that German speakers struggled with the English “W”, they would ask for passwords like “Winston” or “Waterloo.”

But perhaps the most remarkable password reference in the Bible comes from the book of Revelation, in Jesus' message to the church in Pergamum:

“To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”  (Revelation 2:17)

The white stone symbolises either acquittal (as in a court trial) or victory (as awarded in ancient athletic contests). But the new name, known only to the recipient, functions like a password — unique, personal, and shared only between Christ and the believer.

It’s a powerful image: Jesus gives us a new identity in him — a transformed, intimate relationship that is utterly individual.

Jacqui and I enjoy watching BBC Songs of Praise, and a recent episode featured vibrant Black Gospel music. In one moving segment, Maryla Abraham, backed by the Sound Foundation Choir, sang:

There is power in the name of Jesus

To break every chain,

Break every chain,

Break every chain.

The song was simple — but electrifying. It sent shivers down my spine, for Jesus himself taught about the power of his name: “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

Speaking the name of Jesus isn’t some magical formula. It’s a code of spiritual access — used in prayer, healing, and deliverance. It’s a declaration of trust in his authority.

That’s exactly what we see in Acts 3, the first recorded act of ministry after Pentecost. As Peter and John enter the temple, they encounter a man who had been lame from birth. He’s begging for money, but Peter replies:

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  (Acts 3:6).

Peter acknowledges he doesn’t have the resources — but he knows who does. He invokes the name of Jesus, and the man is healed on the spot.

The name of Jesus isn’t a spell. It’s a confession of faith, a spiritual weapon, and a declaration of divine authority. And here’s the astonishing truth: this password is available to every Christian, and it gives us access to unimaginable power. 

As Chinese pastor Watchman Nee once wrote: “The authority of the name of Jesus is the inheritance of every child of God.”

In a world full of forgotten passwords, this is one you can never afford to forget.