"In the name of" has three senses. In the first sense, it is an invocation of the power of the one whose name is called. To command someone to halt "in the name of the king" means that the power of the king requires the halting. Similarly, when we make the sign of the cross, we declare that what is carried out under this sign occurs by the power of the Trinity. We can speak of the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" at great length without thereby even believing they exist, but we cannot invoke their power without belief. The sign of the cross involves a commitment to the being and power of the Holy Trinity.
In the second sense, "in the name of" is a participation in the authority of the one whose power is invoked. Not just anyone can command a halting "in the name of the king," but only one who has the authority to enforce the edict. When we make the sign of the cross, we claim that what is carried out under this sign occurs under the direction and by the authority of the Trinity, in whose name we speak or act and whose works we claim to be able to accomplish.
In the third sense, "in the name of" is an ordering to the one whose authority is declared. The one who commands another to halt "in the name of the king" acts for the sake of the king and the king's rule. We participate in the authority of the Trinity not only by acting as executor of that authority but also by ordering what is subsumed under the sign of the cross -- including ourselves -- according to the economy of the divine Trinity.
Thus, the formula of the sign of the cross, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," speaks of the the power of the Trinity to make it so, a participation in the authority of that power, and a consecration to the one for whose sake it is so. To put it in other words:
For from Him,
and through Him,
and to Him,
are all things.
To Him be the glory forever.
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