Subject 12 : The Faith of the Apostles Creed
● Jesus Christ (Ιησούς Χριστός)
The
name Jesus, “Ιησούς (iesous)” in Greek, is originated from Hebrew name
ישוע (yeh-ho-shoo’-ah(, meaning “Jehovah is salvation.”
Christ
is משיח (mashiyach) in Hebrew and “Χριστός” (khris-tos) in Greek,
meaning “the anointed one.” The name Christ is the New Testament’s
appellation for the Old Testament’s Messiah. The expression “ό Χριστός
(ho khris-tos)” that frequently appears in the Four Gospel is the word
“Christ” preceded by the definite article “the,” telling us that Jesus
is the absolute God Himself. God the Father, in other words, sent His
own Son to deliver everyone living in this world from all sins.
Strictly
speaking, these two names of “Jesus” and “Christ” are not actually
interchangeable. The name “Jesus” is the name of the Savior who came as
the Interceder of mankind, as the peacemaker between God and human
beings. But the name “Christ” means “the anointed one,” originating from
the traditions of the ancient Middle East region—that is, from the
ritual of distinguishing those chosen to bear the responsibilities of
high positions by anointing them.
For
the people of Israel in the Old Testament’s time, this tradition was
originated from God’s own command. They anointed prophets, priests, and
kings (1 Kings 19:16, Psalm 133:2). This was the ritual that publicly
affirmed before everyone the fact that those chosen by God were fit for
the duties of each. Such symbolic rituals of the Old Testament, however,
were effective only for the certain period of duration when these
people entrusted with such duties were alive, and even so their capacity
to fulfill their duties was also imperfect. These facts implied that
the Israelites could not but wait for the coming of the perfect One who
would be anointed by God Himself.
In
such a context, there was the birth of One who would be especially
anointed by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the righteousness of God (Matthew
3:15-17, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:21-22). Jesus Himself testified on this,
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me…” (Luke
4:18; see also Isaiah 61:1). Thus, the name “Christ” means “the anointed
One” who saves His people from sin. Contained in the name of Christ are
not only His duties as the Redeemer and Interceder, but also His
authority and power manifested by His perfect fulfillment of these
duties.
1. Christ’s Attributes
Christ
already existed even before the creation (Ephesians 1:4). Explaining
the will that God had even before the creation, Paul said, “In the
dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in
one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on
earth—in Him” (Ephesians 1:10).
To
fulfill His will, God sent His only begotten Son, whom He had promised
and who would be anointed, to this earth. The family lineage of this Son
of God is shown in more detail in the covenant that God established
with Abraham—that is, He would come as one of the descendants of
Abraham, and all the nations would be blessed because of Him (Genesis
22:17-19). This was God’s promise.
Jacob,
while blessing his sons in his dying hour, also said that the Messiah
would come as a descendant of Judah (Genesis 49:10). The prophets of the
latter times revealed the attributes and ministries of the Messiah in
even more detail. According to Isaiah 53, it was prophesied that Christ
would take the sins of His people upon Himself, be crucified, suffer at
the hands of people and be abandoned by them, and ultimately die and be
buried.
(1) The Divine Nature of Jesus Christ:
Jesus Christ has not only existed even before the creation, but He has
existed as the eternal and true God. Furthermore, even though He came to
this earth in the flesh of a man, He has continued to be God Himself
(John 1:1, 14). As Romans 9:5 states, “[He] who is over all, the
eternally blessed God.”
The
confession of God’s Church about the divine nature of Jesus Christ is
not a man-made confession, for this is founded on the very revelation of
God Himself (Matthew 16:17). In addition, all the truths of the Bible
describe the divine nature of Christ explicitly, not ambiguously (Micah
5:2; Isaiah 9:6). In the New Testament, the true divinity of Christ the
Savior is often solemnly declared by Christ Himself. Peter also
confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
(Matthew 16:16; see also Mark 8:29 and Luke 9:20).
Furthermore,
Paul also said, “[Christ Jesus] who, “being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). John,
while praising Christ, also confessed, “And we know that the Son of God
has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is
true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). When Caiaphas the High
Priest asked Jesus, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God,”
Jesus answered him, “It is as you said” (Matthew 26:63-64; see also Mark
15:2).
On
other occasions, Jesus also said that He and God the Father were one
(John 10:30), and that He had existed before Abraham (John 8:58).
Christ, moreover, mentioned His role as the High Priest and the glory
that He has shared with the Father even before the creation (John 17:5).
In addition, when Christ forgave people of their sins or healed them
from their illnesses, as well as when He admonished His disciples to
believe in Him, all these things were contingent upon their recognition
of His divinity.
Jesus
Christ is the Second Person of the Triune God who worked as the Son of
God (Matthew 16:16; 26:63-64). According to the angel that visited Mary,
the Son whom Mary would give birth would be called as the Holy Son of
God (Luke 1:35). Right after Jesus was baptized by John, a voice came
from Heaven and testified, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased” (Matthew 3:17; see also Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22).
This
meant that His baptism was not simply a ritual, but the one approved by
God the Father. It refers to the baptism that Jesus received to take
all the sins of mankind upon Himself. This is how He fulfilled all the
righteousness of God (Matthew 3:15). Just before Jesus was baptized, He
said to John, “Permit it to be so now [that is, baptize Me], for thus it
is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). The
Bible declares that Jesus Christ has the same particular power as the
Father (John 5:26). The Apostle Paul calls Christ as God’s “own Son”
(Romans 8:32). And John says that Christ was “the Word [who] was with
God” (John 1:1). He also describes Him as God’s only begotten Son (John
1:14, 3:16; see also 5:18, where Jesus Himself called God as His own
Father.)
(2) The Human Nature of Jesus Christ:
The New Testament also emphasizes Christ’s human nature. The eternal
Son of God was born “in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7-8). He was
called “the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Even though He was God
Himself, He incarnated into a man and dwelt among us (John 1:14). In
consequence, He was baptized by John the Baptist. He lived among people
as a man, and He shared in their happiness, joy and sadness. And He also
ate the same food that they ate. He was a man not only in His
appearance, but in His character. Like others, He was also a descendant
of Adam (the family lineage of Luke 3:38). And He was born of a woman
(Luke 2:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25, and Galatians 4:4). Among His forefathers
were Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1).
Even
though Jesus Himself had no sin, He nonetheless came to this earth in
the flesh of a man weakened by sins. In other words, Christ came “in the
likeness of sinful flesh,” and by being baptized by John, He fulfilled
all the righteousness of God (John 19:30). Although He shouldered our
sins with His baptism and suffered, He was not differentiated from
others (Isaiah 53:2-3).
However,
although Christ had the same human nature as us, He never surrendered
to the temptation of sin. According to the author of the Book of
Hebrews, Christ was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”
(Hebrews 4:15). Jesus bore sins only because He took the sins of the
world upon Himself by being baptized by John, and this is why He was
crucified for the sake of sinners. Referring to Christ, Hebrews 7:26
states, “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.”
Christ’s Three Duties
There
were three kinds of persons who were anointed by oil in the Old
Testament age: the prophets, the priests, and the kings (1 Kings 19:16;
Exodus 40:13-15; 2 Kings 9:3).
Christ
is the Prophet and the Teacher anointed by the Holy Spirit. And He is
also the heavenly High Priest. The concepts of the many roles that
Christ played are all biblically sound. Deuteronomy 18:15 states, “The
LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet” (see also verse 18). In
Psalm 110:4, Jehovah called Christ by saying, “You are a priest
forever.” Zechariah 6:12-13 reveals the Kinghood of Christ by stating
that “the Man whose name is the BRANCH” would “bear the glory” and “sit
and rule on His throne.” These three duties of Christ were all fulfilled
when Christ came to this earth, shouldered all the sins of the world by
being baptized by John, was crucified and shed His blood on the Cross,
and rose again from the dead.
A. Prophet:
Like the prophets of the Old Testament, Christ fulfilled His prophetic
role by revealing the will of God and implementing God’s Word to His
people. But Christ was not merely a simple prophet or messenger. He was
the greatest Prophet for mankind. His Word was the complete and perfect
Word of God that no prophet can ever add to or subtract from. This is
because all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him
(Colossians 2:3). It is also because He is “the only begotten Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18).
Christ’s
message was made perfect when He had completed His mission: To fulfill
all righteousness of God, Jesus was baptized by John, and shed His blood
on the Cross; And He calls every sinner to be remitted of all his/her
sins within the righteousness He had completed. Therefore, such true
knowledge of God and teachings on salvation cannot be attained without
believing in the baptism of Christ and the blood of the Cross. Those who
do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God, and thus remain sinful (John
3:18). They cannot find the way of eternal life, either. Because
Christ’s sermons had power and authority as the Prophet, they led the
listeners to obey His Word.
B. High Priest:
In Psalm 110:4, speaking to His anointed One, God said, “You are a
priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” This means that
Christ is the High Priest not from the order of Aaron, but He is the
High Priest as a result of Jehovah’s special and singular calling and
appointment. The priests of the Old Testament, who had served in the
Tabernacle or the Temple, were the foreshadowers of this Christ to come,
presaging Christ as the perfect and eternal High Priest. He works as
the perfect High Priest, “For Christ has not entered the holy places
made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).
There are three dimensions to Christ’s ministry as the High Priest.
First,
He had offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins forever. Jesus
Christ, in other words, had redeemed all mankind from destruction with
His baptism and bloodshed. He has completed God’s righteousness by
having obtained eternal redemption for us. Christ’s sacrifice of
atonement had been foretold and known for thousands years through the
sacrificial system under the old sacrificial rituals of the laying on of
hands. In particular, this was typically revealed through the laying of
hands on the head of the Passover lamb and its bloodshed.
In
contrast to the sacrificial offerings of Aaron and other priests of the
Old Testament, which were symbolic and repetitive, Christ came to this
earth only once, and by taking the sins of the world upon Himself
through His baptism received from John and dying on the Cross, He
fulfilled all the righteousness of God once and for all. This is why He
was baptized and gave all the perfect sacrificial offerings on the
Cross. Christ, as Hebrews 9:26 states, “once at the end of the ages… has
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
He
is the Lamb of God who shouldered the sins of the world with His
baptism and carried them to the Cross (Matthew 3:13-17). Christ reveals
to us that He Himself was sacrificed as “our own Passover Lamb.” By
sacrificing Himself for the sins of mankind, He paid the price of
redemption to God for the sake of His people. As Hebrews 9:28 states,
“Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” He did not enter by
means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy
Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption
(Hebrews 9:12). This was achieved by accepting His baptism and the
Cross. He did like the High Priests of the Old Testament, who, on the
Day of Atonement, had entered the Most Holy with the blood of sacrifice.
Likewise,
by being baptized in His body, Christ also accepted the sins of the
world passed onto Him, and ascended to Heaven after having atoned all
the sins of the world with the blood of the Cross, thereby entering the
Sanctuary of Heaven with His own blood of sacrifice. By doing so, Christ
has saved all those who believe in His baptism and blood from their
guilt and curses.
Above
all, for the salvation of His people from their sins, Christ was able
to achieve all His works, including being baptized by John and shedding
His blood on the Cross. With His “voluntary obedience”—that is, by being
baptized—Christ bore the sins of His people, and with His “active
obedience”—that is, by carrying the sins of the world to the Cross and
being crucified—He fulfilled the righteousness of God perfectly. It is
when we believe in this that we attain our eligibility for salvation. By
coming to this earth and giving up His body as the sacrifice for all
mankind, Christ fulfilled all the righteous works of God. By doing so,
He has saved His people who, because of the corruption of Adam, had
become sinners, from all their sins. It is by this work that Christ
fulfilled God’s righteous plan perfectly. By giving His baptism and
blood to His people, He enabled them to receive the righteousness of
God.
The
second aspect to the priestly ministry of Christ is prayer. He not only
enables mankind simply to approach God, but more so, He enables them to
go boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16; see also 10:19). Christ
not only teaches how to pray (Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:9-13), but He also
guarantees before God the prayers of whoever prays truthfully in His
name, and by imploring God based on His works, He makes it possible that
his/her prayers would be answered. Christ Himself prays for His people,
and He works as the Interceder who, for their sake, pleads on their
behalf and defends them before God.
Such
works were already done when Christ was ministering on this earth (Luke
22:32; 23:34; John 17), and they continue to be fulfilled now, even
after He was exalted and entered the Sanctuary of Heaven to sit at the
right hand of God the Father (Romans 8:34). Christ understood perfectly
all the sufferings and sadness of human beings, knew their needs well,
and approached such needs with a compassionate and merciful heart. As
Hebrews 4:15 states, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are,
yet without sin.” His prayers reflect His profound understanding of the
needs of mankind.
The
third dimension to Christ’s priestly ministry is asking for the
blessings of His people. In the Old Testament, one of the priests’
duties was to lay their hands on their people and bless them. God
promised that when the priests blessed the descendants of Israel in the
name of Jehovah, He would indeed give them His blessings (Numbers
6:22-27). Likewise, when Christ was ministering on this earth, His very
existence itself was already a blessing, and when He ascended to Heaven,
He also raised His hands and blessed His disciples (Luke 24:50-51).
Furthermore, even now He blesses His people with every spiritual
blessing of Heaven (Ephesians 1:3). Through His Spirit, He bestows the
gifts of Heaven on them, and brings them the never-ending showers of
blessings.
Like
this, Christ is God Himself for whom there can be no other comparison,
for Christ alone could become the sacrifice of atonement, and, standing
at the side of His people, He alone could fulfill the Law perfectly. As
such, only Christ is the Interceder who brings us the blessings of
Heaven. Now, if there are people who do not believe in His priestly
ministry, they will certainly not be able to find any other priest who
can atone for their sins. Because they cannot find any interceder who is
with God, they will, far from receiving the blessings of Heaven, all
face their eternal condemnation instead.
C. King:
Christ was also anointed as the King for His duties, like the Old
Testament’s kings. But He is not like the preceding kings, whose glory
and power were attained by force. Rather, Christ was anointed as the
eternal King, and as the King who would reign with infinite power,
justice and truth.
John
draws attention to the fact that Christ’s Kingdom “is not of this
world” (John 18:36). Paul, on the other hand, teaches that the Kingdom
of God is constituted only of “righteousness and peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The author of Hebrews says that this King
rules with His Word: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul
and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Moreover, the sovereign
Kinghood of Christ is not limited to the Jewish nation. Christ is the
Head of the Church, the congregation of His believers (Ephesians 4:15).
This
church has been redeemed from the dominion of the Devil, and has been
built with the blood of Christ. His church is led by the Holy Spirit,
and it belongs to Christ forever. As the King, Christ protects His
Church from any danger. He does not allow any forces, no matter what
they may be, to ever overcome the church. Even if such forces were the
gates of Hades (hell), they cannot prevail against the church (Matthew
16:18).
In
addition, His rule is merciful and perfect. Through such rule, He makes
His people submit to His authority and obey His words. Furthermore,
even those who do not recognize His sovereignty cannot escape from the
reign of Christ, for God the Father has enabled the Son to rule over the
entire universe. The Father has given Christ all authority. Jesus
therefore says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth” (Matthew 28:18). Paul writes that the triumphant Christ stripped
the evil angels of their authority (Colossians 2:15). The Apostle John
says Christ is “the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5).
The
sovereign authority of Christ may seem to be ignored on this earth, and
His glory may appear to be blasphemed, insulted, and hidden by His evil
enemies (Psalm 89:51). But His majesty continues to shine in Heaven as
the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). In the end,
Christ will ultimately come back in the clouds, and He will give honor
to those who have believed and shame to those who have rejected Him
(Matthew 25:31-46). When this time comes, the reign of Christ will be
manifested through His righteousness everywhere in Heaven and on earth
(2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21).
In
the New Testament, Christ was the Prophet, and at the same time He was
the High Priest and the King. When Christ spoke as a Prophet, His
teachings were accompanied with His authority as the King (Luke 4:32).
When Christ admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King, He also said
that He came to this world as a Prophet to testify the truth (John
18:37). When Christ performed miracles, His sovereign authority was
revealed, such miracles were secured by His prophetic teachings, and
these miracles were bestowed by His priestly mercy (Matthew 8:17).
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