In the Bible, the term Christ is usually attached to Jesus, the Son of God. We know Him as Jesus Christ. Growing up, I thought that Christ was Jesus’ last name. But there is much more to Christ than being the last name. The word Christ comes from the Greek word Χριστός Christos, which means anointed, or anointed one. Jesus is the Anointed One who came from God; therefore, His name is called Jesus, but He is called Christ by empowerment. This is why Jesus is referred to as the Christ; He is the Anointed One, Jesus Christ. God anointed him to be Prophet, Priest, and King, the savior of heaven and earth. His name is the only name worthy of giving salvation because He is the only one to ever walk in the perfection of the anointing of God without sin and provide salvation to the world. He brought heaven to earth and gave us all a chance to live.
The real secret of this word Christ becomes very exciting when you realize its actual value and what it represents. The word Christ was first introduced in the New Testament by the Angel of the Lord in Luke 2:8-14. He appeared to the Shepherds of the field and introduced them to the newborn savior, who is called Christ the Lord, or the Anointed One of Yahweh. This Angel of the Lord had already appeared to Joseph, Mary’s husband, to announce the birth of Jesus and told him to name his new son Jesus. (That name would be His eternal name.) This birth fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which said a virgin would have a son, and you will call His name Immanuel, meaning God with us. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6) These announcements were about to shake the world to its core.
These New Testament appearances were incredible, but they wouldn’t mean the same to any of us if there was no back story to build on. The power of Christ begins to take its shape in the prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. The term Messiah was used by the writers in the Old Testament, and it means Anointed One. (How cool is that?) In the New Testament, the Messiah is called the Christ. We see the transfer of terms from old to new in John 1:40-41 when Andrew, a disciple of Jesus, finds his brother Simon Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah, which is called Christ.” Phillip, another disciple, said to Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45). These disciples directly connect the promise of a Messiah from the Old Testament prophets to Jesus Christ.
“Jesus is the Messiah that was promised to come and be the world’s savior.”
This idea is confirmed by Jesus in John 4:25-26 when He was talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
John 4:25–26 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
The promises of a Messiah figure in the Old Testament.
From the very beginning of sin, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate off the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God already had redemption in His mind. He began to establish a promise of a Messiah figure that would come and save Adam and Eve and all of their offspring. The “seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15) and “the seed of Abraham” (Genesis 22:18) are examples of God establishing a promise of a Messiah who would be a future savior and deliverer. He confirmed that promise again with the example of a deliverer of God’s people named Moses. God said this Messiah would be a “Prophet like unto Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15).
When you get to the writings of the Psalms, the promise begins to come spiritually alive. David wrote, “The Lord said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten you” (Psalms 2:7), referring to the anointed one and referencing John 3:16 as well as other New Testament scriptures referring to Jesus Christ. This prophecy reveals that the Messiah will be more than just an earthly man. David also saw the future Messiah crucified and resurrected from hell. (Psalms 22; 16:7-11). With these prophecies, the Messiah’s picture has begun to take shape and will help followers see the connection between Jesus the Christ and the promised Messiah.
This Messiah was also called “Immanuel,” the virgin’s son who is “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7). His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of peace. This again reveals that the Messiah will be God manifested. (Hallelujah). He is the “the rod out of the stem of Jesse” who walks in the seven spirits of God (Isaiah 11:1-4, 10), which confirms God’s promise to King David that a righteous king would be born from his offspring and sit on God’s throne. He was called “the branch of the Lord” that would sprout up and bear fruit (Isaiah 4:2). He would be a “ruler in Israel” born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), “the messenger of the covenant” (Mal. 3:1), who is pierced when suffering death. These were all promises of a Messiah figure who would come and restore the people of the earth to God.
But one of the most intense prophecies came to the prophet Daniel when the archangel Gabriel interpreted his prayer and vision of the seventy weeks. Gabriel said, “a Messiah Prince will come to finish the transgression, put an end to sin, and atone for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal both vision and prophet, and anoint the most holy place.” This description is amazing. It reveals that this Messiah figure will finish the transgression of Adam by taking His place at the end of a long line of Adam figures and be the last Adam to die. He would “put an end to sin” and atone all of Adam’s sin. (This is a WOW moment for all of us who died in Adam.) The promise of a return to the Holy Place is a big welcome to all who have been in Adam.
These prophecies are all topped off by the Messiah being “the priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalms 110:4). As a High Priest, the Messiah will mediate the work of salvation for us on the earth and in heaven. (This tells me that God never forgot any of us. We are His treasure, and He will return us to heaven.)
After reading all of this about the promises of the Messiah of old and knowing that the New Testament puts Jesus as this Messiah promise, we all finally have an answer to the sin and death problem that has tormented our world for many, many generations.
The Christ is here.
As I alluded to in teaching 22, “Learn your gospel through the Jesus experience,” Peter was the first apostle to turn Jerusalem upside down with his preaching of Jesus in Acts 2. He showed that Jesus is the Christ that the prophets talked about and made direct connections between the prophets Joel and David, who saw this day coming. Although the Old Testament never used the name Jesus, Peter proclaimed that David foresaw the resurrection of Jesus, and that’s who he was talking about when he said God would raise him from hell (the grave).
This preaching at Pentecost confirmed everything Jesus had been saying while He was on the earth, teaching and doing the works of God. The Pentecost declaration by Peter set off a trumpet in Jerusalem that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and confirmed that God keeps His promises and won’t forget His people. It also justified the words of the prophets of old. Afterward, the witnesses of Jesus began to grow as they preached that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) and He did come and put an end to sin.
What made the difference for Peter? How could Peter be so bold to now be a witness for Jesus after having so much conflict in himself previously? Because the man he knew as Jesus was no longer outside of him, He was now the Christ that lived in Him. Peter was anointed by God and was now walking as the Christ figure. How did this happen? God filled him with the Holy Ghost, and he was speaking with tongues of fire. Jesus put His anointing in him and made him the anointed one. He had new languages that spoke the revelation of Jesus Christ and declared Him as the Redeemer of Israel. Peter had a Christ experience, and it changed his life forever.
Once Peter and the other apostles were established with the Holy Ghost, their gospel intent was to tell everyone that Jesus was alive. This preaching in Acts 2 by Peter was so groundbreaking because they didn’t have the New Testament as we do. They didn’t grow up being taught that Jesus was the savior and that He was the fulfillment of the promise of prophecy. They knew of a Messiah but didn’t know who He was. They were all experiencing it by the Spirit in real-time. They learned it by the Spirit in them. (This is the part we will get into in the next teaching about your Christ experience.)
At Pentecost, people came to Jerusalem from all over and had never heard the gospel like this before. Some had heard of Jesus but not from a Holy Ghost-filled apostle who was an actual witness of His resurrection. The gospel that day was groundbreaking, shocking, and even offensive to some, but it set the stage for the church of Jesus Christ to be born. At that instant, 3000 people were added to them and started walking in the way.
Today we have heard Jesus talked about so much that it is like a distant past that we are just trying to apply to our life by how we perceive the Bible from today’s religion. This religious thinking will not get us anywhere in Christ. The only way to connect you to the Bible and the Revelation of Jesus Christ is to have your own Christ experience.
Without Christ, Jesus would have just been a man.
Now that the back story of your Christ experience has been revealed, you are ready to believe God for your own experience with Jesus Christ. I’m sure you’re excited about the promises of the Messiah being fulfilled in Jesus Christ; it’s time to connect this Christ to yourself. The Christ experience is the same as the Jesus experience, except that it’s now Christ in you revealing to you the Spiritual Jesus. We will continue this thought in the next writing.