Category: Christ Is God

Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life

Bible Reading Plans

• Plan One: New Testament Only
• Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
• Plan Three: New Testament + History
• Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3

Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.

Extras

Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute

Overflow

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(Today’s Book Installment)

Christ Is God

Chapter 2 – Breaking Down the Terms

Understanding the sentence “Christ is God” requires that we understand what each of its three words mean. Let’s take them one by one.

“Christ”

Although we can read the Bible in English, we have to be aware that the Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. Otherwise, we won’t recognize important connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word “Christ” is a good case in point.

In its simplest sense, “Christ” means “king.” Specifically, it referred to the king of Israel. And most specifically, it referred to the ultimate king of Israel – the one promised by God to be a descendant of King David.

Here’s how the word “Christ” came to be understood in these ways: When the priest and prophet Samuel was chosen by God to designate Saul as Israel’s first king, Samuel did so by anointing Saul with oil.

1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?

Samuel’s action became a standard way that each Israelite king was installed. It symbolized God’s direction and blessing of the king for the benefit of the nation. And for this reason, the king of Israel was called “the Anointed.” In Hebrew, this became “Messiah.” And when translated into Greek became “Christ.”

Source Language	Hebrew	Greek	English
Term	Messiah	Christ	the Anointed

Thus do the words “Christ” and “Messiah” – whenever you see them in the Bible – always refer to the same role or person. That person was – accordign to the New Testament – Jesus of Nazareth.

“(The)”

Having a “the” in front “Christ” or “Messiah” makes it more like a title; otherwise, it’s more like a name. Therefore, “Jesus is the Christ” is not saying something different from “Jesus is Christ.” It’s just that the first is a little more formal, and the second is a little more personal. As it is for God, “Christ” and “Messiah” as well as their pronouns are usually capitalized. On the occasions when they’re not, his humanity is in view.

“Is”

“Is,” of course, means “right now” in the sentence “Christ is God.” I could have added “and forever after,” but I just wanted us to work with a shorter sentence for the time being.

“God”

The word “God” is a lot easier for us to deal with than the word Christ – at least with respect to the statement “Christ is God.” “God” is the supreme being in both testaments.

Putting the Words Back Together

Now you know, practically speaking, that the following sentences are identical in meaning:

• Christ is God.
• The Christ is God.
• The Messiah is God.
• Messiah is God.

Of course, we can also say “Jesus is God.” But that’s because Jesus is the Christ/Messiah – not because the name Jesus means “Anointed.”

We next need to turn our attention to times past…when people did not, and could not, say Christ is God.

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Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life

Bible Reading Plans

• Plan One: New Testament Only
• Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
• Plan Three: New Testament + History
• Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3

Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.

Extras

Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute

Overflow

***

(Today’s Book Installment)

Christ Is God

Chapter 1 – What Does “Christ Is God” Mean?

To say “Christ is God” means many things. First and foremost, it means God once walked the earth as one of us. That is, He became a human being…and lived in our midst. In other words, Jesus was God in the flesh.

God experienced His life on earth as we do – not as a supreme being would. He was subject to the same temptations we are.

It makes sense to capitalize Christ’s pronouns – He, His, Him – because He’s God. But it also makes sense to leave them lower case – he, his, him – because he really did live a human life. If you see His pronouns capitalized, think about how great He is as God. If you see his pronouns uncapitalized, think about his humanity – and how much hardship he had to endure.

When God lived His human life, He was known as Jesus of Nazareth. The “of Nazareth” part was important because “Jesus” was a common name for Jewish boys back then. This Jew lived a life of good works and good words – a combination beyond that of any other human life ever recorded. Yet He was killed by His enemies before He reached His mid-30s. After He rose from the dead, He became more widely known as Jesus Christ.

He was God…who became a man…and then God again. Forever. Included in my meaning when I say “Forever” is that living a human life is not something He is ever going to need to do again.)

The Bible gives us many details about God’s U-shaped journey from heaven to earth and back. The purpose of this book is to help you find in the Bible as many details about this journey as you can. The more of these details you learn, the greater will be your appreciation of His dogged determination to be a father to us.

(By the way, I don’t want you to take my word for anything in this book. Instead, the purpose of the book is to show you where in the Bible the answers to our questions can be found.)

God’s purpose in becoming a man for a time was that we might know Him better. By getting to know the man Jesus, we get better insight into the nature of God. Human beings aren’t easy to figure out, but they’re easier to figure out than figuring out God. After all, we can see human beings…but we can’t see God.

To sum up: “Christ is God” means first and foremost that Jesus explains God. Therefore, the more we know and understand Jesus, the more we know and understand God.

But this is just the beginning of getting to know what “Christ is God” means. The next step is to make sure you and I are on the same page about what those three individual words mean.

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