Liberating you from bad ideas about God
The titles Christ or Messiah refer to someone who has received a special anointing by God to perform a specific task or purpose. Such a definition is true of every anointed person, whether it is a king, a prophet, a priest, or Jesus Himself. This article defines the word Christ and considers John 20:31 and how a proper understanding of the title Christ helps us understand the offer and invitation of the Gospel.
In Romans 9:3, Paul writes that he wishes to be accursed from Christ for his brethren, the Jewish people. Is Paul saying that he wished he could go to hell if it would mean that his Jewish brethren would believe in Jesus and become Christians? I think not, but what do you think?
In Matthew 16 when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, through Peter understood that Jesus was the Christ, he did not understand what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ. The church has been making the same mistake ever since. The Messiah that Jesus rejected is often the Messiah the church proclaims. Peter was rebuked for wanting a Satanic Messiah, and the church has made the same mistake.
Could it be that one of our failures as Christians is that we are looking for a bloody Messiah who will slay the wicked? Does it not seem more likely that the bloodstains on the robes and hands of Jesus are not the spilled blood of His foes, but rather His own blood spilled for them? The Jews were looking for a bloody Messiah and so rejected Jesus. Many Christians today are looking for a bloody Jesus. So are we missing Him also?
A new book is out about Bono, the lead singer for U2. In it, Bono talks about Jesus, religion, and grace. My take? He is right on! If this quote represents Bono’s theology, then this thinking is better than most of what comes from America’s pulpits and seminaries.
In this principle of my chaos theory, I argue that just as Jesus incarnated Himself and appeared guilty on the cross, so also God incarnated Himself in Israelite history and appears guilty. From a human perspective, God appears guilty of horrendous crimes. But Jesus looked guilty on the cross, even though He was innocent. So also with God.
Do the terms “Christ” and “Son of God” refer to the “divinity” or “deity” of Jesus? Not initially. They were common terms which meant something else. A person does not need to believe that Jesus is God to receive eternal life, but why would they believe in Jesus unless they believed Jesus was God?
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