Q&A 31 Why is he called "Christ," meaning "anointed"?

Because he has been ordained by God the Father

and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit¹

to be

our chief prophet and teacher²

who perfectly reveals to us

the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance;³

our only high priest⁴

who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body,⁵

and who continually pleads our cause with the Father;⁶

and our eternal king⁷

who governs us by his Word and Spirit,

and who guards us and keeps us

in the freedom he has won for us.⁸

 

¹ Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7)

² Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)

³ John 1:18; 15:15

⁴ Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4)

⁵ Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14

⁶ Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24

⁷ Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9)

⁸ Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11

Q&A 32 But why are you called a Christian?

Because by faith I am a member of Christ¹

and so I share in his anointing.²

I am anointed

to confess his name,³

to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,⁴

to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil

in this life,⁵

and afterward to reign with Christ

over all creation

for all eternity.⁶

 

¹ 1 Cor. 12:12-27

² Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27

³ Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Heb. 13:15

⁴ Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9

⁵ Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18-19

⁶ Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12

 

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