Understanding the Christ

 ^"So He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4,16-19 (NKJV)

This particular article is a sort of continuation to our previous post: The God-dream.

In the opening Scripture, Jesus is basically announcing that He is the Christ.

The prophet Isaiah had talked about the Messiah, the King who would reign on David’s throne.

The word ‘Messiah’ and the word ‘Christ’ actually means the same: THE Anointed One.

It is just that 'Messiah' derives from Hebrew and 'Christ' from Greek; the two languages in which the Scriptures are written. The ‘Old Testament Bible’ was written in Hebrew and the ‘New Testament Bible’ was written in Greek.

In the old times, before the birth of Jesus, many prophets had prophesied about this person: the Messiah, who would come to save people and essentially make all things right (put in simpler words) and that His kingdom would be forever.

Although the title of this article is “Understanding the Christ”, today’s emphasis is actually on the function of the Christ and therefore understanding what it means to be anointed or what the anointing is. Remember Christ means THE Anointed One.

The Christ and the Anointing are two very broad revelations. This is just one aspect of two very fascinating and powerful truths.

The God-dream for each one of us is that we may serve Him.

We were created by Him and for Him. And He has designed for each one of us work to do on this earth.

God told Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion...” (Genesis 1,28). However, all of this was not meant to be fulfilled outside of God. Since the beginning, God desired to be in relationship with mankind. But the type of relationship He desired and still desire is one of love and dependance on Him. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was, in a sense, a rejection of this dependance on God. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3,6 NKJV)

The only problem to eating the fruit of that tree was that they would die consequentially. God had warned them but the serpent tried to dissuade them from believing it. But it was true. They indeed died. They did not immediately die physically but they eventually did. And from that moment, they begun to experience death in different forms.

Because of this situation, God purposed to redeem and restore mankind. And His plan was that He would do it Himself/ He did it Himself. He sent His Son, who was actually the promised “Messiah” and He empowered Him with the Holy Spirit. The three persons (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit) were all involved in this plan.

“And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight!” Luke 3,22 (AMPC)

Jesus was anointed in the Jordan river. This is where the Holy Spirit came upon Him.

In simple terms, when the anointing is mentioned, it refers to the Holy Spirit. It has to do with the Holy Spirit. This terminology of anointing comes from the oil that was poured on individuals in the old times, consecrating them and empowering them to do some specific works. For example, priests, kings, prophets were anointed. It was symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming on them to help them do what is extraordinary.

Now, for us New Testament believers (who live after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ), the Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is in us. This means every believer has an anointing within them. This anointing is to teach them (1 John 2,27 ; John 16,13). Our moral compass is no longer the law (as the written code of commandments), but it is the Holy Spirit. In fact, anybody who is led by the Holy Spirit actually fulfills the law. (Romans 8,3-4) Amazing!

An form of the anointing is the anointing upon. [the main point of this article]

This is what Jesus was referring to when talking to His disciples before ascending to heaven. “While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” (Acts 1,4-5 CSB)

Jesus added: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1,8 NKJV)

Evidences of the anointing includes power and authority. Where there is anointing, there is efficiency and effectiveness.

It is only by the Holy Spirit that we are able to serve God. And to serve Him as He wishes to be served.

Indeed, this kind of anointing: the anointing for serving God, the anointing to fulfill God’s assignment requires humility and obedience. We have such examples: Jesus humbled Himself and was baptized by John even though He had no sin, because the baptism of John was a baptism of repentance. Another example: the disciples obeyed the words of Jesus and stayed in Jerusalem and waited in prayer together.

“I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him” Psalm 89,20

As believers, we are in Christ, the Anointed One.

We are partakers of His anointing.

We are here one earth to establish God’s redemption, restoration and life.

We are the ‘continuation’ of Christ’s work.

Child of God, you have a part in this narrative in some shape or form:

“To preach the gospel [the good news] to the poor;

to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

These things were done in you and for you by the anointing. The next step is that now they are to be done through you for others by the anointing, because Christ is in you.

There is also another form of the anointing: the anointing manifested in an environment. Here it means that the presence of the Holy Spirit is felt in a place. The presence of God is tangible; there are extraordinary experiences of power, of peace, of joy, of strength, of healing, of deliverance, etc.

Beloved of God, the objective of this elaboration is to prompt you to desire to function in the anointing that is already yours and to always increase in dimensions higher. The life of Jesus can be and should be your reality. In fact, to put it rightly, the life of Jesus is your reality.

“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” Isaiah 41,9-10 (NKJV)

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