(Hebrews 13:8) Jesus Christ.

 Through the New Testament “Jesus Christ” is mentioned over and over again. However, most Christians assume it is a full name, like Joe Smith. This is not true. This misunderstanding unfortunately has distorted much of our thinking about Jesus and Christian living. Jesus is his name, but Christ in Greek (Messiah in Hebrew) is a title, meaning “The Anointed One,” or more specifically, “The One Anointed by the Holy Spirit.”

When we understand this, it will transform our understanding of the life and ministry of Jesus. Try reading the New Testament, and replace Christ with “The One Anointed by the Holy Spirit.”

From Jesus’ birth to his resurrection, he was fully dependent on the Holy Spirit, not his deity. Mary was told that her baby was from the Holy Spirit.

At his water baptism, the Holy Spirit came down and remained on him. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted. John the Baptist proclaimed the Jesus would baptize us in the Holy Spirit. Throughout his life, he healed and cast out demons by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit led Jesus to the cross (and remained on him while he died and was buried). And the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.

With this overview, now you can better understand what it means for us to be followers of Jesus. It means, like Jesus, being filled and constantly dependent on the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Christianity is not simply attempting to live a moral code, but it is being empowered by the presence of the Spirit of God. If Christ means “The One Anointed by the Holy Spirit,” then Christians mean “Those Anointed by the Holy Spirit.” That is why the Church (the corporate followers of Jesus) is called the “Temple of the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament.

Are you a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit?