1 John 4:3 Commentary

Updated: Mon, 12/09/2024 - 11:55 By admin

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INDEX FOR ALL VERSES ON 1 JOHN

FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS CHILDREN
Click chart to enlarge
Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
Another Overview Chart - 1 John - Charles Swindoll

BASIS OF FELLOWSHIP		BEHAVIOR OF FELLOWSHIP
Conditions of Fellowship	Cautions of Fellowship	Fellowship Characteristics	Fellowship Consequences
Meaning of Fellowship 1 Jn 1:1-2:27		Manifestations of Fellowship 1 Jn 2:28-5:21
Abiding in God's Light		Abiding in God's Love
Written in Ephesus
circa 90 AD
From Talk Thru the Bible

GOSPEL OF JOHN	1 JOHN
Written to arouse faith John 20:31	Written to establish assurance of faith 1 John 5:13
Good News Historically	Good News Experientially

STUDY GUIDE
1 JOHN 4

What is this? On the photograph of the Observation Worksheet for this chapter you will find handwritten 5W/H questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?) on each verse to help you either personally study or lead a discussion on this chapter. The questions are generally very simple and are stated in such a way as to stimulate you to observe the text to discern the answer. As a reminder, given the truth that your ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit, begin your time with God with prayer such as Psalm 119:12+ "Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes." (you can vary it with similar prayers - Ps 119:18, 26, 33, 64, 66, 68, 108, 124, 135, 171, etc) The questions are generally highlighted in yellow and the answers in green. Some questions have no answers and are left to your observations and the illuminating/teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some qualifying thoughts - (1) Use "As is" - these are handwritten and will include mistakes I made, etc. (2) They may not be the best question for a given verse and my guess is that on some verses you will think of a far superior 5W/H question and/or many other questions.

Dr Howard Hendricks once gave an assignment to his seminary students to list as many observations as they could from Acts 1:8. He said "So far they’ve come up with more than 600 different ones! Imagine what fun you could have with 600 observations on this passage. Would you like to see Scripture with eyes like that?" (P. 63 Living by the Book - borrow) With practice you can! And needless to say, you will likely make many more observations and related questions than I recorded on the pages below and in fact I pray that the Spirit would indeed lead you to discover a veritable treasure chest of observations and questions! In Jesus' Name. Amen

Why am I doing this? Mortimer Adler among others helped me develop a questioning mindset as I read, seeking to read actively rather than passively. Over the years I have discovered that as I have practiced reading with a 5W/H questioning mindset, it has yielded more accurate interpretation and the good fruit of meditation. In other words, consciously interacting with the inspired Holy Word of God and the illuminating Holy Spirit has honed my ability to meditate on the Scripture, and my prayer is that this tool will have the same impact in your spiritual life. The benefits of meditation are literally priceless in regard to their value in this life and in the life to come (cf discipline yourself for godliness in 1Ti 4:8+.) For some of the benefits - see Joshua 1:8+ and Psalm 1:2-3+. It will take diligence and mental effort to develop an "inductive" (especially an "observational"), interrogative mindset as you read God's Word, but it bears repeating that the benefits in this life and the rewards in the next will make it more than worth the effort you invest! Dear Christian reader let me encourage you to strongly consider learning the skills of inductive Bible study and spending the rest of your life practicing them on the Scriptures and living them out in your daily walk with Christ.

Although Mortimer Adler's advice is from a secular perspective, his words are worth pondering...

Strictly, all reading is active. What we call passive is simply less active. Reading is better or worse according as it is more or less active. And one reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading. (Adler's classic book How to Read a Book is free online)

John Piper adds that "Insight or understanding is the product of intensive, headache-producing meditation on two or three verses and how they fit together. This kind of reflection and rumination is provoked by asking questions of the text. And you cannot do it if you hurry. Therefore, we must resist the deceptive urge to carve notches in our bibliographic gun. Take two hours to ask ten questions of Galatians 2:20+ and you will gain one hundred times the insight you would have attained by reading thirty pages of the New Testament or any other book. Slow down. Query. Ponder. Chew.... (John Dewey rightly said) "People only truly think when they are confronted with a problem. Without some kind of dilemma to stimulate thought, behavior becomes habitual rather than thoughtful.”

“Asking questions is the key to understanding.”
--Jonathan Edwards

That said, below are the 5W/H questions for each verse in this chapter (click page to enlarge). This is not neatly typed but is handwritten and was used for leading a class discussion on this chapter, so you are welcome to use it in this "as is" condition...

1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world:

Greek - kai pan pneuma o me homologei (PAI) ton Iesoun ek tou theou ouk estin (3PAI) kai touto estin (3PAI) to tou antichristou o akekoate (2PPRAP) hoti erchetai (PM/PP) kai nun en to kosmo estin (3PAI) ede:

NET 1 John 4:3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.

GNT 1 John 4:3 καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.

NLT 1 John 4:3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

KJV 1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

ESV 1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

NIV 1 John 4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

ASV 1 John 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.

CSB 1 John 4:3 But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now.

Wuest - and every spirit who does not confess this aforementioned Jesus (agree to the above teaching concerning Him), is not of God. And this is the (spirit) of the Antichrist which you have heard that it comes, and now in the world already is.

1Jn 2:18,22 2Th 2:7,8; 2Jn 1:7
1 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Related Passages:

1 John 2:18+ Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:22+ Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:6+ We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not (ou = absolutely not) listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2 Thessalonians 2:7+ (SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

THE TEST EXPRESSED
NEGATIVELY

Hiebert on 1Jn 4:1-6 - These verses show no close connection with what follows and are best viewed as an elaboration of the reference to “the Spirit which he hath given us” in 1Jn 3:24. The conflict now presented forms the final aspect of the conflicts that mark the Christian life which John has been depicting since 1Jn 2:18. He has already dealt with the conflict between truth and falsehood (1Jn 2:18–28), the conflict between the children of God and the children of the Devil (1Jn 2:29–3:12), and the conflict between love and hatred (1Jn 3:13–24). This section points to the supernatural character of this conflict as ultimately involving “the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” It sets forth the crucial importance of the proclamation of a sound Christology for assurance and victory in the Christian community. (1 John 4:1-6)

And (kai) - And directly ties the negative with the preceding positive aspect of the test (1Jn 4:2+) of the origin of a spirit, so it might be better viewed as introducing a contrast. John continues the explanation of how you can know experientially the spirit with which one speaks is not of God. Hiebert adds that the "and (kai) introduces the negative result that may flow from this testing of the spirits. For a complete picture concerning the spirits, this negative aspect is essential. Failure to recognize this negative fact would expose them to serious deception." (1 John 4:1-6)

Every spirit (pneuma) that does not confess (homologeo in present tense) Jesus (Iesous) is not (ou = absolutely not) from (ek) God (theos) - Every spirit refers to the men who claimed to speak by the Spirit's inspiration (thus spirit is a metonymy for teacher or false prophet who claims to speak by the Holy Spirit but is being influenced by demons). These men did not confess the incarnate Jesus, the human historical figure in the flesh. A denial of Jesus’ full and true humanity proves that such an individual is not from God, that is, his teaching is not from the Spirit of God, but as John goes on to explain is from the spirit of the antichrist, and which he also calls the spirit of error (1Jn 4:6).

It is important to note that both here and in 1Jn 4:6
the Spirit’s role is that of witness to the truth about Jesus Christ.
-- Colin Kruse

ESV Study Bible (BORROW) on every spirit that does not confess Jesus - That is, whoever refuses to acknowledge that Jesus is God the Son, “who has come in the flesh” (1Jn 4:2). Anyone can talk about Jesus and even believe that he lived on earth, as other religions, cults, and philosophies often affirm. But unless such people affirm both the full deity and the full humanity of Jesus, they are not truly “confessing Jesus,” but, as John states in unequivocal terms, they are under the influence of the spirit of the antichrist.

Anyone who separates the human nature from the divine nature
of Jesus Christ speaks without God’s authority.

Simon Kistemaker - Anyone who separates the human nature from the divine nature of Jesus Christ speaks without God’s authority. And anyone who denies either Jesus’ human nature or divine nature “is not from God.” Moreover, anyone who teaches that when Jesus was baptized God gave him a divine spirit, and that this spirit left Jesus when he died on the cross distorts the gospel. And last, whoever says that after Jesus’ death God appointed him Son of God fails to present the truth of God’s Word. All such teachers do not speak as representatives of Jesus Christ, have not been commissioned by God, and are not the mouthpieces of the Spirit of God in this world. (New Testament Commentary - James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Jude)

Hiebert - John’s negative statement “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus” is broader in scope than the positive “every spirit that denies Jesus” would have been. An open denial of “Jesus,” as just set forth, at once establishes such a spirit as “not of God,” not coming from nor proclaiming God’s truth. But John’s negative statement also includes any spirit that seeks to hide its true identity by endeavoring to avoid any discussion of the decisive issue. John knows that what such a spirit refrains from saying about “Jesus” in speaking of His person was also significant. In this epistle John never speaks about Jesus without adding some term to show that He is more than a mere man. (1 John 4:1-6)

THOUGHT - So how should we test all who claim to speak for God today? John is saying we are to ask them what do they they think of Jesus? As Jesus Himself said to the disciples "Who do you say that I am?" I Howard Marshall adds "If a person claims to believe in Jesus, it is proper to ask, “Is your Jesus the real Jesus?”"

Simon Kistemaker says that "Without exception, liberal theologians refuse to accept the biblical doctrine that Jesus Christ always has been, is, and will be the Son of God, that he came from heaven to redeem his people, that he took upon himself our humanity yet remained truly divine, that he rose bodily from the dead and ascended in his glorified body to heaven, and that he will return at God's appointed day in the same body in which he ascended." If you compare the teaching of these theologians with God’s Word, you will notice that their opinions are based on human philosophy and not on Scripture. Ask them what they think of the Christ, then go to your Bible and study the teachings of Scripture (Matt. 16:15+). Then there are the members of sects. In pairs they canvass the neighborhood, ring your doorbell, and announce that they are missionaries—even though they do not carry Bibles. When you listen to them, you soon learn that they do not bring the teaching of Christ. The apostle John advises, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [of Christ], do not take him into your house or welcome him” (2 John 10+). What does John mean? He means that you may receive the members of the sect into your home only when you intend to teach them about Jesus Christ. Tell them that you are happy in the Lord, because he is your Savior; and that you are pleased to introduce them to Jesus Christ. Then you will be a missionary for the Lord and you are in control of the situation. But if you do not intend to teach these visitors about the Lord, receive them not into your home! (New Testament Commentary - James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Jude)

In his second letter John instructs the believers that "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching (What teaching? see 2Jn 1:9 = "the teaching of Christ"), do not receive him into [your] house, and do not give him a greeting." (2Jn 1:10+) Kistemaker adds that John is saying to us today that "you may receive the members of the sect into your home only when you intend to teach them about Jesus Christ."

William Barclay - To be of (from) God a spirit must acknowledge that Jesus has come in the flesh. It was precisely this that the Gnostics could never accept. Since, in their view, matter was altogether evil, a real incarnation was an impossibility, for God could never take flesh upon himself. Augustine was later to say that in the pagan philosophers he could find parallels for everything in the New Testament except for one saying--"The Word became flesh." As John saw it, to deny the complete manhood of Jesus Christ was to strike at the very roots of the Christian faith… Nothing in Christianity is more central than the reality of the manhood of Jesus Christ. (Daily Study Bible)

William MacDonald - There are many today who are willing to say acceptable things about Jesus, but they will not confess Him as God Incarnate. They will say that Christ is “divine,” but not that He is God. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary)

Max Anders adds "This is not the only test a teacher must pass. An eloquent teacher of God’s Word might agree to the divinity and humanity of Jesus, but have other things so out of bounds in his theology that he still might qualify as a false prophet. Jesus himself said that not everyone who called him “Lord” would enter the kingdom." (Mt 7:21+) (See Holman New Testament Commentary)

Gary Derickson writes that "Mormons can say that Jesus came in the flesh, as can Jehovah’s Witnesses. That does not make them orthodox. They fail other tests, primarily those involving the question of Jesus’ deity and eternality. Here John is better understood as giving a sample test rather than limiting this to this single test, though this is an example of how to test the claims and denials of teachers." This test involves discerning, not just what is said but what is not said. Of note is John’s affirmation that they simply “do not confess” Jesus as having come in the flesh. He does not say they deny it. “Heretical teaching can mask the full extent of its deviation from the truth by simply failing to affirm some pivotal biblical truth” (Hodges, 178). (1, 2 & 3 John: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary )

Westcott on confess Jesus - The substance of the confession which has been given in detail in the former verse is gathered up in the single human name of the Lord. To ‘confess Jesus,’ which in the connection can only mean to confess ‘Jesus as Lord’ (1Cor 12:3, Ro. 10:9), is to recognize divine sovereignty in One Who is truly man, or, in other words, to recognize the union of the divine and human in one Person, a truth which finds its only adequate expression in the fact of the Incarnation… It is of interest to notice the two negative signs which St John gives of ‘not being of God.’ In 1Jn 3:10 he writes "anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God." In the case of men the proof of the absence of the divine connection is found in the want of active righteousness: in the case of spirits in the failure to confess the Incarnation. The two tests exactly correspond to one another in the two spheres to which they severally belong. The confession of the Incarnation embodied in life must produce the effort after righteousness which finds its absolute spiritual support in the belief in the Incarnation. (1 John 4 Commentary)

THE SPIRIT
OF ANTICHRIST

Related Passages:

Earlier John wrote "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming (Ed: Referring to the Final world ruler, "The Antichrist"), even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour." (1Jn 2:18+) And remember that these men had identified themselves with the believers before they went out of their midst in 1Jn 2:19+.

2 John 1:7+ For (a term of explanation which forces us to examine the context = 2Jn 1:6) many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ [as] coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."

And this is the spirit of the antichrist (antichristos, NLT capitalizes Antichrist), of which you have heard (akouo - perfect tense) that it is coming (erchomai - present tense), and now it is (present tense) already in the world (kosmos) - The one who does not confess Jesus manifests the spirit of the antichrist (antichristos). HCSB renders it "you have heard he is coming." In context, the (definite article identifies the specific) antichrist refers to the final anti-god world ruler who is known by many names (beast, little horn, man of lawlessness, etc). John's emphasis however is on the spirit of this final Antichrist, the spirit of these men's teachings exhibiting an anti-christ character. These teachings will come to full fruition when the final Antichrist is revealed at the end of this present evil age. The readers had been warned that this antichrist spirit would come into the world and in fact was already present in the world, as evidenced by the men who did not confess Jesus. Failure to confess Jesus was evidence that these men opposed Christ, even as would the final Antichrist.

Every teacher belongs in one of the two categories:
true prophet of the Word or Antichrist.
-- Max Anders

John MacArthur on the spirit of the antichrist - The same demonic deception that will work to produce the final world ruler (see notes on Rev 13:1–8) who rules as the false Christ is always actively seeking to distort Jesus Christ’s true nature, perverting the gospel. The final Antichrist will not be something new, but will be the ultimate embodiment of all the antichrist spirits that have perverted truth and propagated satanic lies since the beginning. (See MacArthur Study Bible - Page 1941)

David Guzik adds on the spirit of the antichrist that "It is the spirit which both opposes the true Jesus and offers a substitute Jesus. The devil doesn’t care at all if you know Jesus or love Jesus or pray to Jesus – as long as it is a false Jesus, a make-believe Jesus, a Jesus who is not there, and who therefore cannot save." (ED: SEE PAUL'S DESCRIPTION OF "ANOTHER JESUS")

What did John mean by saying of which you have heard that it is coming? Even in this letter they had heard of this coming antichrist (1Jn 2:18-27+). In addition, given the fact that the letter of First John was written around 90 AD which means that the Gospel of Matthew and the epistle of 2 Thessalonians would have been available to the church, not to mention OT writings which included the book of Daniel. The point is that all three of these sources gave warnings about a final world ruler which John identified as the Antichrist (See Daniel 9:27+, Matthew 24:15-16+, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5+) The upshot is that since the readers had heard, they should not be surprised or caught off guard by the appearance of these men with the spirit of antichrist.

Hiebert adds that "In 1Jn 2:18+ John reminded them that they had been warned that the Antichrist was coming; here he reminds them that they knew that the spirit of the antichrist also was coming. The perfect tense, “ye have heard,” indicates that these realities were part of the regular Christian teaching concerning the future. (1 John 4:1-6)

And now it is (present tense) already in the world (kosmos) - There is disagreement regarding the interpretation of the world. Some feel the context (especially the anti-God use of kosmos in 1Jn 4:4,5) refers to the part of mankind that is hostile to God and His Christ and under the control of the devil (1Jn 5:19+), while others favor this usage is more neutral and refers to planet earth, the sphere in which we live.

There is a sense of "already not yet" regarding the spirit of antichrist, for this spirit will have its consummation in the end-times political leader known as the Antichrist, the prince who is to come (Da 9:26+), the man of lawlessness (2Th 2:3-4+), the beast (Rev 13:2ff+). The only other place in Scripture where this person is specifically referred to as Antichrist is in 1Jn 2:18+ "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour."

Bob Utley adds that "Like 1Jn 2:18, this phrase (it was coming....already in the world) reflects that the spirit of the antichrists has both already come and will come. These gnostic false teachers form a chain of false information, false lifestyles and false professions through the ages, from the evil one of Genesis 3 to the manifestation of the incarnation of evil and the end-time Antichrist."

Gary Burge compares 1Jn 4:1–3 with 1Jn 2:18–22 noting that “In the first section, having a right relation with the Father leads to a correct view of the Son. In the second, having a right relation with the Spirit leads to a similarly correct view of the Son. In each case the Son is central in all true contacts with God. Jesus Christ is the only point of communication between heaven and earth!” (See The Letters of John - Page 176)

John Stott adds that "Comparing the two passages, 1Jn 2:18–23 and 1Jn 4:1–3 is instructive to observe the difference of emphasis. In chapter 2 our confession or denial of the Son determines whether we possess the Father or not, while in chapter 4, our confession or denial of the Son indicates whether we are inspired by the Spirit or not. The person of Christ is central. No system can be tolerated, however loud its claims or learned its adherents, which denies that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, in other words either his eternal deity or his historical humanity. Those who deny the Son have neither the Father nor the Spirit." (See The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary - Page 155)

Henry Morris gives an excellent summary of the significance of every spirit that does not confess Jesus as having come in the flesh - The supreme test of the spirits, and the teachers whom they influence, is their teaching concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. If, in any way, they try to separate Jesus from "the Christ," denying either the full deity or perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not from God. Some attempt to make Jesus a mere man upon whom "the Christ-spirit" came. Some argue that everyone can be "a Christ" in the same sense Jesus was (See What is the Christ consciousness?). Many deny His miraculous conception, bodily resurrection or both. "Jesus" means "Jehovah our Savior" and "Christ" means "The Anointed One" which means God's anointed prophet, priest and king. Unless Jesus Christ was perfect man, He could not die for our sins. Unless He was God, He could not defeat death and thus could never save us. Any doctrine less than that of Jesus Christ as the God/Man, God and Man perfectly, united in the hypostatic union, is deadly heresy. Further, since He is the Creator and His Spirit inspired the Holy Scriptures, any dilution of the doctrines of special creation and Biblical inerrancy comes dangerously close to heresy and has often led their proponents into outright apostasy. It is thus extremely important to try the spirits to see whether they are of God.

THOUGHT: Do not try to "logically" separate Jesus' Deity from His Humanity! The truth that Jesus is fully God and fully Man at the same time is a divine, glorious mystery, one that is received by faith and not by intellectual reasoning!

David Guzik - The principle of presenting a true Jesus is essential to the testing of spirits. No one who presents a false Jesus, or one untrue to the Scriptures, can be regarded as a true prophet. Today, there is a lot of curiosity about the "true Jesus." (Ed: An example of this genre of false teaching is the Jesus Seminar which sought to "reconstruct the life a the historical Jesus" and was formally disbanded in 2006.) Many modern academics say they want to discover the "true Jesus" and when they say this they often mean, "The true Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Biblical Jesus is make-believe. We need to discover the true Jesus behind the myths of the Bible." Not only is this position ignorant (ignoring the confirmed historical validity of the New Testament) it is also arrogant. Once any academic throws out the historical evidence of the New Testament and other reliable ancient writings, they can only base their understanding of Jesus on their own personal opinion. These academics present their baseless opinions as if they were scholarly facts. (ED: IN SO DOING THEY ARE MANIFESTING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST!) (1 John 4 – Abiding in God and His Love)

Cerinthus, a false teacher of John’s day, denied the Incarnation by teaching that the divine Christ descended on the human Jesus at His baptism and then departed before His crucifixion (1Jn 2:22+). John teaches that Jesus did not merely enter into an already existing human being, but He came as a human being. The Greek tense of the verb has come (1Jn 4:2) and the meaning of the noun flesh indicate that not only did Jesus come as a human being, He was still a human being even as John wrote. God the Son is forever fully God and fully man. He is immortal and has received a resurrected human body that does not age or die. A denial of Jesus’ full and true humanity proves that a teacher is not of God.

CERINTHUS sə rĭn’ thəs (Κήρινθος). Cerinthus is not mentioned in the Bible. He was an early Gnostic who lived at the close of the first Christian cent. According to Irenaeus, he appeared about the year 88, was known to the Apostle John, and it was in refutation of his errors that John wrote his gospel. The apocryphal Epistle of the Apostles, written around the middle of the second cent., lists him with Simon Magus as one of the two “false apostles, concerning whom it is written that no man shall cleave with them.”

Cerinthus was a Jew by race and religion. He studied in Alexandria, appeared in Pal., and was most active in western Asia Minor, spreading his false teaching about the person of Christ. He taught that the world was created, not by God, but by a power far separated from Him; that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary, although he was more righteous, prudent, and wise than other men; that at Jesus’ baptism the Christ descended upon Him in the likeness of a dove, providing Him miraculous powers; that at His death the Christ departed from Him, so that it was only the human Jesus that died and rose again. These views regarding Christ became known as Cerinthianism.

Epiphanius claims that he was the arch-opponent of both Paul and John. There is, however, no evidence that he was active during the ministry of Paul. Irenaeus relates that when the Apostle John went to the bath at Ephesus, upon learning that Cerinthus was there, he fled for fear that the bath should fall to pieces.

Cerinthus reflects a syncretism of Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. He is said to have insisted on the necessity of circumcision and the observance of the Jewish sabbath. He held a rather crude view of the millennium, that the righteous would enjoy a paradise of sensual delights in Pal., and that Jesus, through the power of the divine Logos coming upon Him, would reign as the Messiah for one thousand years.

Paul describes "another Jesus" in his Second letter to the Corinthians…

I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. (2Cor 11:1-4+)

Comment: Paul is using sarcasm in this section in his discussion of false teachers. As Henry Morris says "The fact that a preacher or teacher talks about "Jesus" means little, for false prophets and false teachers have always invoked His name whenever it suited their purposes, and they still do. There are the "buddy" Jesus of country music, the socialist Jesus of liberal theology, the esoteric Jesus of the New Age and the ritualistic Jesus of sacramentalism, but none of these Jesus-figures is the Savior. The true Jesus is the Creator of the universe, the Word made flesh, the one Sacrifice for sins forever, the resurrected Lord and our coming King. There are many evil spirits at large in the world who would seek to counterfeit the Holy Spirit in the believer's experience if they could. We must "try the spirits." Paul warned against believing any man or even any angel who came preaching some other Gospel than the true saving Gospel of Christ which he had preached (Galatians 1:6-9-note). That Gospel includes the fullness of the person and work of Christ, from eternity to eternity. (Defender's Study Bible Notes)

Confess (acknowledges) (3670)(homologeo from homos = one and the same or together with+ lego = to say; confess from con = together, fateor = to say) literally means to say the same thing as another and so to agree with another's statements. As discussed above (see especially Ray Stedman's remarks), this confess is not merely a verbal acknowledgement. Hiebert adds that "The verb “confesseth” (homologei, literally, “is saying the same thing”) denotes not mere verbal acknowledgment but an open and forthright declaration of the message as one’s own position. The present tense marks it as an ongoing acknowledgment, made whenever appropriate. Such a confession is crucial for a vital Christian faith (Rom. 10:9–10; 1 John 2:23; 4:15)."

Bob Utley - The Greek term “confess” is a compound from “the same” and “to speak,” meaning “to say the same thing.” This is a recurrent theme in John (cf. John 1:9; 2:23; 4:2–3; 4:15; John 9:22; 2 John 7). This term implies specific, public, vocal acknowledgment of one’s affirmation of and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ...This was not a minor issue. Jesus is truly one with humanity and one with God.

Marvin Vincent on homologeo - The fundamental idea of confess is that of saying the same thing as another; while profess (pro = forth, fateor = to say) is to declare openly. Hence, to profess Christ is to declare Him publicly as our Lord: to confess Christ is to declare agreement with all that He says. When Christ confesses His followers before the world, He makes a declaration in agreement with what is in His heart concerning them. Similarly, when He declares to the wicked “I never knew you” (“then will I profess”), a similar agreement between His thought and His declaration is implied. The two ideas run into each other, and the Rev. is right in the few cases in which it retains profess, since confess would be ambiguous. See, for example, Titus 1:16+.

NIDNTT notes that in the secular use of homologeo "The legal connotation is dominant. A man agrees with another’s statement, concedes or confesses something (e.g. his guilt before a judge), agrees to something (e.g. another’s wish) and so promises. This agreement expresses itself in an act of commitment, promise, or confession in a court or legal contract. The religious use of the words is probably derived primarily from their use in the language of treaties and the law-courts. The man who binds himself by an oath (homologeo) enters into a treaty relationship with the deity. This concept was then transferred from the solemn confession of wrong-doing before a court of law to the confession of sin to the deity. These concepts were used especially in the oriental cults, as may be seen from Lydian and Phrygian expiatory inscriptions. In modern Gk. the concept has come to mean sacramental confession to a priest: exomologeomai, I make my confession; ōexomologe, I hear a confession. (Click for how to use this online resource - Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology)

From (1537) (ek) a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause, literal or figurative. Out of, from, by," suggesting "the source from which something is done," is sometimes rendered "by means of," e.g., Luke 16:9, RV, "by means of (the mammon of unrighteousness);" AV, "of;" 2 Cor. 1:11, "by (the) means of (many)."

1 John 4 has 8 phrases that begin with "from" (ek) - 1 John 4:1, 1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:3, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 4:5, 1 John 4:6

GINGRICH Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament - EK before vowels ex prep. with genitive (possessive) = from, out of, away from—

1. to denote separation Mt 2:15; 26:27; Mk 16:3; Jn 12:27; 17:15 ; Ac 17:33; Gal 3:13; Rev 14:13; from among Lk 20:35; Acts 3:23.

2. to denote the direction from which something comes from, out from Mt 17:9; Mk 11:20; Lk 5:3; in answer to the question where? at, on Mt 20:21, 23; Ac 2:25, 34.

3. to denote origin, cause, motive reason from, of, by Mt 1:3, 5, 18; Jn 1:13, 46; 1 Cor 7:7; 2 Cor 5:1; Gal 2:15; 4:4; Phil 3:5. Because of, by Mk 7:11; 2 Cor 2:2; Rev 8:11. By reason of, as a result of, because of Lk 12:15; Ac 19:25; Ro 4:2; with Lk 16:9. Of, from of source or material Mt 12:34; J 19:2; 1 Cor 9:13; Rv 18:12. According to, in accordance with Mt 12:37; 2 Cor 8:11, 13. ek toutou for this reason, therefore Jn 6:66. oi` ek nomou partisans of the law Ro 4:14.

4. in periphrasis for the partitive gen. Mt 10:29; 25:2; Lk 11:15, which may even function as subject of a sentence ek t matheton some of the disciples Jn 16:17; used with einai = belong to someone or something Mt 26:73; Ac 21:8; 1 Cor 12:15f. After verbs of filling with Lk 15:16; J n12:3; Rev 8:5. For the gen. of price or value for Mt 20:2; 27:7; Ac 1:18.

5. of time from, from this or that time on Mt 19:12; Mk 10:20; J 9:1, 32; for Lk 23:8; after 2 Pt 2:8.

Antichrist (500)(antichristos from anti = instead of or against + Christos = anointed) conveys one of two main meanings depending on how one interprets the prefix "anti." Anti can mean in lieu of, in place of, over against, opposite, instead of, and in comparisons it denotes contrast, substitution. John "defines" an Antichrist as anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ (1Jn 2:22+). See much more in depth discussion in comments on 1 John 2:18 regarding antichristos. See Comparison of Christ and Antichrist. See also John MacArthur's discussion of Antichrist - Christians and Antichrists, Part 1

QUESTION - How can Jesus be both God and man at the same time? WATCH VIDEO

ANSWER - The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is both God and man. Many Christians are understandably confused when it comes to understanding how Jesus can be God and man at the same time. How could our divine Creator become a human? Could a first-century Jewish man really be God? While a certain amount of mystery will always accompany this issue, both Scripture and, to a lesser extent, church tradition provide for us important distinctions to help us make sense of this matter.

While previous church councils had deliberated over issues pertaining to the nature of Christ and His relationship to the Father, it was the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) that affirmed that Christ is “the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man.” This statement is not true simply because the council taught it. Rather, the council’s declaration was authoritative only insofar as it aligned with what the Bible teaches on the subject. Scripture is clear that Jesus is God (John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8), and it is equally clear that He is truly human (Romans 1:2–4; 1 John 4:2–3). Jesus claimed the divine name (John 8:58) and did things that only God can do (Mark 2:1–12; Luke 7:48–50). But Jesus also displayed the weaknesses and vulnerabilities common to humanity (Luke 19:41; John 19:28).

The belief that Jesus is both God and man is of fundamental importance. The apostle Paul wrote that an affirmation of the divinity of Jesus is required to be saved (Romans 10:9), and the apostle John provided a sober warning that those who deny Christ’s true humanity are promoting the doctrine of antichrist (2 John 1:7).

The Triune God of the Bible has existed and reigned from all eternity, and the second Person of the Trinity, the Son, took on human flesh at a particular point in time (Luke 1:35; Hebrews 1:5). God the Son added a sinless human nature to His eternally existent divine nature. The result was the Incarnation. God the Son became a man (John 1:1, 14). Hebrews 2:17 gives the reason that Jesus had to be both God and man: “He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” The Son of God took on human flesh to provide redemption to those under the law (Galatians 4:4–5).

At no time did Jesus ever cease to be God. Although He was made fully human, there was never a point when He abrogated His divine nature (see Luke 6:5, 8). It is equally true that, after becoming incarnate, the Son has never ceased to be human. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, emphasis added). Jesus is not half-human and half-divine. Rather, He is Theanthropos, the God-man. The Lord Jesus Christ is one eternally divine Person who will forever possess two distinct yet inseparable natures: one divine and one human.

QUESTION - What is the hypostatic union?

ANSWER - The hypostatic union is the term used to describe how God the Son, Jesus Christ, took on a human nature, yet remained fully God at the same time. Jesus always had been God (John 8:58, 10:30), but at the incarnation Jesus became a human being (John 1:14). The addition of the human nature to the divine nature is Jesus, the God-man. This is the hypostatic union, Jesus Christ, one Person, fully God and fully man.

Jesus’ two natures, human and divine, are inseparable. Jesus will forever be the God-man, fully God and fully human, two distinct natures in one Person. Jesus’ humanity and divinity are not mixed, but are united without loss of separate identity. Jesus sometimes operated with the limitations of humanity (John 4:6, 19:28) and other times in the power of His deity (John 11:43; Matthew 14:18-21). In both, Jesus’ actions were from His one Person. Jesus had two natures, but only one personality.

The doctrine of the hypostatic union is an attempt to explain how Jesus could be both God and man at the same time. It is ultimately, though, a doctrine we are incapable of fully understanding. It is impossible for us to fully understand how God works. We, as human beings with finite minds, should not expect to totally comprehend an infinite God. Jesus is God’s Son in that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But that does not mean Jesus did not exist before He was conceived. Jesus has always existed (John 8:58, 10:30). When Jesus was conceived, He became a human being in addition to being God (John 1:1, 14).

Jesus is both God and man. Jesus has always been God, but He did not become a human being until He was conceived in Mary. Jesus became a human being in order to identify with us in our struggles (Hebrews 2:17) and, more importantly, so that He could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Philippians 2:5-11). In summary, the hypostatic union teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, that there is no mixture or dilution of either nature, and that He is one united Person, forever.

Related Resources:

QUESTION - What is the Jesus Seminar? | GotQuestions.org

ANSWER - The "Jesus Seminar" was begun by New Testament "scholar" Robert Funk in the 1970s. It was Funk’s desire to rediscover the "historical Jesus" that was hidden, he believed, behind almost 2,000 years of Christian traditions, myths, and legends. The Jesus Seminar was created to examine the biblical gospels and other early Christian literature to discover who Jesus truly was and what He truly said. The Jesus Seminar was (and still is) comprised almost entirely of individuals who deny the inspiration, authority, and inerrancy of the Bible. The agenda of the Jesus Seminar is not to discover who the historical Jesus was. Rather, the purpose of the Jesus Seminar is to attack what the Bible clearly says about who Jesus is and what He taught.

The crowning publication of the Jesus Seminar is a work that goes through the four biblical gospels and the gospel of Thomas and proceeds to determine what Jesus truly said and taught. It divides Jesus’ words from the gospels into categories based on how likely it is that Jesus truly said them. Words in red indicate words that Jesus most likely said. Words in pink represent words that Jesus possibly said. Words in gray indicate words that Jesus likely did not say, but are close to what He might have said. Words in black represent words that Jesus definitely did not say. It is interesting to note that in this work from the Jesus Seminar there are more words in black than in red, pink, and gray combined. Almost the entire gospel of John is in black. It is also interesting that the gospel of Thomas is given a significantly higher percentage of red and pink words than the biblical gospels. It is absolutely ridiculous, even offensive, to think that a group of "scholars" today can more accurately determine what Jesus did and did not say than the authors of the gospels, who wrote in the same century in which Jesus lived, taught, died, and was resurrected.

The "scholars" of the Jesus Seminar do not believe in the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the miracles of Christ, or the substitutionary atonement death of Christ. Perhaps most significantly, they deny that the Holy Spirit is the author of all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17), having moved the minds and hands of all the writers (2 Peter 1:20-21). Since the Jesus Seminar does not believe these Christian doctrines, they relegate anything that Jesus says in support of them as "black." Essentially, the agenda of the Jesus Seminar is, "I do not believe Jesus is God, so I am going to remove anything that records Jesus saying or teaching that He is God from the gospels." The claim that the purpose of the Jesus Seminar is to "discover the historical Jesus" is false and misleading. The true purpose of the Jesus Seminar is to promote the Jesus that the Jesus Seminar believes in instead of the Jesus of the Bible.

See Wikipedia discussion on the Jesus Seminar

GREEK & HEBREW WORD STUDIES:
JESUS, CHRIST, JOSHUA, MESSIAH

Jesus (2424)(Iesous) is transliteration of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Jehoshua (Yehoshua) or Jeshua (Yeshua) which mean Jehovah is help or Jehovah is salvation. Stated another way the Greek Iesous corresponds to the OT Jehoshua (Yehoshua) which is contracted as Jeshua (Yeshua).

NET Note on Jesus - The Greek form of the name Iēsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “LORD” in the OT).

As discussed below, most of the NT uses of Iesous refer to our Lord Jesus. In the Gospels the single Name Jesus (Iesous) is used as His personal Name and is found 538 times. In the Epistles Jesus is usually (but not always - e.g., Ro 3:26; 4:24; 1Cor 12:3; 2Cor 11:4; Phil 2:10; 1Th 4:14; Heb 7:22; 10:19, etc) used in combination with Christ or Lord (see next paragraph). Jesus is known by Christ alone some 44 times in the Gospels.

Looking at the entire NT we find Jesus in several combinations…

Jesus Christ (137x in 134v)
Christ Jesus (91x in 86v) All except one use (Acts 24:24) are by Paul.
Lord Jesus Christ (63x in 63v).
Lord Jesus (without Christ) (38x in 38v)
Jesus the Christ occurs in Acts 3:20.
Jesus is the Christ (Acts 9:22, cp Acts 17:3).
Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:5, 28).
Jesus Christ the Nazarene (Acts 4:10).
Jesus Christ our Lord (Ro 1:4)

After Paul was saved "immediately he began to proclaim Jesus (Textus Receptus - KJV has "preached Christ" in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." (Acts 9:20)

One of my favorite (older) choruses is Jesus, Name Above All Names - YouTube

Jesus, Name above all names,
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.
Emanuel, God is with us,
Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

As an aside the reader should realize that any attempt to "define" Iesous is fraught with huge gaps, for this Name (when applied to our Lord Jesus Christ) is indeed "the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth" (Php 2:9-11+) and "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other Name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12+) Indeed, His very Name "Iesous" conveys His supreme purpose for coming to earth -- to save men dead in their trespasses and sins (Mt 1:21+) Our goal should be to "fix our eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfecter of faith." (Heb 12:2)

Easton's Bible Dictionary has a good summary of the origin of the name Jesus - "This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (means "salvation") (Nu 13:8,16 ), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Yehoshua) (Nu 13:16; 1Chr 7:27 ) or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua (Yeshua), whence the Greek form Jesus. It was given to our Lord to denote the object of his mission, to save (Matthew 1:21)."

(1) As noted above, most NT uses of Iesous refer to Jesus which is the Name the Father directed the angel of the Lord to give to Joseph so that His Name would clearly testify to His Mission - "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." (Mt 1:21)

Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know,
And He's just the same
as His lovely name.
And that's the reason why I love Him so;
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
-Lela B Long

Matthew in the first verse of the NT uses the Name Jesus writing "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Mt 1:1) and then he explicitly writes of "Jesus Who is called Christ." (Mt 1:16) and proceeds to describe "the birth of Jesus Christ." (Mt 1:18) Clearly Matthew wants to make certain that this Jesus is not any Jesus (and it was a relatively common Jewish name at the time), but that He was the prophesied Christos or Messiah of the Old Testament.

Most authorities interpret the combination Name "Jesus Christ" as an implicit reference to His humanity (Jesus) and His divinity (Christ). In Christ (Christos) we also see that He is the Anointed of God, to Israel, its Messiah.

(2) Iesous is translated as Joshua, Moses successor (Acts 7:45, Heb 4:8).

(3) Iesous was a relatively common name among the Jews in the first century and Paul mentions a man named Jesus who was apparently a believer in Jesus! (Col 4:11 = Jesus who is called Justus [a non-Semitic name]").

NIDNTT notes that "Reverence for the Name Jesus had as its logical outcome—and that very rapidly—the almost general renunciation on the part of Christians of its further secular use. But it is no less significant that by the end of the 1st cent. the name Jesus had become uncommon as a personal name among the Jews too. In its place the OT name Yehôšûa‘ reappeared with a wide distribution, accompanied by Iasōn as the Gk. equivalent among the Jews of the dispersion among whom, in the course of assimilation, the name had already been taken up for a long time (cf. Aristeas 49; Josephus Ant. 12, 10, 6). In the same context belongs the fact that Talmudic Judaism soon accustomed itself, when it was obliged to name Jesus of Nazareth, to referring to him as Yešû and not as Yēšua‘. Although the reason for this may lie in the purely external fact that the Christians referred to their Lord as Yešû (giving up the a‘ of the basic Heb. form), it is also an expression, not only of Jewish antipathy, but also of how far this name, among all names, had become unique to the Christians." (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology)

(4) Iesous refers to another "Joshua" in Lk 3:29, the son of Eliezer and in the line of the Messiah.

(5) Iesous as the first name of Barabbas (this ISBE article also discusses the name "Iesous" for Barabbas) - A number of resources note that there is some evidence that Barabbas' first name was Jesus. And so the highly respected New English Translation (NET) uses Jesus twice with Barabbas -- "At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. (Mt 27:16-17) The NET Note says that " Although the external evidence for the inclusion of “Jesus” before “Barabbas” (in vv. 16 and 17) is rather sparse, being restricted virtually to the Caesarean text (Θ f1 700* pc sys), the omission of the Lord’s name in apposition to “Barabbas” is such a strongly motivated reading that it can hardly be original. There is no good explanation for a scribe unintentionally adding Iēsoun before Barabban, especially since Barabbas is mentioned first in each verse (thus dittography is ruled out). Further, the addition of ton legomenon Christon, “who is called Christ”) to Iēsoun in Mt 27:17 makes better sense if Barabbas is also called “Jesus” (otherwise, a mere “Jesus” would have been a sufficient appellation to distinguish the two)… (Note on Mt 27:17) Again, as in Mt 27:16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ f1 700* pc sys Ormss (Θ 700* lack the article ton before Barabban). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as original in the previous verse applies here as well." Interesting! I suppose we will find out the answer we see our Lord some day! The NIDNTT adds that "There are fairly clear indications that even Barabbas, the Zealot between whom and Jesus Pilate asked the people to choose, had Jesus as his first name. "

Stephen Renn gives a more "descriptive" definition of Iesous by referring to the uses of this Name in specific passages - The angel of the Lord revealed this name directly to his mother Mary (cf. Mt 1:21).

The name Jesus Christ is found in a number of settings, such as in the genealogical listings of his Davidic ancestry (cf. Mt 1: 1); in significant events of his earthly life including his birth (cf. Mt 1:18); and as a formal introduction to His person at the beginning of the majority of New Testament books outside the gospels. In other contexts, the name Iesous Christos is associated with His person and work. For example, Jn 1:17 describes Jesus Christ as the source of grace and truth. See also Ro 5:15, 17, 21; 6:23; Gal. 2:16; Php. 1:11. References to Jesus’ divine authority and power are found in relation to forgiveness (Acts 2:38); and in association with his miracles (Acts 3: 6; 4:10; 16:18). Ro 6:11 declares Jesus Christ to be the sole means of gaining a personal relationship with God. He is the Lord of the universe (Php. 3:20) and the Lord of glory (Jas 2:1). The goal of sanctification and its realization in the lives of believers are bound up with the person of Jesus Christ. He is also declared, for example, to be co-creator with God (1Co. 8: 6); the founder of our faith (1Co. 3:11; Eph. 2:20); the one who rose from the dead (2Ti. 2: 8; 1Pe. 1: 3; 3:21); our great high priest (1Pe. 2:5); the ruler of the heavenly kingdom (2Pe 1:11); the full incarnation of God in human form (1Jn 4:2; 2Jn 1:7); the one whose blood cleanses his people from all their sin (1Jn 1: 7). The above list is by no means exhaustive. Use of the name Iesous by itself, especially in the Gospels, usually designates the activity and actions of our Lord during his earthly life. The Name “Jesus” occurs approximately six hundred times in the four gospels. Other New Testament occurrences of “Jesus” refer to aspects of his person and work. For example, Acts 1:11 affirms that the risen Jesus will return to earth in the same way he left to ascend into heaven. “Jesus” is the authoritative name under heaven before whom all people will one day bow (cf. Php. 2:10). Jesus is declared to be the Savior of the world (Acts 13:23; 1Th. 1:10); and a man attested by God with mighty works and signs (Acts 2:22; 10:38). He is also said to be the Christ (Acts 5:42; 17:33; 18:28); the crucified Christ (Acts 2:36); the risen Christ in heaven (Acts 7:55). References to Jesus as Lord are found in Acts 19:13; 20:21; Ro 4:24; 1Th. 4: 1. Jesus is also identified as our high priest (Heb. 4:14; 6:20); as the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22); as the mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:24); and as the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12: 2). These references form an extensive, though not exhaustive, listing of the name of “Jesus” in the New Testament. (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words- Word Studies for Key English Bible Words)

QUESTION - What is the meaning of the name Jesus? (WATCH VIDEO)

ANSWER - If ever a name was packed with significance, it is the name Jesus. Scripture says Jesus has been given “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:9–10, CSB). Why is our Lord’s name so powerful? What does the name Jesus mean?

The name Jesus, announced to Joseph and Mary through the angels (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31), means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” Transliterated from Hebrew and Aramaic, the name is Yeshua. This word is a combination of Ya, an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of Israel’s God (Exodus 3:14); and the verb yasha, meaning “rescue,” “deliver,” or “save.”

The English spelling of the Hebrew Yeshua is Joshua. But when translated from Hebrew into Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament, the name Yeshua becomes Iēsous. In English, Iēsous becomes Jesus. Thus, Yeshua and, correspondingly, Joshua and Jesus mean “Yahweh saves” or “the Lord is salvation.”

The name Jesus was quite popular in first-century Judea. For this reason, our Lord was often called “Jesus of Nazareth,” distinguishing Him by His childhood home, the town of Nazareth in Galilee (Matthew 21:11; Mark 1:24; Luke 18:37; John 1:45; John 19:19; Acts 2:22). Despite its commonness, the name Jesus is remarkably significant. Jesus was sent by God for a particular purpose, and His personal name bears witness to that mission. Just as the Yeshua/Joshua in the Old Testament led his people to victory over the Canaanites, the Yeshua/Jesus in the New Testament led His people to victory over sin and their spiritual enemies.

Galatians 4:4–5 says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” God sent Jesus to save us (John 3:17). The meaning of Jesus’ name—“Yahweh saves”—reveals His mission (to save and deliver) and His identity as Savior of the world. At the same time, the commonness of Jesus’ name underscores His humanity and humility. The Son of God emptied Himself of His glory to become a humble man (Philippians 2:6–8). The Lexham Survey of Theology eloquently captures this dual significance in the name Jesus: “He was, from one angle, ‘just another Joshua,’ and yet, in another sense, he was the true Joshua—the one who would live up to the meaning of this name in ways that no others could.”

The name of Jesus is important because of its meaning and because of whom it represents. There is power and authority in the person of Christ Jesus, and, of course, the person is designated by the name. More so than with other names, we associate the name of Jesus with His distinctive character, quality, and work, as seen in the following biblical truths:

Salvation is in the name of Jesus alone: “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11–12; see also John 14:6; 20:31; Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 John 2:12).

Forgiveness of sins is received through the name of Jesus: “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43; see also 22:16).

Believers are baptized in the name of Jesus: “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38; see also Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:12,15–16; 10:48; 19:5).

Healing and miracles were performed in the name of Jesus: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (Acts 3:16; see also Acts 3:6–8 and Acts 4:30).

Jesus teaches believers to pray in His name; that is, to pray, in His authority, the type of prayer that He would pray: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13–14; see also Jn 15:16; 16:23–24).

In every way, Jesus lives up to His name. The name Jesus reminds us of the power, presence, and purpose of the risen Christ. It assures us that God’s gracious intention is to save us. Our Lord Jesus brought God to humanity and now brings humans to God through the salvation He purchased. In the Bible, when people spoke or acted in the name of Jesus, they did so as the Lord’s representatives with His authority. The very life of the believer is to be lived in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17) and by doing so bring glory to God: “We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:12).

Related Resources:

Marvin Vincent has a lengthy note on Jesus -

The Greek form of a Hebrew name, which had been borne by two illustrious individuals in former periods of the Jewish history—Joshua, the successor of Moses, and Jeshua, the high-priest, who with Zerubbabel took so active a part in the re-establishment of the civil and religious polity of the Jews on their return from Babylon. Its original and full form is Jehoshua, becoming by contraction Joshua or Jeshua. Joshua, the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was originally named Hoshea (saving), which was altered by Moses into Jehoshua (Jehovah (our) Salvation) (Num. 13:16). The meaning of the name, therefore, finds expression in the title Saviour, applied to our Lord (Luke 1:47; 2:11; John 4:42).

Joshua, the son of Nun, is a type of Christ in his office of captain and deliverer of his people, in the military aspect of his saving work (Apoc. 19:11–16). As God’s revelation to Moses was in the character of a law-giver, his revelation to Joshua was in that of the Lord of Hosts (Josh. 5:13, 14). Under Joshua the enemies of Israel were conquered, and the people established in the Promised Land. So Jesus leads his people in the fight with sin and temptation. He is the leader of the faith which overcomes the world (Heb. 12:2). Following him, we enter into rest.

The priestly office of Jesus is foreshadowed in the high-priest Jeshua, who appears in the vision of Zechariah (ch. 3; compare Ezra 2:2) in court before God, under accusation of Satan, and clad in filthy garments. Jeshua stands not only for himself, but as the representative of sinning and suffering Israel. Satan is defeated. The Lord rebukes him, and declares that he will redeem and restore this erring people; and in token thereof he commands that the accused priest be clad in clean robes and crowned with the priestly mitre.

Thus in this priestly Jeshua we have a type of our “Great High-Priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and in all points tempted and tried like as we are;” confronting Satan in the wilderness; trying conclusions with him upon the victims of his malice—the sick, the sinful, and the demon-ridden. His royal robes are left behind. He counts not “equality with God a thing to be grasped at,” but “empties himself,” taking the “form of a servant,” humbling himself and becoming “obedient even unto death” (Philip. 2:6, 7, Rev.). He assumes the stained garments of our humanity. He who “knew no sin” is “made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). He is at once priest and victim. He pleads for sinful man before God’s throne. He will redeem him. He will rebuke the malice and cast down the power of Satan. He will behold him “as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). He will raise and save and purify men of weak natures, rebellious wills, and furious passions—cowardly braggarts and deniers like Peter, persecutors like Saul of Tarsus, charred brands—and make them witnesses of his grace and preachers of his love and power. His kingdom shall be a kingdom of priests, and the song of his redeemed church shall be, “unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his own blood, and made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:5, 6, in Rev.).

It is no mere fancy which sees a suggestion and a foreshadowing of the prophetic work of Jesus in the economy of salvation, in a third name closely akin to the former. Hoshea, which we know in our English Bible as Hosea, was the original name of Joshua (compare Rom. 9:25, Rev.) and means saving. He is, in a peculiar sense, the prophet of grace and salvation, placing his hope in God’s personal coming as the refuge and strength of humanity; in the purification of human life by its contact with the divine. The great truth which he has to teach is the love of Jehovah to Israel as expressed in the relation of husband, an idea which pervades his prophecy, and which is generated by his own sad domestic experience. He foreshadows Jesus in his pointed warnings against sin, his repeated offers of divine mercy, and his patient, forbearing love, as manifested in his dealing with an unfaithful and dissolute wife, whose soul he succeeded in rescuing from sin and death (Hosea 1–3.). So long as he lived, he was one continual, living prophecy of the tenderness of God toward sinners; a picture of God’s love for us when alien from him, and with nothing in us to love. The faithfulness of the prophetic teacher thus blends in Hosea, as in our Lord, with the compassion and sympathy and sacrifice of the priest.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament- Abridged in One Volume (TDNT) - The name Iēsoús expresses Christ’s humanity. He goes by this name and is addressed and discussed by it. To distinguish Him from others who bear it, we find such additions as “from Nazareth of Galilee” (Mt. 21:11) or “the son of David” (Mk. 10:47-48) (cf. also Mk. 1:24; Mt. 27:37; Jn. 18:5, etc.). The Christian community confesses this Iēsoús as the prince of life (Acts 3:15), as the Christ of God, as Lord and Savior, and as God’s Son. But it makes no separation between Iēsoús and ho kýrios; Iēsoús is himself the one whom God has made both Lord and Judge (cf. Phil. 2:7; Gal. 3:1; Acts 17:31). In the Synoptic Gospels and Acts the simple Iēsoús is commonly used, though we also find ho kýrios (e.g., in Luke) and such fixed expressions as Iēsoús Christós and ho kýrios (kurios) Iēsoús Christós ("the Lord Jesus Christ"). In the rest of the NT, however, the simple Iēsoús is rare. Paul has it mostly when thinking of Christ’s life and death, as in 1Th 4:14; 2Cor. 4:11-13.; Php 2:10.

New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology - Iēsous is the Greek form of the OT Jewish name Yēšua’, arrived at by transcribing the Hebrew and adding an -s to the nom. to facilitate declension. Yēšua‘ (Joshua) seems to have come into general use about the time of the Babylonian exile in place of the older Yehôšûa‘. The LXX rendered both the ancient and more recent forms of the name uniformly as Iēsous. Joshua the son of Nun, who according to the tradition was Moses’ successor and completed his work in the occupation of the promised land by the tribes of Israel, appears under this name (cf. Ex 17:8–16; 24:13; 32:17; 33:11; Nu 11:27ff.; 13:8; 14:6–9, 30–38; 27:18; 21ff.; Dt. 31:3, 7, 8, 14f., 23; 34:9; and the Book of Joshua. It is the oldest name containing the divine name Yahweh, and means “Yahweh is help” or “Yahweh is salvation” (cf. the verb yasa'’, help, save). Joshua also appears in one post-exilic passage in the Hebrew OT (Neh 8:17) as Yēšua‘ the son of Nun, and not as in the older texts, Yehôšûa‘.

Marvin Vincent on Iesous - The Greek form of a Hebrew name, which had been borne by two illustrious individuals in former periods of the Jewish history - Joshua, the successor of Moses, and Jeshua, the high-priest, who with Zerubbabel took so active a part in the re-establishment of the civil and religious polity of the Jews on their return from Babylon. Its original and full form is Jehoshua, becoming by contraction Joshua or Jeshua. Joshua, the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was originally named Hoshea (saving) which was altered by Moses into Jehoshua (Jehovah (our Salvation) (Nu 13:16). The meaning of the name, therefore, finds expression in the title Saviour, applied to our Lord (Lk 1:47; Lk 2:11; Jn 4:42).

Joshua, the son of Nun, is a type of Christ in his office of captain and deliverer of his people, in the military aspect of his saving work (Rev 19:11-16). As God's revelation to Moses was in the character of a law-giver, his revelation to Joshua was in that of the Lord of Hosts (Josh 5:13, Joshua 5:14). Under Joshua the enemies of Israel were conquered, and the people established in the Promised Land. So Jesus leads his people in the fight with sin and temptation. He is the leader of the faith which overcomes the world (Heb 12:2). Following him, we enter into rest.

The priestly office of Jesus is foreshadowed in the high-priest Jeshua, who appears in the vision of Zechariah (Zechariah 3:1-10; compare Ezra 2:2) in court before God, under accusation of Satan, and clad in filthy garments. Jeshua stands not only for himself, but as the representative of sinning and suffering Israel. Satan is defeated. The Lord rebukes him, and declares that he will redeem and restore this erring people; and in token thereof he commands that the accused priest be clad in clean robes and crowned with the priestly mitre.

Thus in this priestly Jeshua we have a type of our “Great High-Priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and in all points tempted and tried like as we are;” confronting Satan in the wilderness; trying conclusions with him upon the victims of his malice - the sick, the sinful, and the demon-ridden. His royal robes are left behind. He counts not “equality with God a thing to be grasped at,” but “empties himself,” taking the “form of a servant,” humbling himself and becoming “obedient even unto death” (Philemon 2:6, Philemon 2:7, Rev.). He assumes the stained garments of our humanity. He who “knew no sin” is “made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2Corinthians 5:21). He is at once priest and victim. He pleads for sinful man before God's throne. He will redeem him. He will rebuke the malice and cast down the power of Satan. He will behold him” as lightning fall from heaven” (Lk 10:18). He will raise and save and purify men of weak natures, rebellious wills, and furious passions - cowardly braggarts and deniers like Peter, persecutors like Saul of Tarsus, charred brands - and make them witnesses of his grace and preachers of his love and power. His kingdom shall be a kingdom of priests, and the song of his redeemed church shall be, “unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his own blood, and made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:5, 1:6).

It is no mere fancy which sees a suggestion and a foreshadowing of the prophetic work of Jesus in the economy of salvation, in a third name closely akin to the former. Hoshea, which we know in our English Bible as Hosea, was the original name of Joshua (compare Romans 9:25, Rev.) and means saving. He is, in a peculiar sense, the prophet of grace and salvation, placing his hope in God's personal coming as the refuge and strength of humanity; in the purification of human life by its contact with the divine. The great truth which he has to teach is the love of Jehovah to Israel as expressed in the relation of husband, an idea which pervades his prophecy, and which is generated by his own sad domestic experience. He foreshadows Jesus in his pointed warnings against sin, his repeated offers of divine mercy, and his patient, forbearing love, as manifested in his dealing with an unfaithful and dissolute wife, whose soul he succeeded in rescuing from sin and death (Hosea 1-3). So long as he lived, he was one continual, living prophecy of the tenderness of God toward sinners; a picture of God's love for us when alien from him, and with nothing in us to love. The faithfulness of the prophetic teacher thus blends in Hosea, as in our Lord, with the compassion and sympathy and sacrifice of the priest." (Vincent)

Josephus on Jesus: (Note that the this Jewish man calls Jesus "Christ" and speaks of His crucifixion and then His resurrection!) Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, (A.D. 33, April 3) those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; (April 5) as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3)

Jesus - The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Jesus Christ - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
Why is Jesus often called "Jesus of Nazareth"? (Mt 26:71, Mk 1:24, Lk 4:34, 18:37, Jn 1:45)

Iesous - 917x in 878v in the NT (NAS) -

Mt 1:1, 16, 18, 21, 25; 2:1; 3:13, 15f; 4:1, 7, 10, 17; 7:28; 8:4, 10, 13f, 18, 20, 22, 34; 9:2, 4, 9f, 15, 19, 22f, 27f, 30, 35; 10:5; 11:1, 4, 7, 25; 12:1, 15; 13:1, 34, 53, 57; 14:1, 12f, 16, 27, 29, 31; 15:1, 21, 28f, 32, 34; 16:6, 8, 13, 17, 21, 24; 17:1, 4, 7ff, 17ff, 22, 25f; 18:1, 22; 19:1, 14, 18, 21, 23, 26, 28; 20:17, 22, 25, 30, 32, 34; 21:1, 6, 11f, 16, 21, 24, 27, 31, 42; 22:1, 18, 29, 41; 23:1; 24:1, 4; 26:1, 4, 6, 10, 17, 19, 26, 31, 34, 36, 49ff, 55, 57, 59, 63f, 69, 71, 75; 27:1, 11, 16f, 20, 22, 26f, 37, 46, 50, 54f, 57f; 28:5, 9f, 16, 18; Mark 1:1, 9, 14, 17, 24f; 2:5, 8, 15, 17, 19; 3:7; 5:6f, 15, 20f, 27, 30, 36; 6:4, 30; 8:27; 9:2, 4f, 8, 23, 25, 27, 39; 10:5, 14, 18, 21, 23f, 27, 29, 32, 38f, 42, 47, 49ff; 11:6f, 22, 29, 33; 12:17, 24, 29, 34f; 13:2, 5; 14:6, 18, 27, 30, 48, 53, 55, 60, 62, 67, 72; 15:1, 5, 15, 34, 37, 43; 16:6, 8, 19; Luke 1:31; 2:21, 27, 43, 52; 3:21, 23, 29; 4:1, 4, 8, 12, 14, 34f; 5:8, 10, 12, 19, 22, 31, 34; 6:3, 9, 11; 7:3f, 6, 9, 40; 8:28, 30, 35, 39ff, 45f, 50; 9:33, 36, 41f, 47, 50, 58, 62; 10:29f, 37; 13:12, 14; 14:3; 17:13, 17; 18:16, 19, 22, 24, 37f, 40, 42; 19:3, 5, 9, 35; 20:8, 34; 22:47f, 51f; 23:8, 20, 25f, 28, 34, 42, 46, 52; 24:3, 15, 19; John 1:17, 29, 36ff, 42f, 45, 47f, 50; 2:1ff, 7, 11, 13, 19, 22, 24; 3:3, 5, 10, 22; 4:1f, 6f, 10, 13, 17, 21, 26, 34, 44, 47f, 50, 53f; 5:1, 6, 8, 13ff, 19; 6:1, 3, 5, 10f, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29, 32, 35, 42f, 53, 61, 64, 67, 70; 7:1, 6, 14, 16, 21, 28, 33, 37, 39; 8:1, 6, 10ff, 14, 19, 25, 28, 31, 34, 39, 42, 49, 54, 58f; 9:3, 11, 14, 35, 37, 39, 41; 10:6f, 23, 25, 32, 34; 11:4f, 9, 13f, 17, 20f, 23, 25, 30, 32f, 35, 38ff, 44, 46, 51, 54, 56; 12:1, 3, 7, 9, 11f, 14, 16, 21ff, 30, 35f, 44; 13:1, 7f, 10, 21, 23, 25ff, 29, 31, 36, 38; 14:6, 9, 23; 16:19, 31; 17:1, 3; 18:1f, 4f, 7f, 11f, 15, 19f, 22f, 28, 32ff, 36f; 19:1, 5, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18ff, 23, 25f, 28, 30, 33, 38, 40, 42; 20:2, 12, 14ff, 19, 21, 24, 26, 29ff; 21:1, 4f, 7, 10, 12ff, 17, 20ff, 25; Acts 1:1, 11, 14, 16, 21; 2:22, 32, 36, 38; 3:6, 13, 20; 4:2, 10, 13, 18, 27, 30, 33; 5:30, 40, 42; 6:14; 7:45, 55, 59; 8:12, 16, 35; 9:5, 17, 20, 27, 34; 10:36, 38, 48; 11:17, 20; 13:23, 33; 15:11, 26; 16:7, 18, 31; 17:3, 7, 18; 18:5, 25, 28; 19:4f, 13, 15, 17; 20:21, 24, 35; 21:13; 22:8; 24:24; 25:19; 26:9, 15; 28:23, 31; Rom 1:1, 4, 6ff; 2:16; 3:22, 24, 26; 4:24; 5:1, 11, 15, 17, 21; 6:3, 11, 23; 7:25; 8:1f, 11, 34, 39; 10:9; 13:14; 14:14; 15:5f, 16f, 30; 16:3, 20, 25, 27; 1 Cor 1:1ff, 7ff, 30; 2:2; 3:11; 4:15, 17; 5:4; 6:11; 8:6; 9:1; 11:23; 12:3; 15:31, 57; 16:23f; 2 Cor 1:1ff, 14, 19; 4:5f, 10f, 14; 8:9; 11:4, 31; 13:5, 13; Gal 1:1, 3, 12; 2:4, 16; 3:1, 14, 22, 26, 28; 4:14; 5:6, 24; 6:14, 17f; Eph 1:1ff, 5, 15, 17; 2:6f, 10, 13, 20; 3:1, 6, 11, 21; 4:21; 5:20; 6:23f; Phil 1:1f, 6, 8, 11, 19, 26; 2:5, 10f, 19, 21; 3:3, 8, 12, 14, 20; 4:7, 19, 21, 23; Col 1:1, 3f; 2:6; 3:17; 4:11f; 1 Thess 1:1, 3, 10; 2:14f, 19; 3:11, 13; 4:1f, 14; 5:9, 18, 23, 28; 2 Thess 1:1f, 7f, 12; 2:1, 8, 14, 16; 3:6, 12, 18; 1 Tim 1:1f, 12, 14ff; 2:5; 3:13; 4:6; 5:21; 6:3, 13f; 2Tim 1:1f, 9f, 13; 2:1, 3, 8, 10; 3:12, 15; 4:1; Titus 1:1, 4; 2:13; 3:6; Phlm 1:1, 3, 5, 9, 23, 25; Heb 2:9; 3:1; 4:8, 14; 6:20; 7:22; 10:10, 19; 12:2, 24; 13:8, 12, 20f; Jas 1:1; 2:1; 1 Pet 1:1ff, 7, 13; 2:5; 3:21; 4:11; 5:10; 2 Pet 1:1f, 8, 11, 14, 16; 2:20; 3:18; 1 John 1:3, 7; 2:1, 22; 3:23; 4:2f, 15; 5:1, 5f, 20; 2 John 1:3, 7; Jude 1:1, 4, 17, 21, 25; Rev 1:1f, 5, 9; 12:17; 14:12; 17:6; 19:10; 20:4; 22:16, 20f

Iesous - approximately 217v in the Septuagint -

Ex 17:9f, 13f; 24:13, 15; 32:17; 33:11; Num 11:28; 13:16; 14:6, 30, 38; 26:65; 27:18, 22; 32:12, 28; 34:17; Deut 1:38; 3:21, 28; 31:3, 7, 14, 23; 32:44; 34:9; Josh 1:1, 10, 12, 16; 2:1, 23f; 3:1, 5ff, 9; 4:1, 4, 8ff, 14f, 17, 20; 5:2ff, 7, 9, 13ff; 6:2, 6, 10, 12, 16, 21f, 25ff; 7:2f, 6f, 10, 16, 19f, 22ff; 8:1, 3, 9f, 15, 18, 21, 23f, 27ff; 9:6, 8, 15, 22, 24, 26f; 10:1, 4, 6ff, 12, 17f, 20ff, 24ff, 29, 31, 33f, 36, 38, 40, 42; 11:6f, 9f, 12f, 15f, 18, 21, 23; 12:7; 13:1; 14:1f, 6, 13; 15:13; 17:4, 14f, 17; 18:3, 8ff; 19:49, 51; 20:1; 21:1, 12, 42; 22:1, 6f, 34; 23:1f; 24:1f, 19, 21f, 24ff, 31; Judg 1:1; 2:6ff, 21, 23; 2 Kgs 23:8; 1 Chr 24:11; 2 Chr 31:15;

POST-EXILIC BOOKS - Ezra 2:2, 36, 40; 3:2, 8f; 4:3; 5:2; 8:33; 10:18; Neh 3:19; 7:7, 11, 39, 43; 8:7, 17; 9:4f; 10:9; 12:1, 7, 10, 26; Hag 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Zech 3:1, 3, 6, 8f; 6:11.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament- Abridged in One Volume (TDNT) notes that "Iēsoús is the Greek form of the OT Joshua (the name of the son of Nun in Exodus etc., of the high priest in Haggai and Zechariah, of two men in 1Sa 6:14 and 2Kgs. 23:8, and of a Levite in 2 Chr. 31:15)."

I like the way Pastor Alan Carr summed up the Name Jesus in his sermon What Makes Jesus So Special? - He Is Exalted In His Name. We are told that He has been given “a name that is above every name”. What is that Name? The Greeks knew Him as Kurios Iesous Christos. The Hebrews called Him Yeshua Ha-Mashiach! The redeemed saints of God just know Him as Jesus!

At the mention of that precious Name:

• Lives are altered.

• Fevered brows become cool.

• Blinded eyes open.

• Deaf ears unstop.

• Sin’s bars open and the shackles of spiritual bondage fall away.

• Night turns to day.

• Defeat is swallowed up in victory.

• Hope replaced despair.

• Dead men live.

• The lost are found.

• Devils tremble.

• Sinners are broken.

• Saints shout.

• Angels bow.

More has been done through the agency and power of that Name than of all the names of all other people combined. There really is just something about that Name!

• The name Jesus is the sweetest Name ever to fall upon human ears!

• That Name is a cause for celebration in Heaven.

• That Name strikes fear into the hearts of the inhabitants of Hell.

• That Name changed my life, opened my eyes and saved my soul!

Like the songwriter said:

There's a name above all others,
Wonderful to hear, bringing hope and cheer.
It's the lovely name of Jesus,
Evermore the same, what a lovely name.

What a lovely name, the name of Jesus.
Reaching higher far, than the brightest star.
Sweeter than the songs they sing in heaven.
Let the world proclaim, what a lovely name.

Another songwriter said: There's Something About That Name (an oldie but a goodie)

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
There's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus,
Like the fragrance after the rain.

JesusJesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Let all heaven and earth proclaim,
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away
But there's something about that name.

Pastor Carr adds that "there must be something very special about this Name (Iesous - Jesus) I feel that it is special because:

A. It Is A Name Picked By The Father - The name Jesus was not given to our Lord by Mary and Joseph. It was a name handpicked by God, Mt. 1:21. This alone makes it a name that stands out as special. A name that is worthy of further investigation.

B. It Is A Name That Points Back To The Father - The name Jesus means, "Jehovah Is Salvation." This precious, sweet name reveals a side of Jesus that many fail to grasp. While God is a God of wrath and judgment, He is purely and wholly love, 1John 4:8; 16. God is love and everything He does is an outgrowth and an expression of His love. Therefore, when the Father sent Jesus to come into the world, He was sending a message to humanity. It was a message that said, "I have not forgotten, nor forsaken you. I love you and I give you my Son who will reveal me to you." (Ill. John 14:9)

C. It Is A Name That Paint's God's Portrait - The name Jesus at once reveals the Son's mission, (Ill. Luke 19:10), and the Father's heart, (Ill. 2Pet. 3:9). God isn't in the damning business. He is in the saving business! He wants no one to go to Hell. In fact, He tells us that hell was not made for the lost, it was made for the devil and his angels, Matt. 25:41. When the Father chose the name Jesus as the one His Son would bear during the time of His humiliation, He was telling every creature in His universe in one word that His goal was the redemption and salvation of mankind. This is what He wanted and this is what He accomplished through the Name of Jesus! (The Name Above Every Name)

Christ (Anointed One) (5547)(Christos from chrio = to rub or anoint, consecrate to an office) describes one who has been anointed with oil, one who has been consecrated. The majority of the NT uses refer to Jesus (exceptions = "false Christs" - Mt 24:24, Mk 13:22).

Christos describes one who has been anointed, symbolizing appointment to a task. It is used here as the title "Anointed One" and is the Greek synonym for "Messiah." Christos is used in the Septuagint describing everyone anointed with the holy oil, especially the priesthood (Lev. 4:5+, Lev 4:16+) and it is also a name applied to those who were acting as redeemers like Cyrus.

Gilbrant writes that "Hamilton suggests a fourfold significance to such anointing (“māshach,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1:530): (1) separation unto God, (2) authorization by God, (3) divine enablement, and (4) the coming Deliverer. In regards to this final use he says, “Though this association with the term māshach is not as prevalent in the OT as often supposed, the prospect of a righteous, Spirit-filled ruler is increasingly discernible in the OT (cf. Isaiah 9:1-7+; Isa1 1:1-5+; Isa 61:1)” (ibid.). It was probably because of his role as a deliverer of God’s people, selected by the Lord for His purpose, that Cyrus, a Gentile emperor, was given the title of “messiah, anointed” (Isaiah 45:1). However, long after Cyrus, God’s people were still promised Messiah the prince, the one to fulfill all of the Biblical promises (Daniel 9:25,26+)." (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary)

BDAG adds Christos signifies the "Fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a Deliverer" and was used in the Septuagint of the great messianic Ps 2:2 describing the future day when "The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed (Hebrew = Mashiach/masiyah; Lxx = Christos)." The first use of Christos in the Septuagint describes "the anointed (Hebrew = Mashiach/masiyah; Lxx = Christos) priest" (Lev 4:5+) carrying out a blood sacrifice, clearly foreshadowing the One Who would come as both the Sacrifice and the Priest! Daniel 9:26+ gives us the incredible prophecy that after 69 weeks (483 years) "the Messiah (Hebrew = Mashiach/masiyah; Lxx = Christos) will be cut off," a specific prophecy of what would happen to Messiah and when it would happen. The Jews could have known and should have known (and some Jews have been saved when they read this prophecy) (See Luke 19:42+)

Related Resources:

Christos is translated in the NAS 1995 edition as Christ (516x), Christ's (11x) and Messiah (4x - Mt 1:1, 16, 17, 2:4). The NIV and ESV never translate Christos as Messiah, but always as Christ. The Holman Christian Standard Bible has an interesting approach and translates Christos as Messiah many times depending on the context (see explanatory note) The NLT paraphrase translates Christos as Messiah over 80 times. The NET translates Christos as Messiah in Jn 4:29, Acts 3:20, Eph 2:12.

Many interpreters over the ages have commented on a possible wordplay between the Greek words for good (chrestos) and Christ (Christos), which as you note differ by only a single Greek letter. Whether a wordplay is intended or not, every believer can personally attest to the truth that Christos is chrestos!

CHRISTOS
THE ANOINTED ONE

As Christ was anointed for ministry at its inception (Lk 4:18 uses the root chrio, quoting Isa 61:1), so too believers are anointed for ministry. Kostenberger writes that 'What becomes clear, then, is that the anointing of Jesus with the Holy Spirit at his baptism, which marks the beginning of his messianic mission, serves as the paradigm for believers’ reception (or “anointing with”) the Holy Spirit at conversion. This marks them as “little anointed ones,” (cp 1Jn 2:20-note, 1Jn 2:27-note) followers of Jesus the Messiah, who, like he, have the Holy Spirit rest on them. (Ed: Christians are NOT "little Christs"! Only Christ is THE Christos! "Little Christs" is a false teaching from new age gurus!) This “anointing,” in turn, provides them with accurate teaching regarding Jesus and marks them as belonging to God as a seal of his ownership of them. (A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters) (Comment: When one receives Jesus as the Christ [the "Anointed One" - Christos], he or she experiences an anointing, a chrisma, which is a wonderful play on words! cp 1Jn 2:20-note, 2Cor 1:21 we are " in Christ and anointed" [chrio] by God.)

The New Testament repeatedly testifies that Jesus is the Anointed One - (Mk 1:10–11; Lk 4:18-19, Isa 61:1-3, Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38; Heb 1:9).

CHRISTOS
THE MESSIAH

The Septuagint occasionally uses Christos to prophetically refer to the coming Messiah. And so in Psalm 2:2 David wrote that "The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed (Hebrew = mashiach/masiah; Lxx = Christos) (Young's Literal = "against His Messiah") Spurgeon commenting on Ps 2 writes "We shall not greatly err in our summary of this sublime Psalm if we call it THE PSALM OF MESSIAH THE PRINCE; for it sets forth, as in a wondrous vision, the tumult of the people against the Lord's anointed, the determinate purpose of God to exalt his own Son, and the ultimate reign of that Son over all his enemies. Let us read it with the eye of faith, beholding, as in a glass, the final triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over all his enemies… God's Anointed is appointed, and shall not be disappointed!" (Treasury of David—Psalm 2)

In Daniel 9 we read a most incredible prediction of the time of the coming of the Messiah and of His crucifixion ("cut off") - “So you are to know and discern [that] from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah (Hebrew = mashiach/masiah; Lxx = Christos) the Prince [there will be] seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah (Hebrew = mashiach/masiah; Lxx = Christos) will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end [will come] with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:25-note, Daniel 9:26-note)

NIDNTT - Christ is derived via the Latin Christus from the Greek Christos, which in the Septuagint and the NT is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic mešîha’. This in turn corresponds to the Hebrew mashiach/masiah and denotes someone who has been ceremonially anointed for an office. The Greek transliteration of mešîhā’ is Messias, which like Iēsous is made declinable by the added -s. (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology)

The word Messiah in John 1:41 and John 4:25 is a different Greek word messias but is clearly synonymous with Christos. Jesus' disciple Andrew helps us understand the relationship between Christos and Messiah (messias transliteration of mashiach/masiah) declaring to his brother Simon Peter "We have found the Messiah (messias) (which translated means Christ [Christos])." (John 1:41) Similarly, the Samaritan woman at the well declared to Jesus "I know that Messiah (messias) is coming (He who is called Christ [Christos]); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."

Christos is used 55x in 54v in the Gospels not as Jesus' personal name but as an official designation for the One Whom the Jews were expecting (Mt 2:4, Lk 3:15). Over time as the human Jesus came to be recognized and accepted as the personal Messiah, the definite article ("the") was dropped and the designation Christ came to be used as a personal name.

As alluded to above in the discussion of "Anointed One," as Jesus began His ministry in the synagogue, He used the verb chrio (to anoint) explaining "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed (chrio) me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,." (Lk 4:18)

Jesus Himself asked a question of His disciples which in a sense is the question He asks of every person ever born - "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15, Mk 8:29, Lk 9:20) Peter's answer was "Thou art the Christ (Christos), the Son of the living God (Ed: the last phrase is unique to Matthew)." (Mt 16:16, cp Mk 8:29, Lk 9:20) "Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [this] to you, but My Father Who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17) It is worth noting that Peter used the definite article ("the" - Greek = ho) which means "the one and only Christ." The Lord Jesus is the one and the only Anointed One, the one and only Son of God, the one and only Savior! Many of the uses of Christos with the definitive article are found in the Gospels (Mt. 1:17; 2:4; 11:2, 16:16, 20, 22:42, 23:10, 24:5, 23, 26:63, Mk 8:29, 12:35; 13:21, 14:61, 15:32; Lk 2:26, 3:15, 4:41; 9:20, 20:41, 22:67, 23:35, 39, 24:26, 46; Jn 1:20, 25, 3:28, 4:29, 7:26, 31, 41, 42, 10:42, 11:27, 12:34, 20:31)

Darrell Bock comments on Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?" in Lk 9:20 - "Although Jesus replies in terms of the Son of Man (Lk 9:22), he is not rejecting the title that Peter uses (Christos). Rather, Christos needs to be defined in terms of the totality of Jesus’ mission, something that Jesus begins to do immediately. (Ed: Luke himself had already focused on this key title of Jesus as - read Lk 2:11, 2:26, 3:15, 4:41) The title (Christos) will not come into view again until the critical events of the last week of Jesus’ life, a climactic period in which it will again occupy a central place (Lk 20:41; 22:67; 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46). Jesus as Christ is the point of scriptural promises, as Lk 24:46 shows. Christos is also a central title in Jesus’ trial (Lk 22:67) and crucifixion (Lk 23:35). This Christological point is also made in Acts 3:18 and Acts 4:26–27… (Bock adds that) "The issue of Jesus' promised regal status is basic to Luke. It is crucial to remember that to call Jesus Messiah (Ed: In the Greek Christos which is usually translated Christ in most versions, but Messiah in others such as HCSB and NLT which interpret it as Messiah depending on the context. See note) is to confess His rule, since the title is a regal one… (In his trial before Pilate, Pilate asked "saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "It is as you say." to which Bock comments) Jesus declares Himself to be an Anointed One, a King. Basileus, king explains what Christos (Messiah or Christ) means, since Rome would not appreciate the significance of this Jewish title (Christos)." (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT: Luke 1:1-9:50)

In his first epistle John uses the definite article writing "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." (1Jn 2:22) and "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the [child] born of Him." (1Jn 5:1, John also uses the definite article with Christos in 2Jn 1:9, Rev 11:15, 12:10, 20:4, 20:6)

Herod asked the Jewish religious leaders where "the Messiah," prophesied in the OT, was to be born - "And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he [began] to inquire of them where the Messiah (Christos) was to be born." (Mt 2:4)

The Jews questioned Jesus as to whether He was the Christos, the Messiah? - "The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ (Christos), tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s Name, these bear witness of Me." (John 10:24-25)

John sums up the purpose of his Gospel writing that "these (What is "these?" - see Jn 20:30) have been written so that (purpose clause) you may believe that Jesus (The Man) is the Christ (The Anointed One - Prophet, Priest and King), the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31)

The angels, good and bad, clearly understood that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah…

(The angel's announced that) "today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord." (Lk 2:11)

And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Son of God!” And rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. (Lk 4:41)

David speaking as a prophet (Acts 2:30, 2Sa 23:2) understood God's oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne "looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ." (Acts 2:31, cp Ps 16:10; See Davidic covenant or more in depth article = The Davidic Covenant) As an aside every legitimate OT king of Israel was in a sense a "messiah" (1Sa 16:13, 2Ki 11:12), but the OT writers made it very clear that there was a greater coming King Who would be God's Anointed One, His Messiah (cp Isa 9:2-7, Jer 23:5-6, Ezek 34:23-24, et al). After over 3 years with Jesus, His disciples seem to finally have understood His purpose asking Him "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom (implying that they were speaking to the King of that kingdom) to Israel?." (Acts 1:6+)

Paul wrote "we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness. but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1Cor 1:23-24)

Acts 8:5+ And Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.

In Acts we repeatedly see the apostles teaching that Jesus and the Christ were one in the same. Keep in mind that at this time Christos was a sacred word among the Jews, but for the most part they repudiated (refused to have anything to do with) the claim that Jesus was the Christos, the Messiah…

Acts 2:36+ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Acts 3:19-20+ Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,

Acts 5:42+ And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus [as] the Christ.

Acts 9:22+ But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this [Jesus] is the Christ.

Acts 17:3+ explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and [saying,] “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

Acts 18:5+ But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul [began] devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

Acts 18:28+ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

The Jews of first century "were in a state of expectation" looking for the Christ (christos with definite article = the one and only Messiah - Lk 3:15+, cp John the Baptist's "Are You the Expected One?" ~ Are you the Christos? Lk 7:19-20+; see also Messianic Expectations). And yet, as Dr John Walvoord explains, "Though a number of Jews believed, many others could not accept the idea that the Messiah would die an ignominious death by crucifixion. Most of the Jews who heard Jesus teach had also refused to receive Him as their Messiah and so they rejected Him. He Himself said that He must “be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:25+), and the apostle John wrote that “his own did not receive him” (John 1:11+). But at His second coming the nation Israel will turn to the Lord and will welcome Jesus as their Messiah. He will reign over the world from Jerusalem as the King of kings and Lord of lords and also as Israel's Messiah.

CHRISTOS & BELIEVERS
"IN CHRIST"

Paul develops an important concept in his writings that every believer is "in Christ." In Christ describes every believer's new position and new sphere of existence. Before we were born again into the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:3,5+), our existence was in Adam (1Co 15:22, Ro 5:12+ = spiritually dead and under the dominion [supreme authority, power, jurisdiction, sway, control, absolute ownership] of the Sin "virus" we inherited from Adam - see Adam in the NT), in the flesh (under the dominion of the flesh - note, believers can "act fleshly" but strictly speaking are no longer "in the flesh" - see Ro 8:9+, 2 Co 10:3+ Gal 2:20+ use "in the flesh" to refer to the human body not the "anti-God" influence), in (under the influence of) the world, and in the kingdom of the Devil (under his dominion - Acts 26:18+, Col 1:13+). In the Upper Room Discourse just prior to His crucifixion Jesus alluded to the idea of in Christ when He declared "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." (Jn 14:20+).

THOUGHT - Have you ever considered your present, permanent position "in Christ?" Take a moment and look over the simple studies (there is some duplication): In Christ, In Christ, In Christ Jesus.

NIDNTT has an interesting note on the Secular use of Christos - The Gk. word comes from chriein, to rub lightly, spread (over something) and requires, apart from its use in the NT, more precise information about what is used. It can be done with oil, as for example with a human body after bathing (as early as Homer), but also with poison, as in the preparation of arrows for battle (also Homer), paint, whitewash (cf. also however Jer 22:14), or even cosmetics. Basically the word (christos) describes a thoroughly secular, everyday process, and has no sacral undertones at all. Naturally this is true for Greek ears also of the verbal adjective christos derived from it. It characterizes an object or a person as rubbed or smeared with whitewash, cosmetics, paint etc., and in given cases anointed. It is anything but an expression of honor. Where it refers to people, it even tends towards the disrespectful. This is certainly the reason why, on the one hand, in non-Christian circles Christos, in its reference to Jesus, was soon confused with the Gk. name Chrēstos (pronounced Christos with long i), and why, on the other hand, the Jewish translator of the Bible, Aquila, thought it right in his Greek version of the OT to render māšîah or mešîhā’, not by christos but by ēleimmenos from aleiphein which, unlike chriein, always means to anoint. In any case, the meaning of the root is an essential condition for christos, as used of Jesus of Nazareth, to have been able so disproportionately quickly and so completely to acquire the character of a proper name. Nevertheless, one must not overlook in this connection the fact that the Hebrew verb masah, for which chriein is the LXX equivalent, seems to be fundamentally connected with fat or oil in the sense of to grease (with oil). (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology)

Vincent has a lengthy discussion on Christos - Properly an adjective, not a noun, and meaning anointed (chrio = to anoint). It is a translation of the Hebrew Messiah, the king and spiritual ruler from David's race, promised under that name in the Old Testament (Ps 2:2; Daniel 9:25, Daniel 9:26). Hence Andrew says to Simon, “We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, Christ (John 1:41+; cp Acts 4:27+; Acts 10:38+; Acts 19:28+). To us “Christ “has become a proper name, and is therefore written without the definite article; but, in the body of the Gospel narratives, since the identity of Jesus with the promised Messiah was still in question with the people, the article is habitually used, and the name should therefore be translated “the Christ.” After the resurrection, when the recognition of Jesus as Messiah has become general, we find the word beginning to be used as a proper name, with or without the article. Anointing was applied to kings (1Sa 9:16; 1Sa 10:1, 1Sa 15:1, 17, 1Sa 16:12), to prophets (1Ki 19:16), and to priests (Ex 29:7, 29; Ex 40:15; Lev 8:12, 16:32) at their inauguration. “The Lord's anointed” was a common title of the king (1Sa 12:3, 12:5; 2Sa 1:14,16). Prophets are called “Messiahs,” or anointed ones (1Chr 16:22; Ps 105:15). Cyrus is also called “the Lord's Anointed,” because called to the throne to deliver the Jews out of captivity (Isa 45:1). Hence the word Christ was representative of our Lord, who united in himself the offices of king, prophet, and priest.

It is interesting to see how anointing attaches to our Lord in other and minor particulars (Ed: Most of Vincent's examples represent uses of the root verb chrio). Anointing was an act of hospitality and a sign of festivity and cheerfulness. Jesus was anointed by the woman when a guest in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and rebuked his host for omitting this mark of respect toward hint (Lk 7:35, 46). In the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 1:8, 9), the words of the Messianic psalm (Ps 45:7) are applied to Jesus, “God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Anointing was practiced upon the sick (Mk 6:13; Lk 10:34:; Jas 5:14). Jesus, “the Great Physician,” is described by Isaiah (Isa 61:1, 2; cp Lk 4:18) as anointed by God to bind up the broken-hearted, and to give the mournful the oil of joy for mourning. He Himself anointed the eyes of the blind man (John 9:6, John 9:11); and the twelve, in His name, “anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them” (Mk 6:13). Anointing was practiced upon the dead. Of her who brake the alabaster upon his head at Bethany, Jesus said, “she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial” (Mark 14:8; see also Lk 23:56).

Thoralf Gilbrant on the use of christos in the Septuagint - The anointing oil was sprinkled on things but poured on the head of people, leaving the perfumed aroma as an identifying characteristic. The person who experienced such anointing was often called simply “the Lord’s anointed” (cf. 1Sa 26:9; 2Sal 23:1). In the case of David it is clear that he was “anointed by God” before he was anointed by Samuel (1Sa 16:6); ideally, the human act was a verification of God’s prior action. (Complete Biblical Library)

John Walvoord - The English word Christ transliterates the Greek christos, meaning “anointed one,” which translates the Old Testament word mashiach/masiah. Just as priests (Ex. 28:41; Lev. 8:12), the tabernacle and its furniture (Lev. 8:10-11; Nu 7:1), and kings (1Sa 9:15-16; 10:1; 15:1; 16:12-13; 2Sa 2:4; 1Ki 1:39; Ps 89:20) were anointed with oil in an act of consecration, setting them apart to spiritual service, so Christ was God's “Anointed One” (Ps. 2:2; Acts 4:26). Even Daniel referred to Him as the “Anointed One” (Da 9:25-26). (Theological Wordbook)

Christos - 529x in 499v -

Mt 1:1, 16ff; 2:4; 11:2; 16:16, 20; 22:42; 23:10; 24:5, 23; 26:63, 68; 27:17, 22; Mark 1:1; 8:29; 9:41; 12:35; 13:21; 14:61; 15:32; Luke 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41; 9:20; 20:41; 22:67; 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46; John 1:17, 20, 25, 41; 3:28; 4:25, 29; 7:26f, 31, 41f; 9:22; 10:24; 11:27; 12:34; 17:3; 20:31; Acts 2:31, 36, 38; 3:6, 18, 20; 4:10, 26; 5:42; 8:5, 12; 9:22, 34; 10:36, 48; 11:17; 15:26; 16:18; 17:3; 18:5, 28; 24:24; 26:23; 28:31; Rom 1:1, 4, 6ff; 2:16; 3:22, 24; 5:1, 6, 8, 11, 15, 17, 21; 6:3f, 8f, 11, 23; 7:4, 25; 8:1f, 9ff, 17, 34f, 39; 9:1, 3, 5; 10:4, 6f, 17; 12:5; 13:14; 14:9, 15, 18; 15:3, 5ff, 16ff, 29f; 16:3, 5, 7, 9f, 16, 18, 25, 27; 1 Cor 1:1ff, 6ff, 12f, 17, 23f, 30; 2:2, 16; 3:1, 11, 23; 4:1, 10, 15, 17; 5:7; 6:11, 15; 7:22; 8:6, 11f; 9:12, 21; 10:4, 9, 16; 11:1, 3; 12:12, 27; 15:3, 12ff, 22f, 31, 57; 16:24; 2Cor 1:1ff, 5, 19, 21; 2:10, 12, 14f, 17; 3:3f, 14; 4:4ff; 5:10, 14, 16ff; 6:15; 8:9, 23; 9:13; 10:1, 5, 7, 14; 11:2f, 10, 13, 23; 12:2, 9f, 19; 13:3, 5, 13; Gal 1:1, 3, 6f, 10, 12, 22; 2:4, 16f, 19ff; 3:1, 13f, 16, 22, 24, 26ff; 4:14, 19; 5:1f, 4, 6, 24; 6:2, 12, 14, 18; Eph 1:1ff, 5, 10, 12, 17, 20; 2:5ff, 10, 12f, 20; 3:1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 17, 19, 21; 4:7, 12f, 15, 20, 32; 5:2, 5, 14, 20f, 23ff, 29, 32; 6:5f, 23f; Phil 1:1f, 6, 8, 10f, 13, 15, 17ff, 23, 26f, 29; 2:1, 5, 11, 16, 21, 30; 3:3, 7ff, 12, 14, 18, 20; 4:7, 19, 21, 23; Col 1:1ff, 7, 24, 27f; 2:2, 5f, 8, 11, 17, 20; 3:1, 3f, 11, 15f, 24; 4:3, 12; 1Th 1:1, 3; 2:7, 14; 3:2; 4:16; 5:9, 18, 23, 28; 2 Thess 1:1f, 12; 2:1, 14, 16; 3:5f, 12, 18; 1 Tim 1:1f, 12, 14ff; 2:5; 3:13; 4:6; 5:11, 21; 6:3, 13f; 2 Tim 1:1f, 9f, 13; 2:1, 3, 8, 10; 3:12, 15; 4:1; Titus 1:1, 4; 2:13; 3:6; Philemon 1:1, 3, 6, 8f, 20, 23, 25; Heb 3:6, 14; 5:5; 6:1; 9:11, 14, 24, 28; 10:10; 11:26; 13:8, 21; Jas 1:1; 2:1; 1 Pet 1:1ff, 7, 11, 13, 19; 2:5, 21; 3:15f, 18, 21; 4:1, 11, 13f; 5:1, 10, 14; 2 Pet 1:1, 8, 11, 14, 16; 2:20; 3:18; 1 John 1:3; 2:1, 22; 3:23; 4:2; 5:1, 6, 20; 2 John 1:3, 7, 9; Jude 1:1, 4, 17, 21, 25; Rev 1:1f, 5; 11:15; 12:10; 20:4, 6

Christos - 40x in the Septuagint -

Lev 4:5, 16; 6:22; 21:10, 12; 1Sa 2:10, 35; 12:3, 5; 16:6; 24:6, 10; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2Sa 1:14, 16; 2:5; 19:21; 22:51; 23:1; 1Chr 16:22; 2 Chr 6:42; 22:7; Ps 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 105:15; 132:10, 17; Isa 45:1; Lam 4:20; Dan 9:25-26; Amos 4:13; Hab 3:13;

Christos is first found in the Septuagint describing "the anointed (Heb = mashiach/masiah; Lxx - Christos) priest (hiereus)" (Lev 4:5, 16; 6:22, Lev 21:10,12 describe anointing oil). In 1 Sa 2:10 the Hebrew word mashiach is used in a Messianic prophecy "The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed (Hebrew = mashiach; Lxx - Christos)." From this point on in the OT, mashiach (translated in the Lxx by Christos) most often referred to a king ("the anointed of the LORD" or the "LORD's anointed") (1Sa 12:3, 24:6, 26:9, 11, 16, 2 Sa 1:14, 16, 2 Sa 19:21). The kings of Israel (especially David) foreshadowed the Lord's ultimate anointed King ("the King of Israel" - Mk 15:32). The English word "Messiah" is from the Hebrew word mashiach used in these passages to mean "anointed."

Allen Ross on Christos in the Septuagint of the OT as referring to the anointing of the human kings - Every king who came to the throne of David was “anointed” and so a "messiah;" but as time passed the prophets began to write of the great coming King, THE Messiah. And His kingdom, or the age that He would usher in, called the Messianic Age (Ed: See interesting non-Christian article Messiah in Judaism). This Messianic hope was the desire of the nation, as Malachi 3:1-note says.

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Explanatory Note: The Holman CSB translates the Greek word Christos ("anointed one") as either "Christ" or "Messiah" based on its use in different NT contexts. Where the NT emphasizes Christos as a name of our Lord or has a Gentile context, "Christ" is used (Eph 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus… "). Where the NT Christos has a Jewish context, the title "Messiah" is used (Eph 2:12 "… we who had already put our hope in the Messiah").

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Lehman Strauss - "Christ is risen!" was the thrilling note that rang through the early Church as Christians saluted each other on joyful Easter days. In response to this glorious greeting always came back the triumphant answer "He is risen indeed!" Christians throughout the Greek-speaking world, as they met, exclaimed "Christos anestee!" ("Christ is risen!"), and then would come the reply: "Aleethos anestee!" ("He is truly risen!"). Early Christian greetings were full of life as saints celebrated this festival in commemoration of the personal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. How vital His life was to them! Today how tepid our Easter conversation is as we salute one another with flat Easter greetings when little if any mention of our Saviour's triumph over death and the grave is made. (Certainties for Today)

Spurgeon Morning and Evening mentions Christos - 1 John 2:1 "If any man sin, we have an advocate." Yes, though we sin, we have him still. John does not say, "If any man sin he has forfeited his advocate," but "we have an advocate," sinners though we are. All the sin that a believer ever did, or can be allowed to commit, cannot destroy his interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, as his advocate. The name here given to our Lord is suggestive. "Jesus." Ah! then he is an advocate such as we need, for Jesus is the name of one whose business and delight it is to save. "They shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." His sweetest name implies his success. Next, it is "Jesus Christ"-Christos, the anointed. This shows his authority to plead. The Christ has a right to plead, for he is the Father's own appointed advocate and elected priest. If he were of our choosing he might fail, but if God hath laid help upon one that is mighty, we may safely lay our trouble where God has laid his help. He is Christ, and therefore authorized; he is Christ, and therefore qualified, for the anointing has fully fitted him for his work. He can plead so as to move the heart of God and prevail. What words of tenderness, what sentences of persuasion will the anointed use when he stands up to plead for me! One more letter of his name remains, "Jesus Christ the righteous." This is not only his character BUT his plea. It is his character, and if the Righteous One be my advocate, then my cause is good, or he would not have espoused it. It is his plea, for he meets the charge of unrighteousness against me by the plea that he is righteous. He declares himself my substitute and puts his obedience to my account. My soul, thou hast a friend well fitted to be thine advocate, he cannot but succeed; leave thyself entirely in his hands.

Joshua (03091) (Yehoshua/Jehoshua from Jehovah + yasha'' = to save, deliver, help) means the LORD is salvation or the LORD delivers.

1. "He was Moses’ successor (Nu 27:12–23; Dt. 34:9–12), picked by the Lord to conquer the Promised Land (Josh 1:1–5) that had been given to Israel. His name was previously Hoshea (“salvation”), son of Nun (Nu 13:16). He was from the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8). In his first appearance, he showed himself an exceptionally capable military commander, defeating the Amalekites (Ex 17:8–16). He became Moses’ personal scribe, administrator, and intimate aide. He accompanied Moses often when others were not permitted to do so (Ex. 24:13; 32:17; 33:11). His respect and faithfulness to Moses as God’s picked leader never wavered (Num. 11:28). He was one of the spies sent into Canaan and never doubted that Israel could conquer the land (Num. 14:5–9). He and Caleb lived to enter the Promised Land (Num. 26:65). He led Israel successfully, and the Lord fulfilled every promise He had made to Joshua and Israel (Josh. 21:43–45). He was buried in the land which he had conquered for God’s people (Josh. 24:29–30)." (Baker)

2 a resident of Beth-shemesh on whose land the Ark of the Covenant came to a stop after the Philistines returned it (1Sa 6:13, 14)..

3 son of Jehozadak and high priest after the restoration. (Zech 6:11-12)

4 governor of Jerusalem under king Josiah who gave his name to a gate of the city of Jerusalem. (2Ki 23:8–9).

Yehoshua is translated in the NAS as Jeshua(28), Joshua(219).

Yehoshua - 228v -

Ex 17:9f, 13f; 24:13; 32:17; 33:11; Num 11:28; 13:16; 14:6, 30, 38; 26:65; 27:18, 22; 32:12, 28; 34:17; Deut 1:38; 3:21, 28; 31:3, 7, 14, 23; 34:9; Josh 1:1, 10, 12, 16; 2:1, 23f; 3:1, 5ff, 9f; 4:1, 4f, 8ff, 14f, 17, 20; 5:2ff, 7, 9, 13ff; 6:2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 22, 25ff; 7:2f, 6f, 10, 16, 19f, 22ff; 8:1, 3, 9f, 13, 15f, 18, 21, 23, 26ff, 35; 9:2f, 6, 8, 15, 22, 24, 27; 10:1, 4, 6ff, 12, 15, 17f, 20ff, 24ff, 31, 33f, 36, 38, 40ff; 11:6f, 9f, 12f, 15f, 18, 21, 23; 12:7; 13:1; 14:1, 6, 13; 15:13; 17:4, 14f, 17; 18:3, 8ff; 19:49, 51; 20:1; 21:1; 22:1, 6f; 23:1f; 24:1f, 19, 21f, 24ff, 31; Jdg 1:1; 2:6ff, 21, 23; 1 Sam 6:14, 18; 1 Kgs 16:34; 2 Kgs 23:8; 1 Chr 7:27; 24:11; 2 Chr 31:15; Ezra 2:2, 6, 36, 40; 3:2, 8f; 4:3; 8:33; 10:18; Neh 3:19; 7:7, 11, 39, 43; 8:7, 17; 9:4f; 10:9; 11:26; 12:1, 7f, 10, 24, 26; Hag 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Zech 3:1, 3, 6, 8f; 6:11

MESSIAH
GREEK WORD

Messiah (3323)(messias) is the Hellenized transliteration of mashiach/masiah and means a consecrated or anointed one. Messias is a masculine proper noun which corresponds to the Greek word Christos, Christ. Messias is used only twice in the NT (not at all in the Septuagint) both uses illustrating the correspondence of Messias and Christos…

Jesus' disciple Andrew declared to his brother Simon Peter "We have found the Messiah (messias) (which translated means Christ [Christos])." (John 1:41+)

The Samaritan woman at the well declared to Jesus "I know that Messiah (messias) is coming (He who is called Christ [Christos]); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." (John 4:25+)

John records Phillip's declaration "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote (Messianic Prophecies), Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (Jn 1:45+). In summary three English terms are virtually synonymous…

MESSIAH = THE ANOINTED ONE = THE CHRIST

In the Old Testament three major groups were anointed for consecrated (set apart) service - kings, priests and prophets. Jesus fulfilled all three offices - Prophet (Dt 18:15), Priest (Heb 4:14+), and King (Rev 19:16+).

What Do Orthodox Jews Believe about the Messiah? "Belief in the eventual coming of the mashiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism. It is part of Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith (principle #12), the minimum requirements of Jewish belief. In the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, recited three times daily, we pray for all of the elements of the coming of the mashiach: ingathering of the exiles; restoration of the religious courts of justice; an end of wickedness, sin and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service… The term "mashiach" literally means "the anointed one," and refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne. The mashiach is the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days. The word "mashiach" does not mean "savior." The notion of an innocent, divine or semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought. Unfortunately, this Christian concept has become so deeply ingrained in the English word "messiah" that this English word can no longer be used to refer to the Jewish concept. The word "mashiach" will be used throughout this page." (Read the full page - The Messiah)

Messianic Expectations - Craig A. Evans - "Messianism" and "messianic expectation" are ways of describing the expectation that an anointed person will come to redeem Israel and/or the Church. Christians believe that Messiah has already come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The appearance of Messiah is understood to be part of a larger eschatological drama whereby human activity on earth is appreciably altered by the in-breaking of the "kingdom of God," a time when God's will on earth is more tangibly and permanently experienced. It is usually believed that this anointed figure is part of the climax of human history. The Origin of Messianic Expectation - The messianic expectations in the Jewish and Christian faiths are traced back to God's covenant with King David (2Sa 7:12-16 - Ed: see Davidic covenant or more in depth article = The Davidic Covenant) and the aftermath of exile and cessation of the Davidic dynasty. Hope arose that God would someday restore a godly king to Israel. Some of Israel's prophets foretold the coming of a regal Davidic descendant, and their descriptions seem to portray him as far more than a mere mortal. Isaiah foretold the coming of a "child" and "son" who "will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace," and whose kingdom will never end (Isa 9:6-7+). Again Isaiah prophesied the coming of a Branch of David, on whom the Spirit of God will rest, who will rule the earth with justice and equity (Isa 11:1-5+). Descriptions such as these hinted that the coming anointed one, the Messiah, would be God Himself. In the inter-testament period (ca 400 B.C. to the birth of Christ) several passages of Old Testament Scripture are interpreted in the light of the messianic hope. Besides Isa 11:1-5+, Ge 49:10 ("The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet.") and Nu 24:17+ ("A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel") are often appealed to. First-century philosopher Philo of Alexandria and Josephus, historian and survivor of the great rebellion (A.D. 66-70), both allude to these passages as pertaining to Messiah. Isaiah 11 is of special interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1QSb 5 applies portions of Isa 11:2-5+ to the awaited Messiah, while 4Q161, a major commentary on the book of Isaiah, interprets Isa 10:34-11:5+ as a prophecy of the coming Messiah, called the "Branch of David," who will destroy Israel's enemies, the Romans (called the "Kittim"). 4Q285 quotes Isaiah 10:34-11:1 and interprets it as a reference to the coming Messiah, called the "Branch of David" and "leader of the community" (that is, the leader of the Qumran community). It is said that he will put to death the "king of the Kittim," or the Roman emperor (see also the parallel 11Q14). Jesus and Messianic Expectation - Jesus' willingness to suffer and die stands in marked contrast to the widespread expectation of a coming Messiah who would slay His enemies. The fact that He did not attempt to overthrow the Roman occupiers and reclaim Israel's throne may explain in part why He was widely rejected by Jewish authorities. They wished for Him to pursue violent, military goals whereas He came instead to usher in the merciful, forgiving rule of God. As for Jesus' fulfillment of the Bible's messianic expectations, it must not be missed that He came first to suffer and die on behalf of sinners (as predicted in Isa 52:13-53:12+), but will come again as conquering King (2Th 1:7-10+). (A Closer Look- Messianic Expectations)

Williamson - In the time of Jesus, there were competing views about the Messiah. Some held a “low” Christology (earthly in origin), viewing the Messiah as a Davidic king, who would arise to rid Israel of its century-long Roman occupation. Others espoused a “high” Christology, envisioning the Messiah as a heavenly redeemer figure. This view was partly informed by the description of the enthronement in heaven of a Son of Man figure in Da 7:13–14. (1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition).

Youngblood on Messiah - the one anointed by God and empowered by God’s spirit to deliver His people and establish His kingdom. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity. In Christian thought, the term Messiah refers to Jesus’ role as a spiritual deliverer, setting His people free from sin and death. The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means “anointed one.” Its Greek counterpart is Christos, from which the word Christ comes. Messiah was one of the titles used by early Christians to describe who Jesus was.

In Old Testament times, part of the ritual of commissioning a person for a special task was to anoint him with oil. The phrase “anointed” one was applied to a person in such cases. In the Old Testament, Messiah is used more than 30 times to describe kings (2 Sam. 1:14, 16), priests (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16), the patriarchs (Ps. 105:15), and even the Persian King Cyrus (Is. 45:1). The word is also used in connection with King David, who became the model of the messianic king who would come at the end of the age (2 Sam. 22:51; Ps. 2:2). But it was not until the time of Daniel (sixth century B.C.) that Messiah was used as an actual title of a king who would come in the future (Dan. 9:25–26). Still later, as the Jewish people struggled against their political enemies, the Messiah came to be thought of as a political, military ruler.

From the New Testament we learn more about the people’s expectations. They thought the Messiah would come soon to perform signs (John 7:31) and to deliver His people, after which He would live and rule forever (John 12:34). Some even thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah (John 1:20). Others said that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem (John 7:42). Most expected the Messiah to be a political leader, a king who would defeat the Romans and provide for the physical needs of the Israelites.

According to the Gospel of John, a woman of Samaria said to Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming.” Jesus replied, “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:25–26). In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, however, Jesus never directly referred to Himself as the Messiah, except privately to His disciples, until the crucifixion (Matt. 26:63–64; Mark 14:61–62; Luke 22:67–70). He did accept the title and function of messiahship privately (Matt. 16:16–17). Yet Jesus constantly avoided being called “Messiah” in public (Mark 8:29–30). This is known as Jesus’ “messianic secret.” He was the Messiah, but He did not want it known publicly.

The reason for this is that Jesus’ kingdom was not political but spiritual (John 18:36). If Jesus had used the title “Messiah,” people would have thought he was a political king. But Jesus understood that the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, was to be the Suffering Servant (Is. 52:13–53:12). The fact that Jesus was a suffering Messiah—a crucified deliverer—was a “stumbling block” to many of the Jews (1 Cor. 1:23). They saw the cross as a sign of Jesus’ weakness, powerlessness, and failure. They rejected the concept of a crucified Messiah.

But the message of the early church centered around the fact that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Christ (Acts 5:42; 17:3; 18:5). They proclaimed the “scandalous” gospel of a crucified Messiah as the power and wisdom of God (1Cor. 1:23–24). John wrote, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah]?” (1 John 2:22).

By the time of the apostle Paul, “Christ” was in the process of changing from a title to a proper name. The name is found mostly in close association with the name “Jesus,” as in “Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24) or “Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:1). When the church moved onto Gentile soil, the converts lacked the Jewish background for understanding the title, and it lost much of its significance. Luke wrote, “The disciples were first called Christians [those who belong to and follow the Messiah in Antioch” (Acts 1).

As the Messiah, Jesus is the divinely appointed king who brought God’s kingdom to earth (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20). His way to victory was not by physical force and violence, but through love, humility, and service. (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Related Resources (several not Christian but included to give perspective):

What does 'Christ' mean?
What does Messiah mean?
Messiah - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
American Tract Society Messiah or Messias
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Messiah
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary Messiah Christ Messiah
Charles Buck Dictionary Messiah
CARM Theological Dictionary Messiah
Easton's Bible Dictionary Messiah
Fausset Bible Dictionary Messiah
Holman Bible Dictionary Messiah
Hitchcock Bible Names Messiah
Hastings' Bible Dictionary Messiah
Hastings' NT Dictionary Messiah (2) Messiah
King James Dictionary Messiah
Morrish Bible Dictionary Messiah, Messias
Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary Messiah
People's Bible Dictionary Messiah
Smith Bible Dictionary Messiah Messiah
Webster Dictionary Messiah
Watson's Theological Dictionary Messiah
Messiah - Wikipedia
Mashiach - The Messiah in Judaism - Interesting!
The Messiah - Jewish Virtual Library

MESSIAH
HEBREW WORD

The New Jewish Encyclopedia defines the MESSIAH as “a modified form of the Hebrew word Mashiah meaning ‘anointed,’ applied in the Bible to a person appointed for special function, such as High Priest or King. Later the term Messiah came to express the belief that a Redeemer, that is a divinely appointed individual, will in the end bring salvation to the Jewish people and to the entire human race” (p.317).

The Dictionary Of Jewish Lore And Legend encapsulates the term MESSIAH a bit more succinctly: “The anointed king of the House of David of Bethlehem who will be sent by God to inaugurate the final redemption in the end of days” (p.132).

See also the booklet on The Jewish Tradition of Two Messiahs

Messiah (anointed) (04899)(click main word study on mashiach/masiah from masah = to smear, anoint - "anoint the tabernacle… altar… laver" Ex 40:9-11) is a noun which means anointed one. It can function as an adjective as when it describes "the anointed priest" (Lev 4:3, 5, 16, 6:22). Mashiach/masiah is used as a synonym for king (Heb = melek), referred to as the Lord's "anointed one" in most of the uses in First and Second Samuel (see Scriptures below). Two uses refer to the prophets (Ps 105:15, 1Chr 16:22)

Anointing was used to set the subject apart for special service before Yahweh. However, with reference to the Davidic dynasty, mashiach/masiah clearly had a future messianic ideal that went beyond the national king (2Sa 22:51; 2Chr. 6:42; Ps 18:50; 132:10, 17).

In several OT passages mashiach/masiah is transliterated in our English Bibles as "Messiah." And so in Ps 2:2 (Young's Literal = Station themselves do kings of the earth, And princes have been united together, Against Jehovah, and against His Messiah) (see note), Da 9:25-26, mashiach/masiah refers prophetically to the anointed of the LORD, of the Messianic Redeemer King Jesus. As an aside be aware that some of the well known Hebrew lexicons state specifically that this word mashiach/masiah is never used of "an eschatological savior in the OT" (HALOT) or "never of the future Messiah" (Gesenius). That would be true if one does not see the prophecy of Daniel 9 as a reference to the first coming of the Messiah! This type of teaching makes the point that just because a statement is made by a theologian (even with much linguistic training and many degrees), their statements need to be carefully compared with clear teaching of the Scriptures! Be a Berean (Acts 17:11 - read 1Jn 2:27-note)

In Isa 45:1 the LORD CALLS "Cyrus His anointed" and even though he was a pagan, he was used by the LORD as Israel's shepherd (Isa 44:28). "The Isaiah passage suggests that masiah be understood as one singled out or “chosen” (bāsar q.v.) for a task, characteristically one of deliverance—a deliverance of Israel from their Babylonian captors returning them to their homeland." (TWOT)

Vine - As is true of the verb, mashiach/masiah implies an anointing for a special office or function. Thus, David refused to harm Saul because Saul was “the Lord’s anointed” (1Sa 24:6). The Psalms often express the messianic ideals attached to the Davidic line by using the phrase “the Lord’s anointed” (Ps. 2:2; 18:50; 89:38, 51).

Mounce on mashiach/masiah - usually refers to pouring or smearing sacred oil on a person in a ceremony of dedication, possibly symbolizing divine empowering to accomplish the task or office;

Gilbrant on māshîach - Derived from māshach, "to anoint," māshîach has cognates widely attested in Northwest and South Semitic. The noun most often refers to the reigning king of Israel as the Lord's "anointed one" (1 Sam. 24:6, 10; 2 Sam. 1:14; Ps. 20:6; Lam. 4:20; Hab. 3:13), synonymous with "king." Anointing rituals set the subject apart for special service before Yahweh. However, with reference to the Davidic dynasty, it clearly had a future messianic ideal that went beyond the national king (2 Sam. 22:51; 2 Chr. 6:42; Pss. 18:50; 132:10, 17). The Lord's "Anointed" in Ps. 2:2 can hardly be anything other than a direct reference to the future "Messiah," since the same Psalm also instructs people to put faith in this Son (v. 12). Furthermore, "Messiah" is almost surely a reference to Jesus Christ in at least two other verses (Dan. 9:25f). While some scholars reject this assertion, they generally base their rejection of a future "Messiah" on a questionable interpretation of Dan. 9:26. They claim that "the Messiah [who] will be cut off" was a second century b.c. high priest (cf. TWOT). However, there is strong evidence on the basis of Dan. 9:24 that this "Messiah" is indeed Jesus Christ. It is true, on the other hand, that this term is used as the title of the coming Son of David primarily in the NT. The patriarchs of the OT were regarded as "anointed" of Yahweh (1 Chr. 16:22; Ps. 105:15). Māshîach even referred to a pagan king, named Cyrus, as the Lord's "anointed" (Isa. 45:1). Since this use obviously does not denote righteousness or godliness on the part of this idol worshiper, it almost certainly speaks of Cyrus as the Lord's "chosen one" for the task of delivering Israel from the Babylonian captivity. Finally, māshîach can refer to the high priest of Israel (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22). (The Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary)

The Septuagint (Lxx) usually translates mashiach/masiah with Christos.

Mashiach - 39x in 38v - Anointed(1), anointed(34), anointed ones(2), Messiah(2).

Leviticus 4:3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

Leviticus 4:5 'Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting,

Leviticus 4:16 'Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting;

Leviticus 6:22 "The anointed priest who will be in his place among his sons shall offer it. By a permanent ordinance it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:10 "Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth (NOTICE THIS IMPORTANT CONTEXTUAL CLUE - THIS IS NOT A REGIONAL KING BUT A GLOBAL KING AND A CLEAR REFERENCE TO THE COMING MESSIAH AS KING OF KINGS - Rev 19:16-note); And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed (MESSIAH)."

MacArthur Study Bible note - The Lord will impose His righteous rule upon all the nations and peoples (see Is 2:2–4).

His king. Moses had already predicted the coming of a king who would exercise God’s rule over all the nations of the earth (Ge 49:8–12; Nu 24:7–9, 17–19). It was this future, victorious king whom Hannah anticipated and Saul and David prefigured.

His anointed. Previously in the OT, both the tabernacle and its utensils along with the priests (Aaron and his sons) had been anointed with oil. This pictured their consecrated and holy status before the Lord (Ex 30:26–30). In Samuel, first Saul (1 Sa 10:1), and then David (1 Sa 16:13; 2 Sa 2:4; 5:3) were anointed as they were inaugurated for the kingship. From this point in the OT, it is usually the king who is referred as “the anointed (of the Lord)” (1 Sa 12:3; 24:6; 26:9, 11, 16; 2 Sa 1:14, 16; 19:21). The kings of Israel, particularly David, foreshadowed the Lord’s ultimate anointed king. The English word “Messiah” represents the Heb. word used here meaning “anointed.” Thus, this ultimate King who would rule over the nations of the earth (cf phrase "the ends of the earth"), came to be referred to as “the Messiah,” as here and 1 Sa 2:35; cf. 2 Sa 22:51.

J Robert Vannoy adds that "In 1 Sa 2:9–10 Hannah looks forward with prophetic insight to a time when God will cause justice to triumph in all the earth. This will be accomplished by a messianic (anointed) king. As such its reference is ultimately to Christ at his second advent, but at the same time it reflects Hannah’s anticipation of the realization of the promise of kingship for the nation of Israel (cf. Nu 23:21; Dt 17:14–15). (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary)

Henry Morris on ends of the earth, et al - This prayer of Hannah's is a remarkable prophecy, looking forward to the final triumph of the Creator over all His adversaries. It is the first such prophecy in the Bible, revealing the future explosive return of the Lord from heaven to judge all nations and to enthrone His anointed king over the whole world. Hannah was surely praying under divine inspiration, and her prayer is similar in spirit to that of the virgin Mary over a thousand years later (Luke 1:46-55). The miraculous birth of Samuel thus becomes a type of the virgin birth of Christ.

his king. Hannah's prayer refers to "His king" long before the people of Israel began requesting a king. The reference must be a prophetic forecast of the divine king that would some day rule all nations under God (Psalm 2:6-9).

his anointed. "His anointed" means "His Messiah." This is the first explicit reference in Scripture to the coming Messiah (Hebrew equivalent of the Greek "Christ," both meaning literally "the anointed one"). Hannah's inspired prophecy anticipates the later Messianic prophecies in much detail (Psalm 2, Psalm 72, Psalm 110, Isaiah 11). Hannah's son, the prophet Samuel, as the last of the judges (1 Samuel 7:15), was also the one chosen by God to anoint King David, the most complete type of the ultimate anointed one. (Defender's Study Bible)

Ronald Youndblood - מָשִׁיחַ (māšîaḥ, “anointed”; GK 5431) underlies our word “Messiah” and reminds us that great David’s greater Son, Jesus the Christ—Greek Christos (“anointed”)—would some day culminate David’s royal line (cf. this typological, eschatological use of “anointed” here as well as in v. 35; 2 Sa 22:51; 2 Ch 6:42; Pss 2:2; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17). (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised Edition, 2009)

Adam Clarke quotes from the Targum which "says, וירבי מלכות משיציה viribbey malcuth Meshicheyh, "he shall multiply the kingdom of the Messiah."

Moody Bible Commentary - His anointed (Messiah; Hb. meshiach) is mentioned in the Bible in connection with the king. Hannah’s words point prophetically not merely to the Davidic dynasty, but to David’s greatest son, the Lord Jesus the Messiah. She likely knew the prophecies of Ge 49:10 or Nu 24:17, both of which prophesy the coming of the messianic King in Israel. Moreover, the coming of this King is central to the message of the books of Samuel (2Sm 7:12–16). This same expectation of the Messiah continued to thrive in the exilic and postexilic periods (Da 7:13–14; 9:24–27; Hag 2:20–23; Zech 6:11–15; 9:9; 12:10; Mal 4:4–5). The poem ends with a reference to the horn and begins with a reference to “My horn” (v. 1). With her song ended, Hannah went home with Elkanah (1 Sa 2:11).

1 Samuel 2:35 'But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.
1 Samuel 12:3 "Here I am; bear witness against me before the LORD and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you."
1 Samuel 12:5 He said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."
1 Samuel 16:6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him."
1 Samuel 24:6 So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed."
1 Samuel 24:10 "Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed.'
1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?"
1 Samuel 26:11 "The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go."
1 Samuel 26:16 "This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the LORD'S anointed. And now, see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his head."
1 Samuel 26:23 "The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed.
2 Samuel 1:14 Then David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?"
2 Samuel 1:16 David said to him, "Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD'S anointed.'"
2 Samuel 1:21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
2 Samuel 19:21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, "Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed?"
2 Samuel 22:51 "He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever."
2 Samuel 23:1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, The man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
1 Chronicles 16:22 "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm."
2 Chronicles 6:42 "O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember Your lovingkindness to Your servant David."
Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
Psalm 18:50 He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.
Psalm 20:6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
Psalm 28:8 The LORD is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed.
Psalm 84:9 Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed.
Psalm 89:38 But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
Psalm 89:51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
Psalm 105:15 "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm."
Psalm 132:10 For the sake of David Your servant, Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.
Psalm 132:17 "There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.
Isaiah 45:1 Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
Lamentations 4:20 The breath of our nostrils, the LORD'S anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, "Under his shadow We shall live among the nations."
Daniel 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
Daniel 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Habakkuk 3:13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah

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FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS CHILDREN Click chart to enlarge Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission Another Overview Chart - 1 John - Charles Swindoll

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FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS CHILDREN
Click chart to enlarge
Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
Another Overview Chart - 1 John - Charles Swindoll