Jesus and Christ

Probably the next most important thing to consider is the central character of the New Testament, Jesus Christ. If we ever think that we are misunderstood in life these feelings pale into insignificance compared with the misunderstanding of Jesus Christ. If we make a survey of the NT we rarely find the names Jesus and Christ expressed together. In the Gospel of John for instance the name Jesus is used alone except in two places; Jn1:17 “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” and Jn17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” This could suggest that Christ is a title. In fact Paul reverses the names to Christ Jesus. This is like saying President Obama or Queen Elizabeth.

So if we read the NT with this in mind a whole new story unfolds. Here is a man called Jesus Iesous meaning saviour who becomes Christ Christos or anointed. This is further supported by the use of the word pseudochristos or false Christ in Matt24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray”. If we take the Bible as a manual for evolving our consciousness then we could have a goal to become like Jesus and then achieve the status of Christ. The New Testament is full of descriptions of the nature of Jesus and how to attain it or follow it. This word follow akoloutheo literally means alike-way and gives the sense of becoming like Jesus, copying the way he is. The way he is is one of the most misunderstood things in this modern world as we shall discover.