Lord’s Day 12
Q32. But why are you called a Christian?
Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
1 Corinthians 12:27
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
Acts 2:17
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”
1 John 2:27
“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
Matthew 10:32
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
Romans 10:9–10
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 12:1
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service.”
1 Peter 2:5, 9
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. But ye a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
Galatians 5:16–17
“I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
1 Timothy 1:18–19
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:”
Matthew 25:34
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
2 Timothy 2:12
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with : if we deny , he also will deny us:”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
"Jesus" is the mediator's personal name, while "Christ" functions as a title that further defines who He is. He is Jesus in such a way that He is also the Christ: the promised Savior and Messiah. Both names point to His office, though not with equal precision. The name Jesus describes the mediator's role in general terms, while Christ expresses it more fully and specifically, since it captures all three dimensions of His office: prophetic, priestly, and royal. The name Christ means "the Anointed One." So He is Jesus the Savior in such a way that He is also Christ the Anointed, holding an office with three distinct parts, as just noted. The reason all three are contained within the name Christ is that prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed in ancient times. That anointing signified two things: appointment to the office, and the conferring of the gifts necessary to carry it out faithfully. The logic, then, runs as follows: whoever is to serve as prophet, priest, and king, and is called "the Anointed," bears that title because of those three offices. Christ was to be prophet, priest, and king, and He is called the Anointed. Therefore, He is called the Anointed, or Christ, on account of all three roles, so that the full scope of the mediator's office is captured in the single title of Messiah, Christ, the Anointed One. In working through this question from the Catechism, we need to examine four things:
I. What is meant by the anointing of Christ, given that Scripture never describes Him being physically anointed?
II. What is the prophetic office of Christ?