Jesus Is No Longer Operating As the Christ

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

In the Old Testament, the kings of Israel were anointed by having oil poured on them as in these examples:

"Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance?...The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person."" (1 Samuel 10:1-6)

"The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."...So he [the prophet Samuel] asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." So he sent for him and had him brought in. He [David] was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; this is the one." So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah." (1 Samuel 16:1, 11-13)

Bible commentaries tend to say that the anointing oil represented the Holy Spirit, and we're specifically told (above) that the Holy Spirit came powerfully upon Saul and David after the oil was poured on them. Similarly, as we'll see in a moment, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power as King of the Jews at His baptism (for a detailed description of why Jesus is the King of the Jews, see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part One).

In the Old Testament, Jesus is referred to as "the Messiah," which comes from the Hebrew word Masiyah and is transliterated into Greek as Messias. In the New Testament, He's frequently referred to as "the Christ," which comes from the Greek word Christos. These Hebrew and Greek words all mean "Anointed One" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates). So when we refer to Him as "Jesus Christ," the word "Christ" is not His last name. It's a title that means "the Anointed One," because God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit:

"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One [Masiyah], the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [Masiyah] will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." (Daniel 9:24-26)

"Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah [Messias]" (that is, the Christ [Christos])." (John 1:40-41)

"He [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."" (Luke 4:16-21)

"Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed." (Acts 4:27)

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." (Acts 10:38)

Jesus never sinned (as all other humans do), so He was never in need of receiving salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit (as all other humans are). He was anointed with power (Acts 10:38, above), so even though He is God, on earth He needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for His ministry. He never used His divine power before the cross, not even once (see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Three).

When Jesus died and was resurrected, at that point He had a glorified, immortal body (which is described in my article called What Will Happen after the Second Coming?). From then on, He has operated in His divinity, not in His humanity. He is 100% God and 100% human, both at the same time (see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Three), and before the cross, He operated strictly as a human. After His resurrection, He has operated strictly as God. Remember, Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, not because He's human but because He's God (Acts 2:32-35, 5:30-31, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:18-23, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3-4, 13, 8:1, 10:12-13, 12:2, 1 Peter 3:21-22).

On earth, Jesus was (and always has been, and always will be) God, but He lived completely as a mortal human before the cross, not accessing any of His power or His divinity. After He was baptized in water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him. This was not for the purpose of sealing Jesus with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of His salvation (as in Ephesians 1:13-14) because Jesus was not in need of salvation. On earth, Jesus was our perfect role model because He was the perfect human, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in order to empower Jesus for His ministry on earth. This can be demonstrated by following the sequence of events in Luke's Gospel:

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove." (Luke 3:21-22)

"Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry." (Luke 3:23)

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (Luke 4:1-2)

"When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." (Luke 4:13-14)

First we see that Jesus was baptized in water, and then the Holy Spirit descended on Him (not for salvation, but for spiritual empowerment for His earthly ministry). Next, Jesus began His ministry after receiving the Holy Spirit. We're then told that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. Finally, we see Jesus returning to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So even though Jesus is God, the above passages tell us that as a human He needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for His earthly ministry. When He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:38, above), that was the moment when He became the Christ (which means "the Anointed One").

Notice that Jesus needed to be anointed with the Holy Spirit because before He died on the cross He was operating strictly as a mortal human. After His resurrection, He is once again operating in His divinity as God (as He did before being born on earth).

Again, He is 100% human and 100% God, both at the same time. The human part of Him is still anointed, but He is not operating as a human. He is not operating as the Anointed One. Part of Him is still the Christ (the Anointed One), so we can still call Him Christ, but He is no longer operating as the Christ, and never will again.