Was Jesus a Christian?

[St. SteVen]

Does Christianity form us into "little Christs" today?

It should, I suppose, but seems to have become something else entirely.
The "Christians" on this forum are a prime example.
And for the most part they SHOULD have come from churches that WOULD.

To be clear, there are some godly folks here, but way too many that... well... (sigh)

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[St. SteVen]

In what ways does the church today deviate from the teachings and example of Christ in terms of both doctrine and practice? Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Jesus said something about straining out a gnat, but swallowing a camel.
We seem to have been at the airport when our ship came in.

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[Muna]

Christ = "anointed"

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor

It says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38)

And Paul also said concerning themselves here

2 Cr 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God

While John writing to his little children in the faith concerning them which would seduce them he says

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.

In Christ was life and that life was the light of men, the Spirit of truth

You could say, that Jesus Christ is THE anointed of the Father, and we who believe have that life through Jesus which also pertains to the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

 

[St. SteVen]

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.

"... ye need not that any man teach you..."
Of what need is Christianity then?

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[Muna]

"... ye need not that any man teach you..."
Of what need is Christianity then?

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To tell them that

 

[St. SteVen]

St. SteVen said:
"... ye need not that any man teach you..."
Of what need is Christianity then?

To tell them that

Do you know of any church that teaches that?

"We're here to tell you that you don't need us."
"Please support our ministry with a generous offering, thanks."

Say what?

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[Muna]

St. SteVen said:
"... ye need not that any man teach you..."
Of what need is Christianity then?

Do you know of any church that teaches that?

"We're here to tell you that you don't need us."
"Please support our ministry with a generous offering, thanks."

Say what?

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John wasn't preaching himself but for them to be led by the Spirit

2 Cr 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

2 Cr 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

 

[St. SteVen]

John wasn't preaching himself but for them to be led by the Spirit

As opposed to what?

"... ye need not that any man teach you..." (1 John 2:27)

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[Muna]

As opposed to what?

"... ye need not that any man teach you..." (1 John 2:27)

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What do you mean opposed to what? John said concerning them which would seduce them that they needed not a man to teach them. He was a man teaching them to trust in the one who is the truth in them.

 

[St. SteVen]

What do you mean opposed to what? John said concerning them which would seduce them that they needed not a man to teach them. He was a man teaching them to trust in the one who is the truth in them.

Again, as opposed to what?
Perhaps I misunderstood you, but weren't you defending Christianity? (the church of men)

"... ye need not that any man teach you..." (1 John 2:27)

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[Muna]

Again, as opposed to what?
Perhaps I misunderstood you, but weren't you defending Christianity? (the church of men)

"... ye need not that any man teach you..." (1 John 2:27)

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What do you mean church of men? You mean church of God? Or are you being deliberate in your choice of words because you have somewhere you wish to go with them?

Lets try this agin

I posted the apostle's words, concerning them which seduce you

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.

You say to the apostles words, "Of what need is Christianity then?"

I answer, "To tell them that" (what he just wrote) the same apostle also said earlier

1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us:
and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

As Jesus said,

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

You ask again,

Do you know of any church that teaches that?

I haven't been to every church to know how many neglect to teach 1 John 2:27

And Jesus also said,

John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

 

[Hillsage]

Apparently not.
Who invented Christianity?

Acts 11:26 NIV
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.
The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

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@St. SteVen I know I'm late coming here, but I just did find this thread and have been pursuing this very same topic for a month on another thread. But I decided last night I was done there. And I see a couple of other names here from that thread also, and hope they are OK with me being here too. I'd like to share a bit more with you and your opening post.

Chronologically, ACTS 11:25 was written about 41-45 AD when Paul used the word christians (no caps in original Greek) to describe "disciples" or 'some in the church of Antioch', which was in Syria. The church was 40+ years old!!!!! What did CHRISTIAN mean then? And my question then was; Why did it take so long for that to be the first time?

The next two times it is in scripture was King Aggrippa in Acts 26:28 in 61AD.
The last time was 1 Peter 4:16 in 62AD.
All three times, none of these these letters were written to the church in Israel. Is that a significant' factor?

The main thing that struck me was how many years it was before the word christian was ever used?

I'll just end with I believe we are talking about a maturity factor concerning this name. Several other posts here are relating similar type inclinations in my opinion .

 

[Hillsage]

Christians (which are DISCIPLES of Jesus) were CALLED that, Jesus did not follow himself, he is THE Christ, so he wouldn't be a follower or disciple of HIMSELF called that.

This is weird

I think you are on the right track. Jesus, followed 'the anointing', which was smeared on His spirit, in the womb before birth. And He was 'spirit led' to never commit a sin, when he was tempted by his flesh like all humans. We have that same anointing on our spirits after they are born again, but we don't always follow the leading of that anointing. We follow the sin natured pull of our flesh....and we "quench" the leading of our born again spirit. Jesus never did and we follow Him when we follow His example.

1TH 5:19* Quench not the Spirit.....21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

I don't like the capitalized Spirit here, because I don't think it's talking about the Holy Spirit of God. I think it's talking about the holy born again "a new creation" spirit of man.

EDIT: I just read. your next text and realize I am being redundant, and hopefully the source you read from that other thread.

 

[Hillsage]

You may have gathered from many of my topics that Christians today misunderstand Jesus and the law. IMO
I took great pains to examine the definitions of "the law, the Law, Christ's law and God's law".
Critical to understanding How Paul and Christ were aligned on these items.

Furthermore, Jesus said He was sent to the lost sheep (?) of Israel, not to the gentiles.
Jesus told Ananias that Saul was being sent to the gentiles.

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Not to forget 'the perfect law of liberty' = being led of the anointing towards perfection, and "the law of sin and death" = led of the sinful flesh nature to sin.

 

[Muna]

I think you are on the right track. Jesus, followed 'the anointing', which was smeared on His spirit, in the womb before birth. And He was 'spirit led' to never commit a sin, when he was tempted by his flesh like all humans. We have that same anointing on our spirits after they are born again, but we don't always follow the leading of that anointing. We follow the sin natured pull of our flesh....and we "quench" the leading of our born again spirit. Jesus never did and we follow Him when we follow His example.

1TH 5:19* Quench not the Spirit.....21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

I don't like the capitalized Spirit here, because I don't think it's talking about the Holy Spirit of God. I think it's talking about the holy born again "a new creation" spirit of man.

EDIT: I just read. your next text and realize I am being redundant, and hopefully the source you read from that other thread.

You have alot in there, and I do not even know what to do with it all and we might disagree with some things, but sticking with being called christian alone here. I have heard speak of the words "christian" being given to his disciples was a derisive nickname, having very little to do with their understanding of being born again. Since it says that is what they were called, and not that they come up with the name, they did not object.

As far as being anointed it was spoken of in the OT as well as the NT, here are a few NT verses


Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38)

And Paul also said concerning themselves here

2 Cr 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God

And John writing to his little children in the faith concerning them which would seduce them he says

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.

 

[Hillsage]

You have alot in there, and I do not even know what to do with it all and we might disagree with some things, but sticking with being called christian alone here.

I'm sorry if I that seemed like a lot. And disagreement is bound to be the case. But hopefully this thread can disagree without being so adversarial about it. Having said that, do your last 8 words above mean we 'have' to call everyone here a "christian"? Because, in the last 3 weeks, I honestly no longer think I can even call myself one. And I need to go change my 'faith preference' to see if anything even fits. Hopefully "The Way" is an option.

I have heard speak of the words "christian" being given to his disciples was a derisive nickname, having very little to do with their understanding of being born again. Since it says that is what they were called, and not that they come up with the name, they did not object.

But was it derisive because they were living up to "the image of the stature of the fullness of Christ" and the derisive sinners didn't like Jesus? Or was it because the disciples fell so far short, the sinners didn't recognize the one disciples claimed to be following?

As far as being anointed it was spoken of in the OT as well as the NT, here are a few NT verses

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor

I agree in OT and NT. But Luke speaks of 'the Spirit which was "UPON" Jesus'. Do you think that "Spirit" is different than the anointed spirit which was IN Jesus?

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.

I have been put down for many years because of my belief in this verse. Always chided that I could make a mistake in 'thinking' I heard him wrong. I confess that is experientially true. So then they want me to believe without question 'the bible'. I ask which one is without the errors of man's influence.

 

[Muna]

I'm sorry if I that seemed like a lot. And disagreement is bound to be the case. But hopefully this thread can disagree without being so adversarial about it. Having said that, do your last 8 words above mean we 'have' to call everyone here a "christian"? Because, in the last 3 weeks, I honestly no longer think I can even call myself one. And I need to go change my 'faith preference' to see if anything even fits. Hopefully "The Way" is an option.

Christ is the way,

And Jesus doctrine was not His (John 7:15) but His that sent Him

Psalm 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets

Following Christ, being a disciple of Christ, or a Christian or a follower of the way, they would all be acceptable

 

[St. SteVen]

Because, in the last 3 weeks, I honestly no longer think I can even call myself one. And I need to go change my 'faith preference' to see if anything even fits. Hopefully "The Way" is an option.

Careful.
Your faith designation affects where you are allowed to post on the forum.

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[Hillsage]

Christ is the way,

And Jesus doctrine was not His (John 7:15) but His that sent Him

And how did Jesus 'learn' this doctrine from God? I believe it was because the spirit of Jesus had the same unction/anointing on His spirit. That's what 1Joh 2:20 says Jesus put on our spirits to lead us into knowing the truth of all things.

1JO 2:20 But ye have an unction (5545 chrisma: smearing) from the Holy One (Jesus the anointed), and ye know all things.

1JO 2:27 But the anointing (5545 chrisma: smearing) which ye have received of him (Jesus) 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.

But the only way we will come to know all truth is if we continue to "abide in him". And before ABIDING comes, we have to learn what that christ/christos anointing taught us, concerning Him/Jesus.

Jesus was not 'The Anointing'. His spirit was not 'The Anointing'. But it taught Him to become, what He was to be, on the cross., for you and me.

Following Christ, being a disciple of Christ, or a Christian or a follower of the way, they would all be acceptable

Like I've said before, I struggle with the first theologians who decided for capitalization of the C. The only time it was a proper noun was 3X.

From Strong's 5547 Christos: anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus

From a SEARCH.....for the definition of epithet is :

noun: epithet;

1. an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.
   "the monarch is often known by the epithet “the Great.”"

Just to sum this up. I presently see the words "the Christ" or "Christian or Christians" as pertaining to whoever has learned ALL 'that anointing' on their spirit had to teach, concerning the goal. And that goal is called mature or perfect in scripture.

If anyone sees anything wrong, I welcome a pointing finger. Just don't point it at ME. PLEASE.

 

[Muna]

Like I've said before, I struggle with the first theologians who decided for capitalization of the C.

There could actually be a pill for that, I do understand that so many people struggle with so many things these days, this is a biggy.