1 John 5:1
[1] Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (ESV)
What do you believe? And by belief I mean an unshakable commitment to something that guides your whole life? Many people believe only in themselves. Sadly, we all know that we can disappoint ourselves and so we are really not worth believing in. Others believe in a human philosophy, only to find that because it is sourced in humanity, their philosophy will eventually leave them wanting.
John writes about those who have placed their belief in Jesus Christ. And he breaks it down for us. He talks specifically about what we believe about who Jesus is. He tells us that if we have been truly born of God, we will see evidence of our belief about who Jesus is. Jesus is "the Christ." We usually see Jesus' name written as Jesus Christ. It is almost as if Christ is his last name. But Christ is a title, not a name.
Christ:
anointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered "Messiah" (q.v.), the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was anointed or consecrated to his great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of his people. He is Jesus the Christ ( Acts 17:3 ; 18:5 ; Matthew 22:42 ), the Anointed One. He is thus spoken of by ( Isaiah 61:1 ), and by ( Daniel 9:24-26 ), who styles him "Messiah the Prince."
To believe that "Jesus is the Christ" is to believe that he is the Anointed, the Messiah of the prophets, the Saviour sent of God, that he was, in a word, what he claimed to be. This is to believe the gospel, by the faith of which alone men can be brought unto God. That Jesus is the Christ is the testimony of God, and the faith of this constitutes a Christian ( 1 Corinthians 12:3 ; 1 John 5:1 ).
- Easton's Bible Dictionary
We will look at the rest of this verse tomorrow, but we need to consider what we really believe about who Jesus is. If he is the title that he claims to have, and that the Bible declares that he has, then it has eternal implications for the way that we should live our lives. This belief about Jesus being the Christ also has implications as compared to every other so-called religion in the world.
Search your heart today. Ask yourself what you truly believe about who Jesus is. If he is the Christ it will have implications for your life that must be considered.
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