365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 317: Christos

Christos

~ A guest post by Dolores Smyth ~

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ” (Acts 2:38 NAS)

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

We honor the name of Jesus Christ.

We weigh our words and actions with the knowledge that, as Christians, what we say and do can draw others closer to God in the name of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, the Jews longed for a savior king who’d deliver them from their oppressors. The Hebrew word for this promised king was “Messiah,” meaning “the anointed.” In the New Testament, “Messiah” was translated into the Greek as Christos, also meaning “the anointed.” Our English word “Christ” derives from the Greek word Christos. 

The word “Christ” is so associated with the name of Jesus that little kids often think Christ was Jesus’s last name! Historically, Christos was not a name but a title, reserved for those who were anointed with sacred oil to signify that God had chosen them to act on His behalf. In Biblical times, the term “the anointed one” or “the Lord’s anointed” was used specifically to refer to kings. We see this in David’s reference to King Saul as “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:6).

However, after the Resurrection, the term “the anointed one” or Christos became a title applied exclusively to Jesus by early Greek-speaking Christians. Jesus was the Christos, the Anointed One of God, anointed by the Holy Spirit and not mere earthly oil like those before Him (Acts 10:38).

In using the title Christos exclusively to describe Jesus as the Anointed One, Jesus became not only a king, but the King of Kings.

The name Christos continues to bear witness today as it remains a popular name for males in Greece. Christina (my elder daughter’s middle name) is its female counterpart.

As we await the return of the King of Kings, let’s continue to pray in the name of Jesus Christ for peace and love to overtake our fallen world. Let’s continue to pray that “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11). 

Dolores Smyth is a mother of three and a freelance writer who writes on faith and families. She is a regular contributor to Crosswalk.com and Christianity.com. You can follow more of her work on Twitter @LolaWordSmyth.