Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God,”Who do you say I am?”

 This is a question that Jesus asked his disciples after they entered the region of Caesarea Philippi. We find the conversation between Jesus and the disciples in Matthew 16:13-20. The conversation begins with Jesus asking, “Who do the people say the Son of Man is?”

 and the answers were “John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets.” Even today, many will say that Jesus was just a man, perhaps a prophet, or a great leader. Sadly, in the Jewish community, they are still waiting for Elijah to come and announce the coming of the Messiah. They do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

John, the beloved, wrote in his letter, or what some would consider his book, 1 John, that those who do not recognize Jesus as Christ and that He came in the flesh from God are against God and are the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:2-3). I am not saying that the Jews who do not believe that Jesus is Christ are of the spirit of the antichrist; however, John does in this passage that anyone who does not recognize Jesus as Christ is of the spirit of the antichrist. Does that mean we should go up against them and destroy them? No! That means we should act as Jesus and love them, for it is said we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

Some see “Christ” as Jesus’s last name. Yes, it is hard for us who have been raised Christian to understand this concept, but for those who do not know because they have not been taught, one could deduce the understanding of this thought. However, the name or word “Christ” is a title. It is like referring to someone as Mr. or Mrs., or Doctor. Another example is Mr. President or President so-and-so. In Hebrew, Christ translates to “Messiah“, and in Greek it translates to “Christos“, and both translations mean “anointed one”. Therefore, Jesus is the anointed one by God to fulfill what God has instructed and promised that He would do, which is to make a way to salvation and eternal life with Him. He is a man, Jesus, but his title is Christ, the Messiah.

When reading the writings of Paul, one can notice that he often interchanges “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus”. After careful examination, one would find that Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the man and Christ Jesus as the Messiah. He does this to emphasize the identity of Jesus as the Messiah before his human name, Jesus.

The response from Peter to Jesus’s question in Matthew 16 comes in verse 16, which is “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” To that response from Peter, Jesus states that Peter was blessed for the answer was revealed to him, not by flesh and blood but by the Spirit of the Father (Matt 16:17). 

John warns the believers to test the spirits to see if they are from God, because of so many false prophets (1 John 4:1). If someone does not recognize Jesus as the Christ, then he is false and should not be listened to.

There is, but only one Christ, and His name is Jesus, and there is no other. For He came in flesh to save the world and make things righteous again.

Last week, the little lambs learned about a young man named Timothy and how Paul, his mentor, taught and encouraged Timothy to share the word of God. This week, we will continue to get to know Paul and meet another friend of his named Silas.

I look forward to worshiping our Lord with you tomorrow with songs of praise and dancing before Him who offers salvation through Christ, but if I do not see you, may the Lord bless you with abundant joy that overflows your cup and may He guide you, comfort you, heal you, and bring you peace when you need it.

God bless you,

Your brother in Christ

Michael (aka Mr. Michael)