Q & A 31

Q. Why is he called “Christ,”
meaning “anointed”?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father
and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit (1)

to be
our chief prophet and teacher (2)

who fully reveals to us
the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; (3)

our only high priest (4)

who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, (5)
and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; (6)
and our eternal king (7)

who governs us by his Word and Spirit,
and who guards us and keeps us
in the freedom he has won for us. (8)

1 Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7)
2 Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)
3 John 1:18; 15:15
4 Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4)
5 Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14
6 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24
7 Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9)
8 Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11

Q & A 32

Q. But why are you called a Christian?

A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ (1)
and so I share in his anointing. (2)

I am anointed
to confess his name, (3)
to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, (4)
to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil

in this life, (5)

and afterward to reign with Christ

over all creation
for eternity. (6)

1 1 Cor. 12:12-27
2 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27
3 Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Heb. 13:15
4 Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
5 Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18-19
6 Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12