Type:
Q & A 42
No doubt Simon Peter’s most memorable words were those of his great confession in response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15) “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). That’s a Bible verse to memorize, isn’t it? What we don’t often realize, though, is what Jesus goes on to say. Do you remember? Jesus tells Peter that this confession was revealed to Peter from heaven (Matt. 16:17). The true identity of Jesus as the “Christ”—the Messiah or anointed one—is a truth that God reveals to us. And this is a vital reason why we need to understand the meaning of this title. To understand his title—Christ—is to be illuminated and enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 45 gives us background to this title and its significance as it foreshadows the coming of the Anointed One. The Psalmist praises Solomon as king in verses 1–9 and then praises his wife in verses 10–17. Note well the Psalmists’ praise of Solomon. In verse 2 he speaks of his persona, in verses 3–5 he speaks of his majesty, in verses 6–7a he speaks of his throne, in verses 7b–8a he speaks of his anointing, and in verses 8b–9 he speaks of his praise. In commenting on these verses John Calvin so masterfully showed how in praising Solomon and his wife the Psalmist speaks prophetically of Christ: “But as this excellence was displayed in Solomon so also did it shine forth more fully afterwards in Christ.”
What do we learn here about our Mediator who is called “Christ?”
Endowed with the Spirit
First, Jesus’ title “Christ” means he was endowed with the Spirit: “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Ps. 45:7). Later in the history of salvation, John the Baptist spoke of Jesus in this vein, saying, that God gives the Spirit to his Son “without measure” (John 3:34). Larger Catechism Q&A 42 picks up on this and says Jesus was “anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure.”
Jesus was endowed with the Spirit above his companions and without measure in the plan and the council of redemption in eternity, but we see it especially in his life and ministry. From his conception and birth he was endowed with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20). At his baptism he was endowed with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16). His temptation was the result of his being led and thrust out by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 4:1; Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1). His preaching was affected by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14, 18–19). Jesus is “Christ” because he was and is the Spirit-endowed and Spirit-filled man par excellence.
Equipped by the Spirit
Second, Jesus’ endowment with the Spirit was for the purpose of equipping him to act as our mediator by the Spirit. In the typological words of this psalm, the Spirit equipped him to “gird [his] sword on [his] thigh” (Ps. 45:3), to “ride out victoriously” (Ps. 45:4), and to fire his sharp arrows into the hearts of his enemies (Ps. 45:5). And this equipment by the Spirit “so set apart” (WLC, Q&A 42) our Lord from all others who call themselves the Christ (cf. Matt. 24:24), that he also is “fully furnished with all authority and ability, to execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king of his church, in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation” (WLC, Q&A 42).
Solomon was equipped to be Israel’s king after David by an anointing. Solomon was equipped to be Israel’s wisest man so that peoples from all over the world came to hear his 3,000 written proverbs and 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32). Yet Solomon was merely a king. He did not hold the offices of prophet, although his words speak prophetically, nor of priest. He held one office. Yet Jesus’ endowment and equipping by the Spirit enabled him to be set apart as our highest prophet, final priest, and greatest king. For example, all of Solomon’s wisdom pales in comparison to Jesus’, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). What a sufficient mediator and Savior Jesus is for sinners like you and me!
Our Experience
Let me conclude by answering the question of what does Jesus’ anointing mean for my Christian experience?
Because Jesus alone is the Anointed One I experience assurance and confidence that he is my Savior. As my anointed prophet he saves me from my spiritual blindness and ignorance. As my anointed priest he saves me from my sins’ guilt before Almighty God. As my anointed king he saves me from my inability to serve the Lord so that I may join him on the field of battle against the corruption of my sins (Wilhelmus à Brakel).
Because Jesus alone is the Anointed One and I am united to him by faith I share in his anointing with the Holy Spirit. He is anointed above his companions; I am one of his companions; therefore I am endowed with and equipped by the same Holy Spirit. I am Spirit-filled!
Because Jesus alone is the Anointed One and I share in him, I too am called to be a prophet to speak of the Lord in the midst of the world; I too am called to be a priest to pray to the Lord for the world; I too am called to be a king to fight against the world, my sin, and Satan.
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Know it. Thank him for it. Live empowered because of it.
Rev. Daniel R. Hyde
Pastor, Oceanside United Reformed Church
Notes
Calvin, Psalms, 2:176
à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:518
