Acts 11:26 - "Who is a Christian?"

Acts 11:26

"And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Who is a Christian? Today the word is used very popularly, yet there is much confusion. Webster's dictionary defines a Christian as "a believer in the religion of Christ or a professor of his belief in the religion of Christ." But is that what it is to be a Christian? Is it simply adhering to the teachings of Jesus? No, the Scriptures give a far deeper definition.

Before the world began, God loved His people. He chose them for His own, and in His rich Eternal Love, He wrote their names upon the Lamb. But the law said, “Die.” Yet God, in Wondrous Grace, came and took their place. Christ paid the debt one day. He's the only Way. He died upon the tree to set them free. In His Sovereign Grace, the LORD Jesus took their place. Thank God, He included them. To be the LORD's by His Sovereign Electing Grace, redeemed by the death of the LORD Jesus Christ on the cross, and in time called to Him by the Spirit of Grace, is what it is to be a Christian.

The apostle Peter describes those who are the LORD's as: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Peter 1:2-5). The "foreknowledge of God the Father" is His knowledge from eternity of those that He decreed should be saved as the elect of God. The "sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ," is the calling out and setting apart of those for whom Christ shed His blood unto death. These are CHRISTians, ones who have been made heirs of Christ and possess in Him an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that can never fade away, and who are kept by the Power of God through Spirit-revealed Faith unto that Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The word "Christian" literally means the "anointed ones," because of their union and relationship with Christ, the Anointed One. You cannot be a Christian outside of the LORD Jesus Christ. Being a Christian pertains to Who He is and what He has accomplished. He is The Christ. Psalm 2:2 says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed.” In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed by God. Christ combines all three in Himself. He is the Prophet, revealing the Word of God. He is the Priest, standing before God as the Representative of His people. He is the King, ruling over all, and His subjects, Christians, are brought into submission and subjection to Him by the Grace of God.

Even as the high priests were anointed, “and the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons after him to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them” (Exodus 29:29), so Christ was anointed by God the Father. He was set apart from all eternity to be the Savior, and His people were set apart in Him (Isaiah 42:1). When He lived a perfect life and laid down His life in obedience, His people were represented in Him. When He rose again, all of God's elect were raised with Him (Ephesians 2:6). Now, ascended on high, He intercedes for everyone for whom He died. To be a Christian is to be anointed and set apart in their Head, Christ Jesus the Savior. "'And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence," (Colossians 1:18).

The Apostle John writes, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). This unction is Christ Himself. The Spirit communicates this Grace, but the glory is Christ's alone. It is by the Spirit that sinners are drawn to Christ, yet the anointing, the standing, and the blessing come from Him. Being a Christian is being found in Christ, not having righteousness of our own, but the Righteousness of God by Faith through Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9).

Acts 11:21 shows Faith’s Source: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” Faith’s evidence is that sinners believe the Record that God has given of His Son, as 1 John 5:9-10 declares, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." Faith’s Object is the LORD Himself; believers are turned by the Spirit of Christ to Him alone, away from themselves and their foolish works and efforts which are nothing more than idolatry to hold on to dead works of this flesh. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10, Paul declares: “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God…how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus.”

This is what it means to be a Christian: to be chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, united to Him in life, death, and resurrection, and set apart for His glory. It is all of Christ, all by His work, and all for His glory. It is not moral behavior, nor simply a belief system, or human effort that the Scriptures call "dead works,". These are actions or deeds that are devoid of Christ and not motivated by the Faith of Christ for His own. Dead works are any attempt to either gain or maintain salvation by one's personal efforts, thinking that somehow they might be accepted before God. These works are seen as ineffective for salvation and therefore "dead," in contrast with the living FAITH which is the Revelation of Christ in His Person, and His finished work of salvation on the cross.

Have you been brought by God’s Hand to believe, to turn to the LORD, to be found in Him? This is the work of God, the glory of the Savior, and the calling of all who bear His name. A Christian is anointed, set apart, redeemed, and united to Christ. All that He is, all that He has done, all that He accomplished, is the reason for the name, "Christian".

“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Their lives so clearly bore the likeness, doctrine, and Spirit of Christ that observers could find no better name to describe them. It was not a title of their own choosing, but a witness given by the world to the Grace of God in Christ. Their unity, devotion to the apostles’ doctrine, love for one another, and bold proclamation of the Gospel marked them as a people belonging to Christ alone. Any testimony we may have to the glory and honor of the LORD Jesus is ALL of His Grace for us and in us.