THE UNRECOGNIZED CHRIST

                                                                                                                                                               By W. G. Guy

          The work of the five gift ministries of apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist and pastor is for the perfecting, or completing the education of the saints to bring them into the full stature of Christ.  The task of the church, and our gathering together unto the LORD, is to be built up fully into the image of Christ.

Ephesians 4:12-13 – And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:   till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

          Further example of this effort is recorded for our admonition, as follows:

Romans 8:9 – But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

          Paul said that all of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, representing Him in truth and the power of His resurrection.

Romans 8:18-19 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

          God, our Heavenly Father, is the one who set this in motion when He gave us His Son, and His Holy Spirit: God’s plan that He had from the beginning of mankind.

Romans 8:29 – For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 –   Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;  who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.The apostle Paul labored for this very purpose.

Galatians 4:19 –  My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, 

          Now here is the unrecognized part!  What does the word Christ mean?  The word Christ is translated from the Greek khristos which refers to “messiah”, and means “ANOINTED ONE”. 

Luke 4:18-19 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

          What is unrecognized is that when we accept Jesus as our savior, and make Him LORD of our life, we have the Spirit of the “anointed one” within our spirit (heart).  This makes us fellow anointed ones, or Christians.  Christ in you is actually the fullness of God’s character and nature in you: also known as the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Ephesians 3:16-19 –  that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

          It appears that the Spirit of Christ in the believer continues to be a mystery to most of the church.

Colossians 1:27 – to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

I John 3:2 – Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

                    With Christ in those of us who believe in Him, we are joint heirs with Him who is the firstborn among many.  Thus we receive His anointing to do the works that He did.  In fact we are commanded to continue the works that He did as His representatives, the ambassadors of His kingdom, by applying the power and authority that He gave us in the use on His name.  

Matthew 28:18-19  – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, …

Mark 16:15-18 – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  they shall take up (remove) serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

          The power of God is still available, but most of the church denies that this is in effect today.  Thus they are powerless to have a positive influence in the world to bring about the change need in the lives of the lost.  The anointing that we receive of Him is to equip us to be His representatives and ambassadors to this lost world.  It also equips us to do His work just as He declared we are to do.

John 12:12-13 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

          (Note: this is the Word of the LORD, and His Word shall not pass away; so it is still in effect today: it has no expiration date.)

          Thus Christ is to be seen in us; and He is supposed to be seen in the church of His saints.  However, this is not being taught in churches today as it was in the early church, which walked in the fullness of Christ, and was able to turn the world upside down.

          There is also a caution that needs to be addressed; it is what Jesus told us that there would be false anointed ones that would give false messages, and try to preach and teach in His name in these last days.

Matthew 24:4-5 – And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ (anointed); and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:24 – For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

          Knowledge of God’s Word equips us to discern those who are false preachers, prophets and teachers who would claim to be anointed, (false Christ’s).

Hebrews 5:12-14 –  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe, (immature in the LORD).  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

          God’s plan for us as His children is to have the same anointing that Jesus had so that we can be His true witnesses on this earth; right up unto the time that He returns to fully set up His kingdom here on earth.  This anointing is the power that began at Pentecost and continues until His return.

1 Corinthians 1:7 –  so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Acts 1:8 – But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

          Satan has used all manors of lies to deceive the churches into denying this divine power and anointing of Christ in order to prevent the gospel of Jesus Christ from spreading throughout the whole world.  Don’t let the devil cause you to deny the power and authority of His name!

1 John 2:27 –  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

          One of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to teach us and equip us to be His witnesses by continuing His work in showing God’s love to a world in need of Him.

John 14:26 – But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13-15 – Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 

          God, our Heavenly Father, wants Christ, the anointed one, to be recognized in you as being one of His children; a member of His family.

Romans 6:14 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  (Read all of Romans 8 to be encouraged.)