Christ
The name “Christ” is not the same kind of name as Jesus. Jesus is the personal name of the Saviour, but Christ is a title. Like other titles, such as President, Prime Minister or Member of Parliament, it describes the position and work He has in the kingdom of God.
For this reason, He is sometimes called “the Christ” in the same way that someone else might be called “the President.” The difference is that He is unique. There never was nor ever will be another Christ.
Christ means “Anointed One” (Messiah is the Hebrew equivalent of Christ) and refers to the fact that He is specially appointed and ordained by God to do the work of God’s kingdom. The story of His anointing is part of the story of His baptism (Matt. 3:16) and was foretold in Isaiah 61:1-3, where His work as the Anointed One is described.
What is His position and work in the kingdom of God?
It is the position and work of a prophet, priest and king. The Heidelberg Catechism, one of the great Reformation creeds, asks, “Why is He called Christ, that is, anointed?” The answer is, “Because He is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; and to be our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession with the Father for us; and also to be our eternal King, who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in (the enjoyment of) that salvation He has purchased for us” (Q. & A. 31).
This reference to His prophetic, priestly and kingly offices is in the name Christ. It is the reason the name is so important. It is the foundation of the church (Matt. 16:18) and the proof of regeneration (I John 5:1). It is the reason the confession of faith, “Jesus is the Christ,” must be given from heaven.
To confess that He is Christ, therefore, is not merely to speak a word but to say that He is our chief Prophet and Teacher, our only High Priest and our eternal King. Can you say that?
That He is the Christ means that He is the only one who can hold these offices and perform the work that belongs to them. We need not that any man teach us (I John 2:27). We need no other priest or sacrifice. We acknowledge no other king, for He is Kingof kings and Lord of lords. He is unique.
Confessing that Jesus is the Christ, may we seek no other beside Him. Rev. Ron Hanko
The Giants in the Earth
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:4).
The Hebrew word for “giants,” as it appears in the text quoted above, is nephilim. From this Hebrew word comes the question often heard: “Who were the nephilim (giants)?”
Some strange interpretations have come from commentators. One interpretation is that these giants were the product of sexual intercourse between fallen angels and human beings. This interpretation is, however, to be emphatically rejected. We are told by our Lord Himself that angels do not enter into such relationships, which are reserved for humans (Matt. 22:30).
It will be helpful to look at the context before attempting to answer this question.
In the days before the flood, when “men began to multiply on the face of the earth” (Gen. 6:1), the human race was already divided spiritually into two lines: the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The line of the seed of the serpent ran through wicked Cain, who killed his brother. The line of the seed of the woman ran through Seth, whom God gave in the place of Abel.
The spiritual difference between these two lines was the work of God’s electing grace in the seed of the woman, which worked out in distinguishable and sealed differences from the wicked world.
By this time it was already true that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6). In other words, reprobate children were born in the line of Seth, the line of the covenant, as is true throughout history.
This explains what the text is referring to when it says that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and took wives of all which they chose (Gen. 6:2). The “sons of God” mentioned here were men born in the line of Seth, yet many of them were wicked.
It was a time of dreadful spiritual decline. The world grew stronger and more wicked, and the “church” grew smaller through sinful unions between those born in the church and those born in the world. It is in that setting that we read of “giants.”
The passage is somewhat obscure and commentators are not altogether agreed on its precise meaning. Some claim that the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men produced the giants, and that these giants are the same as the “mighty men … men of renown” (6). The text, however, suggests that giants were in the earth both before and after these intermarriages: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that …” It indicates that giants were present throughout this period. At the same time, when the sons of God entered unholy marriages with the daughters of men, those marriages produced children who became “mighty men … men of renown.” The giants, therefore, are to be distinguished from the offspring of those unions.
These giants were huge men of unparalleled size. Scripture speaks of such men elsewhere (Num. 13:32-33; II Sam. 21:16-22). They were called “giants” because they were physically immense, tall and of mammoth proportions. In times of great wickedness such men are found in the earth. Besides them there were other men, born of unholy unions, who were mighty men, though not necessarily giants. The Hebrew word really means “heroes.” They were men of strength and fame, admired and even “worshipped,” much as sports heroes or movie actors are treated today. They may also have been men of great intellectual powers who were responsible for the inventions of that day (Gen. 4:19-22).
The Bible includes this material not only to tell us what life was like in the earth in those days, but also to warn us of these evils. Jesus teaches that the days just before the end will be like the days before the flood (Matt. 24:38-39). Just as men born in the church intermarried with the world then, so it is today. Just as those marriages produced men of renown then, so it is today. Just as those unions led to widespread corruption and wickedness then, so it is today. And just as the flood came and swept them all away, so Christ shall come and destroy them all. For the people of God to marry unbelievers is not only contrary to God’s word (II Cor. 6:14-18), it leads to greater wickedness than ever before.
Those who are faithful in their marriages, and who do not join the church to the world, these shall be saved. Prof. Herman Hanko
What Is Dispensationalism? (2)
We continue our answer to the question, “Who and what is a dispensationalist, and is dispensationalism to be considered heretical or part of historic, biblical Christianity?” The last part of the question is especially important here: is dispensationalism heresy? We believe it is.
First, the literalism of dispensationalism is wrong. The writer who said, “We can best criticize the literalists by saying that none really exist,” was right. It is impossible to take everything in Scripture in a strictly literal sense. And there is nothing wrong with “spiritualising” certain things in Scripture, without denying their historical reality—we are told that understanding the things of God involves “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (I Cor. 2:13).
This literalism is especially wrong where it most matters: in the relationship between Israel and the church. In many passages Israel is used as a synonym for the church (Acts 7:38; Heb. 12:22-23). The Bible also plainly teaches that not all are Israel who are called Israel, but only the children of the promise (Rom. 9:6-8). In that way Scripture itself “spiritualises” Israel. It even identifies believing Gentiles as part of the true Israel in some passages (Gal. 3:7-9; Phil. 3:3).
Dispensationalism’s view of Israel is dangerous as well. Given its influence, and its claim that the church is only a kind of “parenthesis” in history, that is, a temporary interruption in God’s primary plan for Israel rather than the central and continuing expression of that plan, it is no wonder the visible church is neglected today. How can the unity, life and work of the church be treated as vital if the church is only a “mystery parenthesis” in God’s plan?
This separation of Israel and the church leads to further abuse of the word of God. If, because of this difference, large parts of Scripture do not apply to the church and to believers in the New Testament (except perhaps as matters of curiosity), then Paul’s words in II Timothy 3:16-17 cannot stand for New Testament believers: that “all scripture … is profitable.”
Dispensationalism is also destructive of godliness and sanctification, both in its separation of law and grace and in its teaching about Christ. When it teaches that Christ is not Lord and King of the church, it amounts in practice to this: one may have Christ as Saviour without having Him as Lord, and one may be saved without surrendering his whole life to Christ and serving Him as Lord in every area of life. From this comes the notion of “carnal Christians,” that is, those who have been justified but who continue to live wicked and sinful lives.
Although many modern dispensationalists insist that there is only one way of salvation, they often hedge at this point by tending to deny that Old Testament salvation was really by faith in Jesus Christ. One writer, for example, says that although faith in Christ is the only way of salvation, the content of faith was different in the Old Testament. But if Christ is not the content of faith, then by changing the content of faith he denies what he has just said, that Christ is the only way of salvation.
For all these reasons, especially the last, we consider dispensationalism to be “another gospel,” a fundamental departure from the truth of God’s word. We say this not to put dispensationalists beyond hope of salvation, but to stress the seriousness of these errors. Rev. Ron Hanko
