The gospel (the good news, His story) is summarized in the three names most associated with the Son of God: Jesus + Christ + Lord. From Acts through Jude the New Testament writers use this composite 85 times in various orders: the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ the Lord, etc.
There is a correlation between the defining moments in the story of the Son of God and the three names that form this triad. “Jesus” is mostly associated with His earthly life from His incarnation (Act 1) through His demonstration (Act 2). It is in the name Jesus that we most clearly get the concept that God has taken on flesh and blood, taken on our likeness.
“Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form” (Phil. 2:6-7)
The name Jesus or Joshua was a very common Hebrew name that meant savior. Although there was a prophetic meaning that the angel gave it in his announcement to Mary (Matt 1:21), it was generally used to designate the man who was from Nazareth in Galilee, the son of Joseph and Mary, the man who became a great rabbi. God could have selected it not only for its spiritual implication but for its commonness: the One who lived among us. The name Jesus clearly summarizes the initial story line of the gospel: God now lives among us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The name Jesus is used twelve times in the book of Revelation beginning in the first verse with “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ”. The name Jesus clearly links the incarnate Son of God who walked on earth to the one who is now in the heavens retaining his identity with humanity.
The name Christ adds more to His story. Christ, the anointed One, the Messiah, brings the Old Testament expectation of a Deliverer, a Restorer of Israel into the picture. The name Christ or Jesus Christ was a very common way to refer to the Son of God on the resurrection side of the cross.
The Jews, although anticipating a Messiah, were not expecting him to be divine. Certainly anointed by God, this deliverer was to be a nationalistic figure that would bring peace and prosperity back to the nation of Israel. The Jewish antagonism towards Jesus increased as they realized the kingdom to which he referred was not a physical one. It really escalated when they understood that He was not only claiming to be the way into a new kingdom but making a claim to deity.
The defining moments of His story from the crucifixion (Act 3) through the resurrection (Act 4) and to the ascension (Act 5 is certainly wrapped up in the name Christ. In the name Christ we have Savior, Deliverer, and final High Priest captured in a name.
The final name in the triad, Lord (although present in the Gospels) was amplified with His ascended coronation (Act 6) and his final Examination (Act 7). Without the Son of God as Lord, the gospel is incomplete. It is as much a part of His story and the gospel as His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Paul in writing to the Philippians focuses His story on the final scene of history: the universal confession that the Son of God is Jesus Christ the Lord.
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW…and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11 NASB)
From the beginning to the end of the book of Acts, those that carried the gospel to their world told the story of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Peter
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
Paul
“And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters … preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (Act 28:30-31).
With an increasingly biblical illiterate culture we cannot assume that when people think of Jesus they think correctly. We may need to start a dialogue with questions like:
- “What do you know about the Jesus of the Bible?”
- “If I said the Jesus of the Bible is the most significant person in all of history, would you like to know why?”
- “Have you ever personally explored who Jesus is and what He claimed to be?”
The gospel is in the name. It is in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that:
- We are to believe and find redemption.
- We discover the heart connection that has been lost
- We can boldly approach the throne of grace for help
- We live in victory over the forces of darkness including death
- We will one day live with Him in the new dimension of heaven called “home”