On the Application of the Names and Titles of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 
No. 1.
THE few remarks here written down are in the way of suggestion and inquiry as to the use in scripture of some of these names in the Evangelists, and in the Apostolic writings. The names are Jesus, Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, Lamb, and Lord.
Assuredly these names are never arbitrarily employed, but whether two or even three be used together, or one alone selected, there is meaning in the selection. It is in the peculiar relationships of our Lord towards the Church now, and towards Israel and the world now or hereafter, that they become of value to the student of scripture.
To begin with “Jesus.” It is His human historical name, given to Him by the angel of the Lord (Matt. 1:2121And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)) previous to His birth, and means Saviour. The name is found in the Old Testament in an enigmatical way, with a view to His future bearing of it, in the word Joshua (comp. Heb. 4:88For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. (Hebrews 4:8), margin), and in almost every word rendered into English by “Salvation.” It is strictly individual as distinct from that of “Christ” or “the Christ,” which is or may be, as we shall see, a corporate name. It is His own person or Himself individually, as born into the world of a virgin of the Jewish race. He bears the name still in heaven, and to it every knee shall yet bow. (Phil. 2:1010That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:10).)
“Christ” is the name by which our Lord is known to the Church as united to Him risen and ascended. As Christ He sheds His unction upon us, and makes us Christians. It is in this name that we are united to Him. The descendants of Abraham were always in expectation of this Messiah, (“Christ” being the Greek translation of that word) even to the woman of Samaria. (John 4:2525The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. (John 4:25)) The astonishment of the Jews, even of His disciples, was that he should appear as the carpenter’s son. (John 1:45, 46, 4745Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:45‑47).) Faith received Him (John 1:12-1312But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12‑13)), and got all the blessing of the true Christ, although in a different way from what was expected, as it introduced these disciples into the heavenly portion and glory of the Church, whilst they lost that of the Jew. The Jews in rejecting Jesus as their Messiah, have for the present lost Him who was to bless them, whilst we as Christians are partakers of whatever blessing He has to give. Let us glance at two or three instances in which the individual name of Jesus is distinguished from that of Christ, or rather, I may say, changed into it consequent upon His resurrection. Among others we have (Acts 17:33Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. (Acts 17:3),) “Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” In the earlier chapters of the Acts, where it was a question of preaching to Jews only, the difficulty still was, as it had been in the gospels, to make them understand that Jesus was the Christ, in other words that He was characterized as being the Christ prophesied of in their scriptures. (Comp. Acts 2:30, 31, 32; 4:26-27; 18:5-2830Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:30‑32)
26The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:26‑27)
5And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. 7And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. 8And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. 9Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 11And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: 15But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. 16And he drave them from the judgment seat. 17Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things. 18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; 21But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. 22And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. 24And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. (Acts 18:5‑28), with John 1:41, 42, 4541He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John 1:41‑42)
45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (John 1:45).) But to continue (Rom. 8: 11): But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by (or “because of”) his Spirit that dwelleth in you. “This is an important passage for our subject. Jesus, the individual raised from the dead, becomes the Christ, so that He sends down the Holy Spirit now to indwell us (as hereafter by His power our bodies shall be quickened). The moment this took place, that is, the descent of the Holy Ghost the Church became corporately a part of Christ, in fact, “the Christ.” (1 Cor. 12:1212For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12).) There is another passage in Eph. 4:20, 21, 2220But ye have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (Ephesians 4:20‑22), “Ye have not so learned (the) Christ, if so be ye have heard him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,” &c. We learn the Christ, as the truth is found to be in Jesus, viz., the putting off of the old man and putting on the new. Finally then, whilst Jesus is the individual name, a name still known in heaven (Acts 7: 55-59, 9:17), and to be known forever, it is in His condition (if I may use the term) as the Christ that the Church comes in for her proper christian blessing.
“Son of man” is a remarkable, title, full of import, yet perhaps that with which the Church hast least to do. It is probably imported from Daniel 7:1313I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (Daniel 7:13), “One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven;” whilst Psalm 8, where the same title is employed, is once and again used of the Lord by the apostle Paul in the words, “Thou hast put all things under his feet.” (See Eph. 1:2222And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (Ephesians 1:22); 1 Cor. 15:27-2827For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:27‑28); Heb. 2:88Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:8).) Eventually this title will apply to His wide spread dominion over creation, and embrace more than that of Messiah; in fact He is to inherit that entire dominion which the first Adam lost. There is one needful remark on this name; it is, that He usually applies it to Himself when predicting His death. Let us notice in this respect Mark 8:29-3129And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 31And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:29‑31), compared with Luke 9:18-2218And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. (Luke 9:18‑22), and Matt. 16:20-2120Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 21From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (Matthew 16:20‑21). In all these passages the Lord charges them to tell no man that He was the Christ; but immediately afterward we have the words, “And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things,.... and be killed, and after three days rise again.”1 Atonement being necessitated, (blessed be His name,) He would conceal His Messiahship and accept His death as the Son of man. How else, indeed, could He stand for the human race, and meet sin with all its consequences? (Comp. Rom. 5:12-2112Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12‑21).)
As we have said that this title has perhaps least doctrinally do with the Church, it is well to explain that in two censes we have to do with it; first, inasmuch as Psalm 8, is used in Eph. 1, as of the Son of man being Head over all things to the Church, (as Head of it, He is “Christ,”) that is, the Church owns Him as such, although the title be in abeyance as to His public worldly rule, and is used only on the Church’s behalf. Secondly, in the book of Revelation we find out Lord (chap. 1:13) judging the Churches with this title as responsible to His Father. Speaking in a general way, “Son of man” would imply authority and rule in all its phases. “He hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. (John 5:2727And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (John 5:27).)” This rule is first put in exercise towards the Churches. (Rev. 2. 3.)
 
1. This remark in no way applies to the doctrinal teaching of the Church. With us it is “Jesus died,” “Christ died for our sins &c.