DON'T BE SCANDALIZED— ¡ALL

THE BELIEVERS ARE ALSO

CHRIST!
By Mario A Olcese

Introduct ion

Some o f our f r i ends get shocked when we te l l them tha t God has
chosen us i n orde r tha t we become Christs (anointed). And that is
what precisely means the word Christ: Anointed! (Gr. Kjristós, Heb.
Mashiaj) The Patriarches were called anointed of God (Psalm
105:15), and the prophets of Israel (1 Kgs 19:16); As well as the
priests of the nation (Ex. 28:41) and their kings (1 Sam. 10:1).
Besides, in a sense all the chosen people of God were His anointed
because it was understood that all them had to be prophets (Num.
11:29) and priests (Isa. 61:6). So we have that some notable men as
Aaron, Nathan, etc, were anointed. The high priest of Israel was also
the anointed of God (Lev. 4:3,5,16; 8:12; Heb. 5:1). Samuel talked of
Saul as kjristós in 1 Samuel 12:3, according to the LXX's version:
“Keep me Jehovah to extend my hand—cried David— against the
anointed (kjristós) of Jehovah”. And Elisha, the prophet, was equally
the anointed of God (1 Kgs 19:16).

THE ANOINTED KINGS

We have seen that ALL the kings of Israel were anointed in order to
take their positions of leadership of God's nation. Saul, the first king
of Israel, was anointed by Samuel, who was a prominent prophet and
judge of Israel. We read in Samuel 10:1 “Then Samue l took a sma l l
con ta ine r o f o l i ve o i l and poured i t on Sau l ’ s head . Samue l k i s sed h im
and sa id , “The Lord has chosen (anointed) you to lead his people
Israel!”

Later on, Saul would become a rebellious man to Jehovah and he

would finish being finally rejected by God as king of Israel. In his
place, however, it would be anointed by God's election a young
shepherd named David, who reigned 40 years as king of Israel until
his natural death. “So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and
anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord
rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and
went to Ramah” (1 Samuel 16:13).

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Jesus IS ANOINTED BY GOD

J e sus Chr i s t equa l l y was

anointed by the Holy Ghost to become
converted in the king of Israel. The Scriptures tell us the following:
“but of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and
a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved
righteousness and hated lawlessness. So God, your God, has
anointed you over your companions with the oil of rejoicing”
(Hebrews 1:8,9).

When J e sus returned from the wilderness, he went directly to the

synagogue to initiate his ministry. His first words were a quote of
Isaíah 61:

The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has
chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help
the broken hearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing
of prisoners,2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his
favor” (Luke 4:18)

Therefore, Jesus knew that this was truth, beyond all shadow of a
doubt. The light of God's true Spirit had been poured on his life and
had consecrated his message from the moment that he was baptized
by John the Baptist.

JESUS CHRIST 'S DISCIPLES ARE ALSO CHRISTS

As Paul clearly said to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 1:21: “But it is God

who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed
us, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down
payment” Let's take note that Paul says— in past tense— that God
“anointed us” with His Spirit. The first believers did not wait for a
Holy Ghost's future unction experience, because God had anointed
them right away in the same day of their conversion and baptism,
otherwise those Corinthians believers may not have been considered
Christians, neither less, being part of the church of Corinth. The same
thing we discovered in 1 John 2:20,27: “Nevertheless you have an
anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. …2:27 Now as for
you, the anointing that you received from him7 resides in you,
and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing
teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has
taught you, you reside in him”.

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I n Chapter 3:2 reveals us that he is saying these words to All those
who are God's children, that’s to say, to those who we will be alike
the Lord.
Now then, “Anointed with the Holy Spirit” carry another collateral
blessings that God adds us when we receive His Holy Spirit. All
Christians were certainly anointed by God, because without this
anointment we would not be able to be Christians (Rom. 8:9). So we
were constituted in children of the Almighty and His heirs, as well as
joint heirs with Christ when we received the Holy Spirit in our baptism
(Rom 8:17). ¡We are going to receive the same things that were
promised for Jesus!
In 1 Cor. 12:13 says: "For i n one Sp i r i t we were a l l bapt i zed i n to one
body. Whether J ews or Greeks or s laves or f ree , we were to a l l made
drink of the one Spirit”. The baptism with the Holy Ghost has direct
relation with our entrance in the “body of Christ”, which is his church.
We passed each one of us to be members with different positions or
functions, but the body and the head do not come apart, otherwise
we all would die. The head is the one that directs the body, and the
body obeys orders. Therefore, the complete Christ is head and body,
and when Christ takes a seat in his throne, the head with his
complete body will take seat in the throne. The head and the body
will be united, and everywhere the head goes, there his body will be.
So that both: Head and body will enjoy all of God’s blessings. That's
why Jesus promises that his church will take part in his own throne, in
order that they can reign with him as his younger brothers or
“younger Christs” (Rev. 3:21). He wishes that his body to be so
anointed as he is as head through the Holy Ghost. The head can not
be anointed with a non anointment body, because the Spirit is what
gives life to the entire body (Gal. 5:25). So much the head and body
are holy and pure, must run harmoniously toward a same goal,
because we respond to the same heavenly call (Heb. 3:1). In
consequence, there must exist a total communion, the unit that Christ
asked for to the Father for his church (John 17:21). The so-called
extreme or full preterists, and the amilennialists in general, maintain
that Christ began to reign in the first century soon after Jesus went to
heaven. But this is not altogether certain, since Christ can not reign
without his other younger Christs that progressively go away joining
his body. Jesus promised that we would take a seat with him in his
throne, and side by side with him would reign the world (Apo.
2:26,27; 3:21; 20:4,5, Isa. 32:1 ).
The Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that the church is compound only
by Christ and 144.000 people of his organization. The “other sheep”
are his members' rest, or a big crowd that holds to Christ and his
church. They teach that Christ and his tiny church of 144.000 people
will live in heaven, while the rest of the converted of their cult would

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l i ve i n the ear th . Th i s i s a b lasphemy and a gross d i s to r t i on o f the
b ib l i ca l t ru th . J e sus Chr i s t wi l l be wi th h i s f o l l owers everywhere tha
he goes . His f o l l owers (members - body ) can not be separa ted f rom the
head , because tha t wou ld ann ih i l a te them comp le te l y. Unfo r tuna te ly
mi l l i ons o f J ehovah ' s Witnesses rema in decap i ta ted , s ince i t has been
taugh t to them tha t they do not have the poss ib i l i t y to be long to the
Lo rd ' s body.

THE CHRISTS ARE GOD 's CHILDREN

When J e sus asked what men thought of him, Peter answered

correctly: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew
16:16). And in other occasion Peter said to Jesus: “We have come to
believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!” (John 6:69).
Therefore, it becomes evident that so much the titles Christ and Son
Of God hold hands—¡To be Son Of God is to be a Christ!

Now then, God's purpose is to have a big family, and He has adopted
more children to take them to the glory, the glory that Jesus Christ
firstly received from God and then each one of His adopted children.
We read in Hebrews 2:10: “For it was fitting for him, for whom and
through whom all things exist, in br ing ing many sons to glory , to
make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings”. Then
it is very clear God had in mind to take more children to His glory by
means of adoption. Paul says: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God
are the sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery
leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by
whom we cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:14,15). This means that when
become God's children (Christs), we become creditors of the riches of
the Father, riches which Jesus will share with us as his younger
brothers. Paul says again: “And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs
of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) – if indeed we suffer with him
so we may also be glorified with him” (For more information read
my article on the true meaning of the word ‘Glory’ posted in this
site)(Rom. 8:17). Take note that we will be glorified along with Jesus,
that is to say, both head and body will receive a similar glory. For that
reason Jesus also said “The glory you gave to me I have given to
them, that they may be one just as we are one” The Heaven that be
far away itself, I have given them, in order that they be one, as well
as us we are one” (Juan 17:22). Therefore, it is clear that Christians
are destined to be like Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. God wishes to
have more “junior Christs” within His family in order that they can
inherit the coming world (Romans 4:13).

CHRISTS ARE GOD'S CHOSEN

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We read i n Luke 23 :35 : “...He saved others. Let him save himself if he
is the Christ of God, his chosen one”. So that Christ was
acknowledged like somebody that was chosen of God. Nevertheless,
the Scriptures say that God also chose other men in order that they
can be also His anointed or “younger Christs” at the service of the
“mayor Christ”, Jesus Christ. Paul in Ephesians 1:4,5,11-13 says in
this way: “For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world
that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. 5 He did
this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus
Christ, according to the pleasure of his will. 11 In Christ we too have
been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined
according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things
according to the counsel of his will 12 so that we, who were the first
to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory. 13 And
when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) –
when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit”.(For more information of true meaning of
“believing in Jesus”, see my article posted in this site). The apostle
Peter says of the chosen the following words: “So as you come to
him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and priceless in God’s
sight, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9 But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that
you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:4,5,9). ¿Do we realize
that Jesus Christ and we are living stones, and chosen lineage to be
a part of the house or spiritual God's temple, to offer sacrifices of
praise? Then it is evident that so much Jesus Christ, the chosen of
God, and we believers, the other chosen ones of the Father, the
Christs of God, are co-heirs within the divine family? For that reason
Paul had all the reason to say what he wrote in 2 Thes 2:13,14:“But
we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by
the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called
you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

CHRISTS ARE KINGS AND PRIESTS

In Luke 23:2 the crowd accuses Jesus of being propagating the idea
that he was the Chr ist, a king. The passage says, this way: “They
began to accuse him, saying, We found this man subverting our
nation, forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar and claiming

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tha t he h imse l f Christ,
is a king.” This is interesting, because here
we see that the title “Christ” has an association with the position of a
King. Likewise, Christians, or the other Christs, are destined to be
associated kings with the Greater King, Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:10
says: “And you have made us for our God KINGS and PRIESTS, and
we will reign on the earth”. As we see, Jesus Christ has made us
kings for God through his expiatory sacrifice, when redeeming us
from condemnation and the eternal death (destruction). We are
destined to be like His Only Begotten Son, and to co-participate with
him of His riches as part of His family. This glorious era was foreseen
by the prophets of the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah says:
“Look, a king will promote fairness; officials will promote justice”
(Isah. 32:1). “He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle
cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the
sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.”
(Isa. 2:4). The prophet Daniel writes about that era of Christ's
kingdom and of his saints, saying: “was watching in the night visions,
“And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was
approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted
before him.14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and
sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving
him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will
not be destroyed. Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the
kingdoms under all of heaven will be delivered to the people of the
holy one of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all
authorities will serve him and obey him.” (Daniel 7:13,14,27). So that
all the anointed or “Christs” will have power and glory in God's
millenarian kingdom.

THE CHRISTS HAVE THEIR OWN THRONES

J ohn clearly says:“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them… and
reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Apo. 20:4). And in
Psalms122:3-5says: “3Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is
compact together; 4To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the
LORD-- An ordinance for Israel--To give thanks to the name of the
LORD. 5For there thrones were set for judgment, The thrones of the
house of David.” It is not surprise, then, that Jesus Christ had offered
thrones to his Apostles that they take seat on them in order that they
can be also rulers with him at his coming kingdom. But those thrones
will be occupied just immediately after Jesus Christ returns in all his
divine glory, as Jesus said in Matthew 25:31,34. Therefore, no
Christian is reigning in these moments over the nations (Apo. 2:26).

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Those who say tha t they a re r i gh t now re ign ing i n Chr i s t ' s k ingdom
a re wrong because they i gno re God ' s d i spensa t i ons . Le t ' s remember
how Pau l had wr i t ten i ron i ca l l y to the f a i th fu l o f Cor in th to make f un
o f the i r mis taken be l i e f tha t the re were ac tua l l y re ign ing as k ings over
the wor ld (1 Co r . 4 :8 ) .

THE CHRISTS (ANOINTED) HAVE THE MISSION TO SAVE

OTHERS

J e sus i s ourSavior, since with his blood he delivered us from the

eternal damnation, and put us into in his family in order to take part
in His Father's riches. He is him that's why he is our dear Savior,
because he gave life to our dead persons; and he opened the way for
being also His Father's heirs, and joint heirs with him of the coming
new age, the age of the kingdom (Romans 8:17). We are called, then,
to receive all that what Jesus received in his resurrection, without any
exception. The glory that Jesus received we have received it also by
faith. For that reason Jesus asked to the Father that theirs be with him
in the same place in where he was going to be. His words are as
follows: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be
with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have
given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John
17:24). And in Revelation 3:21 Jesus says: “He who overcomes, I will
grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame
and sat down with My Father on His throne”.

Likewise, all Christians must make out his part as administrators of

that salvation, carrying the saving gospel to the inhabited world. In
good account, the Christian believer is destined to save others with
Christ's gospel. Jude 23 says: “save others, snatching them out of
the fire...” And Paul says: “22To the weak I became weak, that I
might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I
may by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). To Timothy Paul said:
“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in
these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for
yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16). So every true
Christian save other through the administration of Christ's gospel,
putting his lives to the service and in sacrifice for those who are
predestinated to salvation. Therefore, it’s not wondering that Pablo
can say: “… we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the
gospel, so we speak... ” (1 Thes 2:4) - and which is the reason ad
this? Because he “brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10).

AUGUSTINE’S TESTIMONY

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It is very interesting the explanation that Augustíne of Hippo offers us
of Psalm 26. He writes in this way: «David was anointed king. At that
time, the king and the priest were the only anointed people. In
these two people was prefigured the future king and priest, Christ
Jesus (and for this reason “Christ” comes from “chrisma”). But not
only our Head has been anointed, but also we have been anointed,
his Body(...). For it, the unction corresponds to all Christians; while
in the time of the Old Testament it belonged only to two people. It is
clear that we are Christ's Body, since we all have been anointed, and
we are Christs and Christ in him, because in a way the head and the
body forms the Christ in their integrity ».

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