The Name: Christian (Acts 11:26)

The Name: “Christian”
Acts 11:26

INTRODUCTION:
When Rachel and I married, almost 29 years ago, she did what is common practice and custom in English speaking worlds - she took my last name. She left being “Rachel Anderson” and became “Rachel Holland.” In fact, in the weeks leading up to our wedding, she created a little countdown poster with the words: “Days Left Until I become a ‘New Holland’.”

When we obey Jesus Christ, we take His name. As we all know, the church is pictured as the “bride of Christ” in the NT so that when we obey the gospel, we become married to Christ, or at least engaged to Him, and we take His name.

The name “Christian” describes those who are an anointed people and it means we “belong to Christ.”

As a group of people, we also take the name of Christ. As you know, the people who belong to Christ are known as “church of God” (1 Cor. 1:2) or Acts 20:28 or “churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16).

So the church belongs to Christ. He built His church; it is His: Matthew 16:18.

In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that God’s people - when the Gentiles entered that body - would have a “new name.” The prophecy is found in Isaiah 62:2: “The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”

The Gentiles started being added to the church of Christ in Acts 10 with the household of Cornelius. The church of Christ in Antioch of Syria was predominately if not exclusively Gentile Christians and in Acts 11:26 we see that “new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate:” Christian.

Acts 11:26 - “for an entire year they [Barnabas and Paul] met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called [passive voice] Christians in Antioch.” Normally when scholars see a passive voice verb as “called” is in this text, they will say that God is the subject of the verb; except not here. Invariably, scholars will say that it is the enemies of Christians who called them this. There is no reason in the text to accept that interpretation. There aren’t even any enemies or persecution mentioned in the text. It is better to see this as God inspiring some prophet if not an apostle to start calling His children after His Son’s name: “Christians.”

Because we are married to Christ, let us accept no name but that name God has given to us. Let us be only Christians and Christians only!

NAME CHRISTIAN IS UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED:
During the early days of the Restoration Movement, when men and women were getting fed up with the denominational divisions in the religious world, they quit being “Methodist,” “Presbyterians,” “Baptists,” and so forth. They said, “You know what. We can’t agree on these man-made names. Let’s just go by what the Bible teaches and what we all can agree that followers of Christ ought to be called. It is a name upon which all believers in Christ can and should unite.

It is a name that is right and cannot be wrong. It is of divine origin, given from the mouth of God.

OUR NAME BY MARRIAGE:
The best man at our wedding is named Kevin Williams. I had known Kevin for about 6 years before Rachel and I got married. What if Rachel had decided that she liked the sound of “Rachel Williams” better than she liked the sound of “Rachel Holland?” What would I have thought, what would others would have thought, what would everyone else have thought?

John the baptizer was the “best man” for Jesus Christ: John 3:29-30.

John pointed his followers to Jesus Christ. What if one of John’s followers had said, “I love you and I am glad to have the honor of being your bride, but I prefer the name of John, the baptizer, your friend, the best man, therefore I choose to wear and honor his name, John the baptizer, rather than yours - Christian?” What can you imagine would have been John’s response?

Christ loves His bride (Eph. 5:25). It would be displeasing to Christ and a dishonor to His name to wear and honor some human’s name or some name that, in and of itself, is divisive.

BAPTIZED INTO THE NAME OF CHRIST:
1 Corinthians 1:12-13.

We are baptized into the body of Christ by the teachings of the Spirit of Christ. We wear Christ’s name so we can honor Christ’s name.

Paul had written earlier in the letter (1:10-12) that Christ is not divided. So we should call ourselves by that name which is not divisive: Christian.

It is an honorable name, a name which gives us glory because it identifies us with the glorious Son of God!

1 Peter 4:16.

CHRIST LOVES HIS BRIDE:
John 15:13

Ephesians 5:25, 29 - If we love and trust Christ, to whom we are spiritually married, then we would obey Him, motivated out of love for Him.

John 15:9-10.

1 John 5:3.

BRIDE’S GARMENTS WERE DEFILED BY ADULTERY:
Ephesians 5:27.

1 John 2:15

James 4:4

All these texts show us that we need to be completely and wholly dedicated to Jesus Christ and love Him exclusively (in religious and spiritual terms).

Acts 20:28-30

Revelation 2:5; 3:4-5

WORSHIP:
The observance of the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the supreme sacrifice of all time. This meal we have with our Bridegroom draws us together on the first day of each week so we can remember that we are married to the Son of God.

Our singing is motivated by the blood that washes our sins away, poured out by our Bridegroom.

Our prayers, our teaching, our giving are all done in spirit and in truth to honor the Man whose name we wear.

CHRIST’S RETURN FOR HIS BRIDE:
Jesus is coming back; not just for anyone, but for His bride.

Christ has admonished loyalty and faithfulness until He comes again. Those who are members of His bride, the church, are those who have stayed loyal to Him and faithful to His teachings. When Jesus comes again, He will find that many have denied the faith, left their first love, and have defiled the wedding garments.

But to those who are faithful to the Bridegroom, He will say: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).

The prophet Jeremiah was dealing with God’s people in the OT who had left their first love; he asked them: “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number” (Jer. 2:32).

Let’s not forget who our Bridegroom is. Let’s stay faithful to Him.

Take home message: Wear the name of Christ with humility and honor, so that you can honor your Bridegroom.