Bible Digging

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?

1. One who belongs to Christ
The word "Christian" is first found in the Bible in Acts 11:26 (quoted above). This name was given by the world to those who acknowledged Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and followed Him. They were identified with the crucified and rejected Christ. A Christian is a "Christ-man," that is, one who belongs to Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:23, Paul speaks of "those who are Christ's at His coming," and in John 13:1, the evangelist speaks of the believers as "His own." What a wonderful privilege to belong to the all-glorious, perfect, and eternal Son of God and Son of Man, Christ Jesus!

2. One who is born again
A Christian is one who is born again by the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-6 declares, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." This is a spiritual birth whereby one is born into the family of God by the work of the Holy Spirit: "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).

One thus born of God has received a new nature which loves God and hates sin. This is "the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Christians have thus been made "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). A Christian, then, is one who has been born again and possesses a new, divine nature which cannot sin (1 John 3:9).*

* Ed. Note: To further explain this point, the author later writes:
"In the happy enjoyment of the new nature with its desires Godward, the young Christian is soon disturbed by the discovery of evil still present in his heart. The evil nature with which we were born into the world still remains in the Christian after being born again. We need to feed the new nature [through Bible reading and prayer] so that it will grow strong and develop."