Believing in “The Christ” — The Same One From the Beginning

My post content1 John 5:1 says,

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.”

It’s easy to skim over that phrase “the Christ” and just think of it like a last name — “Jesus Christ.” But John isn’t using it that way. “Christ” means “Anointed One,” and it’s the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. When John says “Jesus is the Christ,” he’s saying Jesus is the long-awaited Savior promised in the Old Testament — the very One God said would come to redeem His people.

From the very start of Scripture, this Christ was promised. In Genesis 3:15, God told the serpent that the offspring of the woman would crush his head. That’s the first whisper of the Messiah — a victorious deliverer who would defeat sin and Satan.

The prophets filled in the picture. Isaiah described Him as the child born to us, the Son given, whose name would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Daniel saw Him as the “Son of Man” who would come with the clouds and receive an eternal kingdom (Daniel 7:13–14). Micah even pinpointed His birthplace — Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

By the time you get to the first century, Jewish people were looking for “the Christ” — the Messiah who would save. John is telling us: That Person? That’s Jesus. Believing this isn’t just knowing the name — it’s recognizing that Jesus is the promised One God spoke about for centuries, the One who came to fulfill every prophecy.

And here’s the key: The Old Testament doesn’t present the Messiah as just a military hero or political leader. He’s the One who brings salvation from sin. Isaiah 53 paints Him as the Suffering Servant who bears our iniquities and is pierced for our transgressions. The Christ is the One who takes away our sin — and that’s exactly what John says earlier in his letter:

“You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

When you believe that Jesus is that Christ — the One God promised from the beginning — you’re not just making a theological statement. You’re trusting in the only Savior God has ever offered. Peter said it best in Acts 4:12:

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The same Christ the prophets longed to see (1 Peter 1:10–11) is the Christ who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, died on the cross, and rose again. Believing in Him is believing God kept His word. It’s saying, “I know who the Savior is — and I trust Him.”

And John says when you believe this, it’s evidence you’ve been born of God. In other words, faith in the Christ is the family resemblance of God’s children.

So next time you read “Jesus is the Christ,” don’t skim past it. Let it sink in: This is the Christ — the same One promised in Eden, foretold by the prophets, and revealed in the fullness of time. The One who saves has always been the same, and His name is Jesus.