What is a Christian?
The name "Christian" appears only a handful of times in Scripture, and it was first pinned on believers by outsiders in Antioch rather than chosen by the church itself. That raises the real question behind the verse: is a Christian someone who carries a label, or someone in whom something has actually happened?
Where the Name Began
The name was coined in a Gentile city, and commentators note that this setting gave it its force. Among Jews, everyone claimed to be waiting for the Messiah, so the title would have said little.
William KellyThe place once so famous for its nicknames was now to give a name that will never perish — a name of incalculable sweetness and blessing, connecting Christ as it does with those that are His. It was, no doubt, a Gentile title. There would be no particular force in giving it to Jews, for all Jews professed to be looking for Christ. What a wonderful change for these poor Gentiles to know Christ for themselves, and to be called after Christ! All was ordered of God.
Why That Name Fit
Outsiders chose the word because of what they watched. The believers at Antioch spoke and behaved in a way that pointed to one Person.
Mark GrassoThe disciples in Antioch were such ardent, faithful and true followers of the Lord Jesus that, like Paul, they were imitators of Him (1 Cor. 11:1). As the Lord blessed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in that city, Christ lived in the believers there in a real way (Gal. 2:20), and they so spoke and acted like Him that the world gave them the title "Christians" — the meaning of which is "of the same character as Christ".
One writer draws the practical edge: the world's labelling can be more accurate than the world intends.
J. T. MawsonGod grant that we may be called Christians because of what we are. God grant that we may be known as Christians by the way we conduct ourselves.
Possession, Not Profession
Scripture supplies the test that decides who really wears the name. It is not about claiming Christ but about having His Spirit.
An Outline of Sound WordsFrom Romans 8 we learn what a real Christian is, where it is written, "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (verse 9). Here it is not a matter of profession, but of possession of the Spirit of Christ.
What a Christian Actually Has
Definitions in the commentary are concrete rather than vague. One writer sets out the whole package, from forgiveness to expectation.
C. H. MackintoshSuch is the Christian, according to the teaching of the New Testament. Let the reader see that he understands it. It is very real, very definite, very positive, very practical. A child may know it, and realise it, and exhibit it. A Christian is one whose sins are forgiven — who possesses eternal life and knows it — in whom the Holy Spirit dwells — he is accepted in, and associated with a risen and glorified Christ — he has broken with the world, is dead to sin and the law, and finds his object, and his delight, and his spiritual sustenance in the Christ who loved him and gave Himself for him, and for whose coming he waits every day of his life.
Another writer puts the same reality in terms of the heart rather than the head.
Hamilton SmithA Christian is one to whom Christ has become precious by a work of the Spirit in the heart. It is not simply a knowledge of Christ in the head, which an unconverted man may have, that constitutes a man a Christian, but Christ written in the heart.
The Word Used Two Ways
Because the name spread so widely, it now covers two very different groups — and the commentary warns against blurring them.
VariousWe may apply the word to those alone who are true Christians, that is, to those who are born of God, and have forgiveness of sins, and in whom the Holy Spirit dwells; or we may use the word in a general sense as applying to all baptized people; and in this latter sense nearly all the inhabitants of Europe and America, as well as some in other parts of the globe, are Christians. Now all these latter, except the few who are real Christians, are indeed Christians in responsibility, and have immense privileges; yet this will only make their doom the more awful, unless they repent and believe before it is too late.
A Name Worth Suffering Under
What began as a nickname is later taken up by Scripture itself and attached to suffering without shame.
F. B. HoleWe are to be most careful not to suffer for evil doing of any sort but only as Christians. Then we have no need to be ashamed, for we can glorify God "in that name." Here we have the Spirit of God accepting and sanctioning the name Christian as applied to believers.
Summary
- Named by outsiders. The title was coined at Antioch by watchers, not claimed by the church — and God ordered it so.
- Named for likeness. The word means bearing the character of Christ; they were called Christians because Christ was visible in how they spoke and lived.
- Named by possession. The dividing line is the Spirit of Christ: without Him a person does not belong to Christ, whatever the label says.
- Named with contents. A real Christian has forgiveness, eternal life known and held, the Spirit indwelling, acceptance with the risen Christ, and a daily expectation of His coming.
- Named at a cost. Scripture itself adopts the name and ties it to suffering — carry it without shame, and glorify God in it.