Seven Insights We Gain by Understanding the Titles of Jesus Christ

Recently when was getting my temple recommend renewed the second counselor in my bishopric asked me: ” Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?” To which I told him I did, he then asked me, “What is the difference between Savior and Redeemer?”

I had always used those titles of Christ interchangeably, so I replied, “I did not know…What is it?” He then replied, “Oh I do not know either, I figured you would though.” This caused me to dive into a study of the titles of Christ.  The more I studied the more I learned how each title had meaning and power as they teach of the roles of Jesus Christ. I want to share some of the highlights with you; here are seven insights I gained from my studies into the titles of Jesus Christ.

1st. Savior and Redeemer.

After the above episode and studying the titles of Christ, I sat one day reading the writings of Joseph Fielding Smith and I found a section where he outlines the differences between redemption and salvation. He mentions that often they are used interchangeably, but that there is a difference. Savior is a title applied to Christ referring to His ability to save us from our personal sins and from spiritual death. Redeemer is a title that describes His role as the one who has redeemed us from Adam’s transgression by paying the price to overcome physical death and resurrect our bodies from the grave.

Redemption is the act of purchasing back, recovering from captivity, or restoring. So Christ becomes our Redeemer in bringing life back again where it was taken away through the transgression [fall of Adam]… Salvation will come to the great body of humanity. The redemption of the soul is the resurrection. Salvation is to find a place somewhere in that redeemed state… Redemption, according to the gospel, is the gift of God to every creature born into the world, that he shall live again, being entitled to the resurrection. Christ is frequently spoken of in the scriptures as our Redeemer, and so refers to himself.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation Volume 2, Pages 11-12.7

Thus the temple recommend question might be understood as asking, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ has the power to save your soul from sin and resurrect your body?”

2nd. Endless and Eternal.

In D&C 19:10–12 we learn that Jesus Christ holds the titles of Endless and Eternal. These titles shed light on both the notions of endless torment as well as eternal life. Rather than speaking of duration, it speaks of quality. Endless Torment is the perfect punishment from Christ. And Eternal Life is life as He lives. Therefore when Christ speaks of obtaining Eternal Life, He is talking about becoming like Him and experiencing Godhood.

“It is important for us to understand, as we can learn from the scriptures, that God is eternal, that his creations are eternal, and that his truths are eternal. Therefore, when he gave Eve to Adam in marriage, that union would be eternal. Marriage as ordained of God and performed in his holy temples is eternal—not just until death.”
N. Eldon Tanner

3rd. Son of Man.

One of the oft-repeated titles of Christ in the New Testament is Son of Man. But no explanation is given as to what that title means. For that, we must turn to the Pearl of Great Price where we learn in Moses 6:57 that one of the titles of God the Father is Man of Holiness. Therefore understanding this title Jesus Christ is declaring Himself as the Son of the Man of Holiness, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is also teaching that God is truly an exalted Man of Holiness, and He is His Son.

“Our Father in Heaven has declared, ‘Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name.’ In the premortal world, we loved our Father and worshipped Him. We desired to be like Him. Out of perfect paternal love, He gave His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer. He is the Son of Man of Holiness.”
Carol F. McConkie

4th. Jehovah.

We learn from John 8:56–59 in the New Testament that Jesus Claimed he was Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Lawgiver Himself. But often that verse is overlooked, or in some churches, Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is actually changed so that their teaching that Jehovah is not Christ is maintained.

The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and modern revelation clearly establish that the title of Jehovah is that of Christ not of God the Father. It also establishes that Michael is a title of Adam and that Jesus Christ and Adam created the world at the command and instruction of God the Father whose title is Elohim.

“Our Lord—the Lord Jehovah, the Lord Jesus—is our hope and our salvation. He it is that hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. He has redeemed us from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment.”
Bruce R. McConkie

5th. Advocate.

The Apostle John the beloved in 1 Jn. 2:1 teaches that Jesus Christ is our “advocate with the Father.” This is one of the most powerful titles of Christ. An advocate is one who takes your defense in a legal contest. In modern revelation, Jesus Christ describes how He is our advocate with the Father when He said:

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him— Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.
Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5

6th. The Second Comforter.

The scriptures speak of two comforters, the First Comforter is the Holy Ghost. The Second Comforter is actually Jesus Christ Himself. Smith taught:

“After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter. …when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him”Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 149–51.

The notion or idea of a second comfort has all but been lost from Christianity. But it is biblical, it was taught by the Apostle John the Beloved in John 14:18, 21, 23.

The Holy Spirit, as the First Comforter, leads and prepares us to stand in the presence of Jesus Christ, who, as the Second Comforter, leads and prepares us to stand in the presence of God the Father.

“The Holy Ghost guides us and comforts us in our discipleship, bringing us near to the Savior. The Savior, in turn, is our Advocate with the Father, and through our faithfulness He will bring us to the Father to become joint heirs with Him.”
Elder Dale E. Miller

7th King of kings and Lord of lords

One title of Christ that only recently has found a deeper meaning to me is King of kings (1 Tim. 6:15). I had always thought of this as referring to the fact that he is the King above all other earthly kings. But something I realized is that this title is actually referring to the fact that his subjects are kings and lords. It is a reference to the righteous who will reign with Him as kings and queens.

Suddenly the temple and the promises make more sense! Covenants will, as Elder Lee put it,  “enable you to become gods and goddesses, kings and queens in the celestial world.” Therefore Jesus Christ is not King of peasants, or King of angels, but rather King of kings, and Lord of lords. He intends to exalt those in the Celestial Kingdom who have lived worthy of their royal heritage. Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf stressed this point in talking with the sisters he said, “Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens.”

Titles Of Christ.

I hope that these seven insights have caused you to ponder the other titles of Christ and how we can learn from them. His titles are many and ranged, Everything from the Healer to the Good Shepard, the Prince of Peace to the Captian of our Salvation.

Think of the richness and meaning behind the testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles. Take for example the testimony of President Marion G. Romney: “I know that Jesus Christ was the firstborn spirit child of God the Father; that he is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh; that, as the scriptures teach, in the spirit world before this earth was created he sponsored the Father’s plan for the mortality, the death, the resurrection, and the eternal life of men; that, commissioned of the Father, he was the creator of this earth; the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the ages have spoken, the God of all nations, and that He shall yet reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Truly the more we learn of Christ the more reason we have to rejoice in Him! What are some of your favorite titles of Christ and why?