> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://amemamem.com.br/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Key to Understanding the Bible - URL: https://amemamem.com.br/en/the-key-to-understanding-the-bible/ - Published: 2025-06-04T12:49:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-09T01:04:10.000Z - Description: Many people think "Jesus Christ" is just a person's full name, as if it were "first name and last name." - Author: Airton Humber - Tags: #en, #de-chave-entender-biblia Many people think "Jesus Christ" is just a person's full name, as if it were "first name and last name." But that is not what the Bible shows. The Bible treats Jesus and Christ as two different realities. Jesus is the name of the man born of Mary, from the line of David. He lived among us, with a body, a voice, hunger, thirst, tears and laughter. Jesus is the 41st generation mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham and David. But Christ is not a name, it is a title. "Christ" means "Anointed." And He can only be recognized by revelation of the Spirit. That is what happened with Peter. When Jesus asked: *"And you, who do you say I am?" Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."* And then something changed. **For the first time, Matthew calls Jesus Jesus Christ**. Because at that moment, the identity of the Christ was revealed. Not by tradition, nor by teaching. But by revelation. Right in the first chapter of the New Testament, the evangelist Matthew writes something curious: *"Thus, in all, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to Christ." (Matthew 1:17)* If you do the math in Matthew's genealogy, you will notice something strange: He promises forty-two generations, but only forty-one are listed. The last one on the list is Jesus, son of Mary. So… where is the 42nd? The answer is hidden in mystery, and revealed by the Spirit: The 42nd generation is not a name on a list. It is **Christ, a spiritual work.** Christ is formed within the human being Jesus. It is no longer one more generation of the flesh. It is a new creation. Jesus is the end of the genealogy of the flesh. From him, God begins something completely new: Ordinary men and women, in whom Christ is formed. This is the generation of the Spirit. The generation that was born at Pentecost. The generation of children, not according to blood, but according to faith. After the resurrection of Jesus, He was exalted to the right hand of the Father. And then, as He had promised, He sent the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit came upon the disciples, and Peter, filled with the Spirit, made a statement that to this day few people notice: *"Therefore, let all the house of Israel be absolutely certain of this: this Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)* Peter is saying that Jesus became Christ, not by a human title, but because God made Him Lord and Christ by raising and exalting Him. Jesus was born of the flesh. Christ is generated by the Spirit. And now, this same Christ, who was formed in Jesus, comes to be formed in each one of us, by the same presence of the Spirit. Jesus and Paul announced good news. But it was not exactly the same. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God: *"The Kingdom of God is near." "Repent, for the Kingdom has come to you." "The Kingdom of God is among you."* But this Kingdom had not yet been delivered. Jesus spoke of what was to come, because the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out. His message was: The Kingdom is near. Get ready. Paul, after the cross and the resurrection, preached something else: The Christ has already come. The Spirit has already been given. Now, He wants to be formed in you. That is why he wrote: *"My little children, for whom I again suffer birth pains, until Christ is formed in you." (Galatians 4:19)* While many try to imitate Jesus, Paul reveals something greater: It is no longer about trying to look like Jesus. It is about letting Christ live in us. *"I have been crucified with Christ. So it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)* The whole Old Testament points to Jesus. He is the promised Messiah, the Son of David, the Lamb of God. The New Testament points to the Christ being formed in us. The Spirit who dwelt in Jesus now forms Christ within each son and daughter of God. It is as if the whole Scripture were saying: "First, behold Jesus. Notice the Christ being formed in Him. Then, let the Christ be formed in you." This is the key. The key to reading the Bible not as a religious book, but as a living testimony that leads from promise to fulfillment, from the flesh to the Spirit, from Jesus to the forming of Christ in us. That is why Jesus prayed: *"And this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent." (John 17:3)* He did not say that eternal life is believing doctrines about God or following the teachings of Jesus. He said that eternal life is **knowing**, knowing the Father and recognizing the Christ. This is the key that opens the Bible, and the heart. When we look at the Bible through this prism, everything connects. Everything makes sense. The stories fit together. The words light up. It is as if a gentle and powerful explosion broke through the veil of tradition. The letter that once seemed heavy becomes light. What was once confusing becomes clear. What seemed distant now dwells within. Jesus is the promise incarnate. Christ is the promise fulfilled in us. This is the 42nd generation. This is the new creation. This is the simplicity, the beauty and the depth of the Holy Scriptures.