In the early days of the church, followers of Christ referred to themselves with many different labels. Among other things, they were known to each other as believers, brothers, disciples, saints, and “the people of the way (Acts 9:13, Acts 6:3, Acts 9:10, Acts 9:2).” But they never called themselves Christians. The term is only used a total of three times in the entire New Testament, and never as a self-referent.
Interestingly, the church went through a number of rapid expansions in its infancy. One of those growth spurts happened at Antioch (Acts 11:19-24). It was in that city that the word Christian was first used (Acts 11:26), and it almost certainly was not used by Christians. Denotatively, the term means “a person who belongs to the party of Christ,” but its connotation is one of scorn and ridicule. The Greek formula used to create the word was sometimes used for satire or mockery. In this form of derision, a leader’s name would be given the suffix “ian.” For instance, followers of Herod might be called Herodians. This kind of formulation was sometimes used to belittle a leader and devalue his followers.
The label “Christian” would not have been used by Jews, because the word Christ was the Greek term for the Messiah, and they would not have abused the name in that way. So it is likely that the term was created by Gentiles who were witnessing the swift development of a new religious culture that was partly based on the shameful and humiliating crucifixion of a criminal leader. It's probably for this reason that Peter urges the church NOT to be ashamed for suffering with the name “Christian,” but to instead take on the name and use it to glorify God (1 Peter 4:16).
God takes bad things, and he makes them good. At Antioch, the church was growing rapidly, its adherents were doing good deeds, evangelizing, spreading the gospel and being an example of Christ. His spirit was living in them, and because of this they stood out. They contrasted with the rest of the world, and the non-believing community likely felt a need to differentiate this odd group from everyone else by laughing at their peculiarities. Their lack of understanding led to the use of the derisive term. But believers eventually embraced the term, and began to wear it as a badge of honor. In a small way, they could suffer like their Lord had suffered – through mockery and ridicule. God took a mocking term, and turned it into an honorable one.
Never be ashamed of being associated with Christ. To suffer the ridicule of a world that hates God is an honor and a privilege. Ask for God's strength to never use that name in vain by living in a way that dishonors its worth.
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