As
You Have Received Christ
The only way you can
live the Christian life is by divine provision. Jesus said, “Seek first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you (Matthew 6:33).
The apostle Paul
wrote, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him
(Colossians 2:6).
“As you therefore
have received Christ Jesus the Lord…”
How did you
receive Him? There is only one way as taught in scripture. It is by grace
through faith in Christ (Acts 4:12).
Phillips
translates Colossians 2:6, “Just as you received Christ, so go on living in Him
– simple faith.”
The apostle John said, "But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in
His name" (John 1:12, NASB 1995).
You receive “Jesus Christ the Lord” by believing
on His name. “As many as received Him, as many as have believed on Him.” To
have faith in Him is to receive Him.
Do you have that attitude of faith and trust in Jesus
Christ? Faith indicates a relation to Christ as Savior. It is submission to
His Lordship as King of our lives and confidence in Him as our high priest. Do
I conduct my life in submission to the king of my life?
Have you received Jesus Christ the Lord? “Jesus” is the
name given to Him at His birth meaning “Yahweh saves,” “Jehovah saves.” That is
why the apostle Peter declared there is no other name given among men whereby we
must be saved (Acts 4:12). Calling on all other names for eternal salvation
will send you to an eternal hell. There is salvation and eternal life only in
Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Savior who came to this earth to die for our sins
and give us God’s kind of life. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). “He who has
seen Me has seen the Father” (v.9).
This same “Jesus” of Nazareth is the Messiah, the anointed
King and High Priest. The Messiah to the Hebrew people was the King – Priest.
He is both the One who reigns as sovereign over our lives and the One who
intercedes on our behalf. The King is also the Priest. The King who has
supreme authority is also the Priest who offers the one perfect sacrifice of
Himself on behalf of His people.
Has Jesus Christ become your Lord? "For this reason also,
God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11, NASB
1995). Have you bowed to that name?
If you have never “received” Him as “Jesus Christ the
Lord,” you cannot “so walk in Him.” Do you have this kind of a relationship
with Him? Have you surrendered your soul to Him?
The comparison the apostle is bringing out in Colossians
2:6 is the fact that we have been saved by grace through faith is the same way
we live the Christian life. We are saved and sustained by that same kind of
faith in our Lord.
“Just as you received Christ, so go on living in
Him – simple faith.” Taylor paraphrased, “And now just as you trusted Christ to
save you, trust Him too for each day’s problems; live in vital union with Him.”
The word “walk” (peripateo) is figurative of “the
walk of life,” or your life conduct. Make the Lord Jesus Christ truly “Lord”
and Master of each day you live. Maintain a close personal fellowship with
Christ; your very life depends on it. We must conduct our lives as men and
women who have been united with Christ deriving our life from Him. Because of
this living relationship with Him, we are to conduct our lives in dependence
upon Him (Jn. 15:5).
As you have received Him, keep on walking.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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