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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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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