Receiving CHRIST: 2

At the heart of what it means to be a Christian is to receive a new identity. In Jesus, we do not lose our true selves, but we become our true selves only in him. John Piper

An important thing to note about receiving Christ is the direct effect on our identity. When we receive Christ, we embrace his identity and accept his personality as our chosen reality. So as hinted by Paul in Col. 2: 6, I would categorize the mannerism of accepting Christ into three:

a.     Understanding the personality of Christ

b.     Knowing the identity of Christ and its trickle effect on the receiver, and

c.     The traditions of Christ which become the practice (walk) of the receiver.

 

Beginning with Understanding the personality of Christ:

I would like to describe the personality of Christ as those marked things about his life in the flesh. Christ was fully man and authored the life God gives to us men. Following the account of Matthew, we will observe some premium details about the life of Christ which is the life we receive(d).

¹³ Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptised of him; ¹⁴ but John urgently forbad him, saying, *I* have need to be baptised of thee; and comest *thou* to me? ¹⁵ But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer [it] now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffers him. (Matthew 3:13-15, Darby Translation)

To fulfill all righteousness:

From the conversation between John and Christ, we can observe that in John’s opinion, it was not needed for Christ to be baptized. Consequently, if I were asked that day whether there was a need to baptize Christ, I would align with John’s view, because how should the greater be baptized by the lesser, and following that there was no man on earth greater than Christ, then He shouldn’t be baptized by anyone, so there was no need for that because it doesn’t follow the order of the greater blesses the lesser. However, what was Christ’s opinion on the issue?

To Christ, there was but one direction of thought, - to do the righteousness of God and to fulfill it. He didn’t consider the seeming order of men, that the greater blesses the lesser, he just had one thing in mind. To be in the right standing with God. While this act of Christ portrays humility, there is an attention to the premium character of righteousness. From eternity till his coming to dwell with men, Christ is all about righteousness. The Bible in Hebrew 1: 8-9 states:

⁸ but as to the Son, Thy throne, O God, [is] to the age of the age, and a sceptre of uprightness [is] the sceptre of thy kingdom. ⁹ Thou hast loved righteousness and hast hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy companions. (Hebrews 1:8-9: Darby Translation)

The quality of righteousness in Christ can’t be attained by man in the flesh, so He made a way for us by the Cross. At the ultima of his coming to earth: which is the cross, the emphasis is still on restoring the lost righteousness of man. And glory be to God, He completed it and said, “tetelestai”: it is finished: paid in full. Paul exhorted the Romans,

¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 ESV)

Righteousness is a Godly specific gift to man. It’s not something one can attain in the flesh, but a reality one can receive in Christ. Righteousness is first forensic to God. It’s not a description we give ourselves for doing seemingly right things, but a description God gives to us because of our placement in Christ.

There is a popular saying that to whom much is given, much is expected. In having such a degree of righteousness, there should be a corresponding shift in our identity at the point of receiving Christ.

One of the mannerisms identified with receiving Christ is a clear understanding of the righteousness in Christ and a clear determination to pay attention as Christ did, to things that are righteous. Hebrews mentioned that Christ hates lawlessness. At the point of receiving Christ, the experience should be that our lives receive orderliness in the consciousness of the righteousness of Christ. A man who won’t do anything or live in lawlessness, but will embrace the order in righteousness.

 

Many Christians, who presumably should have received Christ still live without the consciousness of righteousness, in speech, in dressing, in working hard, in accountability, in being responsible to our families, in relationships, and in other places.

 

Christ insisted on fulfilling righteousness even in a seemingly not needed situation, if we have truly embraced Christ, we will insist on righteousness in all places, even in little things. (Favour Ndolo)

 

If you haven’t received this Christ, you can’t experience an ordered life. He isn’t far away; you can just pray to God right where you are, and yield your heart to receive the prince that brings order to all things. He will be right there to flourish your life with righteousness and orderliness. 

There are more about Christ. In the next post, we will be exploring another marked identity in Christ.