“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”
Titles of the Lord Jesus are very informative. They reveal nuances the author intends in a given context. This kind of nuance is what we find in this verse.
Christ Jesus the Lord
The Greek says, “the Christ Jesus, the Lord.” These words are the full title of our Lord. Note the two definite articles that point to the definiteness of the person.
Consider the title “Lord.” When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we get more than a Savior; we get a Lord. When we married our wife, we did not say, “I take you as my partner in business.” No, we took her as our wife. When we receive Christ, we get more than that for which we bargained. We did not know much about our salvation when we began the Christian life, but we need to find out that he is Lord as soon as possible.
Our Savior and Lord bought, ransomed, and redeemed us. He is Lord (2 Cor. 4:5). That makes us a captive to him; we need to learn that we are no longer our own.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus Christ is more than a Savior; he is our Lord.
APPLICATION:
We need to recognize that Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives. That recognition will change how we live. Simple volition cannot execute the Christian life. When we lose consciousness of willingness to do something, we sin and fail. Therefore, it is not will itself that delivers us; it is the object of our will that makes the difference, the Word of God that reveals Jesus the Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ the object of our choices? When we recognize the sovereign Lord as Lord, God will enable us to live the kind of life he wants for us. If we constantly appropriate the person and work of Christ to our lives, the sovereign Lord will enable us to execute the Christian life.
