Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.
— Colossians 2:6
As Paul writes to the Colossians, he begins by acknowledging something foundational — that they have received Christ. And there is an important nuance embedded in that word received that is worth pausing on.
Received — Not Achieved
When we speak of receiving something, the idea that it was first given is already assumed. And so when Paul says the Colossians received Christ, there is a presupposition built into his words — that Christ was first offered, first given, and then the Colossians received Him by faith.
This is very different from how people sometimes think about becoming a Christian. We can be tempted to think that we ascend toward God by our own searching, that we find our way to Him through our own effort and sincerity. But the way the Bible consistently presents salvation is always with God as the first mover. He moves first. He gives. And we, like recipients of a gift, receive by faith.
Paul makes this unmistakably clear to the Ephesians:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
— Ephesians 2:8-9
Salvation — including the very faith by which we receive it — is a gift from God. The Colossians did not climb to Christ. Christ was given to them, and they received Him.
Now Walk in Him
Having established that they have received Christ, Paul then gives his exhortation — walk in Him. The gift of salvation is not merely a transaction that changes one’s eternal destination. It is the beginning of an entirely new kind of life.
Paul describes this new life elsewhere with striking language:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
— 2 Corinthians 5:17I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
— Galatians 2:20
The old self has died. A new person has been born — one created in righteousness and holiness, whose entire identity is now defined by belonging to Christ. Everything this person does flows from that identity. The way they live is by looking to Christ, resting in Christ, and trusting that everything needed is found in Christ.
When Paul says to walk in Him, the idea of walking speaks to conduct — to the whole pattern of daily life. To walk in Christ is to conduct oneself in a manner that reflects the reality that Christ already dwells within.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
It is essential to understand that this walk is not merely a change of behaviour or a moral improvement programme. It is a life completely energised by the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer. Paul writes to the Philippians:
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
— Philippians 2:12-13
The Christian walks after Christ because the Holy Spirit inside them is the one prompting and empowering that walk. God Himself had promised this through Ezekiel:
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.
— Ezekiel 36:27
We walk by the Spirit because the Spirit is in us — moving us, prompting us, and causing us to respond to the grace that has been shown to us with lives of godliness and faithfulness.
Walking as He Walked
May each of us who have received Christ be a people who heeds the prompting of the Holy Spirit — walking after Christ Jesus Himself. As John writes:
The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
— 1 John 2:6
Amen.
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