THE CHRIST WE FOLLOW

* He has existed from eternity

* He was prophesied of

* He was manifest in the flesh

* He set the perfect example

* From God to Christ

* From Christ to apostles

* Apostles wrote Bible

* Bible has authority

* For what He was

* For what He is

* For what He will be

(“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, ‘If any man will come after Me, Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me’” (Matt. 16:24).

The Christ We Follow

 (Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of five articles designed to acquaint readers with the churches of Christ. The first article was on The God We Worship. The next article will be on The Truth We Preach, while articles four and five will be on The Church We Build and The Life We Live. It is our sincere hope that you will “search the scriptures” (John 5:39) as you read for the scriptures do, indeed, testify of our Lord and His church.)

Most people can be divided into two classes: leaders or followers. Some, like Peter, follow “afar off” (Matt. 26:58). Others, like Caleb, wholly follow the Lord (Josh. 14:8).

The churches of Christ follow Christ for three Bible-based reasons:

WORTHY TO BE FOLLOWED

Because He told His disciples to, “Follow Me” (Matt. 16:24), Christ is worthy of our following for several reasons.

First, He has existed from all of eternity. He helped create all things for He was there “in the beginning” (John 1:2), “all things were created by Him” (Col. 1:16), and He is part of the Godhead (1 John 5:7).

Next, He was the subject of much prophecy. Isaiah said He’d be born of a virgin (7:14) and the He’d be called a corner stone (28:16). Micah predicted He would be born in Bethlehem (5:2).And Daniel spoke of the kingdom He would usher in (7:13- 14).

Then, God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4). He was “made manifest in the flesh”(1 Tim. 3:16) “and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Some even acknowledged that “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).But, He also possessed a human side, too, calling Himself the “Son of Man” (Matt. 16:13; Luke 16:10), for He, too, was “in all points tempted like as we are; yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Finally, He set for us the perfect example, both in humility (John 13:1-15) and in the suffering service He rendered to others (1 Peter 2:2 1).

GIVEN ALL AUTHORITY

Since God created every thing (Gen. 1), all authority belonged to Him.

But, Jesus proclaimed, “All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18).

Before His death, Jesus promised the apostles that He, through the Holy Spirit, would guide them “in all truth” (John 16:13) and would teach them “all things” (John 14:26).

Thus, the apostles wrote the New Testament portion of God’s inspired word (2 Tim. 3:16), being guided by the Holy Spirit which “searcheth the deep things of God” (2 Cor. 2:10).

It is not enough for us to try to do right, for our entrance into heaven hinges on our doing what God’s will tells us to do (Matt. 7:2 1). Because Jesus became the “author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him” (Heb. 5:9), we must “obey from the heart” (Rom. 6:17) the doctrine of Christ.

Should we “transgresseth (go beyond) and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, we hath not God” (2 John 9). We are also cautioned not to “go beyond that which is written” (1 Cor. 4:6) for there are dire consequences of disobedience, like Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-2) and Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:3-8).

OUR “ALL IN ALL”

“Christ is our all in all” (Col. 3:11) because of what He is, what He was, and what He will be.

Specifically, He was “the mediator of a better covenant” (Heb. 8:6) and “there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). It was “God, who reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:18). Because Jesus was both human and divine, He was perfectly qualified for this.

At the same time, He is “the door” (John 10:9), and “the foundation” (1 Cor. 3:11). He is “the head of the church” (Col. 1:18) and “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is also described as being our “passover” (1 Cor. 5:7), “high priest” (Heb. 3:1), “intercessor” (Heb. 7:25), “advocate” (1 John 2:1), and “king” (John 18:36-37).

Just as importantly, He will be our judge (Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 17:3 1). And, whether we like it or not “we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:7) and then “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).

CONCLUSION

Christ is the greatest leader this world has ever known (or will know) and is worthy of our following Him because of the authority He has and because of what  He was, is, and will be.

Best of all, He invites all of us to come to Him (Malt 11:28-30). He wants to be Lord of your life and reside in the hearts of Christians every where (Rev. 3:20).

You can follow Him by doing exactly the same thing He told those in the first century to do. Namely, believe that He is the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of your past sins (Luke 13:3), confess Him before men (Matt. 10:32), and then be buried with Him in baptism (Mark 16:16). Then, you must abide in Him (John 15:4), if you are to receive His “great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4).

If we can assist you in your obedience, or if you would like to study this topic with us further, please contact us at the address or phone listed on the back of this journal.

This lesson originally appeared in the March/April 1991 (Volume 1 Number 2) issue of The Visiting Preacher.

Digitized Feb. 7, 2005
Updated