Going Deeper for Life Change
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude ~ Colossians. 2.6.7
Unbelieving Believers
1. Our Passage reveals that those who believed in His name - that is
believed in Jesus, viewed themselves as believers. But Jesus had a
different assessment of these persons. What was His assessment?
2. Jesus knew all men. What does this reveal about Jesus’ nature in
light of chapter 1 ?
3. How does your understanding of the factors that neither prove nor
disprove whether one is a Christian affect your self assessment of your
standing before God? (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)
The Necessity for Belief
What kind of belief brings us into a saving relationship with Christ? In
the context of the passage and in analyzing the word ‘believed,’ we can
come to a definitive conclusion by looking a the use of this word by the
Apostle John. The word ‘believed’ has the Greek tense (aorist) which
indicates that the believing is attained, but does not progress. It is a one-
time event. So what impact does this have on our understanding of this
passage? The understanding of this word - ‘believed,’ tells us that many
at Jerusalem during the Passover did believe, but their kind of belief, was
an intellectual ascent to the signs displayed, and to the person who was
the source of them. But it was not the kind of belief which goes beyond
the external. It did not progress to the kind of deeper belief which is
necessary for true salvation - genuine saving faith. It was not a true
belief which is marked by true life changing faith in Christ, brought about
by the Holy Spirit. Therefore Jesus ‘was not entrusting Himself to them,’
because Jesus knew that they were still dead in their trespasses and sins.
Believing on Jesus’ name is the key element in receiving the revelation of
the Word of God - who is Jesus Christ, who has come into the world.
The resulting effect is that you instantaneously enter into a relationship
with Jesus Christ, who grants you the right to enter into the family of
God as one of its members - and as an heir of all that He possesses as
children of God.
Believing in Jesus Christ’s name is more than just a ‘name’ which a
person is given. So what does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus
Christ? Believing in the name of Jesus Christ encompasses believing in
the very character and person that the name is associated with.
Believing in Jesus Christ means that when He offers to you eternal life,
you welcome Him and accept His loving command to repent of sin in
your life and to be reconciled to God. It is to place your complete faith in
Jesus Christ alone, to give your full allegiance to Him, and to
acknowledge all His claims - for example He claims to be God in human
flesh, He claims to come and take away our sins through the sacrifice of
His sinless life, upon a cross, He claims that you must trust in the historic
reality of His life, death, and resurrection on the third day from the
grave. Do you believe?