Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
In this passage, we witness what might be termed a "chain of command" or rather a "chain of reception."
On one hand, there is the act of "sending":
- God the Father sent Jesus.
- Jesus sends His disciples as witnesses.
On the other hand, there is the act of "receiving":
- Those who receive and accept the witness of Christ's disciples will, in turn, receive Christ.
- Those who receive Christ as Savior will simultaneously receive God the Father.
It is a chain of events that cannot be broken. No one comes to faith except by hearing the Word of God—there must be a witness.[1]
Christ is not a figment of one's own making. There is no living Saviour unless He is the One revealed to us in the Word of God. Therefore, without the Bible and someone to teach it to us, we miss the Saviour God provided.
No one is reconciled to God the Father who hasn't come through Christ. Jesus Himself said, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me."[2] Making a mistake about Jesus equates to making a mistake about God.
Some might argue that they don't need a teacher and that the Holy Spirit is their teacher. However, this is only a partial teaching of the Bible and becomes false teaching because it disregards the rest of the instruction. Matthew 28:18-20, among many other passages, clearly teaches the progression of coming to faith, being baptized as a profession of faith, and spending the rest of our lives being instructed in the observance of our faith. There is a clear handoff of truth from one witness to another, teaching those who will teach others also. To deviate from the teachings of those who have taught us is to apostatize from the faith.
- Jesus sends witnesses.
- Those who accept their witness come to Christ.
- Only those who come to Christ come to God the Father.
#ChainOfReception #WitnessOfChrist #FaithByHearing #ReceivingChrist #SentByJesus
Sender to Receiver: The Key to Receiving God
[1] Romans 10:17:
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
[2] John 14:6
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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