WALK IN HIM
First Corinthians 4:17: "Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church."
Here is a man who walks in Christ. You will discover that not only here, but in numerous passages, it is mentioned that the Christian walk should be one that is in Christ.
HIS DOCTRINES ARE WHAT HE IS
Let us look at something very important concerning our faith:
First Corinthians 15:12-14: "But if Christ is proclaimed that He has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is vain; your faith is vain also."
Verses 16-17: "For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."
It does not say what we will get for good or bad behavior. Everything in our faith is based upon the person Christ. If He had died without being resurrected, His doctrines would be lifeless, and everything would be over. Our faith would be of no effect. We can see here that His doctrines are what He is. But praise the Lord, He was resurrected. Hence, our preaching is not in vain. All is reality. Everything of our faith is tied to the resurrected Lord.
DOCTRINES CAME OUT
OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST
We will skip over 2 Corinthians because it is not a book that deals with doctrines. Books that deal with doctrines are Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians. However, we can only briefly mention them. We will show that all doctrines come out of the person of Christ.
Galatians 2:4: "And this, because of the false brothers, brought in secretly, who stole in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into slavery." Our freedom is in Christ.
Verses 16-17: "And knowing that a man is not justified out of works of law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed into Christ Jesus that we might be justified out of faith in Christ and not out of the works of law, because out of the works of law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also have been found sinners, is then Christ a minister of sin? Absolutely not!"
Justification is due to our being in Him. It is not a result of our behavior. Once we are joined to Christ, we are justified.
(The Normal Christian Faith, Chapter 6, by Watchman Nee)
