“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6)
Christ enters a life by invitation only. He does not force His way in; He is willingly received. His reception is the first and all necessary step that makes walking in Him possible. You cannot walk as Christ walked unless Christ is in you. You cannot abide in Christ unless you are in Christ and Christ is in you. But walking in Christ is not an option for those who have received Him; it is a command. Without obedience we become a fruitless branch, that withers and is cast into the fire.
The life of God in us should manifest by our walking in newness of life. Paul admonished every believer to no longer walk as they previously walked when they were alienated from the life of God. He tells them that this is not how those who have “learned Christ” walk (Eph. 4:20,21). Those who have been saved by grace are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Since they have put off the corrupt old man, and put on the new man, they are to calibrate their actions accordingly. John makes it clear: “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him” (1 John 2:29).
When we have received Christ we have received the anointing that teaches us how we are to abide in Christ. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27). Don’t let anyone deceive you, and don’t deceive yourself. Every tree is known by its fruit. You can say you’re a good tree, but the fruit of your life can prove otherwise. “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph. 5:9). We can say we have fellowship with God, but we’re lying if we’re walking in any darkness. Walking the walk is still required of those who profess to know Christ.
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” (1 John 2:6)