Obedience in the Life of Christ

Written By: Nathan Crawley

In all things that we as Christians do,

they should be done as Christ would do

them and so to bring honor and glory to

God our Father. The bible says in 1st Co-

rinthians 10:31, “Whether there-fore ye eat, or drink, or

whatsoever ye do, do all to the honor and glory of God.”

We as Christians are saved to bring honor and glory

to God in everything that we do and there is no better

way to please God, to honor Him, or to prove our love to

Him than to obey what He has written in His word.

Obedience is the key to pleasing the Father. The

obedience that is found in the life of Christ is the pattern

that must be followed if we are to please our Father as He

did in Mathew 4:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22 and 2nd Peter

1:17. Christ who had left His Thrown on high, left all of

His Glory above, left the presence of the father, left the

angelic host that proclaims His holiness has now de-

scended to earth to do not His will But the will of the

Father.

Christ’s obedience is always preceded by humility.

The bible says in Philippians 2:7,8 (7) “But made himself

of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a ser-

vant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being

found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and be-

came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

In verse seven Christ is no longer equal with God

but has now been made a little lower than the angels to

become a servant subject to the law. In this the obedience

of Christ

Obedience

is the key

to pleasing

the Father.

rings out through the ages as an old

church bell signifying time to wor-

ship for we see Christ who was God

in Deity, in obedience to the Fathers

will, leaves the glorious splendor of

heaven to take upon flesh and be fashioned as a man that

through obedience He would reconcile man back to God

the Father.

Our reconciliation and all things we know as Chris-

tians whether it be justification, sanctification, or regen-

eration all stem from Christ’s perfect obedience or fulfill-

ment of the law.

(Rom 5:19 KJV) For as by one man's disobedience many

were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall

many be made righteous.

You will find no boundaries in the obedience of

Christ, no banks to hold the river of His love . We find in

verse eight of Philippians chapter two that He humbled

Himself and became obedient unto death. Christ’s love

for His Father and His love for sinners was so great that

he put no limitations on what He was willing to go

through to please God and to redeem man.

Christ’s obedience is and obedience motivated by

love, the love that he had for the Father and the love that

he had for sinners. Christ’s obedience is an act of the

heart it is a perfect obedience in which that can only be

possessed by a Holy God who knows no sin. Christ, God

in Deity is love and only He himself can know a perfect

obedience that is motivated by a perfect love that resides

in a perfect heart. Obedience in the life of Christ is a per-

fect obedience one that will never be obtained by man

here on this earth but it is most definitely the obedience

that should be strived for by every believer that professes

Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Christ had no reservations in His obedience no re-

striction do to race, color, creed, or cause. He was willing

to die for all that would reject Him knowing the suffer-

ing, shame, and separation that He would face. Oh that

we as Christians could see the obedience of Christ in all

His glory and act upon our hearts motivated by His love

and obey the Fathers will.

Christ’s obedience should motivate us to obey. You

do not have to look very close to see the great love that

motivated Christ to obey. That love was directed toward

you and me as sinners on our way to a hell. But Christ,

full of obedience acted with His perfect heart motivated

by His perfect love and gave Himself to be sacrificed for

all mankind.

My friends, thinking of the price of His obedience

should cause we as Christians to be motivated enough to

act upon that love and obey the revealed truth of the

word of God. With the price of His obedience in view our

obedience to Him should be our utmost

desire knowing that His obedience cost

Him all.

Oh my friends, my heart overflows

with a love that is unable to be de-

scribed just to know that Jesus loved

me enough to die. What a wonderful

Savior we serve and may the obedience

in the life of Christ cause us to obey as we think of the

price of His.

Our success as Christians in the area of obedience

will depend on our love for God. Christ said in John

14:15 “if you love me, keep my commandments.” In

John 14:21 he continues, “He that hath my command-

ments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he

that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will

love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Furthermore

in John 15:10 He elaborates on the condition of success

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my

love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments,

and abide in his love.” Christ’s pattern of obedience to

God is that it is motivated out of love. We should obey

God the Father because we love Him and if we love Him

we will keep His commandments.

This should not come as a shock but the bible says

that all commandments rest upon two found in Matt

22:37-40, (37) “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the

Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and

with

all thy mind.(38) This is the first and great command-

ment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love

thy neighbor as thyself. (40) On these two command-

ments hang all the law and the prophets.”

In conclusion of this chapter let me summarize the

thought. Our goal is to please God and to have an inti-

mate relationship with him. An intimate relationship

can’t exist without love. Christ’s obedience unto death is

His proof unto us of the love that He possesses. Our love

to Him and to God the Father is proven when we obey.

May we learn obedience through our sufferings and

prove our love to God that in our obedience we may have

an intimate unbroken relationship with Him.

(Heb 5:8-9 KJV) Though he were a Son, yet learned

he obedience by the things which he suffered;

(9)And being made perfect, he became the author of

eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;