From that point through the entire Old Testament, we have the story of the covenant people who were the descendants of Abraham. However, the people did not live up to the terms of that covenant, and a new and better covenant was promised in the darkest days of their captivity in Babylon. That covenant was established with the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, on behalf of all those who would come to God through him, and it was sealed with his blood. It is not surprising, then, that when the New Testament describes the way in which individual humans can enjoy the benefits of Christ's work on their behalf, it does so in terms of entering into a community relation with Him. Our interpretation of this verse is often colored by modern scientific understanding of what is involved in believing.
Belief is taken to mean mental assent on the basis of irrefutable empirical evidence.
This is a devastating reduction of the meaning of receiving Christ. It speaks of receiving Him. When a woman receives a bridegroom as her husband, she does much more that accept certain legal facts about their new relationship. She enters into a communion or community with him. So it is with receiving Christ.