Elder Ko Swee Chay

Walk with God in God’s Way

(Part 1 of 3)

Introduction
We all know the word "walk" as that is what most of us do daily and naturally, so much so that we take it for granted and do not pay much attention, sometimes resulting in us tripping and falling and sustaining injuries. In the spiritual realm, believers ought to pay their utmost attention to their walk with God in order to avoid falling into sin and by the wayside.

Throughout the Holy Scriptures, the words "walk", "walked" and "walking" occur a few hundred times. In most cases, it is used symbolically or figuratively with reference to a believer’s relationship with God, spiritual state, way of life, conduct and behaviour. To "walk" is in short to live one’s Christian life, which includes our spiritual life, lifestyle and manner of life. The word "walk" also has the idea of progress and growth; it is taking steps toward spiritual sanctification and maturity.

Wesley explained that to walk, in the New Testament usage of the term, "includes all our inward and outward motions; all our thoughts, and words, and actions. It takes in, not only everything we do, but everything we either speak or think."

The Holy Scriptures admonishes God’s people to "walk in his ways", "walk in the Light", "walk in newness of life", "walk in the Spirit", "walk by faith", "walk as children of light", "walk circumspectly", "walk in love", "walk in truth", "walk in wisdom", "walk uprightly", "walk humbly", "walk honestly", "walk worthy of the vocation", "walk worthy of God". All these "walks" are divine instructions or expectations given by God to make us perfect in every good work that Christ may "present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight." (Col 1:22) and "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." (1 Thess 3:13).

Let us study these 15 "walks" mentioned in the Bible to come to a good and right understanding of God’s expectations of our Christian walk, whereby we can be sure and certain that we are walking in God’s prescribed ways that lead us to eternity.

God willing, this study will be covered in three parts (of the Elder’s Page):
Part 1:
"walk in all his ways" (Deut 10:1 2-13)
"walk in the Light" (Isa 2:5; John 8:12;1 John 1:7)
"walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4)
"walk in the Spirit" (Gal 5:16, 25)
"walk by faith" (2 Cor 5:6-8)

Part 2:
"walk as children of light" (Eph 5:8)
"walk circumspectly" (Eph 5:15)
"walk in love" (Eph 5:2)
"walk in truth" (3 John 1:4)
"walk in wisdom" (Col 4:5)

Part 3:
"walk uprightly" (Ps 15:2; Prov 10:9)
"walk humbly" (Mic 6:8)
"walk honestly" (1 Thess 4:12)
"walk worthy of the vocation" (Eph 4:1)
"walk worthy of God" (1 Thess 2:12, Col 1:10)

1. Walk in all His ways
Deut 10:12-13 "12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you today for thy good?"

The phrases "walk in his ways" (e.g. Deut 8:6, 26:17, 28:9, 30:16; 1 Kgs 2:3; Ps 119:3), "walk in my ways"(e.g. 1 Kgs 3:14, 11:38) and "walk in all his ways" (e.g. Deut 10:12, 11:22; Jos 22:5; 1 Kgs 8:58) occur throughout the Old Testament. God repeatedly reminded the people of Israel, His chosen people, to take heed of His commandment to walk in all of His prescribed ways.

- "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Gen 5:24) "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Gen 6:9) – these two verses speak of the very intimate and close relationship Enoch and Noah had with God, and that pleased God.
- "…. I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (Gen 17:1) – this verse speaks of the obedience to God and God’s Word for the simple reason that He is the Almighty God, and it is for our good and benefit to walk rightly in Him.
- "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3) – this verse speaks of the closeness and communion with God that can only be possible by first making peace with Him by getting rid of rebellion and transgression; only then can one walk with God as with a close friend.

Putting all these related verses together, "walk in all His ways" would mean God demands the people of Israel, and us as believers, to do the following:
a. To fear the LORD thy God - meaning to have a deep reverence and respect for God. King Solomon said: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…." (Prov 1:7); "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…." (Prov 9:10) and "…. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecc 12:13). The children of God ought to obey Him, not only because they are afraid of being judged and punished, but also because they have an abiding reverence and respect for God because of who He is and what He has done. Such reverential fear will guide and control everything that we do in order not to sin against God.

b. To love God – truly God deserves and is worthy of all our love without condition because of what He has done for us. Jesus said "THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND. This is the first and great commandment." (Matt 22:37-38).

c. To serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul – after we are saved by the grace of God, it is our privilege and honour to serve Him whole heartedly constrained by His love for us.

d. To cleave (hold fast) unto Him - to remain steadfastly close to Godno matter what happens.

e. To keep, observe and obey His law, ordinances, statutes, commandments and judgments; and turn not aside therefrom to the right hand and to the left hand, but walk on a narrow way that leads to heaven.

Every one of us has two choices: to live our life in accordance with the ways of God;or in the ways of this world which actually is walking carnally in the way that Satan the tempter wants us to do. Paul wrote in Eph 2:2 "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Many of so called believers continue to walk in the ways of the world. Those who continue to walk in the ways of the world – "….walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them and to worship them,…" (Jer 13:10), i.e. walk in the attractions and idols of the world, walk in pride and in lies, which is the broad way that leads to condemnation and eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire. The choice is for us to make: the ways of the world that end up in hell, or the ways of God that lead to heaven.

2. Walk in the Light
"O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD." (Isa 2:5). "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12). "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7).

"Light" in the Bible can be a metaphor for life, righteousness, or understanding. James 1:17 clearly states that light comes from the Lord God, "the Father of lights". In John 1:6-14 Apostle John used the "Light" metaphor to point to the coming Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 8:12, Jesus revealed that He is the light of the world, and those that follow Him shall not walk in darkness which is the opposite of light, i.e. evil. "Walk in the Light" means growing in His grace and in holiness, and maturing in the faith, and increasing in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as we follow Him by knowing and keeping and obeying His Word. To walk in the light simply means to walk in all of God's ways as revealed in Holy Scriptures, just as Isaiah and Moses and Joshua commanded the people of Israel to do.

3. Walk in newness of life
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:4).

We have been buried into death with Christ by baptism, and like Christ was raised up from among the dead in a glorious resurrection by the glory of the Father, in order that we should walk in newness of life. It is by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ that He lives in us and causes the regeneration and transformation of our lives – a new Christian life, a fresh start. This newness of life is given by God the Father through the precious blood of Jesus, a distinctive life style only for born again Christians. It is different from the way the people in the world lives, Eph 4:17 says "…. that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their life."

Paul comprehensively summarises in Rom 6:6-23 what this "newness of life" in Christ Jesus entails:
a. No longer serve sin – "6…. that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that hence forth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin." (Rom 6:6-7).
b. Live with Christ, free from sin and spiritual death - Rom 6:8-11.
c. Not to obey the lusts of the mortal body, but yields yourselves as instrument of righteousness unto God – We must not live any longer in sins, we must live a righteous life (Rom 6:12-14).
d. Change from servant of sin to servant of obedience and righteousness unto holiness – By His grace, God not only delivers us from sin, but also helps us overcome the power of sin (Rom 6:15-19).
e. Ashamed of past sins – This is the step toward living a new life (Rom 6: 20-21).
f. Hope of everlasting life through Jesus Christ – "22But now being made free from sin, and become servant to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom 22-23).

2 Cor 5:17 says "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are pass away: behold, all things are become new." In practical terms, "walk in newness of life" means newness of heart and mind, walk by new standards, new choice of the way, new desires and goals, toward new ends.

4. Walk in the Spirit
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." (Gal 5:16). "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal 5:25).
To "walk in the Spirit" is to submit to the control of the Holy Spirit, to allow the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. It is essentially to "walk with" the Spirit, allowing Him to guide our steps and to control our thoughts, our words and our deeds. From the moment we believe and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord, by His grace and providence Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, i.e. we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us or we live in the Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is multi-faceted to help believers to live obedient, holy and godly lives according to God’s Word and sovereign will. By allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us, believers have the ability to war against the "lust of the flesh" and the power not to sin. Our Christian lives must be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, otherwise we would fall into the hand of Satan, the prince of the world. In Gal 5:19-23 Paul says "19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft (sorcery), hatred, variance (contentions), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (dissensions), heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like:….. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance:…. " Paul contrasts the "works of the flesh" (Gal 5:19-21) with the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22-23).

Therefore, "walking in the Spirit" is something the Holy Spirit enables us to do by producing in us strong desires that accord with God's will. This is what The Lord GOD said He would do in Ezekiel 36:26- 27: "26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you…. 27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgment, and do them." The Holy Spirit produces in us desires for God’s way that are stronger than our fleshly and carnal desires, and thus He causes us to walk in holiness and in the path of righteousness and to keep and do according to God’s law, ordinances, statutes and commandments.

5. Walk by faith
"6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7For we walk by faith, not by sight: 8We are confident I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. " (2 Cor 5:6-8).
Paul challenges us to walk (or live) by faith and not by sight. Hebrew 11:1 defines "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is believing all of God’s Word, trusting and obeying in God and God’s Word. Knowing that "while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord" means knowing that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord", this knowing that led to the confident mentioned by Paul is an example of the manifestation of faith.

Those who "walk by faith" would:

a. depend on God and God’s Word
They believe, accept and depend on the God of the Bible and His revealed Word they read and hear, not by visions & dreams they see, voices they hear, experiences they encounter, or emotions they feel. In fact, the only way to "walk by faith" is to walk as Scriptures direct. Romans 10:17 says "So then faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God."

b. seek not and depend not on material possessions
Those who "walk by faith" do not lay up for themselves treasures upon earth, but lay up for themselves treasures in heaven (Matt 6: 19-20), for they realize that God has promised to supply their material needs if they were to have the faith to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). They handle this world’s materials with contentment and they recognize the dangers and temptations that come with riches (2 Tim 6:6-9). Paul gives us a good example of exercising faith, "…. for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to be abound …." (Phi 4:11-12). Those who "walk by sight" put in many efforts in pursuing wealth and possessions; they are more concerned with accumulating wealth than serving God. They will never be satisfied with what they have, well said in Prov 27:20 "Hell and destruction are never filled: so the eyes of man are never satisfied." God’s Word tell us "No man can serve two masters:…. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt 6:24).

c. exercise patience and hope in tribulation and suffering
Those who "walk by faith" will face tribulation and suffer with patience and hope for these are allowed by God for a purpose, as a chastisement or to strengthen faith. They will not doubt God, not despair and lose heart, not murmur and complain. They will continue to trust, love and worship God. Paul gives us a great example of what it means to walk by faith from what he said in 2 Cor 4:17-18 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Paul was patient and hopeful in the face of suffering because he set his sights not on this world (temporal), but on heaven (eternal). Those who "walk by sight" deal with suffering with despair and disappointment and sadness. They will view their dilemma and suffering from a worldly point of view and hence will not experience the peace and tranquillity in their heart.

AMEN.