Sit, Walk and Stand Based On Grace and His Finished Work (2)

In my previous post, I shared on the importance of “sitting” well before we have a stable and good walk in our Christian life. The importance of being rooted and grounded in the knowledge of who we are in Christ and resting on His finished work and grace cannot be emphasized enough. As believers living under grace, our Christian life should begin from this position of rest. From “sitting” we progress to “walking”, which is what today’s post is about.

As I researched on the word “walk” in the Bible, I realized that the only time man literally walked with God was in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve knew God’s voice and they walked with Him and communed with Him but the moment they partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, this changed. Genesis 3:8 says :”And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (NKJ). It is interesting to note that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which typifies The Law actually causes those who are under it to be fearful of God. This is because man knows that he can never match up to God’s impossibly high standards and requirements with his own effort and good works.

After The Ten Commandments were given, the word “walk” was mostly used with regard to walking in God’s statutes and if man walked according to them, he would be blessed. If he did not, he would be cursed. It was a "do good get good, do bad get beat" system as seen in these verses, which are only a few of the examples: Leviticus 26:3,4 "If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.", Leviticus 26:21 "Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.", Deuteronomy 5:33, Deuteronomy 30:16.

As New Covenant believers who are not under law but under grace, the word “walk” is a picture of us “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”. Romans 8:3,4 say it like this :”For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (NKJ) Other verses that remind us of walking in the Spirit are Romans 8 :1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”, Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”, Galatians 5:24,25 “ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

With this as the basis, I will share on the verses in Ephesians which contain the word “walk” in the next post.

----------------to be continued------------------