THE BELIEVER’S WALK (2)

“That you may WALK WORTHY of the Lord, FULLY PLEASING HIM, being fruitful in every good work...” – Colossians 1:10a

God’s Perfect Will is for the BELIEVER’S WALK to be WORTHY: “That you may WALK WORTHY of the Lord, FULLY PLEASING HIM, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Col.1:10-12). After his letter’s opening greetings, Paul having heard that the Colossians were following Christ’s teachings, prayed that they might be even stronger in the practice of their faith. Specifically, that they’d “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (v.9a); and that they “may walk worthy of the Lord...” (v.10a).

The phrase “worthy of” appears few times in the New Testament (Eph. 4:1; Phil1:27; 1The.2:12; 3 Jh.1:6). Scripturally, to “walk” refers to the daily conduct of one’s life. Ephesians 2:10 says God has ordained that His children should “walk” in good works. Paul assured the Christians in Rome that all whose faith rests in Christ have been baptized into His death and buried with Him, and that now, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should WALK in newness of life” (Rom.6:4). The word worthy implies “matching up”: actions should match words, and outward presentation should match inward convictions.

In general, to “walk worthy” means to behave in a manner that is consistent with one’s ideals – in this case, God’s Word and Will. We need to “be filled with the knowledge of His Will” in order to behave in a manner consisted with being fully aware of our duties, responsibilities, roles, and relationships. We are not to trip and stumble along blindly, but to walk with purposeful strides, accomplish what fully pleases God, and be fruitful in every good work. As Believers, our ideals come from the Bible, and to walk worthy of these is a high calling (Consider: Jos.1:8; Psa. 1:1-3; Psa. 119: 9, 105; Isa.55:11; 1 Tim 3:14-17; Rom 10:17). To “walk worthy” of our calling means to live up to the calling, to live in such a way as to honour God as we complete His course of action for us.

In today’s text, walking worthy is tied to four personal characteristics: Being fruitful in every good work; steadily increasing in the knowledge of God; using His power to joyfully endure and patiently persevere; and giving thanks to the Father for what He has done. The command to walk worthy does not mean that we are to somehow merit or earn our position. Rather, believers are exhorted to live in such a way as to prove they belong to Christ. This effort to walk worthy isn’t what saves us from God’s judgment – He’s already demonstrated His love toward us in providing a means of salvation through His grace – but we are called to live a life which demonstrates gratitude towards Him and reflects our salvation as a witness to the unsaved.

As true believers, we’re to maintain a fidelity to Christ, live with integrity, and display the fruit of the Spirit indwelling us (Jh.14:17; Gal. 5:22–23). Our daily lives must match our message (the gospel), position in Christ, and character of Christ. We live and practice our faith, not merely profess it. We have been called “with a holy calling, not according to our works” (2 Tim.1:9a). We should walk according to that call, our lives reflecting good works (Jam.2:14). James warned those who do not walk worthy of their calling, describing their “faith” as a dead faith, which is no faith at all. How we live should match up with what we say we believe.

We’ve been called from darkness into light (Acts 26:18); from slavery to sin into liberty (Rom. 6:16-18); and from the kingdom of Satan into God’s Kingdom (v.13). The reality of this calling is reflected in our daily lives as we rely on God’s Power to “walk worthy.”