WALK IN CHRIST

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK IN HIM” (Col.2:6)

To walk in perfection is to WALK IN CHRIST: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK IN HIM, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col.2:6-7). The Christian life is more of a walk than standing still. Just as the Colossian believers had begun with Christ, they were encouraged to continue in their walk in Him. Four key words describe this walk: rooted, built up, established, and abounding. The tense of the word translated ‘rooted’ denotes an accomplished action: believers have been rooted in Christ. The next three words are in the present tense, indicating continual growth that should characterize every believer’s walk in Christ.

To walk in Christ means to WALK as HE WALKED: “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk just as He walked” (1Jh.2:6). It means, to walk in Christ’s steps: “leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1Pet.2:21b). Abiding is habitual obedience. It conveys the idea of settling down or resting in Christ – evidenced by a life modelled after Christ. This settling is however not static, but dynamic, as Christ Himself is. The admonition, “ought…to walk” therefore implies living in conformity with the precepts and conduct of Christ Jesus. The Christian as a child of God ought to obey God out of a sincere desire and an indwelling enablement. It should be a joy to follow in the footsteps of the One who died for us.

To walk in Christ means to WALK WORTHY of HIM: “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). Paul desired that the Colossians live in a manner that adequately reflected what God had done for them and was doing in them. Being “worthy of God” is a phrase that was used in ancient pagan engravings in Asia. It portrays someone’s life being weighed on scales to determine its worth. If the devotees to false gods knew they had to walk in a worthy manner, certainly we Christians should dedicate our lives to the living God in order to please Him and be fruitful and productive in Him.

To walk in Christ means to WALK WORTHY of OUR CALLING in Him: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Eph.4:1). Beginning at this verse, the second half of Ephesians emphasised the behaviour that should result from the doctrines or beliefs taught in the first half. The Christian life is compared to a worthy walk: a life that should match the Excellency of Christ’s calling.

To walk in Christ means to DO ALL THINGS IN HIS NAME: “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him” (Col.3:17). Here, Paul sums up how Christians should live: commit everything we do or say to Jesus and continually thank God for all His good gifts.

Only when you’ve received and fully identified with Christ can you truly walk in Him. Paul declared: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). Every true believer was crucified with Christ in order to die to sin, the law, and “this present evil age” (Gal.1:4). Though physically alive, Christ lives within us spiritually. His resurrection power through the Holy Spirit works in us as we choose to live by faith in Him (Rom.6:4-11).

You are no longer your own; you have been bought with His precious blood of Jesus (1Cor.6:20). You no longer live for yourself, but for Him who died and rose again on your behalf (2Cor.5:15). Living under the lordship of Christ means yielding to Him to live His Life through you!