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Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
1
Walking With God Then and Now
There is no subject more fundamental and important in Scripture than
how a believer should live in relation to God. “Walking with God” is probably the
best known expression of this truth, and virtually every Christian has heard at
least one sermon on the subject. If one enters “Walking with God” into a search
engine, the result is not surprising; there are a multitude of sites and books
from virtually every branch of Christendom. There are ideas that include just
about anything we could imagine. With so much written on the subject and so
many web sites dedicated to widely differing opinions, it should be no surprise
that most Christians do not clearly understand what walking with God means.
In this study we will examine how the Old and New Testaments use the
words for “walk.” There are 1545 uses of 2 interrelated words for walk in the
Old Testament. $lh (halak), is most often translated “walk” while its cousin
$ly (yalak) is more often rendered “go.” The understanding of how “walk” is
used in the Old Testament will reveal that God did not just want rote obedience
to the Law. The New Testament word for “walk” is ......... (peripateo),
which only occurs 90 times. In considering these occurrences of “walk” we may
come to see the New Testament in a different light. To encourage further
study, we have provided additional references after each section.
However, before we begin, we must note an obvious fact about “walk.” In
most of its uses, especially in the Old Testament, “walk” is used in a strictly
literal sense of “traversing real estate.” We will not be considering this usage
of walk, but instead focus on its usage as “ordering the details of one’s life.”
There are many verses where “walk” is used in this manner which will yield an
understanding of what walking with God means throughout Scripture.
Finally, we will examine the lives of three men in the Old Testament who
walked with God and how it affected their lives. Because many do not take the
Scriptures literally, these men are often misunderstood. However, a consistent
literal approach to God’s Word will reveal the truth about these men, and what
it could mean to us today.
I. The Old Testament Usage of Walk as a Summary Statement.
A. As a recognition of relationship or “belonging to”.
1. $lh (hithpael); in Genesis 24:40, Abraham “walked before God.”
a. “Before” is wynpl, literally “before the face of.”
b. This figure of speech means that he “ordered the details of
his life” with the awareness that his God was watching.
Walking With God Then and Now
c. “Walked” is a hithpael tense in Hebrew; the hithpael form is
reflexive. This means “Abraham himself walked” because he
himself chose to walk. It was his decision; we could translate
this “The Lord before Whose face I myself chose to walk.”
d. None of Beuthel’s family personally knew Abraham; by saying
this, Abraham identified Who he worshipped and how he lived.
e. In this verse, “before Whose face I walk” means “I know the
One to Whom I belong is watching me.”
f. Remember, context will always determine exactly how the
Hebrew word ynpl, “before the face” should be understood.
Often the meaning of “before” is all that is implied and we
must always remember context will determine the meaning.
g. This is one element of walking with God, an awareness that
“I belong to God Who is watching how I live.” This simple
truth did make a difference in Abraham’s life.
2. $lh (hithpael); In Leviticus 26:12, God would walk in Israel.
a. This promise was contingent upon Israel’s obedience to the
Law of Moses, Leviticus 26:3. However, Israel failed and this
promise was not realized. It is significant that in the second
giving of the Law to a new generation, this promise is not
repeated. In Deuteronomy 28 where Moses repeated the
blessings and curses under Law, but we do not see this offer
of God walking among His people and being their God. The
subject of Israel’s lost blessings is a study that student of
Scripture ought to make; it should include Exodus 19:5-6 ,
Deuteronomy 4:6-7 and Jeremiah 9:23-24.
b.“Walk” is another hithpael, emphasizing that God Himself had
chosen to walk among Israel if they would keep the law.
c. This means that God would be identified with Israel; He would
“…be your God and you shall be my people.”
d.This usage of “walk” is yet another reminder that God
watches how His children are living.
3. Other verses where “walk” emphasizes “belonging to,” relationship.
While “walk” retains the basic idea of “ordering the details of one’s
life, it is modified to change the emphasis slightly, i.e., to order
the details of one’s life in being associated with something.
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Walking With God Then and Now
a. $lh (hithpael) Genesis 14:24 (KJV went); 17:1; Deuteronomy
23:14: 1 Samuel 2:35; 12:2; 25:15 (KJV went); 1 Chron. 17:6.
b. $lh (Kal) Genesis 14:24 (KJV “went”); Deuteronomy 4:3 (KJV
“followed”); 8:19; Joshua 23:16; Judges 2:17.
B. As a summary of a king’s life and reign in Israel and Judah.
1. $lh (hithpael), Hezekiah’s testimony, 2 Kings 20:3; Isaiah 38:3.
a. Hezekiah has just been informed that he is going to die; this
is his prayer to God to be spared, vs. 1-2.
b.“Walked” is a hithpael, meaning that Hezekiah himself decided
to order the details of his life in the manner he did. We
could translate this “I decided for myself to walk.”
c. Hezekiah’s walk is modified by several important facts.
(1) Hezekiah recognized Who he belonged to; verse 3 uses
^npl, literally, “before your face.” While this is often
understood as a simple statement “before you,” context
demands that we understand that Hezekiah meant “in
front of God where He could see him” because he is
praying to God.
(2) Hezekiah’s walk was in truth; he was living up to the
revelation from God that he had.
(3) Hezekiah had a perfect heart. The word for “perfect”
is ~lv, meaning “peaceful” or “sincere.” If Hezekiah
had not been telling the truth, God’s answer through
Isaiah would have made that point clear.
2. $lh (Kal), King Solomon’s two chances to walk.
a. God spoke to Solomon twice, 1 Kings 3:3-15 (also in recorded
in 2 Chronicles 1:2-10) and again in 1 Kings 9:2-9 (also found in
2 Chronicles 7:12-22).
b.In both dreams, God offered Solomon the benefit of a long
life, 1 Kings 3:14, and a continuation of his line on the throne,
1 Kings 9:4-5, if Solomon would walk as David did.
c. In 1 Kings 3:6, Solomon describes his father David’s walk as
being in truth, righteousness and uprightness. The Hebrew
Word for uprightness is rvy, which has the idea of being
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
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Walking With God Then and Now
straightforward, honest, not having hidden motives. David was
not a man with a “hidden agenda” before God.
e. In 1 Kings 9:4 God required Solomon to walk in integrity of
heart and in uprightness. Integrity of heart translates
bbl-MTb, completeness or maturity of heart. ~t is the
equivalent of .....s in the New Testament, which we most
often translate as mature when used of Christians. rvy is
again used for “uprightness” with the idea of “no hidden
agenda.” God required Solomon to be mature as an Old
Testament believer. However, we must remember that the
Old Testament believer did not have the same potential for
maturity as the New Testament believer has. Consider just a
few of the privileges that the Christian has:
(1)The Old Testament believer did not have promise that
the Holy Spirit would indwell them, John 14:17.
(2)The Old Testament believer did not have promise that
the Holy Spirit would come upon them, Numbers 11:24-
29. “In” is not the same as “upon.”
(3)In addition, the Old Testament believer did not have
any guarantee that the Holy Spirit would remain upon
them, Psalm 51:11. David had seen the Holy Spirit leave
Saul as a result of personal sin and feared that the
Spirit would also leave him, 1 Samuel 16:14.
f. God’s requirement for these two qualities provides a hint at
what maturity was for the Old Testament believer. That God
called David “a man after mine own heart,” Acts 13:22, makes
this point clear. While these things were not commanded in
the Old Testament, the walk of a king like David was an
example not that should not have been easily overlooked.
3. Other verse where “walk” summarizes the life and reign of kings;
$lh (Kal) 1 Kings 11:33-38 (this passage is very important and
deserves further study; Jeroboam was told how to walk for an
unexpected reason); 2 Kings 13:6, 11; 21:21-22; 2 Chronicles 11:17
(another use of “walk” that should be studied); 17:3-4; 21:12; 22:3.
C. As of observing or watching.
Walking With God Then and Now
1. $lh (hithpael), Zechariah’s vision, Zechariah 6:1-8.
a. In a vision, Zechariah saw 4 horses pulling chariots, vs. 1-3.
b.An angel identifies these as “spirits of the heavens,” vs. 4.
c. “Walk” is used twice in this verses. As an infinitive, their
activity was literally “to walk for themselves to and fro” on
the earth, vs. 7.
d.The angel speaking to Zechariah issued an order to these
spirits, a hithpael imperative, “Walk for yourselves,” vs. 7.
e. The intent of these spirits was to observe what was happening
on earth, vs. 8. This almost gives “walk” the idea of “patrol.”
f. The Old Testament does reveal that angels not only watch the
earth, but also carry out God’s plan, Daniel 4:13, 17.
(1) These beings are came down from heaven, vs. 13.
(2) Each of these spirit beings had a unique responsibility,
vs. 17; Daniel also reveals other angelic activities,
Daniel 3:25; 6:22; 8:16; 9:21; 10:11-13, 20-21.
2. $lh (hithpael), Seven portions of the land, Joshua 18:8.
a.
In the conquest of the land, 7 tribes had not received their
allotment, vs. 2-3.
b.
Joshua ordered 3 men from each tribe to study the land and
divide it into 7 sections, vs. 4-5. This verse uses one of only
4 hithpael imperatives. (The other 3 uses are in Genesis
13:17; 17:1 and Zechariah 6:7.)
c.
In his formal command to the representatives, Joshua told
them to “Go and walk through the land and describe it,” vs. 8.
d.
Here again, “walk” means to “observe” in this passage.
e.
Context must always decide how we understand any word in
Scripture. As with “walk,” many words have more than one
possible usage.
3. $lh (hithpael), Our prowling adversary, Job 1:7; 2:2.
a.In both Job 1:7 and 2:2, Satan said that he himself chose to
walk over the earth.
b.Satan’s intent was not to go sightseeing; he was observing
what mankind was doing. When God challenged Satan, we see
that Satan had been observing Job, Job 1:9-10.
Don Hewitt, M.Div
Forum 2011
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
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Walking With God Then and Now
c. If we carefully observe the exchange between God and Satan,
we will find that God baited Satan to tempt Job.
(1) “Hast thou considered,” vs. 8 is clearly a challenge.
(2) Satan countered God and challenged Him to remove
Job’s protection and blessings, vs. 9-10. What Satan
was implying is that Job would sin if God allowed him to
tempt Job.
(3) God granted Satan the permission to tempt Job; the
way verse 10 is written makes it quite plain that Satan
had taken the bait; he would tempt Job.
(4) Even in the Old Testament, Satan cannot tempt the
believer without God’s permission.
d. In Job 2:1-6, we find again that God baited Satan to tempt
Job. We could wonder if Satan had the desire to try again,
but, nonetheless, he again took the bait from God.
(1) God again challenged Satan, Job 2:3, even adding a barb
that Satan could not ignore. “And still he holdeth fast
to his integrity” was intended to goad Satan.
(2) Once again Satan countered was that, if allowed, he
could entice Job to sin. After all, Satan said, a man will
give anything to save his own life, vs. 4-5.
(3) God gave Satan permission to begin round 2 on Job.
e. This usage of “walk” as “observe” is repeated in the New
Testament, 1 Peter 5:8.
(1) “Walk” is ......... (peripatei), the equivalent to $lh.
(2) Peter’s description fits perfectly what we see in Job.
We could translate “walk” as “prowl,” like a burglar
looking for the opportunity to break into a house, in Job
1:7; 2:2 and in 1 Peter 5:8.
(3) The fact that both the Old and New Testament picture
Satan has one looking for the opportunity to destroy
a believer should cause us to take him seriously. A lion
roars to paralyze its prey in terror; and so does Satan.
4. Some other verses where $lh(hithpael), means “to observe,”
Job 38:16, Zechariah 1:10-11.
Walking With God Then and Now
D. As a summary statement of how to live under the Law of Moses.
1. Under the Dispensation of Law, one’s “walk” was to be guided by
the principles set down in the 5 books of Moses, the Torah.
a. $lh (Kal), and $ly (Kal), Leviticus 26:3, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28.
(1) This is the first giving of the Law, before the failure at
Kadesh-barnea, Numbers 13:1-33.
(2) Moses recited both the blessings for obedience, verses
3-13, and the curses for disobedience, verses 14-46.
(3) In verse 3, we find $ly (Kal), “walk.” This statement
summarizes what would bring blessings under law, to
order the details of one’s life by the commandments.
(4) $ly (Kal), “walk ” in verse 21 and $lh (Kal), “walk” in
verses 23, 27 summarize the lifestyle that results in
judgment. In each case, the degree of punishment keeps
increasing in intensity.
(5) God uses $lh (Kal) of Himself in a sweeping statement,
verses 27, 28. Israel’s disobedience, their “walk” would
result in God’s chastening, His “walk.” In this chapter,
“walk” is forms the basis for understanding the Law.
Israel had said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will
do,” Exodus 19:8. So the Law was to govern their walk.
(6) Leviticus 26 should be compared with Deuteronomy 28,
where Moses tells a new generation the blessings and
curses of the Law.
b. $ly (Kal), Moses remembers, Deuteronomy 8:6.
(1) Moses looks back at Israel’s history for a moment,
Deuteronomy 8:1-5.
(2) In verse 6, Moses draws a conclusion; therefore means
“because of this.” The conclusion is that since God has
been faithful to His children, and will give them the
land He promised, they ought to walk in His ways.
c. $ly (Kal), all God really wants, Deuteronomy 10:12-13.
(1) Moses again reviews some of Israel’s history, vs. 1ff.
(2) This is the perfect summary of what Israel needed to
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Walking With God Then and Now
do under Law. If the people really understood Who God
is and what He had done for them, ordering the details
of life by the Law would have been natural.
2. Failure to walk according to the Law was the basis for judgment.
a. $ly (Kal), the final summary of Moses, Deuteronomy 30:16.
(1) Moses has just finished giving the Palestinian covenant.
(2) The words Moses spoke are almost a repetition of what
he had been saying throughout Deuteronomy; to love
God, walk in His ways and keep His commandments, and
His statutes and His ordinances.
(3) We would better understand why Moses repeated
these things if we remember what Moses knew about
his people, Deuteronomy 31:24-29.
b. The major prophets brought warnings of judgment for failure
to walk according to the Law.
(1) Ezekiel has a recurring theme in 5:7; 11:12; 18:17; 20:13,
16, 21 warning judgment because, “…they walked not in
My statutes.”
(2) Jeremiah repeatedly used “walk” to describe how the
people lived out of the “imagination” of their own evil
hearts, 3:17; 7:24; 9:14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17.
Imagination is tWryrv, better, “stubbornness.”
(3) Isaiah uses $lh sparingly; in 42:24, we read that the
people would not walk in His ways nor keep the Law. In
65:2 Israel walked “after their own thoughts.” $ly is
used to describe an proud walk, 3:16, and as a warning
to Judah not to walk as Israel walked, 8:11.
3. Other uses of “walk.” (This list is not exhaustive)
a. As a guide for ordering one’s affairs.
(1) Where $ly is used: Exodus 16:4; 18:20; Leviticus 18:3-4
20:23; Deuteronomy 5:33; 6:7; 8:6; 11:19, 22; 13:4-5;
19:9; 26 ;17; 29:19; Micah 6:8.
(2) Where $lh is used: Deuteronomy 8:19; 28:9.
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Walking With God Then and Now
We believe that $ly is used more than $lh due to a
subtle difference between the two words. $ly seems to
emphasize more of “moving in a general direction” and
therefore, when used of obedience to the Law, stresses
the need for it to be the overall guiding principle. $lh
seems to emphasize each individual step and therefore
would be more likely to be used in warning passages, as
it points out in detail every individual “misstep.”
b. As a warning of impending judgment.
(1) Where $lh is used: Micah 2:11; 6:16; Amos 3:2-3;
Zephaniah 1:17.
(2) Where $ly is used: Hosea 14:9; Joel 2:8; Zechariah 3:7
E. To summarize aspirations and express the ideal.
1. The ideal walk of the Old Testament believer, Psalm 1:1.-3.
a. Walk, $lh is a Kal, expressing a simple act; the man who is
walking in the Law is blessed.
b. The ideal is to not walk in the tc[, the advice or purpose of
the ungodly, but rather to delight in the Law.
c. The result of obedience was material prosperity.
2. The wisdom of fearing the Lord, Proverbs 14:2.
a. Walk, $lh is a Kal participle, the one walking.
b. The theme of Proverbs is “the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom,” 1:7.
c. The ideal is based upon one’s conduct; to walk uprightly. This
is the word rvy, which expresses the idea of “honest,
straight forward,” or, “with no hidden agenda.” The only way
an Old Testament believer could walk “honestly” would be to
walk in obedience to the Law.
d. In this, we can see both an ideal and an aspiration.
3. Other verses where walk expresses an aspiration or ideal.
Psalm 15:2; 84:11; 101:2, 6; 119:1-3; 128:1-2; Proverbs 2:7;
10:9; 13:20; 19:1; 28:6.
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
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Walking With God Then and Now
II. The New Testament Usage of Walk as a Summary Statement.
A. Walk, ........., in the Gospels.
1. As ordering the details of one’s life by man’s tradition, Mark 7:5.
a. By the time of Christ, Judaism had moved from the Law
to “the tradition of elders.” Jesus pointed out how this
tradition perverted the Law in verses 7- 13.
b. “Asked” in verse 5 is .........(eperotao), which means to
demand to know. This open hostility towards Jesus was an
attempt to find any fault they could, verse 2.
2. To publicly display Christ’s ministry, John 11:54.
a. This took place about 6 days before the last Passover in His
earthly ministry, 11:55; 12:1.
b. Jesus had been rejected by the Jewish religious leaders who
now were determined to crucify Him, 11:47-53.
c. Here “walk” has the idea of carrying out His public ministry.
3. To be identified with or involved in Christ’s ministry, John 6:66.
a. Jesus had more than 12 disciples throughout much of His
public ministry, Luke 10:1; 17.
b. As a result of not understanding what Jesus taught in John
6:47-59, all but the 12 left, 6:71. Walk means to be identified
with in this passage; it does not mean that these other men
no longer believed in Him.
4. Other references to “walk” in the Gospels: Mark 12:38 (KJV to
go); Luke 20:46; John 7:1; 8:12; 11:9; 12:35; 21:18.
B. Paul’s used walk to summarize problems and potential growth.
1. Romans 6:4, the summary and application concerning the sin.
a. In Romans 6:1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 there is a definite article
with “sin.” Paul is speaking of “the sin,” one that he says is
“the indwelling in me sin,” 7:17, what we call a sin nature.
b. The only way to handle the sin nature is reckon yourself dead
to it, since we died to it in Christ, verses 2-3, and alive to
God, since we were resurrected in Him, verse 4.
Walking With God Then and Now
c. “Therefore” in verse 4 marks an application of this truth; we
are to walk in newness of life.
d. “Walk” still means “to order the details of one’s life,” but Paul
is using it to summarize and apply what he is saying. This will
be a distinctive Pauline trait in his epistles.
e. As the steward of this dispensation, 1 Corinthians 4:1, Paul is
the primary one God appointed to tell the Christian how to
walk with God.
2. 1 Corinthians 3:3, a summary about carnality.
a. Paul wrote that the Corinthians were carnal when he was with
them and were still carnal as he wrote them; 3:1-3. The key
word is “yet” in verse 3. Yet means still; they had been carnal
and still were as Paul wrote to them.
b. Paul summarized carnality by writing that this was to “walk as
men.” Carnality is to live as unsaved humanity lives; we could
add the italicized word, mere or unsaved to make this point.
c. The present tense of the verb tells us two important facts
about carnality and the church at Corinth.
(1) The present tense says, “you keep on walking;” carnality
can become a way of life as it once was, Ephesians 2:3.
(2) The verb is an active voice, meaning “YOU keep on
walking.” The Christian is responsible for being carnal;
we are carnal because we choose to be carnal, to live by
the sin nature.
3. Galatians 5:16, a summary of how to be spiritual.
a. “(This) I say then” marks a change in subject. Paul has written
about the problem of legalism at Galatia, and comes to the
conclusion in verses 13-15.
b. Verse 16 summarizes what Paul is about to say, how a believer
can have the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23.
c. The words “Walk by means of the Spirit” summarizes how to
be spiritual.
(1)“For” is explanatory in verse 17; Paul is explaining how
to walk by means of the Spirit.
(2) Both the flesh and the Holy Spirit brings lusts to the
Christian, verse 17. (Lust simply means “strong desire;”
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011
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Walking With God Then and Now
context will decide whether it is right or evil. See Luke
22:15; the words “desire” and “desired” are the same
Greek word as “lust” in Galatians 5:17, ...........
(3)When the believer does what the Spirit desires, the
result is that they are not able to “do the things that
ye would,” to “walk as men” in 1 Corinthians 3:3.
(4)When the believer does the lusts of the Holy Spirit, the
result is that He is able to manifest His fruit in us. We
have not done anything; God has done it in us and for
us. Spirituality is nothing more than manifesting the
things of the Spirit; and that is His fruit.
(5) Galatians 6:1 adds a detail that we must not overlook.
Paul says “ye that are spiritual restore such a one.”
What this means is that if a Christian is spiritual, he or
she will know it. How else could the church at Galatia
fulfill this verse? Spirituality is not a mysterious idea;
it is manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. And Paul
summarizes it by saying, “Walk by means of the Spirit.”
4. Ephesians 2:2 and 4:17, a summary of what the Christian was.
a. Verse 1 says that you “were dead in trespasses and sins.”
b. What this death involved is summarized by saying, “in which
in times past ye walked.” “In which” refers back to the sins
and trespasses.
c. Paul builds off of this statement; it is modified by all that
follows in verses 2-5.
d. In Ephesians 4:17, Paul returns to this subject, of how we
lived before salvation.
(1) “Therefore” marks a conclusion or an application of
what he has been saying.
(2) Paul has just described how the spiritual gifts were
intended to bring the church to maturity.
(3) Now he returns to that subject of 2:2; how we were
walking before salvation. In so doing, Paul explains why
the unsaved walk the way they do- the mind is useless
in spiritual things, verse 18, resulting in the giving of
one’s self over to works of the flesh, verse 19.
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(4) Several things should be clear from these passages.
First, we should never make excuses for carnality; we
walked- ordered every detail of our lives- according to
the flesh. But we had an excuse then. We were dead,
our minds were useless in spiritual things. Then we had
no choice. Now we do. In addition, we should always
remember that this is the way the lost live; we should
not be too surprised when they act like this. But we
need to be careful that we do not condone or excuse
their lifestyle. They are dead; we are not.
5. 2 Corinthians 5:7, an overview of the spiritual Christian’s life.
a. Before one can walk in faith, that one must have faith. Faith
is a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:22. In
other words, this verse is for one who is spiritual. We do not
produce faith, but we do direct it.
b. In context, Paul is speaking about uncertainties of life, the
things we do not know. We do know something of what we will
have should we die, verses 1-2, but we do not know when,
verses 6, 8-9. Notice that while Paul wanted to be home with
the Lord, he still wanted to be pleasing to Him while he lived.
c. 2 Corinthians 5:9 does not imply that a Christian might be
rejected by the Lord. The word, “accepted” is .........,
literally, “well pleasing.” The question is never one of being
“accepted or rejected” at the judgment seat of Christ, but
whether or not the Christian will be well pleasing to Him.
d. This passage is a summary of how a spiritual Christian should
approach life; we do not know everything, but we know Who
does. And we can put our faith in Him and walk accordingly.
6. The other walks of Paul. Paul used “walk” 29 times; it would an
ideal series for either sermons or Sunday school lessons. Romans
8:4; 13:13; 14:15; 1 Corinthians 7:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 10:33;
Ephesians 2:10; 4:1; 5:2, 15; Philippians 3:17-18; Colossians 1:10;
2:6; 3:7; 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 4:1, 12; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,11;
Hebrews 13:9 (KJV “have been occupied with”).
C. John’s use of walk as a summary of potential.
1. 1 John 1:6-7, as a summary of one’s spiritual condition.
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a. The epistle of 1 John is simple and direct; after his greeting,
John tells us exactly why he wrote; he wanted his readers to
have both fellowship and joy, verse 3.
b. Joy is a part of the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22. John
said that his readers had joy, but John wanted it to be full.
In Pauline terms, John was writing to spiritual believers.
c. As in Galatians 6:1, a spiritual believer will know if they are
spiritual, so in 1 John 1:6-7, a believer will know when they
are walking in the light by what their lives show.
d. We can then say that what John calls “walking in the light,”
Paul would call “walking by means of the Spirit.”
e. In verse 9, John names the one thing that would keep his
readers from having fellowship, unconfessed sin.
(1) Verse 9 is a third class condition in Greek, an “if-then”
statement which expresses a “50-50” chance of being
fulfilled. It should be translated, “If we should confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(2) The second half of the statement is automatic; it says
simply “He will forgive.” Whether or not He will forgive
is not the question; will we confess our sins is the real
problem. Confess is literally “say the same thing,” the
word ......../omologeo.
f. One final thought; John’s emphasis is not upon knowing where
other believers are spiritually. It is upon knowing our own
spiritual condition. We only confess our own sins because we
are only responsible for what we do.
2. 2 John 4, an overall summary of Christian life.
a. In saying that some were walking in “truth,” John is reaching
back to the Upper Room, John 17:17. God’s Word is truth.
b. “A commandment” does not refer back to the Law of Moses.
John is once again reaching back to the Upper Room, verse 5.
This is a reference to the New Commandment, the one given
to the Church in John 13:34-35.
c. When these believers walked in truth, they were manifesting
love, the first part of the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22.
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d. This statement is an overview; John had great joy because
some of these Christians were spiritual, or as John wrote in
1 John 1:6-7, “were walking in the Light.” Both Peter and John
also wrote about the Christian life, but in their own terms.
3. Other uses of walk by John: 1 John 2:6, 11; 2 John 6; 3 John 4;
Revelation 2:1; 3:4; 9:20; 16:15; 21:24.
III. The Unique Walk of Three Men.
A. Enoch’s walk with God, Genesis 5:22, 24
1. At least until the flood, God did walk on earth.
a. In Genesis 3:8, “walking” is a hithpael participle, emphasizing
God Himself had chosen to walk in the Garden. The reason we
read “the voice of the Lord God walking” is because the guilty
couple hid themselves as soon as they heard God approaching,
not because God appeared as some kind of “force.”
b. There was a specific reason God walked with Adam, Genesis
3:1-6. Adam needed to know how God wanted him to live.
(1) Satan’s temptation hinged on Eve’s desire to know good
from evil, verse 5. It would not have been a temptation
unless Adam and Eve did not know good from evil and
had to come by the knowledge another way.
(2) Since there was no written Scripture, Adam and Eve
had to depend upon God; therefore, one reason that
Adam needed to walk with God was to learn from God.
This need set the stage for Satan to tempt Eve to act
independent of God and gain the knowledge on her own.
c. Hebrews 11:6 reveals some important points about walking
with God before the flood.
(1) The faith that would bring one to walk with God pleased
Him. This is not a verse about prayer for the Christian;
it is an explanation of what Enoch did to show his faith.
Prayer is not found in this context; don’t read it in.
(2) It was possible for any saved man to walk with God in
Enoch’s time. “He that cometh” is literally “the one
coming” and means whoever comes.
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(3) Two things were necessary to walk with God; one
needed to believe that “He is” and then go looking for
Him. It should be obvious that God no longer walked in
the Garden of Eden, since mankind was barred from it,
and could not seek Him there. Also, the idea of seeking
Him means that He did not walk in the same place
every time He walked.
(4) God rewarded those who walked with Him.
2. Enoch chose to walk with God, Genesis 5:22, 24.
a. Walked is a hithpael; emphasizing a personal choice to walk.
b. The reason Enoch chose to walk is seen in the name of his son
Methuselah.
(1) People in the Bible were often given names for a good
reason: Noah is from the word for rest; Genesis 5:29;
Cain is from the word for acquisition, Genesis 4:1.
(2) Methuselah is from 2 words, “to die” and “he will send.”
“Having died, he will send” is a direct reference to the
flood of Genesis 9. Methuselah either died in the flood
or in the year the flood came.
(3) God revealed to Enoch that He was going to judge the
ungodly when Methuselah died. Enoch believed God and
began to walk with Him.
c. This knowledge was part of Enoch’s “reward,” Hebrews 11:6.
(1) “Rewarder” is ...........s (misthapodotes), from .
...... (misthoo), wages or recompense.
(2) God rewarded Enoch by revealing that He was going to
judge the world long before Noah was told. Enoch is
the first one recorded in Scripture to know.
(3) God also revealed something to Enoch that is not found
in the Old Testament, Jude 1:14-15.
d. The benefit of knowing God in one’s experience should never
be minimized; this reward is inherent in walking with God.
(1) It is an ongoing privilege for the Christian, 2 Peter 3:18.
The present tense verb can be translated, “keep on
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growing.” The word knowledge is .....s, knowledge one
gains by their experience. We come to know our Savior
in our experience by living out the Christian life.
(2) Also in the Old Testament, God did not want mechanical
obedience to the Law. In Jeremiah 9:23-24 we see the
truth. While the Old Testament believer did not have
New Testament revelation, it is a mistake to think that
God did not want Israel to know Him.
(3) In Enoch’s walk with God, the greatest treasure was
not that he knew God was going to judge the world but
that he knew the God Who was going to do the judging.
(4) In Hebrews 11:5 Scripture tells us that Enoch had a
testimony; he was pleasing to God. Enoch’s walk allowed
him to learn from God and to please God. There could
be no greater privilege than that in any dispensation.
B. Noah’s walk with God, Genesis 6:8-9.
1. Noah found favor with God because of Noah’s 3 unique qualities,
Genesis 6:8-9.
2. “Walk” in verse 9 is another use of the hithpael tense. Noah
himself chose to walk with God.
3. We do not appreciate what Noah did unless we remember what
the world was like in his time, Genesis 6:1-7.
a. The sons of God intruded into the human race, Genesis 6:2-3.
(1) The Hebrew words ~yhil{a?h|-ineb (benay-haelohim) are
used 5 times in the Old Testament, all referring to
spirit beings; Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7.
(2) The product of this unnatural union is called “giants” in
verse 4 (KJV). The Hebrew word is ~ylipiN. (nephilim)
and is connected to the sons of Anak in Numbers 13:33.
(3) The sons of Anak, or Anakim are also identified by a
number of other names in Deuteronomy 2:20-21.
“Giants” is ~yaip\r> (rephaiim)
(4) The ~yaip\r>(rephaiim) are not to be resurrected, Isaiah
26:14. The word “deceased” (KJV) is ~yaip\r>(rephaiim).
Since all human beings will be resurrected and these
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beings will not be, it is obvious that the “giants” of
Genesis 6:4 are not fully human.
(5) One of Noah’s characteristics is that he was “perfect
in his generation.” Perfect is from ~t, complete or
whole, and does not mean “sinless.” In this context,
complete refers to being completely human, in direct
contrast to the “giants” who are not.
b. The human race was summarized by, “every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” verse 5.
Against this background, Noah’s righteousness stood out.
4. God rewarded Noah in three ways.
a. God revealed to Noah that He was going to judge the world
with a universal flood, Genesis 6:13-17.
b. God gave Noah the privilege to preach this message, 2 Peter.
2:5. We do not read in Genesis 6 that God told Noah to
preach; but whether Noah spoke the message, or preached
by every nail he drove, it was still a privilege.
c. God by grace allowed Noah to take his wife, his sons and his
daughters in law on the ark. The text says that Noah was a
righteous man. However, nothing is said about his family.
C. Abraham, the friend of God.
1. The Bible never says, “Abraham walked with God.”
2. However, Abraham had a unique relationship with God which
does suggest that Abraham walked with Him.
a. In James 2:23 and Isaiah 41:8 Abraham is called “the friend
of God.” It takes time to know another well enough to form
the bond of friendship. Enoch and Noah both spent many
years walking with God which allowed them to know Him.
While this does not prove that Abraham walked with God
being a friend of God is one result of it.
b. God revealed a number of truths to Abraham.
(1) The judgment of Sodom, Genesis 18:17-21. Note that
Abraham saw three men and immediately knew one of
them was God, verses 1-3. While this does not prove
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that Abraham walked with God, it is very likely that
he would recognize the form in which God appeared.
(2) Abraham was to be the father of many nations, Genesis
17:4-5. (“Walk” in verse 1 is the same as Genesis 24:40)
(3) Abraham will receive the land of Canaan as a permanent
possession, Genesis 17:7-8 (Compare Romans 4:13).
(4) Abraham would have a unique Seed that “would possess
the gate of his enemies,” Genesis 22:17.
(5) Abraham’s unique Seed would bless all the nations,
Genesis 22:18.
3. While this point may be open to discussion, the evidence does
reveal that Abraham, like Enoch and Moses, walked with God.
IV. The Christian’s walk is not the same as Moses, Abraham and Enoch’s walk.
A. The Christian has a different relationship to God.
1. God no longer physically walks on the earth; the Christian is not
told to seek God in the way these men did.
2. All three Persons of the Godhead indwell the Christian.
a. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian, Ephesians 4:30;
2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14.
b. God the Son indwells the Christian, 1 John 5:11-12; Colossians
1:27; John 14:23.
c. God the Father indwells every believer, John 14:23.
B. The Christian has a different relationship to revelation.
.
1. The Scriptures contain all the revelation that God has for the
Christian. To claim that God is still revealing things is to believe
that the Bible is not sufficient for the Christian.
2. The spiritual Christian has the potential to understand the Word
of God because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, John 14:26;
16:13-14; 1 John 2:27.
3. When a spiritual believer walks as Paul and John describe, the
result will be an increase in the amount of illumination. When the
Holy Spirit does not need to grieve the believer, Ephesians 4:30,
and is not quenched by the believer, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, then
He is free to teach the Scripture to those who spend time in the
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Word. This is not same thing as God did for the Old Testament
believer who walked with Him. However, we believe that God will
reward those who walk with Him as it is set forth in the New
Testament and study His Word with greater illumination to His
Word.
C. The New Testament describes how the Christian can walk with God.
1. Because Enoch, Moses and Abraham lived before any written
revelation, these men had no instruction on how to walk with God,
unless there was something in oral tradition. Hebrews 11:6 is a
New Testament commentary on Enoch; he never read the verse.
2.With 34 occurrences of “walk” in the New Testament epistles for
the church, there should be no doubt how the Christian can walk
with God. But there is one lesson that we can learn from Moses
and Enoch; it is that every believer must decide for himself to
walk with God.
Conclusion:
Perhaps the most important lesson we have seen is the importance of
context. How the word “walk” is used in the Scriptures will depend heavily on
the context of the passage in which it occurs. In the Old Testament, “walk” is
used in the sense of recognizing Who one belongs to, and as a summary of the
life and reign of a king. “Walk” can be used to mean observing something, of
ordering one’s life under the Law of Moses, and to express the ideal manner of
living under the Law.
In the New Testament, “walk” has a unique usage in. Paul used “walk” 29
times to summarize the problems and potential in the churches. The Apostle
John used walk 11 times in a similar manner. It is this usage that is the most
important for the Christian. When we take the Word of God literally, there
should be no confusion on how to walk with God. The epistles to the church
reveal all that we need to know. It is then that the Holy Spirit can teach us
without our interference. That is our privilege; but, as with Enoch and Moses,
we must decide for ourselves to walk with God.
There is more to be said on the subject of “walking with God” and we have
only touched briefly on a few of the New Testament uses of it. However, if this
paper has challenged one believer to delve further into the Word, then we have
accomplished our intent.
Don Hewitt, M.Div Forum 2011