Exercise is essential to a healthy body. People try to stay fit every day. There are a number of ways you can exercise. You can run or ride a bike or even just walk. Simply walking alone keeps your body in action and your blood flowing to help prevent weigh gain and other health problems. Walking can help you live a healthy life. We also need to “walk” in order to maintain a healthy spiritual body too. How is your spiritual walk?
The apostle Paul had a few things to say to the church at Ephesus about walking with God. And as always, we can learn from them, too. First, he tells them to walk worthy (Ephesians 4:1-3). He actually told this to some other congregations too (Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12). We do this by keeping Christ’s commandments which He gave to us. We are to use His grace wisely and be good stewards of it (1 Peter 4:10). He also tells them to keep “the unity of the Spirit”, which is what the context is about. When the members of Christ’s body are unified, working together, and striving for the same goal, we can help one another out in achieving that goal; which is a home in Heaven with God. When we are divisive, we tend to tear people down instead of building people up.
At the start of the next chapter, Paul tells them to walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). Jesus told His disciples to love one another (John 13:35; 15:12). In fact, loving and serving others is the root of the law of Christ. If we love Christ, we will keep His commandments and if we keep His commandments, we are loving Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6). This ties into what Paul is saying in this section as he says not to go after the sins he lists because they are not “fitting for saints” (v. 3). “The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (v. 6).
Next, He tells them to walk in light (Ephesians 5:8). We wouldn’t go into a room without there being any light. We couldn’t see anything. When we come to know Jesus, He helps us to see. Jesus is that light (John 8:12; 12:46). When we put on Christ, He becomes a light in us and we are to show this light to the rest of the world (Matthew 5:16). Paul tells us to expose others of their evil deeds (v. 11) that they may also see the light that is Jesus. Sadly, Jesus said many won’t come to Him (John 3:18-21) but that shouldn’t stop us from trying.
Lastly, Paul advises them to walk in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15). Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord “is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (9:10) and “the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). When we use God’s word as our guide, we see how to properly live and conduct ourselves (2 Timothy 3:16). God has infinite knowledge and has given us everything we need to know about Him and this world (2 Peter 1:3), so why would you want to go anywhere else for answers? Paul goes on to say in verse 17 to “understand what the will of the Lord is”. Knowing what the word of God says is to know what will of God says and only doers of His divine will are going to be saved (Matthew 7:21; 1 John 2:17).
When we become a Christian and put Christ on in baptism, we are to walk in a new life (Roman 6:4). Our old self is put away and we have a new outlook on life. A godly life. We see what God has done for us and receive His Son as our Savior so we are instructed to walk in Him (Colossians 2:6). It is only when we do this, we can decipher between the lies of this world, and the truth of Christ and walk in it (3 John 3-4). How are you walking today?
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