Jim's Jots and Tittles. . .

Walking As Jesus Walked

New Testament Christians are presented as lights in a dark, sinful world. In Ephesians 5:8 Paul writes — "for you were formerly darkness, but you are like him the Lord but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light." In 2 Corinthians 6:14 Paul asks of the Corinthian Christians — "what fellowship has light with darkness?"

Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:16 – "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven." That is the way a Christian glorifies God in body and spirit.

Light is dominant over darkness. Both cannot exist at the same time. That means Christians are to live in such a way that it will be obvious they're walking as Christ walked. Jesus walked as a light in this world glorifying his Father. In 1 John 2:6 John writes — "The one who says he abides in Him ought to himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."

The word walk is from the Greek word meaning literally to make one's way or to walk around so you can be seen. So for the Christian, as it was with Christ, it means to be seen how one regulates one's life, how one conducts one's behavior, in the manner or state in which one is living. That is what Jesus meant when he said, "Let your light shine before men."

If you follow the life of Jesus while He was here on this Earth, you will find that He behaved differently from those around Him, and they always recognized His light, and that light was to do the will of the Father. – John 6:30 – "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me."

New Testament Christians must make a choice to walk in the light, doing the will of God. As John wrote in first John 1:6 – "If we say we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

And in verse seven, John writes the walking in the light of God's will determines our relationships and the forgiveness of our sins – "But if you walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul writes that this cleansing occurred when we were called out of dark this – for he delivered us from the domain of dark this, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in which we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Thus Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9 that we have been called out of dark this into his marvelous light. In John 17:4 Jesus expressed that he was faithful walking in the light – "I glorify Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given me to do."

And certainly Paul is an example of one who walked in the light even as Jesus walked in the light. In 2 Timothy 4:7 he wrote – "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…"

As Christians walking in the light, we are to maintain that light so we can expose the darkness. Ephesians 5:11 – "I did not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead expose them." That is the way Jesus walked while here on this earth!

And our responsibility? Colossians 2:6 – quote as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him."

—Jim Hunt