Lesson for January 15, 2023
The Victorious Christian Way of Life
Lesson 3
The Spiritual Walk of Believers
The mechanics of being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only are often expressed as walking. The spiritual walk occurs in the life of believers by being in fellowship with God, which results in being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is accomplished by simply naming, acknowledging, or admitting your sin directly to God. When you do this, God forgives those sins you name and cleanses you from those sins you have perhaps forgotten or failed to recognize as sin. We call this process the Rebound Technique, which puts believers in the position to live their spiritual lives. (James 1:21-26; I John 1:5-10)
The first Greek word for walk that we want to look at is “peripateo,” meaning the totality of a person’s lifestyle. It is used doctrinally for believers fulfilling the Protocol Plan of God in the Church Age, in Romans 6:4; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:2. It is used for the lifestyle of the carnal Christian as well, in I Corinthians 3:3 and Philippians 3:18. It is also used for the lifestyle of unbelievers in Ephesians 2:2 and Colossians 3:7.
The second Greek word for walk that we want to look at is “stoicheo,” meaning to march in step, to march in rank, to walk in agreement with, to function in a system, to follow a leader from the ranks or to walk in a straight line. It is used doctrinally for aligning your life with who you are as a believer in Christ, Royal Family of God. It is used for living under the power of God in Galatians 5:25. It is used for the pattern of faith set forth by Abraham for salvation in Romans 4:12. It is used for the pattern of living as a new creation in Christ in Galatians 6:15-16 and Philippians 3:15-16.
Walking in the Spirit
(Romans 8:1-17; Galatians 5:16)
Walking in the Spirit is analogous to being filled with God the Holy Spirit and executing the Christian Way of Life. The Greek word for walk in these verses is “peripateo,” which is used to express the entirety of a believer’s spiritual life. Therefore, we can say that without the filling and power of God the Holy Spirit, a believer is not living their spiritual life.
Walking in the Spirit is a grace function of God the Holy Spirit, since it is His ministry in the life of believers that provides everything that is needed to execute God’s protocol plan. It is the Holy Spirit Who teaches us, guides us, and produces the character of Christ in us. (John 14:16-26; 16:13-14; Romans 8:14; I Corinthians 2:10; Galatians 5:22-23)
Walking in the Light
(I John 1:5-7; Ephesians 5:8)
Walking in the Light is also analogous to being filled with God the Holy Spirit and executing the Christian Way of Life. The command to walk in the Light is a reference to experiential sanctification. The Greek word for walk in these verses is also “peripateo,” which is used to express the entirety of a believer’s spiritual life. Just as walking in the darkness is incompatible with walking in light, so carnality is incompatible with being in fellowship with God and executing His plan. Therefore, walking in the Light is synonymous with the Victorious Christian Way of Life.
Walking after the Pattern of Jesus
(Colossians 2:6; I John 2:6)
Our precedence for walking in the Light is taken from Jesus Christ during the Hypostatic Union. The Greek word for walk in these verses is also “peripateo,” which is used to express the entirety of a believer’s spiritual life. Jesus lived within the prototype Divine Dynasphere as our example for living the Victorious Christian Way of Life, and we are to follow His pattern of living by residing in the Divine Dynasphere under the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Christ lived a sinless life during His thirty-three years on earth. This means He remained absolutely perfect because He resided inside the Divine Dynasphere while continually filled with, empowered by, and guided by the Holy Spirit and while continually sharing God’s perfect happiness. Through the virgin birth, Christ was born spiritually alive, without a sin nature and without the imputation of Adam’s original sin. This means He was born as Adam was created – in a perfect state of impeccability.
The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the Divine Dynasphere empowered Christ to resist every temptation (which was far beyond anything we will ever face or could ever imagine). His state of impeccability was necessary to qualify Him to go to the Cross as our substitute and pay the penalty for our sin. This payment occurred when God the Father poured out every sin in the human race upon Christ and judged them. During that entire time of judgment, Jesus remained inside the Divine Dynasphere and He was sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine in His soul.
Walking in Newness of Life
(Romans 6:4; II Corinthians 5:17-21: Galatians 6:16)
The potential for walking in newness of life begins at salvation when a believer becomes a new creation in Christ. The Greek word for walk in these verses is also “peripateo,” which is used to express the entirety of a believer’s spiritual life.
II Corinthians 5:17 is often quoted with regard to the doctrine of being a new creation in Christ (but one that is not very well understood). In order to arrive at a proper interpretation of this verse, it is necessary to consider the content of
II Corinthians 5:17-21.
II Corinthians 5:17 begins with a reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the placing of a believer into union with Christ at salvation. It is this union with Christ that gives us the potential for living the Victorious Christian Way of Life. It is in light of this doctrinal truth that Paul tells us in verse 17 that we are new creations in Christ, “the old things passed away and behold, new things have come.”
Contrary to popular belief, old things passing away is not a reference to a change in a person’s lifestyle or giving up “bad habits.” We know this from the original language and from many other passages of Scripture. Once a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, their lifestyle does not automatically change. If there needs to be change, then the only legitimate change must come from spiritual growth based on learning and applying the Word of God, not on some religious taboo. As a matter of fact, this passage refers to what God does for us, not what we do for God. Becoming a new creation in Christ is a matter of God’s grace. Therefore, all human effort is eliminated. The reason a person becomes a new creation in Christ is that they are in union with Christ. This union means that a believer shares Christ’s destiny and inheritance.
The first word of I Corinthians 5:17 is “therefore.” The Greek word for therefore is “hoste” and can be better translated “conclusion.” Paul looks back at the context of the passage and draws a conclusion based on previous doctrinal information. The conclusion is “if (first class condition meaning if and it is true) any person is in Christ (baptism of the Holy Spirit) that person is a new creation.” Creation is the Greek word “ktisis” and refers primarily to the creative act in process. It is a person at the moment of salvation who is being acted upon by God. This act of creation is when God, at salvation, creates a human spirit in a person who is now a believer.
In order to better understand what Paul is teaching, we will use the term “a new spiritual classification” since this describes more precisely what occurs at salvation. This creative act by God creates something that previously did not exist. It is “new” and it is “spiritual” in nature and a person becomes a different “classification” (Royal Family of God). (I Corinthians 2:9-14; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:19)
Prior to salvation, a person is merely God’s creation, and not a part of God’s family. Becoming a part of God’s family is a matter of believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. This act of faith places a person into union with Christ and they instantaneously become a child of God. No longer is this person merely a creation of God, they are now a “new” creation of God, which is a different classification, spiritually. Before salvation a person is spiritually dead (separated from God); after salvation a person is spiritually alive (reconciled to God). (John 1:12)
Old things is actually one word in Greek. It is the word “archaios.” “Archaios” literally means that which existed in the beginning. It is a reference to something that is ancient (really old), something in the past. It does not refer to a believer’s bad habits or lifestyle. What exactly passes away at salvation that would fit into the meaning of the Greek word? The context makes the meaning very clear. It is a reference to an old condition – spiritual death. Thousands of years ago our original parents, Adam and Eve, sinned and the result was spiritual death. Spiritual death passed to every member of the human race as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. It is spiritual death that Paul had in view when he used the word “archaios.”
Passed away in Greek is “parerchomai” and means to go, to pass, to come to an abrupt end, to disappear or to neutralize. In our passage, it means that spiritual death has gone, passed away, or come to an abrupt end at salvation. Once you are placed into union with Christ, spiritual death disappears from you. (Romans 6:23)
New things have come does not refer to new moral habits. There are two words in Greek for new. The first is “neos” and means new in time, young, or that which is recent. The second word is “kainos” and means new in form, new in quality, or different in nature. It is this second word, “kainos,” that Paul used to describe the new creation. A believer receives a new nature (a human spirit). This nature is from God, and it is spiritual. Receiving this nature is not a matter of reformation of a particular lifestyle or behavior. Receiving this nature is strictly a matter of God’s grace provision. At the moment of salvation, the transforming power of God the Holy Spirit places you into union with Christ and sets you apart to God for all eternity, at salvation.
In case there is any doubt about the true meaning of this passage, the next verse,
II Corinthians 5:18 clarifies it: “Now all things are of God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” The all things are from God, not man, and it is God Who reconciles mankind to Himself by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. This eliminates any thought of religious “tabooism” or ritualism. You do not give up anything or start anything to become a new creation in Christ. You are a new creation because you are “in Christ” and for no other reason. Salvation is a matter of faith alone in Christ alone and has absolutely nothing to do with good works or human merit. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Jesus Christ has already done all the work on behalf of us all. (I John 2:1-2) His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross paid the penalty for all sin and set up the potential of everlasting life for every member of the human race.
Romans 6:4, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Newness is the Greek word “kainotes,” which means a new quality, something unusual, or astonishing. To walk in newness of life means to live a lifestyle consistent with who you are as a new creation in Christ. Becoming a new creation in Christ means a believer has the potential to have a spiritual walk. Newness of life means potential freedom from the power of the sin nature as the ruler of your life. Whether you ever reach newness of life, experientially, is dependant entirely on your attitude toward Bible doctrine.