Part 2 – The Daily Walk of the Believing Christian

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called The Lord’s Will for Our Christian Lives .

Paraphrasing Colossians 2:6; “So in the same way you received Christ Jesus, so Walk Ye In Him.”

The word “walk” (above) implies a progressive act of moving forward… so, after our salvation there is more for us. Now notice here what Paul prayed for the Philippians;

“I pray, that your love may abound yet More and More in Knowledge and in All Judgment; 10 [so] That ye may approve [allow] things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere [genuine] and without offence till ‘the day of Christ’ [His coming for us at the Rapture]; 11Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are BY Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philip. 1:9-11).

Every believer is to grow “more and more in knowledge and right “judgmentbeing filled with the fruits of righteousness. But notice, the Bible’s clarification to indicate the source of this “righteousness” … these are “fruits of righteousness which are by (Gk. dia, via) Jesus Christ,” who lives IN US and desires to live Through Us.

Therefore, just as our salvation unto eternal glory depended wholly upon Jesus Christ’s performance, not our efforts, so our salvation from sin’s dominion over us in our daily living also depends on Jesus Christ’s performance in us and through us, not our feeble efforts.

The Christian life is not us doing good deeds in order to make God happy with us, that’s religion’s ‘merit system,’ of legalism and Law-keeping. The Christian life is really Jesus Christ doing the work of right living being accomplished in and through us, and His work of Christ is always pleasing to the Father. This then is grace living!

God’s will for us is that Jesus Christ will live His life through us... as He wills.

If our past performance was not able to make God happy with us to save us from judgment, will our daily performance be any better in trying to live the Christian life? No! This is because no matter how hard we try, we can never do things perfectly. The Law demanded perfection. We can’t even go one day without breaking at least one of the Ten Commandments. Thankfully, God today is not dealing with us on the basis of our ‘performance.’ We’re not under Israel’s Law program of “do good and I will bless you,” but rather under the system of grace that says; “I’ve already blessed you in My Son and His life in you … He will do good in and through you… as you learn to walk by faith in accord with His inner leading.”

The Bible talks about the fruit of the old sin nature called the “the works of the flesh: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal. 5:19-21). But God’s Word also tells of the fruit of the new nature we have in union with Jesus Christ, the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ” (Phili. 1:11); “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).

How do we get “the fruit of the Spirit” working in our lives? The “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” lives within each and every member of the Church as “His body.” “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is In You, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1Cor. 6:19). “For it is God which worketh In you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phili. 2:13). “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth In You?(1 Cor. 3:16). The “Spirit of Christ” works from within us to produce His “good works.” The way He does this is by using sound Bible doctrine that we study, learn of, and believe.

“… ye received The Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, The Word of God, which effectually Worketh also In You that Believe.” (1Thes. 2:13b, emphasis added)

The written “word of God” works is in us to accomplish God’s willwhen we believe “the Word of God” rightly divided, as applying to us. If we don’t believe His Word we will “quench the Spirit,” within us, preventing Him from operating in our lives and keeping Him from manifesting Jesus Christ’s life in and through us (1 Thes. 5:19). To “walk in Him” means walking in the new identity that we have in Jesus Christ! We are not making ourselves holy by using the traditions, rites, rituals, ceremonies, of religion. We’re just behaving in accordance with our secure holy standing before Father God. We are living epistles for all the lost to see and “read.” (cf. 2 Cor 3:2)

“Rooted and Built Up In Him”: In Adam, we were dead. “And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins… Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Eph. 2:1, 5). Now, God the Father has made us alive by Jesus Christ’s resurrection life now in us. The key to the Christian life is Jesus Christ’s life, not our self-life and human effort!