Scripture Reading: Gal. 5:25; 6:15-16; Rom. 4:12; Phil. 3:12-16
In the foregoing message we pointed out that there are two kinds of walk by the Spirit. The first kind of walk refers to our ordinary daily living. The second kind of walk is a walk within a lane or in rank. In this message we shall consider in more detail the second walk, the walk in the divine rules and steps by the Spirit.
Actually everyone has two kinds of walk in his human life. The first kind of walk is general, a walking about. This includes all the ordinary things in our daily living. The second kind of walk is a walk with a specific purpose and toward a definite goal. For example, each day a young person must take care of the affairs of ordinary life. This is the first kind of walk. However, he must also go to school and study with a view toward graduation. This is the second kind of walk, the walk toward a goal.
According to the Bible, every believer in Christ should have two kinds of walk by the Spirit. The first walk is our daily walk; the second is the walk in the divine rules and steps. As Christians, we are not those walking about on earth without a purpose. We have been created by God and also re-created and regenerated by Him with a definite purpose. Therefore, we must have the second kind of walk, a walk to fulfill God’s purpose and to reach the goal of our life on earth.
The first kind of walk is needed as a support for the second kind. For example, no student can do well in school if his ordinary daily walk is not proper. If he walks in a way that is foolish or nonsensical, he will not be able to graduate. In such a case he would not have the first walk as a support for the second walk toward the goal of graduation. The second walk, which is related to carrying out our purpose in life, must be sustained by the first walk. Every human being needs to have two kinds of walk. In the first, he lives and walks about; in the second, he accomplishes his purpose on earth. To fulfill our purpose on earth, we need the second walk. But to carry out the second walk, we need the first walk. Thus, the first walk supports the second, and the second is the walk toward the goal.
In the first kind of walk by the Spirit, we live, have our being, and walk about by the Spirit. This walk is a support to the second walk, a walk with a direction toward a goal. As children of God, we are not those without purpose. Our lives on earth have a definite purpose. We do not walk about aimlessly. God has an eternal purpose, and His intention is that His people should live for His purpose. Both God’s creation of us and His regeneration are for the carrying out of His purpose. Because God is purposeful and seeks to reach His goal, He charges us to have two kinds of walk by the Spirit: the walk which builds up a proper daily living and a walk in line with the divine rules and principles to reach the goal established by God.
Among today’s Christians, both kinds of walk have been damaged. In the first place, many Christians do not live a proper Christian life. They do not have a life of prayer, they do not read the Bible regularly, and they do not contact the Lord consistently. Instead of walking by the Spirit, they walk by their ethics or morality. They may not steal or lie; however, even though they are good, honest, and faithful, they do not walk by the Spirit. Rather, they walk by their own standards. This means that in actual practice they walk by the flesh and the self. They may succeed in refraining from evil, but they do not care for the Spirit. They care for their taste, choice, preference, and desire.
In order for us to have a proper living as children of God, we need to have the first kind of walk by the Spirit. This means that we should not walk by anything in place of the Spirit.
If we would have the first kind of walk by the Spirit, we need to pray and call on the name of the Lord. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul commands us to pray without ceasing. I have found that it is impossible to pray unceasingly if we try to pray in a formal way, asking the Lord for help. We may carry on this kind of prayer for a long time, but we cannot do it unceasingly. However, we can pray without ceasing by simply calling, “Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus.” Although I am an elderly person and have been in the Lord for many years, I am still learning to call on the Lord’s name continually. From experience I have discovered that it is very easy to forget this. Upon waking in the morning, I may begin to call on the Lord’s name. But a few minutes later, I may be distracted by some thought and stop my calling. Suddenly, I realize where I am, and I once again begin to call, “O Lord Jesus.”
Prayer is spiritual breathing. As we all know, we must breathe in order to stay alive. Wherever we may be, we can breathe spiritually by calling on the Lord’s name. All day long, no matter what we are doing, we can contact the Lord by breathing His name. As we are going through our early morning routine, we can call on the Lord Jesus. We may find that as we are taking care of practical matters, we have thirty minutes to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. If we practice, we shall build up the habit of calling on the name of the Lord. This is part of the first walk, the walk in which we have a proper daily living by the Spirit.
If we do not have the first walk by the Spirit, we are not qualified to have the second. Because many Christians do not have a proper daily life by the Spirit, they are not equipped to have the walk for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. In order to have this second kind of walk, we must practice living one spirit with the Lord. We should not be loose, careless, or lazy. We must have a proper daily life by walking in oneness with the Lord. We should pray, read the Word, contact the Lord, and conduct ourselves properly in our relations with others. We all need to have this first kind of walk by the Spirit.
A good number of Christians have a proper daily walk, but they do not have the second walk. It seems that the goal of their Christian life is simply to be nice, good, and proper. If you ask them what the goal of their Christian life is, they may tell you that their goal is to be a good Christian in order to glorify God and to go to heaven one day and to see the Lord without any sense of shame. If you had asked me many years ago what the goal of my Christian life was, I would have said that my goal was to be a good Christian and to behave properly for the glory of God. Now I realize that according to the Bible God has a specific purpose, and He has set before us a definite goal that He wants us to reach. In addition to His purpose and goal, He also has provided a way. We may liken this way to a highway which leads to a specific destination. God’s way is the line, the rule, the principle, by which we must walk to reach the goal. Praise our God that He is purposeful! He has a purpose to fulfill and a goal to reach. He also has set up a road which leads us to this goal. This road is the rule, principle, line, by which we must walk. To be sure, this walk is not the first kind of walk by the Spirit; it is the second kind of walk, the walk in line to reach God’s goal.
The Greek word for this second kind of walk, stoicheo, is used five times in the New Testament. In Galatians 5:25 Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Paul also uses this word in 6:16: “And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, even upon the Israel of God.” Here we see that Paul connects the second walk with “this rule,” the rule of being a new creation. In Philippians 3:16 Paul also connects the second walk with the matter of rule: “Only this, whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.” In Romans 4:12 Paul connects this kind of walk with steps: “And the father of circumcision not only to those who are of the circumcision, but also to those who walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision.” Paul’s use of the word steps obviously implies a way. To walk in Abraham’s steps is to walk according to a certain way.
If we consider Galatians 5:25 in light of the other verses where the Greek word stoicheo is used for walk, we shall see that to walk by the Spirit is to walk by the Spirit as our rule. The Spirit Himself is the way, the rule, the line, the principle, leading toward God’s goal. The Spirit Himself should be our rule. If we would have the second walk by the Spirit, we must take the Spirit as our rule, our way. This may be illustrated by driving on a highway to reach a specific destination, which is different from merely driving around. When we drive on the highway, the lanes on the highway are a rule. Driving according to this rule, we are able to reach our destination.
In our Christian walk, the second kind of walk by the Spirit is a walk in which the Spirit is the rule. Our rule should not be doctrine or theology. Furthermore, it should not be the law. Paul’s intention in writing to the Galatians was to tell them that they should no longer take the law as their rule. The Galatian believers had been distracted from the Spirit to the law and had taken it as their rule. Paul told them that they were foolish and that they should return to the Spirit as their rule. Since they had life and lived by the Spirit, they should also walk by the Spirit as their rule. If we would have the second walk for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, we must first learn to walk by the Spirit as our way, rule, principle, and lane.
After World War II, my desire was to stay in north China. However, it was necessary for me to move first to the south and then to Taiwan. Although my intention was to go north, the Lord led me south. Eventually, I was led by the Spirit to come to the United States and remain here. Walking by the Spirit in this way was for me a real experience of the second walk, the walk to reach God’s goal. To fulfill God’s purpose and to reach His goal, we must take the Spirit as our highway. Because I have the assurance that I am taking the Spirit as my highway, I can be strong and bold.
I encourage all the saints to have the second walk by the Spirit. You need to pray, “Lord, I will follow You to have the second walk by the Spirit for the fulfillment of Your purpose. I do not want to walk by doctrine, theology, organization, or natural concepts. I want to walk by the Spirit as my unique highway.”
According to 5:25, since we have received life and live by the Spirit, we should now have the second walk by the Spirit as our rule. We have been given life by the Spirit that we may walk by the Spirit to fulfill God’s purpose. What a glorious goal lies before us! The highway which leads us to this goal is the Spirit, the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God. As we walk on this unique highway, we should neither swerve nor turn around, but move on directly to the goal.
In 6:16 Paul says, “And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, even upon the Israel of God.” The rule here is the new creation, mentioned in the preceding verse, where Paul says, “For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” In the second walk by the Spirit we must walk by the new creation. The new creation refers to man re-created with God. The first creation is for the new creation, for God’s re-creation. Praise the Lord that when we were regenerated we were re-created! In regeneration God is added to us. At the time we were regenerated, we received the Triune God into our being. I can testify that having the Triune God in me is not merely a doctrine or religion; it is a glorious reality. Hallelujah, the Triune God has been wrought into us! As a result, we are God’s new creation.
Although God has made us a new creation, it is still possible for us to walk in the old creation. The Galatians were walking in the old creation in their striving to keep the law by the flesh. Paul tried to bring them back to Christ and the Spirit. He charged them to no longer walk in the old creation, but to walk in their spirit. To walk in the Spirit is to walk in the new creation. If we would have the second walk, we must walk by the Spirit and by the new creation.
In the ministry I am in fear and trembling lest I act in the self. If I should act according to the self or do anything by the flesh, I shall surely be in the old creation. Even when I speak for the Lord, I am fearful that I might speak something out of the self or by the self. My desire is to speak always from the Spirit. To speak from the Spirit is to be in the new creation.
As we are traveling on the highway of the Spirit, we should be careful not to do anything in ourselves. We should not drive our “car” by the old creation, but by the regenerated spirit. This means that we must drive the “car” by the new creation. To be either religious or nonreligious is of no avail. The only thing that avails is the new creation.
In the Lord’s recovery we do not want to do anything by the old creation. Our desire is to do everything by the Lord’s mercy and grace in the new creation. This means that we would not do anything by the old man, but everything by the new man.
Recently in some meetings we have been considering the problems caused by opinions. When we are apart from the Lord, we are nothing but a constitution of opinion. If we are walking by the Spirit as the highway and yet still hold to our opinions, this is an indication that we are driving the “car” by the self. Opinion is subtle, secret, and hidden. Often we are tempted to express our opinion about the church. But if we insist on our opinion, we may cause a problem. If we learn to drive the “car” by the new creation, we shall be fearful of expressing our opinions.
To say that the new creation is the rule by which we must walk does not mean that it is a different highway from the Spirit as our rule. Rather, it is to walk on the unique highway in a more particular, limited, and restricted way. The Spirit is the highway in a general way, whereas the new creation is the lane in a more particular way.
In Philippians 3:16 Paul says, “Only this, whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.” According to the context of this chapter, the rule in verse 16 is the pursuing after Christ mentioned in verse 12. Because Paul wanted to gain more of Christ, he pursued Christ. Thus, to walk by the same rule is to walk by the rule of pursuing Christ. This rule is even more narrow than that of the Spirit and the new creation. Paul was not pursuing success in his work; he was pursuing Christ. If we are merely pursuing success in our work, we shall be distracted from the highway.
We know that Paul wrote the book of Philippians from a prison in Rome. Although as a prisoner Paul had been deprived of many things, no one could deprive him of Christ. When he was in prison, he was still pursuing Christ in order to gain more of Him. In Philippians 3:14 he said, “I pursue toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” He was one forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before (v. 13). Paul’s desire was to reach the goal and gain the prize. The rule, therefore, in Philippians 3:16 is the rule of pursuing Christ in order to gain Him. In order to have the second walk, we must walk not only by the Spirit and by the new creation, but also by the rule of pursuing Christ and gaining Him. This is the rule, the principle, and the lane by which we must walk. This is the second walk to reach the goal that we may win the prize.
If we read Paul’s writings carefully, we shall find yet another rule by which we must walk. This rule is the church life, the Body life as revealed in Romans 12:1-5 and Ephesians 4:1-16. Thus, the second walk is by the Spirit, by the new creation, by pursuing and gaining Christ, and by practicing the church life. The church life also is a lane in which we must walk. It is a rule, a principle, which leads us to God’s goal.
Today even many of those Christians who have the first walk by the Spirit do not have the church life. Because they do not have the second kind of walk by the Spirit, they are not able to fulfill God’s purpose or reach His goal.
It is imperative that we all have the first kind of walk by the Spirit. In our daily life there should be the virtues, the fruit of the Spirit mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:22 and 23: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. A proper daily walk by the Spirit will qualify us and equip us for the second walk by the Spirit, the walk which accomplishes God’s purpose. This second walk involves four rules or principles: the Spirit, the new creation, the gaining of Christ, and the church life. In order to have the second walk, and not just the first, we need to be under the regulation of the spirit, living by the new creation, pursuing Christ in order to gain Him, and practicing the church life. If we have the first walk by the Spirit but not the second, we may be regarded by others as “holy,” “spiritual,” or “victorious.” However, we shall actually be purposeless. Even though we may have so-called holiness, spirituality, or victory, we shall be without purpose, for we shall lack the second kind of walk by the Spirit to reach the goal. We need both the first kind of walk to equip us and the second kind of walk to carry out God’s purpose that we may reach the goal and win the prize of the full enjoyment of Christ and experience of Christ.
On God’s highway there are not only lanes or rules, but also steps. We have seen that in Romans 4:12 Paul speaks of walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham. For salvation, we must walk in the steps of Abraham. But for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose, we need to walk in the steps of Paul. Paul said of himself that God had made him to be a pattern or example (1 Tim. 1:16). Paul is an example to all those who are running the New Testament race. For this reason, we need to follow in his steps.
I wish to emphasize repeatedly that to walk by these rules and in these steps is not related to our ordinary, common, daily walk; it is related to the specific and particular walk for the fulfillment of God’s purpose and reaching His goal. As those who love the Lord Jesus and who are seeking Him, we need to have both kinds of walk by the Spirit. We need to have a proper daily living to qualify us, equip us, and empower us for the second walk to reach God’s goal. Both walks are by the Spirit. Only by the Spirit can we have a proper daily life, and only by the Spirit can we walk toward God’s goal. But as we practice the second kind of walk by the Spirit, we need to care also for the new creation, the gaining of Christ, and the church life. Then we shall reach God’s goal and receive the glorious prize of the full enjoyment of Christ and experience of Christ.
