“I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” 1 John 2:14
Dear Ones:
When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared unto him and said: “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1) It is important to note here that God did not ask Abraham to accomplish some great feat, or work. Why? Because the essential thing that is always the first thing, is true communion with God, fellowship with the Father, a life of abiding in Christ, lived by truly worshipping and serving Him. In the New Testament, we find the amplification of the revelation of Christ’s person, God in the flesh. We find an expansion of the horizon with regard to the knowledge of the gospel of Christ, and its working. Paul tells us that, with regard to his knowledge of the gospel, “…I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 1:12) This “gospel” was good news of the truths concerning the coming of the Son of man to die on the cross, deal with our sins entirely, and save us by the power of His Spirit. The call of Abraham was a call to know God, and His power and life. The call of the gospel is the same, that we might enter into that calling to communion with God, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Abraham’s calling was to walk with God, so is the calling to the believer. But there is more revealed about this “walk” than Abraham knew. Since Pentecost, the believer has been called to walk by the Spirit of God, to be filled with the Spirit, and to be led by Him. Inseparably one with Jesus Christ, the believer is called upon to live abiding in Christ, receiving all from Him, that Christ should fill the life with Himself, and His glory. It is true that present believers are NOT Abrahams, but the command and promise of God for the believers in these last days is most extraordinary: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25) In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he speaks of “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” which is the very power of God in Christ to counter the downward pull of sin, self, and Satan. He goes on to speak of walking after the Spirit, being occupied with the things of the Spirit, and knowing the reality of “Christ in you,” the very hope of glory. If one is walk by, and in the Spirit, he or she must come to grips with the reality that the Spirit of God leads the believer: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) Even in the matter of prayer, it is the Spirit of God who enables us to pray, “…according to the will of God,” His ministry extending far beyond our capacity to pray. This Spirit of God is that One that also witnesses to our spirits that we are children of God, but also that He is leading by His peace. Like Abraham, the believer is called upon to literally walk with God, to commune with God, to know God…and to make Him known as the Spirit of God works in and through him or her. But what is the basis of communion, and how can we be sure that we are in fellowship with Christ?
One of the problems that Paul found in the churches of Galatia, was the introduction of “another gospel,” one that was not based upon the truths revealed in Scripture, and specifically to the Apostle. Paul was vehement with regard to this effort of the enemy by the introduction of lies. God will not bless the lie, only the truth. To know God and walk with Him, is to walk according to the truths of the gospel, and not by the ideas and speculations of men.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to walk by the Spirit of God today, abiding in Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad