a 'Worthy Walk'

[crossnote]

Ephesians 4:1 KJVS
[1] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Colossians 1:10 KJVS
[10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

1 Thessalonians 2:12 KJVS
[12] That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Revelation 3:4 KJVS
[4] Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy' or as in Rev 3:4 be considered 'worthy' when in actuality Our walk is faulty?
Do not confuse this with the imputed righteousness (or robed righteousness) of Christ.

0516. ἀξίως axiōs; adverb from 514; appropriately: — as becometh, after a godly sort, worthily(-thy).
AV (6) - worthy 3, as becometh 2, after a godly sort + g2316 1;
suitably, worthily -Strongs

HINT: FROM THE TDNT

áxios, anáxios. Strictly 'bringing into balance,' hence 'equivalent' (e.g., Rom. 8:18), with such extensions as 'being appropriate' (1 Cor. 16:4), 'deserving' (Mt. 10:10), 'worth,' e.g., considering or accepting (1 Tim. 1:15), or praising (Rev. 4:11), 'worthy' almost in the sense of 'in a position to' (Rev. 5:2), and 'corresponding to' (Mt. 3:8).
In the NT the thought of merit is excluded; we are worthy of the gospel only as we receive it (cf. Mt. 10:11, 13; 22:8; Acts 13:46; Heb. 11:38; Rev. 3:4).
In many expressions a genitive or infinitive is put with áxios to denote the sphere of correspondence (cf. Rom. 16:2). Paul admonishes his readers to walk worthy of the gospel, their calling, and the Lord (1 Th. 2:12; Phil. 1:27; Col. 1:10; Eph. 4:1; cf. 3 Jn. 6), thus linking the motive and goal of Christian action, the motivating power residing in God's prior action. Hence the warning not to receive the Lord's Supper unworthily (anáxios) does not refer legalistically to a moral quality but to an attitude determined by the gospel. -TDNT

 

[BenFTW]

This verse comes to mind...

Romans 12:1-2 King James Version (KJV)

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

[PeterJens]

How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy' or as in Rev 3:4 be considered 'worthy' when in actuality Our walk is faulty?
Do not confuse this with the imputed righteousness (or robed righteousness) of Christ.

This is the question that is bothering me. Paul encouraged Timothy to be pure, holy etc.
These are words we do not use often in church. We do not think ourselves like this but maybe we should.
If we did people might start facing the issues they know that are impure, unresolved, and need sorting out.

Often if you do not have a goal you do not do the required preparation to achieve it.
Some have called this works, rather than following and obeying Jesus. If you do it in the Spirit, commiting and letting the Lord lead you through, then we will succeed. I am sure though some will say this is the flesh unless they get a "word" saying it is alright. Funny that, a word from a person carries more weight than the word from God which is written down.

 

[like-minded66]

Ephesians 4:1 KJVS
[1] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Colossians 1:10 KJVS
[10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

1 Thessalonians 2:12 KJVS
[12] That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Revelation 3:4 KJVS
[4] Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy' or as in Rev 3:4 be considered 'worthy' when in actuality Our walk is faulty?
Do not confuse this with the imputed righteousness (or robed righteousness) of Christ.

0516. ἀξίως axiōs; adverb from 514; appropriately: — as becometh, after a godly sort, worthily(-thy).
AV (6) - worthy 3, as becometh 2, after a godly sort + g2316 1;
suitably, worthily -Strongs

HINT: FROM THE TDNT

áxios, anáxios. Strictly 'bringing into balance,' hence 'equivalent' (e.g., Rom. 8:18), with such extensions as 'being appropriate' (1 Cor. 16:4), 'deserving' (Mt. 10:10), 'worth,' e.g., considering or accepting (1 Tim. 1:15), or praising (Rev. 4:11), 'worthy' almost in the sense of 'in a position to' (Rev. 5:2), and 'corresponding to' (Mt. 3:8).
In the NT the thought of merit is excluded; we are worthy of the gospel only as we receive it (cf. Mt. 10:11, 13; 22:8; Acts 13:46; Heb. 11:38; Rev. 3:4).
In many expressions a genitive or infinitive is put with áxios to denote the sphere of correspondence (cf. Rom. 16:2). Paul admonishes his readers to walk worthy of the gospel, their calling, and the Lord (1 Th. 2:12; Phil. 1:27; Col. 1:10; Eph. 4:1; cf. 3 Jn. 6), thus linking the motive and goal of Christian action, the motivating power residing in God's prior action. Hence the warning not to receive the Lord's Supper unworthily (anáxios) does not refer legalistically to a moral quality but to an attitude determined by the gospel. -TDNT

(Hebrews 4:11-13)
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Based on the work already done by our Savior Jesus, and our response to this work (reception, elation!), our attitude or mindset should be equivalent to Jesus': understanding the unworthiness of our human condition, balanced with the knowledge of a worthy God, we press on indefinitely. The word of God will search us and keep us walking worthily.

 

[JaumeJ]

Here is the basic formula for a "worthy walk."

Obey God and be zealous to do good works.

Of course our worthiness, that is our righteousness, is imputed to us because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Without this none of the aforementioned has any reward to come.

 

[crossnote]

Here is the basic formula for a "worthy walk."

Obey God and be zealous to do good works.

Of course our worthiness, that is our righteousness, is imputed to us because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Without this none of the aforementioned has any reward to come.

Actually I was asking, "How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy'?"...not 'how' to walk worthy.

 

[FreeNChrist]

Worthy is the Lamb. Any worthiness that we Christians have is only that which is derived from the "Worthy One" living in and acting through us. We walk in way worthy of the Lord only by faithful receptivity of His activity in our behavior, "as we received Christ Jesus, so we are to walk in Him" (Col. 2:6).....by faith.

 

[crossnote]

Worthy is the Lamb. Any worthiness that we Christians have is only that which is derived from the "Worthy One" living in and acting through us. We walk in way worthy of the Lord only by faithful receptivity of His activity in our behavior, "as we received Christ Jesus, so we are to walk in Him" (Col. 2:6).....by faith.

Can you explain, "faithful receptivity of His activity in our behavior" ?

 

[PilgrimPassingThru]

I am not certain of what you might be asking Crossnote, a couple of verses after the one you quote add to the walk

For example,

Ephes 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Ephes 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Ephes 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The walk as well (to walk in love)

Ephes 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Them being our examples

1 Thes 2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

1 Thes 2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

And encouraging us to do the same

1 Thes 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

He admonishes us

Phil 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Phil 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Phil 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

And then here he says,

Heb 12:11 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

Heb 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

And speaks to making straight paths for your feet as in the above.

I could be missing you on what you are looking for (more specifically ) though, if I have I apologize.

But being God calling us unto His Kingdom and ourselves aware of what enters and what will not I would suspect walking worthy would likewise pertain to putting to death those things that displease him (obviously) even as through the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit not after the flesh (not in those things either).

Ephes 4:2 and 3 seem helpful towards that first verse there also.

 

[BenFTW]

Actually I was asking, "How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy'?"...not 'how' to walk worthy.

Gratitude, that is how. The apostle Paul said it was our "reasonable duty."

 

[AuntieAnt]

In truth, what Paul is saying is walk by faith, not by sight. View everything in the spirit of Jesus Christ, not with your intellect.

Walking "worthy" means you have put on the mind of Christ and don't put any trust in your own understanding. A daily sacrifice means each day you put your own understanding aside and look at everything through the Spirit of the Living God.

 

[FreeNChrist]

Can you explain, "faithful receptivity of His activity in our behavior" ?

It's what faith does, it receives God's activity.

 

[crossnote]

I am not certain of what you might be asking Crossnote, a couple of verses after the one you quote add to the walk

For example,

Ephes 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Ephes 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Ephes 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The walk as well (to walk in love)

Ephes 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Them being our examples

1 Thes 2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

1 Thes 2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

And encouraging us to do the same

1 Thes 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

He admonishes us

Phil 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Phil 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Phil 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

And then here he says,

Heb 12:11 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

Heb 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

And speaks to making straight paths for your feet as in the above.

I could be missing you on what you are looking for (more specifically ) though, if I have I apologize.

But being God calling us unto His Kingdom and ourselves aware of what enters and what will not I would suspect walking worthy would likewise pertain to putting to death those things that displease him (obviously) even as through the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit not after the flesh (not in those things either).

Ephes 4:2 and 3 seem helpful towards that first verse there also.

We are told to walk worthily ...

yet...

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" Luke 17:10

 

[PilgrimPassingThru]

We are told to walk worthily ...

yet...

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" Luke 17:10

A faithful man is shown here

Prov 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
but a faithful man who can find?

As Paul said,

1 Cr 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

1 Cr 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

He concludes again,

1 Cr 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing,
neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.


Might depend on which you are looking at, but Paul shows that neither is anything but God.

 

[BenFTW]

A faithful man is shown here

Prov 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
but a faithful man who can find?

As Paul said,

1 Cr 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

1 Cr 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

He concludes again,

1 Cr 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing,
neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.


Might depend on which you are looking at, but Paul shows that neither is anything but God.

It seems to say, glory to God! All that we are, and all that we can be is through His equipping and providence.

 

[thepsalmist]

Actually I was asking, "How is it that we are called to 'walk worthy'?"...not 'how' to walk worthy.

I was watching a video yesterday, and there was a lovely tidbit that may help to answer this question, if I understood you well...

Why are we called to walk worthily? (if Jesus does all the walking for us)

An analogy was drawn up ...When God spoke to Moses in the bush ... what was interesting about that was that the bush was not consumed by God's fire.

Like the bush, neither are we consumed by Him. We are with Him, He is with us, we are a new creation in Him ... but our identity is not consumed.

God created each of us a little differently from one another ... we have different interests, different talents etc ... and God enjoys these things about us. He asked Adam to name the animals because He was curious what Adam would name them.

Even when we are reborn, we are not robots ... God wants us to exercise being righteous in HIM, while maintaining our "selves" that He created.

The free will He gave us was never revoked, not even after we were reborn ...

I asked Him once to please exercise His own will through me (that way I would not have to worry about being obedient - He would do it for me) - but I'm pretty sure he responded that that was not an option - that I was moreover urged to do His will with my own will.

Wonder if this all makes sense to anyone ...

 

[PilgrimPassingThru]

It seems to say, glory to God! All that we are, and all that we can be is through His equipping and providence.

Yes, even as Paul said,

1 Cr 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am:
and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;
but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me.

He makes them able ministers.

Even ministering is by the ability God gives. Our fruit is by abiding in Christ, as we are made partakers of his holiness.

There is no good thing in us in the flesh, but every good thing in us by Christ.

His grace is for the obedience of the faith too, its by his grace sin can have no dominion over you, so we are nothing and its God who deserves the glory amen.

 

[FreeNChrist]

I was watching a video yesterday, and there was a lovely tidbit that may help to answer this question, if I understood you well...

Why are we called to walk worthily? (if Jesus does all the walking for us)

An analogy was drawn up ...When God spoke to Moses in the bush ... what was interesting about that was that the bush was not consumed by God's fire.

Like the bush, neither are we consumed by Him. We are with Him, He is with us, we are a new creation in Him ... but our identity is not consumed.

God created each of us a little differently from one another ... we have different interests, different talents etc ... and God enjoys these things about us. He asked Adam to name the animals because He was curious what Adam would name them.

Even when we are reborn, we are not robots ... God wants us to exercise being righteous in HIM, while maintaining our "selves" that He created.

The free will He gave us was never revoked, not even after we were reborn ...

I asked Him once to please exercise His own will through me (that way I would not have to worry about being obedient - He would do it for me) - but I'm pretty sure he responded that that was not an option - that I was moreover urged to do His will with my own will.

Wonder if this all makes sense to anyone ...

Reminded me of this quote from Sam Storms;

"This is the glory and miracle of grace, that God, through the Holy Spirit, is able to transform a stubborn, rebellious, and unbelieving will into a passionate, obedient, believing will without violating the integrity of the individual or diminishing the voluntary nature of one’s decision to trust Christ for salvation."

 

[AuntieAnt]

Reminded me of this quote from Sam Storms;

"This is the glory and miracle of grace, that God, through the Holy Spirit, is able to transform a stubborn, rebellious, and unbelieving will into a passionate, obedient, believing will without violating the integrity of the individual or diminishing the voluntary nature of one’s decision to trust Christ for salvation."

Isn't the Lord so wonderful? ♥ \ /

 

[thepsalmist]

Reminded me of this quote from Sam Storms;

"This is the glory and miracle of grace, that God, through the Holy Spirit, is able to transform a stubborn, rebellious, and unbelieving will into a passionate, obedient, believing will without violating the integrity of the individual or diminishing the voluntary nature of one’s decision to trust Christ for salvation."

Haha! YES!

That's exactly what I was trying to get out in my own stumbling, fumbling, awkward way - lol

Thanks so much for that quote FNC