“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
ought himself also to walk
The word “ought” carries a measure of obligation, a compulsion of love for the Lord. The foundation of this “ought” is fellowship with the Lord. The “ought” is a debt of honor.
The English word “ought” is the contraction of two words: owes it. Squeezing these words together, we get “ought.” The standard for the Christian life is not the church nor the pastor but Jesus Himself, the glorious Head of the church.
The word “walk” is equivalent to live. John is challenging us to a new way of life. The word “walk” means to walk around as a way of life.
just as He walked
John challenges us to imitate Jesus. We cannot mimic Him, but we can imitate Him. We do not have to move to Israel to imitate Him, but we can order our lives by His principles of life.
Jesus kept on walking in continuous fellowship with the Father. He did not walk spasmodically with the Father. Jesus walked in submission to the Father with sensitivity to His will. He walked in unbroken fellowship and dependence on the Father.
John 8:29, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”
God expects the closest conformity to Christ in conduct and character. The word “He” on His person – “He Himself.”
PRINCIPLE:
God is in the business of conforming us into the image of His Son.
APPLICATION:
There is a duty incumbent upon the person who professes Christ as Savior. If we assert that we fellowship with God, then we incur an obligation. We cannot divorce the way we live from the way we walk. Fellowship with God requires standards.
God is in the business of conforming us into the image of His Son. That is why we walk, “just as He walked.” God fulfills His purpose in us by this. An aim of our redemption is to be like Christ. Jesus is our glorious Example for fellowshipping with God.
1 Pe 2:21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…”
The application of God’s principles for life to experience manifests our fellowship with God. Unrelenting dependence on God to work in us will reproduce His values in us. Our obedience reveals our relationship. It makes it abundantly clear to everyone that God delivered us from the bondage of Satan and sin.
2 Pe 1:3, “…as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue…”
God gives us all the power and equipment that pertains to life and godliness. The Holy Spirit is the One who reproduces the Lord Jesus in us; that is the Christian life.
2 Co 4:10, “…always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
When a person becomes a Christian, God presumes that He owns all the rights of our lives. However, all too frequently, we are number one. God plays second fiddle. God will not play a secondary role in our lives. He must be first. If we intend to have our own way and have others cater to us, we put ourselves on the pedestal.
Ro 15:1-3, 1 “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’”
Our purpose in life is not to please ourselves. We displease ourselves for the glory of God. We inconvenience ourselves for the Lord Jesus and the furtherance of the gospel.
Dear Brother Grant,
Can the confession of sins “pull-down strongholds (thought patterns) of mind”?
Muthu, here is a long answer to your question: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/christian-maturity/the-edification-construct-discussion-guide/
Here is a shorter answer: https://versebyversecommentary.com/2021/02/12/2-corinthians-105/