Verse [Eph4:17] references to walk no longer just as gentiles also walk...As we look at the use of the word walk there are several key ways this word is used in OT and NT. Lets explore some ways to really understand how its used in the various contexts. The best place to start is the commonly used references around [Gen5:22] and [Gen6:9] of Enoch and Noah walked with Lord God.
Hebrew word often used in OT is halak which translates to not just movement, but also a way of life and conduct as we will see. For example, [Gen2:14] uses the same word to describe the flowing of the river.
[Ex16:4] mentions God raining bread and testing them to see whether the hebrews will walk in His instruction
[Lv18:3] talks about how God after bringing them out of Egypt to Canaan that they shall not walk in their statutes (neighboring Caanan statutes)
[Lev26:3] promises that if we walk in God's statutes He will make rains, seasons and the land prosperous, hinting that they dont need the local fertility gods of Canaan
[De5:33] admonishes us to walk in all the ways which Lord God has commanded and [De8:3] further urges us to walk in His ways and to fear Him, in connection with the gifts God had given the Hebrews by bringing them to land of milk and honey.
[De10:12] states the desire of God's heart is for us to love Him and walk in all His ways.
Walking in His ways means,
- keeping His commands
- living out His testimonies
- following His statutes and ordinances
There are also negative examples of what happens when you dont walk in HIS ways.
[Sam8:3-5] talks about Samuel appointing his sons as judges over Israel, but they did not walk in Samuel's ways as they took bribes and prevented justice. This lead to the people asking for a King. Ofcourse we know what happens when they rejected God as their king and wanted a man.
[1Ki16:31] Ahab, son of Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord to walk in sins, marrying Jezebel and building the altar to Baal, provoking Lord God's wrath more than any before him.
Why is walking with the Lord, so difficult? I submit that it is because of the faith required, while the world, flesh and the devil tries to dissuade us.
Faith is needed as we walk as none of the treasures and promises are there yet but in Heaven. We look to earthly gifts like Manna in the desert to see the manifestation of the promised things when the Isrealites (literally) walked in the desert under God's command.
So walk, is an action verb of doing, moving, keeping, living and acting. This takes the laws, command, knowledge and our awareness of God and puts into action of how to express that in our daily lives - both sacred and secular.
Above all its about demonstrating and showing our heart to Lord God by how we live. This is not so we will be counted as good sons by God by our actions, but becuase we rather not be any other way as we desire the relationship with God more than anything else, hence to show how much we appreciate Father God has done for us by walking with Him.
This is where the rest of the Ephesisans will come in, in how Paul urges and gives directives for our lives as believers.
The greek equivalent to hebrew halak is peripateo, which is made of peri and pateo. Peri being about, around, near, beacuse of etc. and pateo is to tread, advance, crush/trample with feet, setting foot etc. This provides a fuller, richer meaning to what Paul meant in the epistle. We are not to walk as gentiles do
- in the futility of their minds,
- being driven by flesh,
- controlled by world,
- being slaves to the price of the power of air,
- being sons of disobedience
- dead in our sins and trespasses
due to a darkened understanding that is a result of
- being excluded from God
- being ignorant and the
- heardening of our hearts
So now that we have found Christ, how should our walk be? It must be
- in a manner worthy of our calling
- with humility, gentleness and patience
- showing tolerance for each other
- in love with the body of Christ
- diligent to preserve unity of the Spirit
[Micah 4:5]summarizes nicely as what we need to as believers - walk in the name of Lord our God forever and ever, while the people around us walk in the name of his gods (culture).
Simply put, we must be imitators of Chirst to walk in love [Eph5:1]. How exactly to do that in our daily life - it is elaborated in chapters 5 and 6.