“Walk as Jesus did”—¿What Does This

Truly Mean? (1 John 2:6, NIV)

By Mario A Olcese

Introduction

The Apostle John tell us in his first epistle chapter two an verse 6 the following thing:
“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did”. These words are very
impacting for me, because they contain a commitment of following the pattern that
Jesus left us. Of the same feeling is the apostle Peter who in his first epistle, chapter 2
and verse 21, writes: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”. Also the apostle
Paul gives supreme importance that we imitate Christ, just as he same did when he was
carrying out his mission among the gentiles. To the Corinthians he wrote the following
words: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

Following and Imitating Jesus

Now then, ¿how many times we have read this John’s verse (1 John 2:6) and
nevertheless very little we have meditated in its meaning? Some believe that “to walk as
Christ walked” must be taken in the more literal possible sense. They maintain that to be
a true follower of Christ it’s necessary to opt to be poor, hermits, celibate, homeless,
miracles maker, and so on. Even other have thought that to be as Christ we only have to
be devoted to the preaching of the gospel and to completely abandon worldly business
and to subsist of the charities. Another group sustains the we should even be baptized in
the same river in which Jesus was baptized (The Jordan river) and to be buried in the
holy land to be first resuscitate when Jesus returns to this earth from heaven. In view of
so many different ideas, ¿what do the Scriptures tell us on the true meaning of the
sentences “following” or “imitate” Christ?

Bible Passages where we find the Verb “Walk”

To know about what it is walking as Christ, it is necessary to analyze the passages

where the verb “walk” appears and its variants “walked”, “walking”, and so on. Let us
see these in the New Testament:

1.- Romans 6:4: “…even so we also should walk in newness of life”.

2.- Romans 8:1 “…who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit”.

3.- Romans 13:13 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy”.

4.- 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.

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5.- Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh”.

6- Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”.

7.- Ephesians 4:1-3 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk
worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and
gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.

8.- Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given
Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”.

9.- Ephesians 5:15,16 “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as
wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil”.

10.- Colossians 1:10 “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing
Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God”

11.- Colossians 3:5-7 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the
earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is
idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of
disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them”.

12.- Colossians 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming
the time”.

13.- 2 Peter 3:11 “Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor
God by the way you live”.

14.- 2 John 6 “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This
is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should
walk in it”.

15.- 3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in
truth.”

If we analyze these 15 verses carefully we will discover in what things we

should walk (to followe) and to imitate Christ.

1.- To walk in new life. That is to say, the sinful old man was left behind. Our
values are other, as well as our goals.

2.- To walk according to the Spirit. That is to say we walk manifesting the fruits
and gifts of the Spirit that are specified in Galatians 5 and in 1 Corinthians 12.

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3.- To walk honestly, without gluttonies, drunkenness and other similar bad
habits.

4.- To walk by faith. That is to say, trusting the promises of God.

5.- To be making good works to the other ones.

6.- To live in love and peace with all men.

7.- To walk as wise, redeeming the time to save others with the message of the
gospel.

8.- To be growing in the knowledge of the Lord. That is to say, maturing in the
revealed truth, learning more of the will and commandments of God.

9.- To be wise and piously with all. That is to say, a spotless life.

10.- To walk according to the commandments of God.

11.- To walk in the truth. That is to say, to walk according to the Word of God,
the revealed truth.

We see that to "walk as Christ" is to walk as new, compassionate men, saints,

wise, sober, in love, in peace and in the truth, making good works to all those
that we can and keeping the commandments of the Lord. In Acts 10:38 Paul
said that Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by
the devil, for God was with Him”. If he was making goods, we will also imitate
him with the same love and dedication like the one that he had with his
compatriots. His life was an example for us of sanctity, love, obedience to Its
Father's commandments, sobriety, wisdom, pity, faith, patience, and devotion.

In 1 John 1:7 John says the following: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His
Son cleanses us from all sin”. Now then, if we relate these words with those
that he himself said some verses later: “walk as he walked" (1 John 2:6), we will
conclude that to "walk as he walked" it is equal “to walk in the light", “in the
truth”, “in the Word of God” (See verse 5).

In 1 Peter 2:21 Peter says that we should "follow Christ's footfalls”. The context
will reveal us that what we must do is to follow the footfalls of the SUFFERING
AND ENDURANCE of Jesus by the carried out good works. Verse 20 says this:
“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that you should follow His steps” So, making a healthy exegesis of the
verses, we will realize what Peter meant to "follow Christ's" footfalls.

Conclusion:

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To "follow Christ's" footfalls doesn't imply to live as hermits, celibate, poor,
hapless or destitute. What implies is to follow Christ’s ethical and spiritual
norms captured in His Word, it is to follow Christ’s MORAL and
COMPASSIONATE behavior without necessarily to give up a worldly work, or
to a home with children, or to a regular job as engineer, doctor, lawyer, and so
on. One can have a prosperous business and even to have money, but of what it
is all about is not to GET ENTANGLED OR TO BE TRAPPED in the business of
this life that it doesn't allow us to redeem the time for Christ's cause, the
preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. En 1 Tes 4:11 Paul says: “Make it your
ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your
hands, just as we told you” But to Timothy he tells him: “No one serving as a
soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding
officer” (2 Timothy 2:4). Which is the teaching then? Should the believer stop to
be in charge of the "mundane" business for a full time service to the cause of the
Lord? Not necessarily! One can have his own business to sustain his family,
BUT one should not GET ENTANGLED IN IT! And finally, it is the same John
who advises to "walk as Christ walked". He also tells to a Christian named
Gayo the following: “Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2). This would be
disconcerting if John had in mind that to "walk as Christ walked" it is to walk
"without having where to recline the head (Luke 9:58).

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