Walking with God | 2 John Bible Study
- Rebecca Galeskas
- 11 minutes ago
- 6 min read
If you are a believer in Jesus, odds are your heart’s desire is to walk with God. We all want to do the right thing and live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Ephesians 4:1). But how exactly are we supposed to do that? For many of us, it feels like the more we try, the less successful we are in walking in God’s ways.
The good news is, God has not called us to live the Christian life in our own strength. Instead, He invites us to walk with Him and submit to Him day in and day out. When we do that, He promises His good fruit will grow in our lives.
Living a life worthy of the calling we have received isn’t as difficult as we tend to make it out to be. In fact, the book of 2 John gives us clear instruction on how to live a Godly life.
It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 4-9)
Stop Running Ahead
We all know the feeling. You get to the end of your day. You’ve accomplished plenty but you don’t feel fulfilled. You’re worn out, exhausted, and depleted. This happens when we are living from our own strength instead of trusting God for our strength.
John calls this kind of living “running ahead.” Not only that, but he also says when we are living from our own strength we have abandoned the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught us to live by grace, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we begin to live a life in our own strength, we are reverting back to a life of works rather than receiving and living from God’s grace. When we run ahead, we step outside of God’s blessing and favor and protection.
We have all sorts of justifications for running out in front of what God is asking us to do today. We want good things for ourselves and our families. We have big hopes for the future. We have plans and tasks to accomplish. The truth is, though, at the end of the day it’s all rooted in fear and our fleshly need for control and security.
But control is an illusion, and security can be found in God alone.
Truthfully, when we’re busy running ahead we are trying to jump to the conclusion without putting in the work of the journey with God. We’re trying to live a good life and do the “right” things, but we’re attempting to do it by bypassing the Holy Spirit.
However, a life that bears good spiritual fruit starts with slowing down and walking with God, not running ahead in our own strength.
So, how exactly do we walk with God?
2 John tells us to walk in three things:
· Walk in truth
· Walk in obedience
· Walk in love
When we know the truth, we can obey the truth. When we obey the truth, we will undoubtedly be living a life of love because God is love, and He will never ask us to do anything contrary to His character.
Walk in Truth
We get to know the truth in two ways:
Knowing God’s Word – God’s Word is eternal and transcendent truth, and every word within it “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” so we can be prepared to live the kind of life God is calling us to (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It’s important for us to spend time in the Bible, studying it and meditating on it, so we can know the truth and live by it.
Listening to the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Truth) – In the book of John, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17, 16:13). When we receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives within us and empowers us to live according to the truth. The Holy Spirit guides us in truth as it applies to the nuance of daily life.
In order to truly walk in truth, we must be totally convinced of the truth and willing to submit to the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, not just conceptually in our minds but with our whole being.
Walk in Obedience
When we reach the point of walking in truth where we are totally convinced that God is who He says He is and are submitted to the truth of His Word and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will begin to walk in obedience to the truth.
Like truth, our obedience is twofold:
We obey what we know to be true and good from God’s Word, saying “yes” to what is right and “no” to what is wrong.
We obey the leading of the Holy Spirit as each day and moment comes. We live in a posture of listening and walking one step at a time by the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Walking in obedience requires daily submission lest we begin to think we can live a Godly life in our own strength and understanding.
In fact, we learn from Moses’s example in Numbers 20 that yesterday’s obedience may be today’s disobedience. Once, God told Moses to strike a rock so water would flow from it for the Israelites. The next time, God told Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses obeyed what God had asked him to do before and struck the rock instead. God counted this as disobedience, and Moses was kept from entering the Promised Land as a result.
This instance with Moses teaches us what God reminds us of again and again in His Word – He has given us exactly what we need for each day. So, we must be willing to submit and obey each day as it comes.
Like the Israelites followed the cloud and fire in the wilderness toward the promised land, the safest place to be is sheltered behind God’s truth. We want to follow only where it leads, trusting wholeheartedly that He is leading us towards His good promises.
Walk in Love
It’s in this daily, fully trusting and surrendered obedience to the truth that love abounds. When we shelter in God, we receive the fullness of His love.
Psalm 91:1 says,
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Following right behind God so that we are resting in His shadow is the most secure place to be. This is where we find supernatural rest and peace despite our circumstances. This is where we know joy. This is where our lives have meaning. It all flows from living in intimate relationship with Him.
When we place ourselves in the shadow of the Almighty, we are positioning ourselves to receive the fullness of God’s love for us. And as we receive His love, our lives will reflect and overflow with that love in everything we do, big or small.
This is a life lived in love, from love. We no longer do the right thing because we are striving for those results. It flows as the natural fruit of abiding in Christ.
Resting in His Shadow, Walking in His Step
God invites us to rest in His shadow and walk in His step.
He invites us into perfect relationship with Him.
To rest in His shadow, we must be so close to Him that we are sheltering under Him.
To walk in His step, we must become like a child standing on top of his father’s feet, holding His hands, surrendering to His every move, and trusting He won’t let go.
It’s here that we receive all the benefits of God’s protection, momentum, and vision.
We can fully trust where He is leading us, because for there to be a shadow for us to rest in, on the other side there must be light. And with God, He’s leading us not just into any light – He is leading us toward His glorious light.
Each step we take with God leads us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). He will guide us step by step into new freedom and new revelation, sanctifying us and working through us each step of the way.
Whatever it is you are believing for, the answer rests in walking with God. He is a good God. When we surrender to the truth of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, when we submit to obeying His truth, and when we receive and live from the abundance of His love, God will surely lead us into the fullness of His promises.
And He will be faithful to do so day after day, step by step until the day all His promises are fully realized.
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