The Walk of God's End-time People

There are seven references to the word "walk" in the Book of Ephesians. These references give us a clear picture of how we once walked and how we should walk now that we are born again and become members of the Body of Christ. The Scripture also gives us a pattern of the walk we should follow as God's end-time people.

Here are the seven references:

1. Our past walk

"And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ..." (Eph. 2:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

2. Walk as God's workmanship

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8 - 10, emphasis added).

The word "workmanship" comes from the Greek word "poiema" which means "masterpiece".

3. Walk worthy of your calling

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ...." (Eph. 4:1, 2, emphasis added).

The word "worthy" comes from the Greek word "axios" which means "Godly balanced walk" - in humility, gentleness and longsuffering or patience. We have to learn longsuffering while we are on earth because there is no suffering in heaven. Moses was one of God's people who walked worthy of God's calling.

4. Walk not as the Gentiles walk

".... you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, having given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (Eph. 4:17 - 19).

Note the downward progression of our past walk. But God has a much highter walk for us, with upward progression, so that as we endure we will experience the fullness of Christ.

5. Walk in love

"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" (Eph. 5:2).

We are to walk in love because God is love.

6. Walk as children of Light

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:8).

At the Sermon on the Mount Jesus Himself said believers are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).

7. Walk in Wisdom

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15, 16, emphasis added).

The word "circumspectly" comes from the Greek word "akribos" which means "diligently or perfectly".

The walk of God's end-time people

I choose to use typology (the study of spiritual types) in this message to bring forth what we cannot see with our natural eyes and what we cannot perceive with our natural mind. I believe deep things of God and gems of spiritual truth will be revealed in the use of typology. Typology is not the same as "spiritualizing" something. To spritualize a material thing without the revealation of the truth of God's Word is not Biblical.

We are now living in the time and season just prior to the coming again of the Lord. In the day of Noah the flood came and took all the wicked, careless and unrighteous people away (Matt. 24:38, 39). Righteous Noah was called by God to build an ark. We are part of the "ark" that God is building by His Spirit. We will be instruments that will bring deliverance to multitudes of people at this end time hour.

When the Flood came the water went up above the hightest point on earth exactly 15 cubits (Gen. 7:20). The number 15 speaks of divine separation. Furthermore Noah's ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. All these numbers have great significance in Scripture. I mentioned in my earlier message (Walking with God - posted on 5th Sept 2007) that Enoch walked with God for 300 years. So, the "ark" the people of God are fashioning and building together as a Church today are going to be people who are walking with God - who are walking worthily, walking in love, walking in the light, walking in the fear of the Lord and walking circumspectly.

But the number 300 in Scripture has another meaning - it means divine deliverance as in the case of Noah's ark. In other words, we will also move in the ministry of deliverance. That was what Jesus said, those of us who endure to the end shall be saved (shall enter into the fullness of salvation). We shall endure persecution and go out into the nations to preach and demonstrate the reality of the Gospel with signs following - and then shall the end come (Matt. 24:13, 14). Just like the ark of Noah was an instrument of deliverance, so the "ark" that God is building in the Church for the end-time generation will also be an instrument that will minister deliverance.

The Anointing of the Feet of Jesus

There is a deeper spiritual truth in the anointing of the feet of Jesus by Mary (John 12) than our natural eyes can see. The costly oil of spikenard that Mary uses speaks of humility spiritually. The number 300 came up again when Judas suggested the fragrant oil could be sold for 300 denarii and be given to the poor (John 12:5). We know that Judas was not too concerned about the poor but he certainly concerned about the money.

We have seen that the number 300 speaks of divine deliverance and Jesus feet was anoited to do just that. Today our feet are also anointed! How? It becomes clear if we look at Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:37 - 44). Daniel saw a head kingdom, then a shoulder kingdom, a chest kingdom, a thigh kingdom, a leg kingdom and the last kingdom shall be the feet kingdom - when Jesus comes again.

"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44).

We are living right now in the period of time of the feet part of the Body of Christ!

Paul said, "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20).

In other words, we, as the end-time Church, are instruments God uses to crush Satan! We, as the feet part of the Body of Christ have been anointed by God to take the message of deliverance (from Satan) to the poor and the needy!

A type of God's end-time Church

The Old Testament Scripture tells us there were three main Old Testament Structures. The Tabernacle of Moses speaks to us more of the feast of the Passover - the born again experience. The Tabernacle of David, which in fact was an opened tent, speaks to us of Praise - the feast of Pentecost. The Temple of Solomon speaks to us of the Feast of the Tabernacle, the seventh month Feast - a type of God's end-time Church which is the anointed feet of the Body of Christ.

Solomon made 300 shields of beaten (or hammered) gold (1 King 10:17). These are the instruments we use in our deliverance ministry - beaten gold. It speaks of the triune God (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) being formed into our lives as we wear those shields.

Jesus said, "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; ..." Rev. 3:18).

"But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderers' soap" (Malachi 3:2).

That is why, we, God's end-time people, are now going through a period of trial, pressure and testing. But God refines us always with the right temperature and He will not suffer us to be tested beyond what we are able to take (James 1:2 - 4).

Full stature of God's end-time people

The Scripture indicates that a person is considered mature enough to enter the service of the Lord only if he is at least 30 years of age. Remember 30 cubits is the height of Noah's ark.

A priest

The Lord spoke to Moses, ".... from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting" (Num. 4:3).

To be a priest in Old Testament time you have to be at least 30 years of age - this age speaks of maturity for ministry and speaks of full stature. Similarly we, as New Testament priests (1 Peter 2:5; Rev. 1:6), are matured enough to minister in the Church of Jesus Church when we reached the age of 30.

Joseph

Joseph (the dreamer) began to serve Pharaoh as soon as he became full stature:

"Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Gen.41:46).

David

"David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years" (2 Sam. 5:4).

Jesus Christ

Jesus began His earthy Ministry after His water baptism.

"When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased'. Now Jesus Himself began His ministry of about thirty years of age, ..." (Luke 3:21 - 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

About 2000 years ago the heaven opened unto Jesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit, without measure, for His ministry. We are going to witness how God will open the heaven unto His end-time Church because we are the Feet of the Body of Christ!

Stature of the fullness of Christ

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Chrish, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Chrits" (Eph. 4:11 - 13, emphasis added).

The Church at the present moment is still falls short of the stature of the fullness of Christ because not all believers are equipped for the work of ministry. We need the ministries of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to bring the Chruch to full maturity - so that the Church will be perfected with the full knowledge of the Son of God. Praise God, He is moving His Church in this direction. How can the Church be the Bride of Christ if she is not matured and perfected?