Grace For The Journey

  Genesis chapter three is best-known for the teaching of the Fall of man.  That certainly is an important subject, and one that I have dealt with regularly in my blog.  For the next several days I want to look a phrase that is mentioned in verses 8-9 that shows an expected pattern in the believer’s life.  In Genesis 3:8 the Bible says, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  This is the first mention of the phrase “the voice of the LORD God walking” in the Bible.  Adam and Eve did not see a physical presence of Jehovah God because He is Spirit, but they were able to hear and understand the “voice” or “word” of God.

Think about that for a moment.  What a marvelous truth – Walking with God and hearing His Word!   This was not a singular encounter of Adam and Eve walking with God; other references in Genesis 2-3 show us it was a something that took place on a regular basis.  I believe two books of the Apostle John help understand this principle.  In John 1:1, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God, was and is the Word (John 1:1 – He is the visible and verbal declaration of God [Hebrews 1:2); in Revelation 19:13, the Bible shows us that the Lord Jesus still is and always will be the Word of God.

Today’s verse shows us that Adam and Eve knew God and had previously walked with Him.  As Adam and Eve walked with God, so we who are saved should also walk with Him.

Genesis 3:9-15 teach us that God loved Adam and Eve so much that He would not allow their sin to disrupt their relationship and walk with Him.  God restored fellowship through the shedding of blood.   This same biblical principle allows us, as sinners saved by grace, to walk with a thrice holy God.

Here is what I want us to see – We cannot walk with God without His Word and we must not walk contrary to His Word.  The big question becomes, “How do we walk with God in the Word?”  And I am glad you asked!  Let’s see what the Bible says about this . . .

1) We “walk with God” in the new birth through His Word.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever.”

Here is where it all begins.

We cannot walk with God until we are born of God.

We cannot walk with God until we know Him through faith and repentance.

2) We “walk with God” in hearing His Word.

The Bible says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Notice that there are two hearings here: the audible hearing of the Word of God and the inward hearing or listening to the Word of God.  We cannot walk with God when His Word falls on “deaf ears.”

3) We “walk with God” in reading and growing in His Word.

1 Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

We cannot walk with God in His Word unless we spend time in the Bible.  Picking it up and dusting it off for church on Sunday does not strengthen our relationship with God.

4)  We “walk with God” in trusting His Word.

The Bible says in Psalms 119:127-128, “Therefore I love Your commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.  Therefore I esteem all Your precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”

Since we cannot see or audibly hear God, we MUST trust the Word of God.  Since all that we comprehend about God is found in the Bible, we cannot “cherry pick” which verses that we trust.  Walking with God is trusting God.

5) We “walk with God” in meditating upon His Word.

The Bible says in Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of Your mouth; but You shall meditate therein day and night, that You may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then You shall make You way prosperous, and then You shall have good success.”

Meditating upon God’s Word helps us internalize God’s truth and allow it to become a consistent part of our daily life with God.  Walking with God in His Word comes through deliberating or pondering upon it.

6) We “walk with God” in studying God’s Word.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

Walking with God in His Word is based upon proper understanding it.  The Bible tells us God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).  The Bible is our foundation upon which we build our lives.

7) We “walk with God” in obedience to His Word.

The Bible says in James 1:22, “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

When we walk with God in His Word it involves both hearing, applying, and obediently living by biblical truths.  The Bible sets Christian parameters for holiness and righteousness of life.

8) We “walk with God” in sharing God’s Word.

The Bible says in Mark 16:15, “And He said unto them, ‘Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’”

The Lord is not willing that any should perish.  His will is that “all men be saved” and come to the knowledge of the truth.  God so loved that He gave His life for sinners.  If we walk with Him, we will be soul conscious and souls winners.

The Word of God is vital to our walking with Him.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”