Kenneth L. Pike
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” So this walk, we are told, is to be a sacrificial walk, a walk o f love. Then almost immediately the emphasis shifts firmly. Verse six says, "Let no man deceive you with vain words.” We are not to be gullible and easily fooled. We are to be in balance, both "wise as serpents, and harml es s as d o v e s ” (Matt. 10:16). We are to be eager to do good and help others, but wise enough to avoid traps that have been laid for us. Christ side-stepped the traps which were laid for him by the Pharisees, ("This they said . . . that they might have to accuse him,” John 8:6: "Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cassar, or not?” Matt. 22:17) But at the same time He fulfilled the law (Matt. 17:25-27). He was balanced in His walk. In Ephesians 5:8 we are told to walk as children o f light, with good ness and truth and separation from evil. Yet in verses fifteen to seventeen we are told to "walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise . . . understanding what the will o f the Lord is.” Christ in His walk did not strike a "happy medium.” Rather, He was intense in every area o f His life — in His reliance on the Father’s orders, in using His own voice o f authority, in His service to man, in His love for others, in his down-to-earth practical wisdom. Peter tells us (1 Pet. 2:21) that Christ is our example and that we should follow in His steps, walking as He walked. END‘
in them” (Eph. 2:10). Thus in the first chapter we are told o f the things which God has done for us. Later we find that the balance o f this truth is that we ourselves are expected to do good things. Just as God has helped us, we are expected to help others. That makes the balance which is a part o f walking. " I therefore, the prisoner o f the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy o f the vocation where with ye are called” (Eph. 4 :1 ). The manner of walking is defined for us as with "lowliness and meekness” (not being proud or jealous when someone gets ahead o f u s ), "with long suffering” (not getting upset when somebody is irritating), "forbearing one another in love” (when they are hard to live. w ith). Having "unity” with those not o f like mind, instead o f getting an noyed with them. We need to be friends o f people, so that we can serve them as we are ordered to do. Ephesians 4:17 "This I say therefore, and testi fy in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk . . . ” The old life has been dirty; the new walk must be clean. The old walk had been proud; the new walk must be humble. The old walk had been for self; the new walk is for God and for other people. Ephesians 5:2 Dr. Kenneth L. Pike is president of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, affiliated with the Universities of Oklahoma and North Dakota. Three summer training programs, in coopera tion with Wycliffe Bible Translators, have been scheduled for summer, with two additional institutes planned for overseas in London and Melbourne. Catalogs, applications and other information may be obtained by writing the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Box 870, Glendale 5, Calif.
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