Colossians 1:10… “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

2 Timothy 2:3-4… “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

Philippians 3:8-9… “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith OF Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

Paul was a soldier and as such, he was encouraging Timothy to follow along in the difficult path ahead, enduring the hardness which had come to those standing for the free grace of God to all men.  Any who stand for such will have to learn to endure the same, as the vast majority of men insist that Christ is somehow not enough… that there MUST be something upon which they can stand within themselves; some inherent goodness or action (baptism, keeping commandments, being kind, saying a prayer, etc…) which must make them somehow “worth saving” before a Holy God.  Internal value.  To say to another person that there is not, is an insult to their very humanity; prideful as it thus proves to be.  People generally feel they are naturally worth saving (we are not) rather than naturally worthy of damnation (which we are on account of sin).  Note carefully that Paul is very clear to say that the righteousness he does in fact possess is NOT his own, but the righteousness OF Christ Himself which is OF God, by faith and trust in what Christ has done on Paul’s behalf.

Simply and personally put… as a saved man I have NO righteousness, none at all, in and of myself.  There is not a thing in the world I can do in my human condition to please God.  I can be the most gracious, kind, generous, helpful, sweetest most wonderful person on the face of the earth; and it would be naturally worthless to God: if I were not found in Christ.  Without Christ I, and all men, are already eternally damned due to the natural fallen condition of humanity itself.  Indeed, Paul counted ALL THINGS but loss (and all that but dung) compared to the EXCELLENCY of the KNOWLEDGE of Christ.  Again, that is the excellency of the KNOWLEDGE of Christ.  Knowledge is something we can gather, something we can attain to.

Paul is telling us that it is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, which empowers completely, the worthy walk in Christ.  If a saved man does not know all that Christ has done for him, he has missed the excellency of the knowledge of Christ and therefore his worthy walk WILL be stunted.  Knowing all that Christ has done in this age of FREE GRACE is above all else in Paul’s life, and that is what he tries so hard to communicate to the world throughout his 13 epistles; and what the world tries so hard to NOT believe.

2 Timothy 1:15… “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;…”

The key to the worthy walk therefore, is knowledge.  The ONLY way to grasp such knowledge is through the study of what our Lord communicated to and through the Apostle Paul; as only to the Apostle Paul was free grace given.  Free grace, today’s gospel, was not given to Peter or the twelve.  Bible study is of such critical import and so lacking in today’s worldly societies; it is the reason the world finds itself in the near perfectly backward state it is in fact in.  Good has become evil and evil become good… and satan just smiles.  This is why Paul commands us to:

2 Timothy 2:15… “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

God has given mankind the Truth in the form of His Word.  We divide that Word between the good news given to Israel and the Gentile nations, and the good news given to the body of Christ.  That same Word WAS God in Christ when He walked this earth.

John 1:1-3… “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

That Word today we may hold in our hands in the form of the King James Bible, God’s Perfect Word, “Purified Seven Times“.  As Paul explains to the Corinthian believers when Gods Written Word was not yet complete:

1 Corinthians 13:8-10… “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophesies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.  For now we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”

That which is perfect is Gods perfect (completed) word to mankind.

Peter, detailing the eyewitness accounts of himself, James and John at the Transfiguration of Christ Himself, to those Jews who were saved in the Kingdom program; says of Holy Scripture:

2 Peter 1:19… “We have also a MORE SURE word of prophesy; whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”

Peter is DISCOUNTING his own testimony, his own words, detailing his own experiences, in favor of Holy Scripture.  What would a “good” catholic, those who hold to papal infallibility, say about this?  Likely: “I know that’s what scripture says, but that’s not what scripture means.”  To which Peter (the first pope??? – not…) replies:

2 Peter 1:20… “Knowing this first, that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

Scripture means exactly what scripture says.  Knowledge is the key to walking worthy and we gather knowledge from Holy Scripture alone.  Not private interpretations of Holy Scripture (NIV, ASV, ETC), but Holy Scripture itself as found in the King James Bible for English speaking people like us.  Bibles in other languages which were translated and preserved from the majority text, Textus Receptus or received text (all one and the same) are very likely equally as reliable.  (If I could speak other languages I’d be sure.)

How many believers are there in the world who are not walking worthy simply because they are studying the wrong Bible?  Allow me to present a single example (of which there are countless others – simply locate Acts 8:37 in your NIV…) comparing the KJB to the NIV.  Regarding the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, Paul, to the believers at Philippi says:

Philippians 2:5-7 (KJB)… “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV)… “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

In one verse (KJB) the very mind of God Himself is made available to me (God’s own thoughts), if I but allow myself to comprehend it.  I can comprehend it through study.  In the other (NIV) my “attitude” should be like Christ’s who is God yet somehow unequal with God.  In the KJB, Christ does it all on my (a lowly man’s) behalf; in the NIV I must alter my own attitude to be that of a servant, which Christ became.  In the KJB, Christ (God HIMSELF) becomes servant; in the NIV I must become a servant like all “good” humans are supposed to be.  In the KJB, Christ does something otherworldly for me; in the NIV I must do something for Christ.  Ask yourself seriously; what is truly going on here?  Who or what is being served by this intentional misdirection?  Make no mistake, it is too perfectly incorrect to be unintentional.

The point of this post is to enable the believer to walk worthy of his high calling in Christ Jesus.  The worthy walk is enabled through correct knowledge.  He has been made a soldier in an all volunteer army whether he knows it or not.  The only way to enable the believer to fight the soldiers battle is by studying Gods very Word to that believer; and those words are found in the epistles of Paul sent by Jesus Christ to that believer as found in the King James Bible.  Period.  They exist in no other location for an English speaking believer.

If you want to serve God you must be aware of what God is doing today.  You, dear reader, would no more build an Ark than stone your own children.  Why?  Because you know God is not today instructing you to do either.  Why then would you follow Christ as Peter followed Christ, when you are supposed to follow Christ as Paul followed Christ?  Why?  Because incorrect Bible teaching is far more common that correct Bible teaching.  Knowledge is severely lacking.  Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 14:37… “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.”

That’s not subtle.  Neither is:

Galatians 1:20… “Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.”

Romans 11:13… “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:”

2 Timothy 2:7… “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

1 Corinthians 11:1… “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

Paul was not magnifying himself in any way, shape or form.  He was magnifying the office he was placed in by the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ; he is magnifying the information, the dispensation of free grace, which Christ delivered personally to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9); that he would then deliver to others.

1 Corinthians 9:17… “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

He was magnifying the information that we need to know if we are to walk worthy of the position Christ has placed us in; but we have to be aware of that position in order to walk therein!  We must study the KJB rightly divided to become aware.

As good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood (against other men).  We wrestle against those “things” which keep people from knowing and understanding all that has been done, and all that has been placed onto our account by the Savior of humanity.  Comprehending the full extant and scope of the amazing grace of God in Christ that the Spirit will reveal through the study of Gods Perfect Word, IS the excellency of the knowledge of Christ that we are to be armed with!

Ephesians 6:12… “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

And how do we, as good soldiers, but merely human, effectively wrestle against such powerful evil?  We listen to Paul as always…

Ephesians 6:13… “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

The armor of God is made available to us!  Look closely… we are to STAND for something:

Ephesians 6:14… “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

Our loins are our tender parts and they are to be girt about (circled and/or surrounded; protected) by the truth.  What is the truth?  God’s very Word of truth is the truth.  Christ is Truth and He is to girt about our most tender parts.  Gods instructions for us today are the Truth.  Christ, as Paul describes Him, is our Truth for today.  The KJB rightly divided is the Truth.

We are to have on the breastplate of righteousness.  The breastplate covers the heart and lungs from where we live and breathe… the seat of emotion, life and feeling.  This is not any righteousness we have in ourselves.  This is the very righteousness of Christ Himself!  Gods own righteousness imputed to our account by the faith OF Christ to the work His Father sent Him to accomplish on our behalf.  I myself have no righteousness; yet I have available to me the righteousness of God Himself in Christ, that will cover my heart and lungs by which I live and breathe!  Such amazing knowledge is found ONLY in the epistles of Paul.

Ephesians 12:15… “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

Again, we today KNOW not to go and build an Ark; but to Noah, his truth, his “good news” gospel, WAS to go and build an Ark, as that is the message God had for him in his day.  A believers “good news” gospel message for today comes from Paul and Paul alone.  To Paul was given the gospel of grace and peace which God has declared to the whole world!  His every epistle opens with so much more than a salutation of grace and peace; but the very doctrine of grace and peace does he declare!  Our sin is no longer the issue; belief in what God has done about our sin, is.  As written many times here before, that simple gospel of peace is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and on our Simple Salvation page.

Our feet carry us wherever we want to go.  If the Truth of today’s gospel of peace is worn about our hearts and lungs, we will be prepared at all times to be able to speak that clear and simple gospel presentation to anyone and everyone we meet.  We walk with our feet and we stand upon them as well.  The excellency of the perfect simplicity of the gospel of peace is made manifest in the freedom to all believers from eternal guilt and worry.  We stand upon the gospel of ultimate peace.  Absolutely zero condemnation!  Grace and peace to you from God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Ephesians 6:16… “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

As we see Philippians 3:9 it is the faith OF Christ to the cross-work His Father sent Him to, that we place our trust and belief in.  Praise God it is NOT the faith I wield, my faith IN Christ, as weak as it is, to carry me forward into battle.  (Check your NIV once again here; as there, it is MY faith IN Christ!  Totally incorrect and perfectly misleading.)  It is my KNOWLEDGE of Christ’s faith to His Father that I hold as a shield while I stand in defense of the gospel of grace and peace.  If Christ has performed it, what can possibly penetrate such?

Ephesians 6:17… “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

That helmet covers the head and brain, the seat of knowledge and reason.  The saved Christian has absolute knowledge of absolute salvation, knowing that if Christ accomplished the same on my behalf; nothing in heaven or in earth; inside or outside of time; nothing I or any creature can alter; nothing at all can separate me from that which Christ has done on my behalf.

I am BOUGHT with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23); not rented for a season.

In my hands is the sword of the Holy Spirit; the very Word of God as I can in fact possess in my King James Bible.  I wield it in truth, not deceitfully, with dignity and in love.  This sword is sharper than most imagine or are prepared for.

Hebrews 4:12… “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

This sword cuts people and cuts them badly.  It cuts me.  Why?  Because the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  This is what it is created to do as that is what we prideful people need.  When we inform people that they are of no intrinsic value to God outside of Christ, that cuts them badly.  Most want to be good and useful to God and that’s good.  The belief that they are inherently good, and not deceitful and wicked, is what misleads them.  satan loves for people to believe that they are good; as why would a “good person” ever need a Savior?  Truth hurts.  Tell the truth anyway.  Perhaps they will listen.  Only by the truth of Christ as given to Paul will eternal salvation come today.  People are not good in Gods eyes.  They need a Savior.

Finally…

Ephesians 6:18-20… “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

…we are to pray for all the saints (all saved men and women) and especially for those who are prepared for and enter into battle on behalf of the gospel of grace and peace.  We are to speak boldly that gospel which was kept secret since the world began and that satan and his world try so very hard (and successfully) to keep concealed.

Let us prepare ourselves by way of serious Bible study; and walk worthy of the ambassadorship to which we, as those who are the bought and paid for saints of Jesus Christ, have been called.  Amen.

Next Post: “Walk Worthy, part 5 (Walk Circumspectly…).“