Week 1 Saturday — Walking with the Word
Saturday: Walking as Jesus Walked
Saturday: Walking as Jesus Walked
Introduction
Yesterday the psalmist declared, “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” He found his guidance not in the voices of princes or culture, but in the Word of God. Today John takes us deeper into what it means to truly know God. It’s not enough to claim knowledge of Him—authentic relationship with God is evidenced by how we live. When God’s Word becomes our counselor, it shapes our walk.
Scripture
³And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
— 1 John 2:3-6 (ESV)
Reflection
John writes with pastoral clarity and prophetic boldness. He addresses a fundamental question every believer must answer: How do I know that I truly know God? It’s one thing to claim faith. It’s another thing entirely to live it.
John’s answer is direct: we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. This isn’t about earning salvation through perfect obedience—it’s about the fruit of genuine relationship. When we truly know God, His Word doesn’t remain external to us. It transforms us from the inside out. Obedience becomes the evidence of intimacy, not the price of admission.
But John goes further. He calls out the disconnect between profession and practice: “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (v. 4). These are hard words, but they’re necessary. We live in a culture—and sometimes a church culture—that separates belief from behavior, faith from faithfulness. John won’t allow it. To claim knowledge of God while living in disobedience is self-deception.
Yet verse 5 offers hope: “Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” This is the goal—not sinless perfection, but mature love. When we align our lives with God’s Word, His love is brought to completion in us. We become who we were created to be. The love that saved us is the same love that sanctifies us, and obedience is the pathway where that love is perfected.
Then John gives us the model: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (v. 6). The standard isn’t vague morality or cultural norms. It’s Jesus. How did He walk? In perfect surrender to the Father’s will. In compassion for the broken. In truth that confronted hypocrisy. In love that went to the cross. In obedience that trusted God completely.
This connects powerfully to the psalmist’s prayer in Gimel: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” When our eyes are opened to see Jesus—the Word made flesh—we don’t just learn information. We encounter the One we’re called to follow. His life becomes the lens through which we read all of Scripture. His example becomes the pattern for our walk.
Walking as Jesus walked isn’t about achieving perfection through effort. It’s about abiding in Him, letting His Word dwell richly in us, and cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He transforms us day by day. It’s the psalmist’s delight in God’s testimonies lived out in daily obedience. It’s keeping God’s Word not as a burden, but as the natural overflow of knowing and loving the One who speaks it.
“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” — This is the way.
Prayer Prompts
Lord Jesus,
You are the Word made flesh, and You walked in perfect obedience to the Father. I confess that I often say I know You while living as though I don’t. Forgive me for the gap between my profession and my practice. Help me to keep Your commandments—not out of duty, but out of love. Perfect Your love in me. Open my eyes to see You clearly in Scripture, and give me the grace to walk as You walked. Let my life be evidence of genuine relationship with You, shaped by surrender, obedience, and trust. Amen.
Response
Reflect on these questions today:
John asks how we know that we truly know God. If someone observed your life this past week, what evidence would they see of genuine relationship with Jesus? Where is the gap between what you profess and how you live? How could you cooperate with the Holy Spirit today to start closing that gap?
“Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” What does it mean for God’s love to be perfected—brought to maturity—in you? Where do you sense God inviting you toward greater obedience as an expression of love?
“Walk in the same way in which he walked.” Choose one aspect of how Jesus walked (compassion, truth-telling, prayer, forgiveness, sacrifice) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk that way today. What would it look like practically?