Ⅱ
In order for us to follow the Lamb and go on to maturity to become the firstfruits, we must walk with God by faith to escape death and obtain the testimony of being well pleasing to God:
A
The way to escape death and obtain the testimony of being well pleasing to God is to walk with God—Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6:
１
To walk with God is not to override God, not to be presumptuous, not to do things according to our own concept and desire, not to do things according to the current of the age, and not to do anything without God—cf. Psa. 19:12-13; Josh. 9:14b; Luke 24:15.
２
To walk with God is to take Him as our center and everything, to live and do things according to God and with God, according to His revelation and leading, and to do everything with Him—Rom. 8:4, 13-14; Gal. 2:2a; 2 Cor. 5:14-15.
３
To walk with God means that we do not live by what we are or can do but by the immortal life, which is Christ Himself—vv. 4, 9.
４
To walk with God is to have habitual fellowship with God, to be in constant touch with the Lord, and to be under His constant infusion—1 John 1:3; Phil. 4:6; 2 Cor. 3:16, 18.
５
To walk with God is to continually exercise our spirit to enjoy the Blessed Trinity—Jude 14, 19-21.
６
To walk with God implies the denying of our self and everything that is of our self so that we may be one with Him; it implies that we have given ourselves to Him, that we will give in to Him and let Him take the lead—Matt. 16:24-25; 2 Cor. 2:13-14.
B
To walk with God is to walk by faith—5:7; Heb. 11:5-6:
１
Faith means that we believe that God is—vv. 1-2, 6; 2 Cor. 4:13, 18:
ａ
Without faith it is impossible to please God, to make God happy— Heb. 11:6a.
ｂ
To believe that God is, is to believe that He is everything to us and that we are nothing—John 8:58; Eccl. 1:2.
ｃ
To believe that God is implies that we are not; He must be the only One, the unique One, in everything, and we must be nothing in everything—Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5.
ｄ
To believe that God is, is to deny our self; in the whole universe He is, and all of us are nothing—Luke 9:23.
ｅ
I should not be anything; I should not exist; only He should exist—it is no longer I, but Christ—Gal. 2:20.
ｆ
At his conversion the Lord told Saul of Tarsus, "I am Jesus"—Acts 9:5:
⑴
The Lord was saying, "I am the great I Am; I am the One who is; you must believe that I am and that you are not."
⑵
Eventually, Saul was over, and Paul came up—13:9.
ｇ
This is faith—"O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here"—J. N. Darby.
２
Faith means that we believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him—Heb. 11:6; Gen. 15:1; Phil. 3:8, 14:
ａ
Enoch's reward was the highest degree of life—escape from death— Heb. 11:5a; 2 Cor. 5:4; Rom. 8:6, 10-11; 5:17.
ｂ
The Lord is a rewarder, and we need to be His seekers—Psa. 27:4, 8; 42:1-2; 43:4; 73:25; 119:2, 10.
C
Enoch, as the first person to be raptured, is the representative of all the overcomers who will be raptured while they are living—Matt. 24:37-51; Rev. 14:1; Luke 21:34-36:
１
Our being raptured depends on our being mature in the divine life by our walking with God—Heb. 6:1a.
２
Enoch continually walked upward with God day and night for three centuries, becoming closer to God and more one with God each day until "he was not, for God took him"—Gen. 5:24; cf. S. S. 8:5a.
Morning Nourishment
Gen. 5:24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.Heb. 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he obtained the testimony that he had been well pleasing to God.
The way to escape the ultimate issue of man's fall was discovered by the seventh generation, Enoch. Enoch lived in such a way that he was kept from death both literally and totally. Before Enoch was taken up by the Lord and while he was living and walking on earth, death had ceased to kill him.
Enoch was the first person to be raptured…Since the first mention of a thing in the Bible establishes the principle for that thing, the case of Enoch, the first mention of the rapture, establishes the principle of the rapture. What is the principle of the rapture? It is to be matured in life by walking with God. Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and God took him away (Gen. 5:22-24). (Life-study of Genesis, 2nd ed., pp. 349-350)
Today’s Reading
Do you expect to be raptured? If you do, you need to walk with God. We should not only call upon the name of the Lord but should also walk with God. The calling must be followed by the walking. To walk with God is not to override God, not to be presumptuous, not to do things according to our own concept and desire, nor is it to do anything without God. To walk with God is to take Him as our center and everything, to do things according to His revelation and leading, and to do everything with Him. It is not only to live for God and to do things for God but to live and to do things according to God and with God. Enoch walked with God in such a way, living and doing things according to God and with God, not according to his own desire or concept or according to the current of the age in which he lived.Please tell me, is God walking with you, or are you walking with God? Was God walking with Enoch, or was Enoch walking with God? The Bible does not say that God walked with Enoch; it says that Enoch walked with God.
In order to walk with God, we must be with Him. We must be one with Him in our thinking, loving, and choosing…It is not easy for one person to walk with another. Suppose, while I am walking with you, I have a different concept from you and say, “Brother, I love you, and I want to walk with you, but don't go that way. Turn this way. I don't want to go that way.” If I say this, I am not walking with you; I am arguing with you. However, this is exactly what so many lovers of Jesus do. They say, “Lord, I love You and I like to follow You. I want to go with You.” However, when the actual time comes, many do not walk with Him but argue with Him. For you to walk with the Lord implies a great deal: the denial of yourself, the denial of your thinking and your loving, the denial of everything that is of you. It implies that you have given yourself to Him, that you will give in to Him and let Him take the lead…Walking with Him will kill you. My wife suffers whenever she walks with me. Nevertheless, if you are going to walk with me, you have to deny yourself. On the other hand, if I am going to walk with you, I must forget myself, condemn myself, and renounce myself that I may be one with you. If I am unwilling to do this, I cannot walk with you or with anyone else.
Enoch walked upward with God. Do not think that Enoch's being taken away by God happened suddenly. Do not think that one moment he was on earth and that the next he was in heaven. Enoch did not walk up and down with God; neither did he walk in a zigzag pattern. He continually walked upward until he touched heaven. At the age of three hundred sixty-five, as he was nearly touching heaven, God said to him, “Dear child, I am here. Come with Me.” And Enoch was taken away. (Life-study of Genesis, 2nd ed., pp. 350- 352, 351-352)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 26