How to Walk With Them Who Are Without #2

I have introduced the topic in the first article and have said it is important that the foundation for the message be well laid because of the intricacies in there so that the reader would understand what the apostle is saying to us all.

In this article I shall continue with the expatiation of the topic.

We need to know what the walk which the apostle is saying in the book of Colossians means.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, ...” (Col 4:5)

The Greek word for walk here is “περιπατέω”, romanticized form is peripateō (pronounced as per-ee-pat-eh'-o) which means live, follow, be occupied with.

The apostle from the first verse has been given the brethren at Colossae what they need to do and continue to do, and in verse five having known that brethren were not living in isolation from the people of the world as Jesus himself has stated that God should keep the disciples from the world, but not taken them out of the world,

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (Joh 17:15)

Therefore, apostle Paul as he continues with his word of exhortation to the brethren in his epistle to them also stated that they need to “walk in wisdom” to them that are without.

Walking here therefore means the interaction of the brethren with all and sundry. For easy grasp of this we may consider someone who is walking on the street, we shall know that all the systems of the body are involved when we are walking along the street in the room or anywhere. A person who is physically walking would not leave behind his ears, saying it is leg alone that he wants to use. A person who is walking will not leave behind his nose etc.

This shows that “walking” incorporates all parts of the body, all the systems are involved when we are walking.

The walk he is talking about here therefore involves our social, psychological, physiological, mental, financial, physical, financial and all other components of us that make us human. The walk means our interaction with others in the society at large.

Those without are those that do not belong to their spiritual circle, they are those that do not have the same genome inside of them like they all have the same genome spiritually that link them to their spiritual Father and Lord, Jesus Christ.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, ….” (Col 4:5a)

Without in Greek is written as “ἔξω”, romanticized form is exō (pronounced as ex'-o) which means outside, away, strange.

The apostle is telling them about those who are strange, those who are alien to them.

These kinds of people are those who are not saved, those not born again. It does not matter whether such people are coming to fellowships, whether they are leading prayer programmes, whether they are their head at the fellowship gathering, they may be the most charismatic among them, the most influential and rich among them. But in as much as they are yet to be saved they belong to the class of the strangers, the aliens.

These people again could be their siblings, their closest friends, their spouses, their biological parents etc. if they are yet to be saved, they are strangers and do not have the same spiritual genome as they are having with their spiritual father and should not be exempted.

How we should walk with them is clearly stated by the apostle and it is said to be with wisdom.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, ….” (Col 4:5a)

Before we proceed in this, it is good we know the meaning of wisdom.

What is Wisdom? Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines wisdom as the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of experience and knowledge you have.

Greek word for wisdom is “σοφία”, romanticized form is Sophia (phonetic spelling is sof-ee'-ah) which means thoughtful, sagacious, discreet (implying cautious character), it is also related to practical skill or acumen and intelligence.

From the above definition of the word wisdom we shall see that he is saying believers should be walking cautiously, thoughtfully with the strangers, with those who do not belong to the same group as they are.

From the above definitions we shall see that wisdom comes and it is related to the followings:

1. Experience: Through experience one gathers wisdom about what one is doing, thence, the apostle is saying that believers should put this into use while interacting with those who do not belong to their group or caucus.

“And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” (Rom 5:4)

It is stated in this book of Romans that experience comes after being patient, if is an offshoot or by-product of patient.

2. Knowledge: Wisdom comes through what one has learnt over the years. What they have learnt through reading of books and directly, through what they have passed through when under a master or as believers, those should not be brushed aside when dealing with those who are outside.

3. Discreet: Wisdom is said to be related to being discreet. King Pharaoh says of Joseph that he was discreet and because of this handed over the leadership baton to him. (Gen 41:33, 39)

It is by this that David was able to save himself from King Saul while Samson the mighty was unable to save himself from his enemies because he was not discreet in his dealings with the outsiders.

4. Thoughtful: We need to be thoughtful in hearing, replying, and deciding on what we want to do when we are interacting with the unbelievers. We should not make rash decisions, because of their oratory power, or our emotion.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” (Jam 1:19)

These are the means he was explaining to the believers when he was saying they should walk with them with wisdom because those who are outside are cunny, and so that we shall not say God has not done enough for us, we have to apply wisdom while dealing with them so that we shall not become a victim of negative thing and we shall be saying we have prayed, we are believers, we are this we are that, where as we have erred in this wise because we have failed to do what the bible enjoins us to do while living and interacting with those who are outsiders.

the apostle enjoins us to give those who are outside elements of doubts while interacting with them, we should not take them on the surface level as if we have known them deeply, because deep within them is the spirit of their father who is a liar from the foundation of the world and they could lie and manipulate things at any time to suit their purpose.