1st John

The Greek word peripateō is used ten times in the apostle John’s three letters (1 John [5x]; 2 John [3x]; 3 John [2x]). It means “to tread all around”; “to walk”; “to conduct one’s life.” It’s often translated as “walk” or “live”: “If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in the darkness” (1 John 1:6); “If we walk in the light” (v. 7). First John 2:6 succinctly describes what it means to be a believer in Jesus: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Paul also uses this word to describe how the believer in Christ should live: “Walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16); “Walk in the way of love” (Ephesians 5:2); “Live as children of light” (v. 8); “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Colossians 2:6); “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders” (4:5 esv).

Arthur Jackson