Walking in the Same Faith as Enoch
The life of faith is supernatural. The Christian trusts in One he or she has never seen with the naked eye. Faith comes by hearing; and God must give one ears to hear.
In addition, faith is not mere mental assent. The writer of Hebrews suggests that practical faith is a walk by the Spirit, who alone generates faith in one’s soul, when He regenerates the dead soul of the natural man (Eph 2:5).
In Hebrews 11, the writer displays the superiority of faith. Faith manifests one’s assurance in the only One who gives the believer hope and a future (11:1). Also, faith is not blind; rather, it sees with spiritual eyes.
Abel, Enoch, and Noah open Hebrews 11 as first examples of faith. Each was pleasing to God; and it was faith that was on display in Abel’s worship, Enoch’s walk, and Noah’s witness. Verse 4 of Hebrews 11 corresponds with Genesis 4. Verse 5 correlates with Genesis 5; and verse 6 links us back to Genesis 6.
Hebrews 11 is not chronological in its list of examples; but there is a substance to considering the order of the revelation. First, noting that worship precedes walk, which precedes witness, helps us to see the priority in one’s life of faith. We should learn worship, then learn the walk, then learn the talk.
One problem with ministry is the temptation of pride. True worship should humble us. Having a high view of God and a low view of humanity, including oneself, is good for the soul. When the Bible informs and instructs our worship, we learn the doctrine of man’s total depravity and God’s sovereignty.
Once we get worship correct (not perfect), we learn what it means to follow Jesus in what is called, “the Christian Walk.” Walk and life are synonyms in Scripture. To live the Christian life/lifestyle is to be done in the manner prescribed in the Holy Bible. A word study that explores the word “walk” is a great place to begin.
Enoch (not Cain’s son) walked with God in the midst of a perverse generation that followed the course of this world. This is the way of Cain, who worshiped and lived in his own self-styled manner. Cain was a hypocritical religionist. He pretended to worship God while actually worshiping himself. In addition to his false worship, Cain built a city in direct disobedience to God’s mandate for man to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.
Enoch is best known from the biblical record, along with the prophet Elijah, for his being translated to heaven without succumbing to death in his mortal body. We might say Enoch was the first-fruit of the rapture. He was elevated to heaven with God’s stamp of approval. In this, he also serves as a type of Christ in His bodily ascension to heaven, following our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.
There is a spiritual meaning to this for the Christian. We recognize the regeneration of the soul as a type of resurrection. One is made alive from the dead when he is born again of God’s Spirit. This is new life for the soul. It is a life of faith. It is a walk in vital union with the One who brought the acceptable sacrifice to God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, as our great high priest, presented Himself to God in a one-time offering on behalf of His church for all time. He laid down His life for us. He shed His precious blood for our forgiveness. He cancelled our debt of sin. He did what we could not do for ourselves.
Trusting Him is something the natural man cannot do. Stated another way, faith is a supernatural work of God, granted to His chosen people by this grace He gives faith as a gift, a supernatural gift. Not all men have faith. In fact, the biblical word employed by Jesus is “few.”
Walking in faith begins with prayer in faith and in the Spirit of Christ. Here is the Christ’s translation to heaven in the soul. The spiritual man has his eyes fixed on Jesus and his mind on the things above, where Christ is seated. In this, the one in union with Him is seated with him, spiritually. The natural man is focused on his experience here in this world — a world that he loves and wants more of despite the ignored reality that he came into the world and he will leave the world with nothing physical. His soul returns to God who gave it. His eternal home is called “hell” all because he never had a lasting interest in the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14). This man walks according to the course of this world, established and insisted upon by the ruler of this world, Satan, the deceiver.
True faith must be tested for one to see how God has made him to be — wise or wicked. The wicked will continue to do wickedly. Evil men do not believe, nor do they obey God. Like Cain’s fake religion, the life of pretension regarding “good” can be heard. The reprobate sinner insists he is a good person who does good works. In this, man looks at the outward appearance but God knows each man’s heart.
True believers in Jesus are quick to declare their own total depravity. There is nothing good in me that is, in my flesh. There is however, the indwelling Holy Spirit, who causes the child of God to walk in God’s statutes (Ezek 36:27).
The natural man cannot please God because God has not given this man faith to believe in Jesus Christ; and without faith it is impossible to please God. The natural man cannot self-generate faith in Christ, nor can he transfer himself out of the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son; but it is by God’s doing that one is re-positioned “in Christ” (1 Cor 1:30).
Men of old were approved by their faith (11:2), and, today, Christians are accepted in the beloved. Faith trusts Christ and does not lean on one’s own understanding. There is a way that seems right to a man; but in the end it leads to destruction, when he makes his case, “Lord, Lord, did we not do this and do that in your name?” Already condemned (Jn 3:18), this man only awaits his day of sentencing, when he will be resurrected, body and soul to judgment (Jn 5:29). His judge is the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 5:22) — the One he despised, rejected, mocked, and whose blood of the covenant he trampled under foot on the wide way that leads to destruction (Mt 7:13; Heb 10:29).
For one to walk with God, he must first be led by the Spirit, who guides God’s elect, redeemed, regenerate, believing people on the narrow way that leads to life (Mt 7:13). To walk by the Spirit means one’s life is in full subjection to Christ, the Master and Lord of those who gladly declare they are slaves of Christ (Eph 6:6). This is where one’s walk becomes his witness of Christ his King (Acts 1:8).
Each person must examine his own manner of walking in the light of truth. To walk in love for God is to walk in love toward others. It is to present one’s body and soul as living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice to God, who is pleased to renew one’s mind that sanctifying transformation may become evident to all.
With imputed righteousness from Christ (2 Cor 5:21), the Christian has right standing before God. The mercy and grace of God which brought the elect soul near to God are the very attributes of God that justifies the ungodly and declares us not guilty because of Jesus’ blood and merited righteousness.
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and this is the faith of the elect (Titus 1:1), without which we could not be pleasing to Him (Heb 11:6). We, however, live a lifestyle of worship that provokes the unbeliever to ask about the hope within us, that reveals we are a peculiar people, zealous for good works.
Christian worship is a witness. Christian service is a witness. These lead to the witness of our words, with which we report good news, and by which others are invited to taste and see that God and His Word are trustworthy.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
October 13, 2025
Hebrews 11:5
