Receiving and Walking (Col. 2:6-7)

This sermon was preached on 9/1/2011

Paul is concerned that the Colossians will continue to make spiritual progress. In the previous passages he has prayed about their progress and explained the significance of Jesus Christ. He was not giving them new information about Jesus, but reminding them of what they already accepted concerning him. That he was reminding them is seen in his comment that they had received Christ Jesus as Lord.

We are familiar with the idea of receiving Christ at evangelistic meetings and may assume that Paul is saying something similar. Yet the term he uses is usually connected to receiving the apostolic teaching (tradition) about a matter. So while Paul is stressing that the Colossians received Jesus in a personal way, he is also saying that they received a particular teaching about Jesus as well. So for the Colossians, coming into a relationship with Jesus involved their minds as well as their hearts.

The teaching that they had received reflected what Paul had said about Jesus in the previous verses, that he is both God and man, that he is the Creator and the crucified. I suppose the way Paul describes Jesus in verse 6 can be read as highlighting crucial details about him. The word ‘Christ’ means that Jesus is the predicted Old Testament Messiah, and the word ‘Lord’ indicates that (1) his rule is not merely over an earthly race but includes the whole universe and (2) he occupies divine status.

This original reception of Jesus as Lord was very significant because something happened then that equipped the Colossians for walking in Christ. At that occasion, they were rooted in Christ (perfect participle), so that now they are being built up (present participle), with the combined rooting and up building providing the evidence that they are established (present participle) in him. So Paul uses three pictures to illustrate what the Christian life is like.

Rooted in the soil

The first picture, rooted, comes from horticulture. We know that a plant must have deep roots in good soil in order for it to grow. What we see above the ground depends on what is happening below the ground. When a sinner becomes a Christian, he is united to Christ. His faith is rooted in Christ – the participle is passive, indicating that God was the one who did the rooting.

As we think about this imagery, we can see that this initial activity is concealed from the view of others. Just as the roots of a tree are hidden below the ground, so the roots of faith are hidden in Christ. Another person does not know when this union takes place between Jesus and a sinner.

Further, we can see that what is important is the contact that the roots of faith have with the perfect soil (Christ). The faith of every believing sinner is weak and imperfect, but what gives hope is the state of the soil. There is in Jesus everything that each converted person needs in order to grow.

A third detail that this rooting brings to mind is the continuity expressed. The rooting in Christ will not end in disaster. Instead the sinner who trusts in Jesus can have confidence that the ingredients in the soil (in Christ) will ensure that the relationship is permanent.

Built-up on the foundation

The second picture that Paul uses is taken from construction. He is mixing his metaphors because he regards the rooting as the foundation on which the building is erected. The up-building in Christ is the equivalent of walking in Christ (just as the rooting in Christ is the equivalent of receiving him as Lord).

The point about a building is that it is visible. No-one can see the foundation, but all can see the structure that is erected on it. Similarly no-one can see the roots that a person has in Christ, but all will see the development of it as the individual lives for Jesus.

Not only is the structure visible, it is also incomplete. Paul does not have in mind a finished building, but one that is in process. This means that the Colossians will be in different stages of development. In a spiritual sense, they will not all be the same size. Also none of them have reached the final stage yet. Until that happens, they have to keep on walking in Christ.

A third aspect of the building is that it is gracious. The term is a present passive participle, which points to the fact that the various features of the building arise out of God’s grace. Every item in the building is an expression of the work of the Builder. Jesus is making each of the Colossians into something beautiful and attractive.

Established in the faith

The term means that when a believer is built up, his understanding of the doctrines of the faith is strengthened by God (another present passive participle). As long as he continues to walk in Christ, the believer will continually appreciate the truths of the faith. The implication is that a failure to continue walking in Christ will result in spiritual weakness because he will no longer experience God‘s strengthening. As physical exercise establishes bodily strength, so spiritual exercise is the path for spiritual assurance.

Walk in Christ with thankfulness

Having read these descriptions from 2:7, we should be encouraged to fulfil the imperative in 2:6, ‘Walk in him.’ This imagery is a frequent one in Paul’s writings, and also elsewhere in the Bible. The command is governed by ‘in Christ’, so we cannot walk aimlessly.

Walking in Christ, therefore, states limits as to where we can develop our faith in a spiritual way. The Colossians were in danger of walking into alternative ideas promoted by false teachers. These may have seemed attractive, but they would not help the Colossians. Paul therefore told them not to go there.

Are there unsuitable places where we can go in order to try and become strong in the faith? There are. There is the unsuitable place of license, although we can call it Christian liberty and assume we are becoming strong. And there is the unsuitable place of legalism, although we can call it Christian carefulness, and assume we are becoming strong. There is the unsuitable place of traditionalism, although we can call it Christian heritage, and assume we are becoming strong.

Obviously, Christian liberty, Christian carefulness and Christian heritage are very important, but unless we find them in Christ they will not make us strong and established. Often what happens is that individuals go further and further into these areas and all the time they are going away from Christ. There is a fairly simple question to ask with regard to such things, and it is, ‘Is Jesus there?’

I have gone on many a plan for maintaining spiritual life. They all sounded good, but more often than not they petered out. I used to blame myself for their decline, but it may be the case that it was Christ who brought some of them to an end. The danger I faced was turning the Christian life into a routine rather than a relationship. Of course, if the routine helps the relationship, then it is fine. But if it replaces the relationship, the routine is a barrier to walking in Christ. Walking in Christ means speaking to Christ, sharing with Christ, serving Christ.

How can we know that we are walking with Jesus? I would suggest that Paul gives an answer when he says that those who walk in Christ will abound in thanksgiving. Paul wrote elsewhere, ‘Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift’ (2 Cor. 9:15). He reminded the Thessalonians, ‘Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ (1 Thess. 5:18). There are many other such references. Walking in Christ is a happy life. Gratitude is the outcome of grace.

There are three lessons from this directive by Paul. First, love the gospel we first heard and let nothing replace it, no matter how good the alternative sounds. Second, walk in the wide space (in Christ) that God has given to us. Third, thank God because he planted us in Christ, enables us to grow in grace, and strengthens us as we do.