SIMPLY JESUS: ROOTED AND BEING BUILT UP IN HIM (COL.

2:6-7)
6

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 1 Im using the ESV, but here is also how it reads in the NIV: NIV | Col 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. This is the primary principle of the book of Colossians. It is a radically Christ-centered doctrine of sanctification, necessarily conditioned on a radically Christ-centered doctrine of justification. The whole of your life is meant to be in Jesus. The teaching is intriguing: as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Walk in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, abounding in thanksgiving these are interesting teachings, but we cant get to them yet. We have two preliminary tasks. First, the verse starts with therefore, so we need to understand its purposethe oh-so-cheesy quest to discern what the therefore is there for. Then, we need to figure out as you received Christ Jesus the Lord if were going to be able to look well at what hit means to walk in him in the same way. If we dont know what the first is, well get lost or misdirected pretty fast looking to the second. I think we probably have some vague idea what the first part is, but I want to make sure we have a specific idea. I. Therefore We can look at the therefore here in a couple of ways, but I want to argue that this is the theme doctrine for the entire letter, so Ill be arguing that the therefore refers to the whole of the letter up to that point. We can turn things around a bit to help: just put what follows the therefore first, and use because to look at what formerly had been first. So walk in the same manner you received Christ Jesus the Lord because. And we see possible becauses that Paul has in mind in a few places: immediately, intermediately, and comprehensively. In an immediate sense, in v. 5 he says that he rejoices to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. So in an immediate sense, he uses that to lead into a doctrine for the perseverance and strengthening of their faith. We can see this concern deepen if we include the previous few verses, in the intermediate sense. In v.24 of chapter 1, Paul had started talking about his concern and his struggles and his suffering for the sake of the perseverance of the saints in their faith in Christ. This discussion built into his rejoicing in verse 5. Paul establishes that he is concerned for and
1

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Col 2:67). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

suffers for the sake of their faith, and desires to see that faith flower into redeemed relationships and community as Christ is incarnated more in them by faith. In a comprehensive sense, we can look back to Pauls emphasis on being in Christ in the verses 3-8 of chapter 1, and his prayer for the faith-filled, fruit-bearing, rejoicing life in verses 9-13, and his celebration of the centrality and supremacy of Jesus as Christ and Lord in 14-23. Up to verse 6 of chapter 2, Paul has advanced a worldview and theology grounded upon the centrality and supremacy of Christ, and which finds our own place within that story strictly through the wide-spectrum of the life of faith. The message he has given offers a view of the whole of life, and of the entire cosmos; it situates suffering and blessing, individual and community, present and future within a grand narrative of the Fathers plan to redeem people through unmatchable magnification of his Son. If we are taking part within that story, he says through the therefore in verse 6, our lives should be fitting. Recall how when Eve was made, she was a helper meet for Adam; she was fitting. And it in verses 6-7, Paul is concerned that the Church, the bride of Christ, comport themselves in a way fitting with their place in Gods unfolding plan. So he writes: 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. II. Received There are two aspects to receiving involved here. On the one hand, the Colossians received a message, the Gospel, which taught about Jesus as Christ and Lord. On the other hand, the Colossians accepted that message in accepting/receiving Jesus as Christ and Lord. So as were thinking about what it will mean to walk in the same way, there are two aspects we should understand. First, the content of the message transmitted to us should be kept unchanged. In other words: what you heard, dont go changing it! Second, the manner in which we received Jesus as Christ and Lord should be retained throughout. That isand this should draw parallels in your mind to Pauls message to the Galatiansif you started in one way, dont immediately switch to some other way! III. Jesus, the Christ, the Lord Paul is talking about both the reception of a doctrine, the theology of the Gospel presented to the Colossians, and also the reception of a person, Jesus, in accordance with that doctrine. In a lot of places we see Jesus called Christ or Lord as part of a name: Christ Jesus the Lord, or even the Lord Christ Jesus. Interestingly, here Paul emphasizes the importance of the two titles by separating them out. Literally, it is the Christ, Jesus, the Lord. By spreading it all out, he means to draw attention to the two titles. Peter did a similar thing in the Pentecost sermon, found in Acts 2, toward the end of which he proclaims God has made this Jesus both Lord and the Christ. So lets focus on each of those. A. Christ

Jesus is the Christ. The Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, he is anointed, and appointed, to bring completion to Gods plan so long shrouded in mysterious prophecies. We could talk a rather long time about what it meant that Jesus was the Christ, but I want to direct our attention primarily to what his being the Christ meant for the Colossian believers and for us when we received the teaching and Jesus himself and his salvation. His being Christ means he is our sufficient hope, and must be our only hope. The proof of his being the Christ was his resurrection, that the agony of death could not keep its hold on him, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 110. In him reside the forgiveness of sins and the hope of reconciliation and resurrection. He is the longawaited Redeemer. B. Lord Interestingly enough, Peter used Psalm 110 to prove that Jesus had been made both Christ and Lord, hearkening to Davids words: The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Being Lord has a different set of implications from being Christ. Jesus is the coming King, the heir of David, and seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, is not merely the only true savior and redeemer of humanity. He is King. In liberating us from sin and conquering death, it is not merely that we need to believe in him to be saved; no, we belong to him. We have been adopted into the family of the King, but he is still the King. Our salvation was not for our sakes alone, to keep us from judgment: remember that we elect our vessels set aside for sacred purpose, to serve the King. This is one of the hard things for us today, where As his servants and as adopted sons and daughters of the Most High, it is incumbent on us that faith is alive in us, that we submit to the Lords authority and put off the deeds and passions in which we had lived as rebels against his authority. IV. Conclusions Paul, at the end of this first phrase, wants you thinking about two things. He wants you thinking about the teachings you received about who Jesus is, as Christ and Lord, and he also wants you recalling the moment of your salvation. So lets think back about this. Have you, personally, received the teaching that Jesus is both Christ and Lord? Have you, personally, received all that he offers you in those offices? If you have, in what posture did you receive your savior? On that day, were you guarded? Did you wear a mask, did you hide your iniquity, did you hide your troubles? Did your clothing matter? Did what those around you thought of you really matter much to you? Were you hesitant over how much of yourself to hand over to him? Or were you on that day as a kingdom entirely overwhelmed by an invading army: all defenses laid bare, kneelingvulnerable and more than a little frightenedbefore your conqueror? On that day, were you proud? Had you figured it out? Had you chosen wisely, and aligned your forces with those of true King? What was your state? Did you come before him needy, or to

parlay, and offer your services in exchange for his salvation? Were you not broken? Did you not recognize your treachery and were you not sundered by the waves of his mercy? On that day, were you worldly? Had you found the answer to getting your happy family, lovely spouse, and satisfying job? Had you found the remedy to the consequences of your direst failings? Did you stand before your savior and king, relieved that your life could now become what you had long hoped? Did you lay that burden on him that very moment? Or did you marvel at your treasure, Jesus himself? Did not all else become dim as you beheld his marvelous light? Was he not, himself, abundantly more than enough for you? Now we can move on to the second part. As you received Jesus, the Christ, the Lord, so walk in him. I. Walk Verse 7 is an extensive explanation of what walking with Jesus means. The imagery of walking is one of Pauls favorites: it implies continued motion and progress. The moment you were, in the language of chapter 1, transferred from darkness into the kingdom of His marvelous light, is not the only moment that matters. Are we continually walking in a manner worthy of our calling, worthy, as Paul puts it in chapter 1, of our Lord Jesus? We have been transferred into light; how then shall we live? Weve been saved in one state, and were not supposed to stay there; we are supposed to grow. In another way, though, we are supposed to stay precisely where we were: at the cross, where our Savior died. That is why Paul says walk in Him. In fact, I submit that the idea Paul has in mind is that, by remaining near to the cross and our atoning Savior and Lord even as we go out into the world, we find real growth, real joy, and real thankfulness. We could think of perseverance is holing up, like the story of the Japanese soldier who remained on a war footing in his little spider hole high on a Pacific mountain for years after the end of World War II. But that is not what Paul has in mind. Perseverance is not sitting; it is walking. It is advancing. But let us pause and think on this a moment before we move on to verse 7. What are the alternatives to walking in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way we received him? The way I see it, we might not walk in Jesus, we might not walk with him in the same way, or we might not walk at all. Where are you? How have you walked? On the one hand, we may walk in faith, in Jesus, in the peace, hope, love, joy, and thankfulness that he brings, or on the other hand, we may walk in the flesh, in our selves, in pride, greed, fear, and lust. We may walk with him as if he is our Savior and not our Lord, as if we could divorce these two aspects of our Lord! Even so, it is hard, is it not, to walk in a visible world trusting in and submitting to an invisible Lord? For me, meditating on Psalm 119 has been a huge blessing in this respect. The psalmist frequently praises God for blessing him with any desire to walk in his paths at all, and even more frequently entreats the Lord to give him greater desires and a stronger will. If we are honest with ourselves, much wars within us and pulls us constantly away from walking in Jesus. What can

we do to war against these things? First, we may entreat the Father to give us the affections and confidence that the psalmist asked for. Second, we may follow the command of Jesus to take up our cross daily and follow him. We cannot be in him, we cannot walk in him, if we do not consider our own merits deserving of death on a cross. I must ask myself: will I be Paul Johstono or will I be a sinner, saved by grace? II. Rooted and Built up in Him A. having been rooted Paul and God, who inspired these words, are very gracious to us and actually includes a positive description of our walk in Jesus, the Christ and the Lord. We should walk in him, having been rooted and being built up in him, and being confirmed in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding in thanksgiving. The first idea is having been rootedin Him. Paul wants you to get the image of a plant, or a tree. The participle here is in passive voice. It is not the idea that you have rooted yourself in him, but that you have been rooted in him. You cannot dig your own roots down deep into the rich soil of the Son of God; He has to plant you there. What you can do is start rooting yourself in other things. As I was saying above, if you do not consider yourself worthy of execution, and do not recognize that you have indeed been put to death in becoming part of Christ, you will desire other roots for your soil. And we need solid, rich soil for our roots. Rich soil enables growth, and as our roots dig down deep, we are held in place. We will not be carried about by every little thing; rather like a tree planted by the living water, we will always have sustenance and stability. Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17 both use the image of a tree planted close by a stream to describe the sustaining strength the stream gives to the tree because of the closeness of the tree to the stream. A comparable Biblical image is the rock. In Psalm 62 David proclaimed that, because he was on the Rock, he would not be shaken or moved. Jesus conveyed a similar idea when he told of the houses built, one on the rock, and one on the shifting sand. Before we move to the next idea, Ill add this: roots dont stop growing. Keep digging to lay, more and more, hold of Christ. If you found yourself in the shadow of the cross a moment yesterday, cling closer still today. What would keep you from digging further and further into Christ? Perhaps we think we know him well enough already to walk by faith. Perhaps it just seems really hard, right? Where shall we start? What does it mean to learn and understand and know our Savior, and what does it mean to trust him more? Perseverance in any number of things does not come easily to us. And perhaps we fear for those things we might lose in clinging closer to Christ, or fear for those things we might face for clinging closer. To be in the shadow of the cross is to dwell in light. To dwell there will purify you of sins as you are remade after Christ himself. To dwell there will make you fearless! But arent we terrified now of being fearless?

Arent we terrified now of losing sins that have been crutches to us, which have themselves dug their roots down deep into us? Our curious predicament is this: when God unilaterally saved us, he took our kingdom by storm, in a moment. He made it look easy. All the walls crumbled, all hidden away came to light, and amid the rubble of our prison cell kingdoms our Lord came before us. He tore away all our masks, and made us feel indescribably vulnerable and guilty. He knew us, and we saw parts of ourselves that we never knew before. And he came, not to destroy us part and parcel with all our evil, but to liberate us. That all happened in a moment. The next moment, even as we place our faith in Christ, we sinners begin laying afresh the walls. The flow is no longer in a single direction, God does not act unilaterally now that he has awakened us from our death, and liberated us from our slavery. So our curious predicament is that we have gone out and rebuilt parts of our unsaved life, often in a more religious manner, but we desperately need Jesus, and Jesus alone. Thats why Paul hearkens back to what they first received when he urges them to walk in Christ. We need to remember what it is to recognize Jesus as Christ and Lord, and we need to understand it more and more as well. B. being built up Being rooted is technically a past event; we were rooted, we have been rooted. But we are being built. Again the verb here is passive. God is building us up in Jesus. It is worth comparing this with Philippians 2:8-10: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God at work within you. And heres the thing, just as we are always walking in something, were always building too. The same word here is the word Paul used in Galatians 2 when he said if I build again what once I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. We can either build in Christ, or we can build in our former life. And as before, the call here is to plead before the Lord to lay hold of you and work in you these blessings. This is part of verse 7 most directly related to the idea of walking. We are continuing in Jesus, and we are progressing in that we are being built up in him. So we are not being built up so that we move beyond the centrality of faith in Christ and his finished work, but we are progressing in having Him alone as our Rock, our hope and security and peace, in every situation. We are progressing in putting aside neediness for approval and fear of disapproval, neediness for success and fear of failure, neediness for love and fear of rejection. We are progressing in forsaking our stake in things and submitting to the easy yoke of our Lord. We are learning and understanding better and better what it is to be empty-handed at the cross where Jesus, our Christ and our Lord, died. III. Established in the Faith, just as you were Taught A. being established/strengthened/confirmed in the faith The effect of being built up in Jesus is to bring us more into the new life we have been given in Him. God would also have our confidence in him and his promises built up as well. The next phrase says and being established in the faith, just as you were taught. In the second part, Paul

is reminding the audience of this close connection between the Gospel that first was preached to them and the walk they should be pursuing now. The first part, being established in the faith, refers to the aspect of the walk that in various ways gives us assurance. The verb here refers to providing a surety for a contract. In the ancient world, when you were making a contract with someone, to borrow something, they developed several safeguards for those involved in the transaction. Say someone was renting out some farmland. The person renting it offered a surety, or gave a guarantee, for the land and for the fruits from it the renter expected to reap in return for making the payments to possess it for the stipulated term. The person gives assurance that the promise will be kept. In our case, as we walk and are built up in faith, in Jesus, we are further assured of the promises. There are two ways in which this is true. First, we are confirmed as being in the body through persevering to walk in him. Second, we are strengthened in our faith through the walk; we may trust the promises more, and even see them realized actively in our lives, as we persevere. The wonderful thing for us, according to the Gospel, is that we, if we imagine ourselves to be the land or the fruit, are not accountable for meeting the provisions of the contract of adoption into Gods family on our own account. Jesus, through his finished work at the cross, provides surety of the promises. We accept the promises by faith, and as we walk, he strengthens us in the faith. IV. Abounding in Thanksgiving (Conclusion) The last clause of verse 7 also serves as a fitting conclusion. Paul says that our walk should be abounding in thanksgiving. This builds upon the blessing Paul has laid out. He prods the Colossians to persevere even in things that are uncomfortable or hard, knowing that when they do persevere, they will find it all joy. In his prayer for the Colossians in chapter 1, he prays that God would strengthen them sufficiently to patiently and joyfully endure all things, giving thanks to God for their salvation. What contends against thankfulness in our life? First: worldly desires. One of the easiest ways to misled as a Christian is to incompletely replace the Old Self with the New in Christ. Formerly, we had a great collection of things we wanted, expected, deserved, and another great collection of means for getting those things. Sometimes, when you look at salvation, you might imagine that Christ has replaced the old means only. He will provide forgiveness, peace, eternal life, righteousness before God, and all of the other things we used to have on our list. But he reprograms our desires. Many of the things we want in life can be good things, but whether we have them or not, we should be able to abound in thanksgiving because we are filled up with Christ. He is not our Savior to provide us with other things, but our Savior to provide us with himself. Second: self-dependence. Listen: do not start with this last part. Note that it comes at the end! The word translated abounding here is a word that captures the idea of a cup overflowing. You should be overflowing with thankfulness. Now, if youve got an empty cup, and you know it is supposed to be overflowing, can you start with the overflow? No, youve got to fill up the cup first! You cant force thankfulness in yourself. Thats the opposite of thankfulness, its forced.

Thats a heavy yoke. Jesus yoke is easy and light, if well only wear it. And when we kneel before our Lord alone and hope only in our Christ, and when we walk in him, rooted and being built up in him, and seeing our faith grown and the promises assured, thankfulness will flow out of the fullness of Christ in us!