Overview of Earlier Bible Studies
(Note: if you have read the other
Bible studies in this series and remember what Paul taught the Colossians and
Laodiceans, you can skip this section and go to the section titled, “The Walk.”
The people of Colossae and Laodicea lived in a mixed bag of
cultures, philosophical thoughts, and religions. They lived in a region called
Asia Minor, specifically the Lycus River valley, where a major highway
traversed from east to west. The Babylonians, Romans, Jews, and Greeks
influenced the lives of the people. To these people in the 1st
century AD, Paul wrote while imprisoned. About the Christians in Colossae and
Laodicea, he received good news and understood things about which he needed to
teach and correct them. (see Background
of Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae)
Several cultures, belief systems, and philosophical thoughts
influenced the Christians of Colossae and Laodicea. The second Bible study in
this series taught us about Paul’s greeting and introduction of himself and
Timothy to the Christians. In this greeting, Paul identified himself and
Timothy with Jesus and the believers in Colossae and Laodicea. (see Identification)
In the third Bible study of this Colossian series, Paul
prayed, offering thanks to God for the growth of the Christians in the churches
of Colossae and Laodicea as shown by their love for God and the saints. He
continued to thank God because these Christians constantly bore fruit and
matured. Paul identified Epaphras, the founding pastor of these churches, as a
“beloved fellow bond-servant,” one who willingly submitted to Christ as Paul
taught him. (see Thanksgiving
in Colossians)
Paul continued praying over the Colossian Christians to
Christ in supplication for them. In these verses, Colossians 1:9-12, he told
them he prayed for them daily that they would grow in Christ so they would be
well-pleasing to God. Paul prayed for God to fill them with the knowledge of His
will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so they would please Him by
bearing fruit in good works. He asked for God to increase their knowledge of
Him, strengthen the Colossian Christians with all power, and give them
steadfastness and patience. Paul ended this intense prayer by asking that they
joyously give thanks to God, who qualified them to inherit eternal life with
the saints and the Son in His kingdom. (see Glorious Might)
In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul explained who this
Father is of whom he spoke in verse twelve. He explained the Father is the One
who will give the Christians the gifts for which he prayed for them. The Father
is the one who rescued the believers, who trust in Jesus for salvation. Paul
explained the Father rescues and transfers those who trust in Jesus as the Son
of God from Satan’s grip and transfers them to the Son’s kingdom. These two
verses told the Colossians what the Father wants to do. With the end of verse
fourteen, Paul segued to who the Son is. (see Snatched and
Delivered)
The Bible study of Colossians 1:15-20 told what Paul taught
about who Jesus is. He told the Colossians that Jesus is the exact embodiment
of God. Jesus and the Father are of the same mind. Paul explained Jesus is
preeminent over all created things. Jesus
always existed and created all things with the Father and Spirit ex nihilo,
out of nothing. Because of this, He is greater than all created things,
including angels, whom the Gnostics proclaimed were greater than Him. Jesus
created all things and, in His wisdom, knowledge, and strength, holds all
things together. Paul wrote that Jesus is the head of the body, the Church. He
explained Jesus is more than these; He is the firstborn of the dead. Jesus came
back to life and still exists. He will be first among all things, alive and
dead, visible and invisible. The Father, with pleasure, shared His fullness
(His superabundance) with His Son. He enabled the reconciliation of people to
Him through Christ Jesus. Paul explained how holy God reconciled sinful people
to Himself. For the reconciliation of every person, Jesus gave His life as the
sacrifice for the death penalty each one deserves because of their sins. Anyone
who trusts Jesus is the Son of God and confesses his or her sins, He will save
from their sins and death. By doing this, Jesus made peace with God possible.
(see Superabundant
Peace)
The Bible study of Colossians 1:21-23 shows Paul used a
common teaching/writing technique, conditional clauses. He stated who the
Colossian Christians were before they trusted in Jesus, then told them what He
wants to do for them. That “then” clause is the apodosis clause. It
explains what will happen if someone does something. The “if” clause, the protasis
clause, tells what must occur to get the certain reward. In these three verses,
Paul told the Colossian believers, if people will trust in Jesus as the
Son of God and repent of their sins (protasis, the if), then
Jesus will save them from their sins (apodosis, the “then”). The Father
rescues people who want Him to save them and transfers them to His Son. His Son
redeems and reconciles them to God. Nothing else need happen for people to
receive salvation from their sins and gain eternal life with God. The Gnostics
taught otherwise. (see Attaining Hope)
With the conclusion of Colossians 1, Paul told, in verses
twenty-four through twenty-nine, of his calling by Jesus and his stewardship of
God upon which he felt compelled to proclaim. His calling was to serve Christ
and His church clearly by proclaiming the Gospel. Within the act of clearly
proclaiming, Paul said God told him to teach and admonish. He was to preach the
“word of God, the mystery which God had hidden from past ages and generations.”
The mystery God hid until that time is that Jesus made salvation available for
each person, Jew and Greek, slave and free, men and woman. Paul explained the
blessing of this mystery is salvation and the indwelling of each believer by
Jesus’ Spirit, the hope of glory. Jesus Christ made all things, redeems those
who trust in Him, and indwells each believer. Finally, Paul said in verses
twenty-eight and twenty-nine, Jesus called him to admonish with God’s gentle
persuasion. This persuasion would tell of His love for each person and the
salvation Jesus offers. It would convince and convict each person to turn away
from their sins and accept the salvation Jesus provides. By doing this, God
rescues and transfers people who act upon the faith He gives. He transfers them
to the kingdom of His Son by their trust in Jesus as their Savior for
salvation. The Gnostics taught against this point. They strove to prove it to
anyone who would listen to them about their philosophical thought on advanced
religion. The Gnostics said Jesus was only a man and His death did not give
salvation. Paul taught otherwise. (see God's
Power and Gentle Persuasion)
As we began our study of Colossians 2 with verses one
through five, Paul’s pastoral care for the Colossians and Laodiceans, both of
whom he had never met, showed in his writing. Just as in Colossians 1:29, where
Paul said he strove for the church, in Colossians 2:1, Paul struggled for the
church. He did this because of the love Jesus put in his heart when He called him
in Acts to proclaim the Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles. Paul concerned himself
with ensuring the Christians of Colossae and Laodicea would feel encouraged and
unified in love, so they would attain to “all the wealth that comes from the
full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s
mystery, Jesus Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3 [NASB]) He taught this so the false teachers
could not trick the Christians with persuasive arguments. Paul, as a Christian
and a pastoral leader for Christian churches, rejoiced because of the two churches’
“good discipline and the stability of their faith in Christ.” (Colossians 2:5
[NASB]) He said they were like well-trained soldiers aligned in battle array.
These believers heard the Gospel and its truth. They had grown in their faith
and matured in it so their love for God and Christ showed in their attitudes,
actions, and words. Paul encouraged them with his words of commendation because
he cared for them and did not want the Gnostics to delude them from the surety
of their salvation and hope of glory. (see Rejoicing
During Trials)
The Walk
“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:6-7 [NASB])
With these two verses, Paul returned to his opening prayer
for the Colossians and Laodiceans. Paul used the word “therefore” to point us
to what immediately preceded the sentence. The preceding sentences of
Colossians 2:1-5 were of Paul’s pastoral concern, encouragement of the churches,
and rejoicing over them. In essence, Paul said, “Therefore, because you have
been encouraged and united in love, and are attaining to the wealth that comes
from the full assurance of understanding, which results in a true knowledge of
God’s mystery, rejoice. Rejoice because of these and because you have received
Christ.”
Paul used several verbs denoting progression in these two
verses. When he said, “As you have received,” he spoke to their receiving
formal instruction by an ongoing traditional teaching about “Jesus Christ the
Lord.” These Christians did not receive just one teaching about Jesus. They learned
of Him, trusted in Him, and then kept learning about Him through the teaching
of Epaphras and the Holy Spirit living within them. The Christians of Colossae
and Laodicea were like sponges. They kept absorbing and growing in their faith
in Christ.
Paul’s confession of faith format, “Jesus Christ the Lord,”
is an early confession of faith. The Gnostics could not make this confession. They
believed Jesus was just a man. The Gnostics did not trust Jesus is the Son of
God and that people were to emulate His life. They considered themselves better
than the Jesus-followers because they advanced themselves with higher thoughts,
not by following a man who they considered as dead.
These Christians did more than hear and believe. They made
what they had received a part of their lives. Paul told the Christians of
Colossae and Laodicea how to walk. He commended them for how they had already walked
in Christ. Paul told them not to let the false teaching of the Gnostics mislead
them. He encouraged them to keep walking in “Christ Jesus the Lord.” Because
you are a Christian, “walk in Him.” He told them to keep continuing to live
completely a life wholly given to Jesus. To hear and believe are not enough. A
true Christian is one who follows Jesus, grows to be more like Him, and obeys
Him in all things because of love for God. Matthew wrote in Matthew 16:24,
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’” John recorded Jesus’
teaching in John 15:14 when he wrote, “You are my friends if you do what I
command you.” Other writers recorded these same types of teachings. John spoke
of love for God in 1 John 5:3-5 when he said,
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? [NASB]
John spoke of loving God in John
14:15. Jesus said in this passage, “If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments.” Further in this chapter, Jesus said, “Whoever has My
commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will
be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to Him.” (John
14:21 [NASB]) Each of these verses teach that being a Christian is not a static
experience, but a daily growing in relationship with God, in likeness to
Christ, and in obedience to and love of God. These things are about what Paul
speaks in Colossians 2:6-7.
What does this “walking in Christ” require? Paul explained
it for them and rejoiced over them because of their walk, just as in chapter
one and in 2:5. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:7 walking in Christ includes four
verbs-firmly rooted, being built up, established, and overflowing. Each of
these verbs connotes ideas of building a building, with one having a double
connotation of planting like a farmer.
“Having been rooted” points to what happened and what is
coming. Another way to say this phrase is, “Because you have been rooted.” So,
because the Colossian and Laodicean Christians “have been rooted” in their
faith in “Christ Jesus as Lord,” they can grow in their spiritual journey. They
have a firm foundation on which to do the other three verbs. Now that Christ
rooted them in conjunction with the person’s active faith, they can go forward
and grow more in Christ.
To live a life as a Christian is more than being saved at a
point in time. It requires growth. Just as when a farmer plants a seed he
expects it to mature into a plant from which he can reap food, Christ, when He
saves each person expects him or her to grow into the full image of Him by
following Him in obedience. That growth requires “being built up in Him.” This
verb is a present continuous verb. It marks something happened in the past and
continues into the future. This being built up connotes a plant growing with
nutrition like fertilizer, water, and sun. It connotes the building of a
building, too. Upon the strong and secure foundation, a builder will spend his
time and money to keep building. If the builder just poured a slab of concrete,
then did nothing else, people would wonder then laugh at him or her for wasting
his or her money. Likewise, Christians must continue being built up in Christ.
This building up is a constant increasing in Christian knowledge, which is
“hidden in Christ” (Col. 2:2-3). The building up leads to a life conformed by
Christ, made in the mold to which the builder laid. If the foundation is
immovable and straight, what a person builds upon it will be sure and secure. The
Gnostics had no security. They strove of their own limited will to think
themselves into being spiritual. Humans are sinful and cannot of their own
accord save themselves. Because of this, people need Jesus for their salvation
and foundation. As a person roots him or herself in Christ and builds up his or
her life and faith in Him, he or she grows stronger so he or she can withstand false
teachers.
A true Christian who lives his or her faith shows the meaning
of being established in one’s faith. Like being built up, being established is
a present continuous verb. It speaks of something that began in the past and
continues into the indefinite future. This part of building is making sure the
beams, bricks, and stones do not cause the building to lean or sway towards
other buildings or with the winds and rains. A disaster could occur from its
falling because of its instability or to any natural phenomenon. As a Christ-follower,
being established means to make sure and secure your belief by growing in the
knowledge and wisdom of God. It gives you have a sure understanding, so teachings
and thoughts of other people, like the Gnostic false teachers, do not lead you astray.
Remember, in Colossians 1, Paul taught that Jesus has within Himself the
knowledge and wisdom of God, so your growing in Christ grows your knowledge and
wisdom and vice versa.
Paul then told the Colossian and Laodicean Christians to “be
firmly rooted… just as you were instructed.” In the beginning of this letter,
Paul told the Christians they could be sure of and secure in what Epaphras
taught them because Paul taught him. He taught Epaphras what God taught him.
These things of God Epaphras proclaimed to the Colossians and Laodiceans. Paul
told the believers this so they would remember what Epaphras taught them and
could withstand the teaching of the Gnostics. What the Christians of these two
cities heard and learned from Epaphras and believed is the truth. Nothing any
person says or thinks of his or her volition adds to it to make salvation more
complete. Jesus’ sacrifice makes salvation complete, secure and sure. “Christ
Jesus is Lord” was and should be their profession, just as Paul said in
Colossians 2:6.
The final verb Paul used in this small passage of his letter
is “overflowing.” He said, “Just as you received Jesus, so walk in Him… having
been firmly rooted in Him… and overflowing with gratitude.” (Col. 2:6-7) A Christian
who is walking in Jesus overflows with gratitude. This overflowing comes from a
person’s heart. Its original source is God’s storehouses. This reminds us of
the “fullness of God.” We learned in Colossians 1 the “fullness of God” means
the superabundance of God given to Christ because He is the image of the
invisible God. God’s storehouses overflow with every good thing because it
comes from the character of God who is good and made everything good. Each
person who trusts in Christ Jesus as Lord has this overflowing of gratitude
because the Spirit of Christ lives in him or her. Christ’s Spirit dwells in
each Christian and makes available His overflowing storehouses from His
character and might. A Christian does not have to burdened because, amid the
circumstances in which he or she finds him or herself, things like gratitude
flow from God’s superabundant storehouses. Each believer can rejoice in all
things. Because of God’s storehouses of gratitude and other godly
characteristics, a Christian can “look for the silver lining” while going
through hard times or “make lemonade from lemons.” Paul said Jesus made it
possible for the Colossian and Laodicean Christians to overflow with gratitude
as they walk with Christ. Though false teachers or the storms of life pummel
believers, they can rest in the truth and overflow with the gratitude Christ
gives them during trials. Expressing overwhelming gratitude reminds them of His
strength, power, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, and reminds them of
their hope of glory. These characteristics of God help Christians get through
difficult times. These believers could know what God told Isaiah in Isaiah
54:17, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper.” [NASB]
As long as the Christians in Colossae and Laodicea believed
beyond the moment of their salvation and grew by being firmly rooted and built
up in Him and established in their faith, they would overflow with gratitude. It
would enable them to stand strong against whatever came against them. The
Gnostics taught against what they believed, but with a growing relationship in
Christ, they could grow in Him and withstand the false teaching. Just as Paul
taught these Christians, each person who trusts in Christ Jesus the Lord for
his or her salvation can become surer of and stronger in his or her faith if he
or she grows in these four ways–by being firmly rooted in Christ, built upon
what Christ laid in their hearts, spirits, minds, and lives, established in their
faith, and overflowing with gratitude because of their walk and growth in Him. None
of these is a static action. Christ Jesus makes each believer complete and
perfect when he or she arrives in heaven. Until then, each Christian’s journey
is about growing to know God in a more intimate way each day.
Thoughts to Consider:
As you consider what Paul told the Christians in Colossae
and Laodicea, have you considered where you are in your relationship with
Christ? To be a Christian is more than saying, “I believe.” It requires a
person’s daily attention to his or her relationship with God. God wants each
person who trusts in Jesus as the Messiah to walk with Him. This requires more
than saying, “I do,” like a growing relationship in a marriage requires more
than saying, “I do.” It requires growing on the foundation upon which your
relationship with God Christ laid in your heart when you said those two words. People
may call this work, but most people, those who truly seek God, call it love.
Each believer should want to grow in his or her relationship with God because
of his or her love and gratitude for Him sending Jesus to live, die, and
resurrect to pay the penalty of his or her sins. If someone leapt in front of a
car to push you out of the way, you would be grateful for a long time. Jesus
did this on a much bigger scale. He leapt in front of Satan’s plan for your
life and saved you from eternal death. Because of that, each believer should
want to love Him more each day. To love God more each day requires being firmly
rooted in, built up, and established in Him, and overwhelming with gratitude.
The latter comes because of your deeper understanding of what Christ Jesus did
for him or her and of what comes from God’s storehouses because a person lives
closer with the Holy Spirit within him or her each day. The questions below
should help you learn and grow in your walk with God.
Questions:
- Have you believed Jesus is the Messiah, the
Savior God sent to earth to die for your sin penalty so you can have an eternal
relationship with God?
- Do you recall that time often and want to know
Jesus more?
- Do you consider the deed done and so moved on,
and now find you feel no different from before you said you believed?
- If that is the case, have you considered you may
not be saved from your sins and death? True faith in Christ causes change and
fruit.
- If you trusted in Jesus as the Messiah and began
walking with Him, but became lost on the way, what keeps you from turning back
to Him, confessing your walking away from Him, asking forgiveness, and giving
your will to Him again as you seek to walk with Him anew?
- If you have been in a growing relationship with
God and walk with Him each day, is there something God asks you to do that you refuse
to do?
- If you have been on the walk of faith in Jesus
for many years, for what can you give praise and thank God?
For next week’s Bible study, read Colossians
2, particularly focus on verses 8-15.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 [NASB])
