Colossians 2:6-7 [NLT]
January 2, 2013
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series
Colossians Bible Study
Paul’s charge to the believers in Colossae:
Paul has just told the believers in Colossae and Laodicea that he cares for them and believes that they have a strong faith and that he is encouraged by their faithfulness to Christ!
But Paul wants these believers to understand that there is danger in listening to those who come with a tainted message… with any message that denies the exclusivity of Jesus as Savior… such as this heresy did…
v.4-5 Paul warned the believers to NOT be deceived by those who talk a good game… don’t be swayed by slick packaging… He said that they KNEW the truth and they must continue to dwell in and live out the truth of Jesus Christ as THE way THE truth and THE life!
Tonight I want to look at v.6-7 and how these verses apply directly to US here at Oak Park and to all of us as believers in the body of Christ! READ VERSES HERE
6Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, 7rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
First let’s look at the 1st word of these verses… the word ‘therefore’… as I have often told you, the word therefore in Scripture must be addressed with the question… ‘What was the reason this word was placed in this passage?’ Or in other words, ‘what is the word therefore, there for?’
Well it is the Greek word oon which specifically used for transitioning from one particular subject to another OR to point toward an illustration that will enhance the previous teaching. This verse meets BOTH of these criteria…
Paul has been teaching about the Supremacy of Jesus to all things and that they should not be swayed by arguments that limit Christ…since Christ is SUPREME THEREFORE those who are IN HIM should not be fooled by false teaching…
Those IN HIM are those who are looking to grow in their relationship IN HIM… In other words Paul lays out a particular attitude in these 2 verses… an attitude about HOW we are to live for Jesus once we come to know Him as Savior…
He breaks it down into three very simple stages that I believe MUST come consecutively… you cannot move past one step, but you take each step or stage individually!
FIRST, Paul says in v6 “…as you have rec’d Christ Jesus…” meaning as you have been saved! The 1st step in knowing God is coming to KNOW God! We must 1st be saved before we can begin to grow!
When I came to OPBC in 2007 I brought with me a philosophy that I still cling to… it is a philosophy that God laid on my heart and one I believe God desires our church to live out… YOU HAVE ALL HEARD ME SAY – Bond, Build and Blossom!
But do you really know what that means? Well the ‘bond’ part begins right here with this verse! We must first BOND with God in salvation and then eventually we learn to bond with others while living out of our life for Christ, but bonding with God is the 1st step, without bonding with God we cannot bond with each other!
So Paul says the 1st step for walking with God is that you have to belong to God! I am telling you that the 1st step for us in becoming ALL of what God wants our body of believers to become… it is all tied into our willingness to BOND with God and each other!
But Paul continues in v6 with the bonding process… to completely BOND with Christ and with each other, that relationship MUST be a part of our own life! Paul tells the believers in Colossae to “walk in Him…” speaking of living a life that brings praise and honor to Jesus!
Bonding with God and with others is the 1st step or stage of living as you are called to live by God, but the 2nd stage or step is found where Paul says, “…rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught…”
Rooted here in the Greek is the Greek word Hrid-zoo which means to firmly establish or to fix a position or be solidly grounded! Paul is stating that we put down ROOTS in Christ so that we are FIXED and solidly grounded in Him.
But Paul continues here with another descriptor when He says, “…rooted and built up…” the term here for ‘built up’ is the Greek word ep-oy-kod-om-eh'-o which means simply to build up or to build FROM… in this case it would mean to build up! Christ is our foundation and when we BOND with Christ we build up upon that foundation!
Build is the 2nd term in my philosophy of what a church should be… we must build up others and ourselves in the faith! We cannot BE better OR serve Christ better if we are not ROOTED in Him and if we are not seeking to build our relationship with Him.
Both of these words are verbs in the Greek and they both may SEEM identical in meaning but there is a slight nuance here that Paul is getting across. The term for ‘rooted In Christ’ is a term that is an ONGOING thing… it is the perfect passive tense meaning that it happened one time and it is repeatedly happening! In other words, we are constantly grounding ourselves in Christ… constantly seeking to ROOT ourselves IN Him! It is a past, present and future emphasis…
But the word for building ourselves up… is the present perfect tense! This gives a sense of a constant sense of seeking to grow in Christ! It is more IN THE MOMENT…
Now these terms are NOT separated by much but there is a nuance of difference here that Paul wants to get across! We are to ALWAYS be in the moment in building our faith, but from the time we accept Christ until we reach heaven, we must always be seeking to root and ground ourselves in Him!
This is the 2nd part of my philosophy… FIRST we Bond with God and others and then we Build up our faith by rooting ourselves IN Him and growing in our faith! Bond, Build… and then Paul goes to the 3rd stage…
In the latter part of v7 Paul says, “…overflowing with thankfulness…” this is a very important aspect and stage of the Christian experience that we cannot overlook!
The word Paul uses here for overflowing is the Greek word, “per-is-syoo'-o” which means overabundance, but in a manner so great that you could not ever have expected it!
It is an overabundance… my cup runneth over is what the Psalmist tells us in Ps 23:5, “…You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows…”
Paul is saying that our thankfulness (and I’ll get to that word here is a minute) but our thankfulness should be like an overflowing well… it should come in ABUNDANCE because we truly never know how much God is going to bless us… as His mercy flows freely from the throne of Grace!
So we are called to OVERFLOW in thanksgiving… what does Paul mean by thanksgiving? What is the word he is using here? The Greek word is euk-kah-reesta which is where we get our word for Eucharist which is a solemn ceremony in which we are thankful for what Christ has done for us… for his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead!
We must be over abundant in our thanks for Christ and what He has done in our lives! But how does that flesh out for us as believers today?
Well I believe it is fleshed out by showing our thankfulness through direct obedience of Christ and His teaching! We can show our thankfulness by overflowing HIS love to those around us!
We can show our thankfulness for the abundance of grace we have rec’d by sharing Christ with someone.
We can show our thankfulness for the abundance of blessing God provides for us by sharing and helping those less fortunate than ourselves…
We can show our thankfulness in abundance by OVERFLOWING into our community with the love of Christ! The 3rd part to my philosophy is that we BLOSSOM out into our communities with the love of Christ… that we OVERFLOW with thankfulness to those around us!
How can YOU be thankful to God for His gift of salvation? You can share Him with those who live around you! You can share Him with those God places in your path! You can OVERFLOW with His love by helping those in need… or simply reaching out to your neighbor and helping them!
Ultimately our thankfulness should be revealed in a spiritual sharing of Christ with those who do NOT know Jesus, but it also means that we OVERFLOW into our communities with a love of Christ that meets physical needs! Meet their physical need and they will listen to our spiritual conviction!
This does not mean that ALL will surrender to Christ, but what it DOES guarantee is that Christ will have an adequate and faithful witness in our community! One who BONDs with God and others… One who is constantly BUILDING up their faith and grounding themselves in Christ and finally… One who is NOT ashamed to OVERFLOW into their community… not ashamed to BLOSSOM out into their neighborhoods with the love of Christ and a thankfulness that reveals the love of God to the world around them!
God is NOT looking for soul-winners… God wins the souls! God is looking for obedient and submissive servants who will represent Him accurately! Those who will paint the RIGHT picture of Jesus to the world around them!
Bond with God and each other…
Build up your faith in Christ by studying the Bible…
Blossom out into your community with the love of Christ!
Paul details how we should walk in Christ, so the question is what are we doing? Are we walking as we should?
Pray!
