Walk in Christ

Colossians 2:6-7

In our study of Colossians, we have seen that the apostle Paul is writing from prison in Rome to a young church in the city of Colossae. The gospel had been preached there by a servant of Christ named Epaphras (Col. 1:7; 4:12). Sinners were led to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a growing and fruitful church was planted there. Epaphras traveled to Rome and gave a report to Paul of their faith in Christ, their love for the all the saints, and their hope in heaven (Col. 1:4-5).

Paul had never met the Colossians (Col. 2:1), but the report he received stirred up his pastoral concern for them. There was trouble on the horizon for this young church. They were in danger from deceptive errors that minimized the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul warned them in Colossians 2:4 about those who would try to “deceive you with persuasive words.” And right after our passage today, Paul warns: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col. 2:8).

Colossians 2:6-7 concisely encapsulate the message of Colossians, summarizing Paul’s teaching in the first part of the letter and pointing to Paul’s instructions in the later part of the letter. In these verses, Paul gives one imperative that drives his instructions: “walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). The command to “walk” (peripateo from peri = around + pateo = walk) literally means to walk around and figuratively to live or conduct one’s life. The present tense of this imperative calls for a habitual walk or a way of life. It’s a step-by-step journey through life with Christ.

Paul often uses this metaphor of walking to describe the Christian life. In Colossians 3:7, where Paul was describing the sins which were characteristic of all of us before Christ, he says, “in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.” Your walk is your manner of life and the ways you conduct yourself. In Colossians 4:5 Paul exhorts the saints to –”Walk (peripateo in present imperative) in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.”

Charles Spurgeon pointed out that walking implies action, progress, continuance, and habit.[1] So walking is a good picture of discipleship. It is following in the footsteps of Jesus one step at a time. “Walking isn’t as impressive or quick as running, galloping, or flying. But if you keep walking in a deliberate direction, eventually you’ll get there.”[2]

Let’s look at how we can “walk in Him.” My outline is quite simple. It follows the five modifying thoughts to this central idea of walking in Christ. The first is this. …

1. Walk as you received Christ (Col. 2:6)

Paul writes, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,” (Col. 2:6). Paul is not focusing so much on the means of how you received Christ (by grace through faith), but rather on the Christ whom you received. The false teachers endangering the Colossians were trying to set aside or minimize Jesus Christ with their clever philosophies. They probably weren’t overtly denying Christ, but they were saying that to be fulfilled, you had to learn their secrets, follow their manmade rules, worship angels, and understand the visions that they had seen (Col. 2:18, 20-23).[3] They were implying that Christ alone was not enough.

This is why Paul insisted on the preeminence of Jesus Christ in Colossians 1. Christ is all-sufficient and has supremacy over all things. And the Colossian believers had “received Christ Jesus the Lord.” To receive in this context means to receive to oneself what is imparted or delivered over. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds the church of the gospel, writing,

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, … ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (1 Cor. 15:1, 3).

Here, Paul indicates that when they received the gospel message, they received Christ Himself. To receive Christ is another way of saying you believe in Christ or are saved by Christ. The apostle John writes in his Gospel about Jesus, “¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12). To receive Christ is to believe in His name and so to become children of God.

Notice the parts and order of the name of the Son of God in Colossians 2:6. The One you received is “Christ Jesus the Lord.” First, He is “Christ.” This title describes His position and purpose. Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah. Both Christ and Messiah mean “the Anointed One.” He is the promised Messiah who was prophesied in the scriptures. Christ Jesus is God’s anointed king, the sovereign ruler of the universe. One day every knee will bow and tongue confess Him as King of kings. Jesus is God’s anointed prophet who spoke God’s authoritative word and perfectly revealed the Father. Jesus is God’s anointed priest, the one mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5), who reconciled us to God by the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20).

Second, He is “Jesus.” This is His given name. The name in Hebrew literally means “Yahweh saves” or “the LORD is savior”. In Matthew 1:21, the angel instructed Joseph “…you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Third, He is “the Lord.” This refers to His deity. In the Old Testament it is the personal covenant name of God. As Paul wrote in Colossians 1, the Son of God is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15). “All things were created through Him and for Him,” (Col. 1:17). In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:19).

When you receive Jesus, you must receive all of Him. Receive Him as the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, and Lord God over everything. If you think that you can receive Jesus as your Savior and wait until later to consider the option of receiving Him as Lord, you may not have received Him at all. Our spirit-enabled saving confession is “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3).

Like the Colossians, we have received Christ Jesus the Lord. Paul is saying that we must not trade this sovereign Lord for a false substitute, a “Christ” of man’s vain philosophizing. We received Christ Jesus the Lord. We must continue with Him alone, as He is revealed in His Word.

Saving faith is more than just intellectual assent, where you add Jesus into your life as a nice accessory to have on hand when you need a little help. No, Christ Jesus is the Lord. He owns you because He bought you with His blood (1 Cor. 6:19-20). You must walk in Him as you received Him. Walk in Him who the scriptures proclaim. Walk in Him who saved you from your sins. Walk in Him who reconciled you to God. Walk how you received Him, by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone. Walk in the gospel that saved you. Walk in the hope of heaven. “Never move on from this. Keep the course that you started.”[4] Walk as you began, as you received Him.

Then in Colossians 2:7 Paul gives four participles that modify the command to “walk in Him”. The first participle is in the perfect tense, indicating a past action with continuing results: you were and still are rooted in Him. The other three participles are present tense, indicating an ongoing process: you are being built up in Him; you are being established in the faith; and you are abounding in thanksgiving. The first three participles are in the passive voice, emphasizing that God is working these things in us. The final participle is active, showing the result and responsibility of abounding in gratitude.[5]

2. Walk being rooted in Christ (Col. 2:7)

The word “rooted” brings to mind the image of a plant or a tree. Christ is the root and source of your Christian life. As Jesus says in John 15: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Jesus is the root and source of the Christian life. You cannot live the Christian life apart from Christ. It is God Himself who once-for-all “roots” us in Christ, forever to draw our life and nourishment up from Him and Him alone.

In describing those with spurious faith in the parable of the soils, Jesus described a believer who was on shallow, rocky ground and lacked strong roots. This is what he said:

20 “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 “yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. (Matt. 13:20-21)

This person had received the gospel but did not have an appropriate root system. Therefore, when trials came into this person’s life, he fell away from God. He was not “once and for all” rooted in Christ. He was not genuinely saved. … If a person has truly been rooted in Christ, they will never fall away. But if they have shallow roots on rocky ground they will not persevere.[6]

As a tree’s roots sink deep into the earth for stability and nourishment, so too our faith should strike deep into the sound doctrine and solid food of God’s word in Christ. These strong roots will hold you forever. Listen to how the Bible describes those who have been rooted in the Lord:

³ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psa. 1:3)

¹³ Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. (Psa. 92:13)

⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. (Jer. 17:8)

This pictures a tree, firmly rooted so that it gets the water and nutrients from the soil to grow and be healthy. It can withstand the storms that blow against it and endure times of drought because of its roots. The roots are hidden from view, but they are absolutely essential. Without those deep roots, the tree will fall over in a storm or die during a drought.[7]

Listen, Christians are not to be tumbleweeds with no roots, blown about by every wind of doctrine. We avoid being blown off course when we are firmly rooted in Jesus Christ and His word.

3. Walk being built up in Christ (Col. 2:7)

A tree not only draws life and nourishment from the place in which it’s planted, but also grows and flourishes; becoming more and more of what it was planted in that spot to become. Though the tree continues to grow, it continues to grow in the same soil, where the roots have been implanted. Likewise, the man or woman who has been “rooted” in Christ is also to be “built up” in Him. This pictures a house under construction, one layer upon another with steady progress toward completion.

I trust that you have seen a house being built. The foundation is poured. The first floor is laid. The walls go up next. The second floor is placed down. The second story walls are next. Finally, the trusses are placed on the top floor. Then, the roof is placed on the house. Though the house continues to be built, it is built upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ.

Paul uses this same word in his address to the Ephesian elders in Act 20:32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32). God builds us up and sanctifies us by His word of grace. Just as we are rooted in Christ, we are being “built up in Him.” You can’t start the Christian life without Him, and you can’t grow as a Christian without Him.

But consider also what the epistle of Jude says, “²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21). It is wrong to think that God is the active builder and you are the passive project. You must walk in Christ as God continues to build you up in Him.

4. Walk established in the faith (Col. 2:7)

Look at Colossians 2:7 again, “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught…” As we are rooted and built up in Christ, we are being “established in the faith”. “Established” means to be sure, fixed, or standing firm. It was sometimes used as a legal term meaning, “to confirm, guarantee, or make irrevocable.” “The faith” here is objective, not speaking as much of their personal faith as it is “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Paul indicates it is the faith “as you have been taught.” This building up process, then, is made to stand firm by Christian teaching. No believer will be established in Christ apart from the teaching of the word of God. Paul reminded the Colossians about the importance of staying firmly committed to what they had been taught when He wrote in Colossians 1:23, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

This is the message of Colossians: Stand firm in the faith. Stand firm in the hope of the gospel. Don’t seek something else that will help you along the way. Stick with the gospel. Stay grounded in Christ and the Bible. Don’t go looking for new teachings outside of Christ. Grow in what you already know! Stand firm in the faith you have been taught.

Walking in Christ means being rooted and built up in him, being strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and finally,

5. Walk abounding in thanksgiving (Col. 2:7)

⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Col. 2:7).

“Abounding” means overflowing, super abounding. The picture here is a fountain bubbling over or a river overflowing its banks. Our gratitude to God for all that He’s done for us in Christ should flood our lives to overflowing.

The call for a thankful spirit permeates the Colossian epistle, Paul opening with a prayer that the saints might be strengthened and enabled to “with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (Col 1:11, 12) In Colossians 3 Paul sums it up “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col 3:17).

Warren Wiersbe wrote that “A thankful spirit is a mark of Christian maturity. When a believer is abounding in thanksgiving, he is really making progress!” You should not stress, strain, or struggle to be thankful. A healthy walk in Christ will spill over with grateful praise. Don’t be just a little thankful. Be overflowing with thankfulness. You can never thank God enough.

Of all the choices we make in life, few affect us more powerfully than our choice between gratitude and grumbling. An honest look at our lives will reveal which choice we have made. If it’s grumbling, we probably see few blessings. If it’s gratitude, we not only find innumerable blessings—they seem to find us!

What should I be thankful for? This text here would call us to focus upon all that we have received in our salvation. God took us from being dead in our sins to being alive in Jesus Christ. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (1:12). He has rescued us from danger and darkness. He has transferred us into the kingdom of His Son (1:13). He has redeemed us (1:14). He has forgiven us (1:15). Thus, we have a hope for a future with God. We know that we don’t face condemnation any longer.

May each of these characteristics increasingly mark your own life as you walk with Christ. If they do not, then take advantage of the rest of the body of Christ that is around you and let us help. That is one of the reasons we exist. There is help in Christ and His word. As the old hymn expresses, our prayer should be:

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong.
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea;
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.[8]

[1] Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/me/view.cfm?doy=314&Time=am.

[2] Steven Cole, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-10-going-christ-colossians-26-7.

[3] Cole, ibid.

[4] Steve Brandon, Walk in Him, https://sermons.rvbc.cc/sermons/2006-025.

[5] Steven Cole, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-10-going-christ-colossians-26-7.

[6] Gregory Brown, https://bible.org/seriespage/7-struggle-effective-ministers-colossians-21-7#_ftnref6.

[7] Cole, ibid.

[8] Anonymous, Baptist Hymnal 2008 #473.