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Grace-based biblical teaching and sermons with Pastor Jason White. Messages that focus on Life in Christ and practical application as New Covenant believers.
Rooted in Christ Sermon
“What do I do?” That is a question that I get asked from time to time. “What am I supposed to do? I mean, I hear what Paul is saying over and over again through Colossians about the sufficiency of Christ and that Jesus plus Nothing = Everything, BUT what am I supposed to do?”
Quite honestly, that was a question that I struggled and wrestled with as Jesus was teaching me about grace and opening my eyes to see and understand Christ as my Life.
And maybe many of you are wrestling with that too.
Well, today, Paul is going to give his first command. We are 35 verses into the letter, and Paul is going to tell them to do something for the very first time.
Now there will be much more to come, especially as we get into chapter 3, but this is an important section of the letter.
As a matter of fact, here is what one commentator had to say about these verses…
This paragraph (2:6-7), along with the closely related 2:8–15, is the heart of Colossians. In these two verses Paul succinctly summarizes the basic response that he wants from his readers. (Douglas Moo)
In other words, after giving them all of these truths about Christ and who they are in Christ, Paul is going to summarize the natural response that follows those truths.
So let’s dive in and see what Paul says…
6 So then, (Therefore)… it’s a conjunction (connecting what he’s said to what he’s about to say)
Ok, so as we often say, anytime we see the word “therefore,” we need to stop and ask, “What’s in there for?” In other words, what Paul is about to say is closely tied to what he has just said.
And in some ways, it could probably be based on all or most of what he has said up to this point, but let’s look specifically at what Paul had just said…
2 …that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Paul’s delighted that they have not fallen for the false teaching (fine-sounding arguments) of the “Jesus Plus Gospel.” They have been firm in placing their faith in Christ and in Him alone and not been putting their faith in the rules, systems, or experiences that others were saying they needed in order to have a full or complete understanding of the life God had called them to.
So now after saying this…delighting in them and stating his goal of them understanding how much they have in Christ and the treasures of wisdom and knowledge they have in him, Paul goes on and says, “So then, (therefore),” … “Based on that, here’s what I want you to do…”
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
That’s the command… “continue to live your lives in Him.” That’s the first command (imperative statement) that Paul gives in this letter.
But there is a qualifier to his command. He commands them to continue to live their lives in Him the same way that they received Him.
Well, how did they receive Jesus? By faith.
They didn’t follow a set of rules, or a system, or a bunch of religious activities to have Christ come into their lives. They received Him by faith. They received His free gift of salvation by placing their faith in Him as their Lord.
SO, IF THEY RECEIVED JESUS BY FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE…
NOT CHRIST PLUS RULES OR CHRIST PLUS A SYSTEM, OR CHRIST PLUS RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY…
THEN, IN THE SAME WAY, CONTINUE TO LIVE YOUR LIVES THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE AND NOT ALL OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT THE FALSE TEACHERS ARE TELLING YOU TO DO.
WALK…
What is translated “continue to live” is the verb “peripateo” and literally means “walk.” It’s translated that in some Bible translations… “so walk in Him.”
When used this way, it’s used figuratively to mean to live, behave, or go about doing.
But also notice who the walk is IN… “walk IN HIM.” “Continue to live your lives IN HIM.”
Paul’s already talked about how they have been qualified…are already in the Kingdom… that they are spiritually united to Jesus.
So, since they are in union with Him, they are to live out of that union…(now that union is eternal. There is never a time you are not united to Him, but you can live as if you are not united to Him)… with Him as their Source…walking by faith moment by moment in Christ in them and through them.
To say it another way: We are to abide in our abiding
.
Scripture tells us that we are already abiding in Jesus, but we are also commanded to abide.
We continue to receive and draw on Jesus as our Source, our Everything…
Here’s the way pastor and author F.B. Meyer explains what Paul means here:
"We received Jesus into our hearts by faith… In the same manner we must live always and everywhere, receiving from Him, by faith, grace upon grace, and allowing what He works in to work out in all manner of godliness, tenderness, and Christlikeness. This practice of looking to Jesus for grace in every circumstance of life tends to become more and more habitual."
The more we receive and draw on Jesus as our Source, not on the rules, systems, religious activity…but in Him and Him alone, the more habitual it becomes to live from Him as our Source…Drawing upon His grace in us and through us.
TRANSITION: Now Paul gives us 4 participles to elaborate on what it looks like to walk in Him.
7 rooted and built up in him,
Okay so the first participle that describes more about what it means to “walk in Christ,” is ROOTED IN CHRIST…
ILLUSTRATION: one of the things I just love the most about East Texas is the pine trees. They are just so tall and so beautiful, especially when you see a bunch of them together…
But think about the roots and how deep they have to be in order to keep a tree that tall from just blowing over. I mean they are secure because of their deep roots that go underneath the ground…
And that is what Paul is saying about them (you)…they are rooted in Christ…
And we’ve talked about this a number of times, so I’ll just mention it briefly, but this is written in the PERFECT TENSE AND PASSIVE VOICE.
Perfect tense happens at a point in time and has ongoing results.
So, at a point in time, you were rooted in Christ. And passive voice means that you didn’t do the rooting…Jesus did the rooting.
It’s his grace and what He does the moment you receive Him by faith…
HE ROOTS YOU FIRMLY IN A SPIRITUAL UNION WITH HIM THAT LASTS,
so that is what it looks like to “walk IN HIM”… (You are walking in the rootedness that already exists)
ILLUSTRATION: Think about how roots are sent out to secure the tree, but also to draw from a source of nutrients to feed the tree…provide for what it needs.
And as it gets what it needs, then it grows and is “built up.” And that is the second thing Paul says…
7 rooted and built up in him,
The word that Paul uses here, epoilodomeo, means “to build upon something already built.”
It’s the picture of adding to a foundation of a building OR you can look at the roots of a tree as the foundation, and then the trunk and leaves are built up from there.
PRESENT TENSE/PASSIVE VOICE
Present tense is an action in process…but the passive voice again means that you aren’t the one doing the building up. Jesus is.
***So to walk in Christ means that you are being built up by Christ into who you are as a new creation in Him. You already are a new creation under the surface, and as you continue to draw from your Source, then He’ll build you up above ground and begin to show who He’s remade you into to the world around you!***
We even see this imagery in the Old Testament from the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 17:8…
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
Confidence = trust…walking by faith in Christ and who you are in Him
Roots are sent out to the stream (Jesus is the living water)…He is our Source…
Even when we are going through droughts in our lives, we have access to the Living Water who supplies what we need, and we continue to display that Life (green leaves and fruit) as He produces them through us…
We are “built up” by Him into who we are. (An apple tree is already an apple tree underground, but it grows up or is built up into what it already is!)
The 3rd thing Paul says about what it looks like to “walk in Christ” (continue to live in Him) is…
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
Once again, this is PRESENT TENSE/PASSIVE VOICE…
This strengthening is an ongoing process that is done by Jesus not you.
This word (strengthened) is often translated “established,” and it means to stand firm and grow in strength to where you are unshakeable.
And notice Paul says that they (we) are to be strengthened (established) IN THE FAITH as you were taught.
So “in the faith” refers to the content of what they had been taught…and what were they taught?
Jesus plus Nothing = Everything! (Doctrine)
So, Jesus will strengthen or establish them in the firmness of Christ in them, the hope of glory!
ILLUSTRATION: And as He does that, they will then not be blown to and fro with every wind of doctrine that comes their way!
The more they draw upon Jesus as their Source, being rooted in Him, the more they will be built up in Him and established in the Jesus plus Nothing = Everything gospel they first received…
and then when the false doctrines of Jesus Plus come blowing their limbs, they’ll stand firm (they’ll recognize the lies and deception and habitually cling to Christ in them the Hope of glory over the rules, systems, religious activities, etc.)
And finally, Paul says that what it looks like to “walk in Christ” is this…
and overflowing with thankfulness.
This is the one thing that is in a different voice. All the other things Paul said were in the passive voice, but this one is in the active voice.
That means that they (we) are the ones who will be performing this action.
Our response as we walk in Christ is to just keep thanking Him over and over and over again!
We thank Him that we are rooted deeply in Him!
We thank Him that He will build us up into who He’s already remade us into as new creations of His!
We thank Him for strengthening and establishing us in the “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” gospel!
To be thankful means we focus on all that we have in Christ and what he is continuing to do in our lives rather than focusing on what we lack!
Our focus oftentimes is on our flesh and how we feel that we lack something (Jesus is good but I need this sin…Jesus is good, but I need these rules, this system, this religious activity to feel better about myself and/or to be complete)
And let’s be honest, when we are not thankful for what we have but instead focusing on what we lack, we are NOT experiencing His Life and all that we have in Him!
When we walk around and are complaining about our situations and circumstances, we aren’t experiencing our rootedness, or being built up, or being strengthened by Him…we experience fear, worry, anxiety, and think about what we can do to control the situation.
When we walk around and focus on all the religious activity we are supposed to be doing or the rules or the things we’ve done wrong, then we are not experiencing our rootedness in Him, or being built up in Him, or being strengthened by Him…we are experiencing worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, or our need to perform and justify ourselves before Him!
But when we give thanks to Him, we are focusing on who He is and what we have in Him and begin to experience our rootedness in Him, how we are being built up in Him (regardless of the drought) and how we are being strengthened by Him!
WHAT IS OUR JOB WHEN IT COMES TO “CONTINUING TO LIVE IN HIM?” WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?
TO CONTINUOUSLY WALK IN A PRAYERFUL MANNER OF GIVING THANKS FOR ALL I HAVE IN CHRIST AND ALL THAT HE IS DOING TO BUILD ME UP AND STRENGTHEN ME IN HIM!
We’ve already pointed to this verse several times, but look at it one more time… Paul’s prayer for them and for us is that we would…
12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Again, notice the description of why we give thanks…because of all the things God has ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED IN OUR LIVES THAT HAVE ONGOING RESULTS!
We focus SO much on all the stuff we are to do instead of what all He has already done and all that we already have in Him…
SO, give thanks for rooting you in Him and that because of that rooting…
He will build you up into who He’s already created you to be…
and strengthen you (establish you) in the truth of Christ in you the Hope of glory…
SO THAT you won’t fall for the fine-sounding arguments (that Paul will get into in more detail next week)