“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7; NKJV)
Receiving Christ Jesus as the Lord of your life is the beginning. It is the beginning of life here. It is the beginning of a journey from here to eternity. It is the beginning of a journey that is made with Him.
We are to walk in Christ the same way we received Christ – by faith. The sense of “the faith” here is objective, referring to the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity develops upward from the foundation of truth as revealed by the Spirit, taught and recorded by the Apostles. This rooting, building, and establishing is in sound doctrine.
The Spirit uses the images of a tree (rooted) and a building (built up) to remind them of their firm foundation in what they have already been taught. Just as trees draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so we draw our life-giving strength from Christ. “Rooted” is perfect participle, implying an abiding fact. “Built up” is in the present tense of a continued process. Christ is the ground for the roots below, and the foundation for the building above.
Thanksgiving is characteristic of those walking in Him. As we receive Him our hearts fill with gratitude. As we come to know Him more fully our hearts fill with gratitude. As we are built up in Him and established more fully in the faith our hearts fill with gratitude.
To walk in Christ is to live a life patterned after His. It is to think His thoughts. It is to speak His word. It is to model His behavior.
Father, thank you for blessing us with the opportunity to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. Give us the strength to walk in Him. May we abide in Him daily. Build us up with your power. Establish us in the faith. Fill our hearts with thanksgiving. May our walk end at your throne of grace. In the power of Your Spirit and in Your Son’s name. Amen.
Jason
