Rooted And Built Up | Colossians 2:1-7

November 24, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Praise the Lord, beloved congregation,

As we gather here today, I am reminded of the profound truth that we are all bearers of the Gospel because of God’s marvellous work in our lives. Reflect for a moment on the journey of our Christian life – a journey uniquely designed by our Creator. God’s fingerprints are evident in every twist and turn, in every encounter that has shaped our faith. Yet, behind the scenes of God’s divine orchestration, there’s an intricate web of human interactions that have played an indispensable role.

We stand as a testament to the truth that God frequently uses His vessels, pastors, and fellow believers, to deliver His message, to offer encouraging words, to lift us up in prayer, and to gently guide us toward the path of Christian maturity. Think back to those individuals who, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, spoke words that penetrated your heart, who extended hands of friendship when you felt lost, who earnestly prayed for your well-being, and who led you to the wellspring of God’s grace.

In this moment, allow your thoughts to drift to those who have been instrumental in shaping your spiritual journey. What might their concerns be about you? Now, dear brothers and sisters, shift your focus to the pastoral role that I am honoured to fulfil in your lives. Just as those who led you to faith bore concerns for your growth, so do I, your pastor, carry concerns and aspirations for each of you.

Apostle Paul expressed his concerns for the Colossian church. Today we are going to explore these concerns and delve into the timeless wisdom found in Paul’s letter.

Rooted And Built Up

Colossians 2:1-7

¹I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. ²My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵For 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.

⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

In this section, Paul reveals his pastoral heart for the congregation at Colossae.

Paul began this letter by sharing his daily intercession for them; 1:3
Paul prayed that they might grow in Christ-like maturity; 1:9-14
Paul then gives a Christ hymn; Jesus is supreme; 1:15-20
- Jesus is the true wisdom.
- Jesus is supreme.
- Jesus is the King living in us.
Paul talks about his work for the gospel:
- Paul’s Suffering. Paul suffering for the Church; 1:24
- Paul as a Servant. Paul, the servant of the church; 1:25-26.
- Paul Speaking God’s Mystery. Paul Entrusted With the Mystery God Revealed; 1:26
- Paul’s Proclamation.

In this section, Paul shares his pastoral concern for their spiritual growth.

Paul’s Struggle For The Church; 2:1

Colossians 2:1

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.

Paul has already referred to his toil and struggles on their behalf.

Colossians 1:29

To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you: The word here is “struggle.”

What sort of a struggle is this? Paul is using the word which you might use for a wrestling match. This is like Jacob wrestling with the angel. These are images of powerful prayer of somebody who won’t let go of God in prayer until they have received the assurance that God is going to do what God wants.

As a true pastor he had struggled in intercessory prayer for them.

ILLUSTRATION

There is a wonderful story about old archbishop, Michael Ramsey. Some journalist asked him once as to how long he had spent talking to God that morning? Michael Ramsey thought for a bit and said about 5 minutes but it took me about half an hour to get through.

Paul is talking about the struggle in prayer. There are forces which would prevent us from praying as we should. There are powers of darkness working against the church. The powers of darkness will work for the believers in Colossae to be like the seeds that go wrong in the parable of the seeds in Mark 4. That they would be like seeds which have no root and they may shoot up for a little while and then the wind will drive them away or somebody will trample on them or whatever. No, Paul wants them to be putting down deep roots, to be solidly founded and that is where this passage is going by verse 7.

Paul here is praying for the house church at Colossae and Laodicea. There is a new house church, Jesus following family in Laodicea and they are neighbours to Colossae.

If you read through the passage of the message to the church in Laodicea in Revelation, you are going to see a church that is involved in a kind of lifestyle that is not highly commendable.

Revelation 3:14-19

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. ’But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent…^.

Paul is praying for both the church and Colossae and the church at Laodicea.

We are reminded that Jesus had the same inner struggles during the temptation in the wilderness. He agonized in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. We learn that the success of a pastor’s ministry can be gauged by the costliness of his prayer life.

THE REASON OF PAUL’S STRUGGLE

Reason for the Struggle #1: Paul Wanted Them To Be Encouraged In Heart.

Colossians 2:2-3

²My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart:

Encouraged means to have courage infused in you. It is the work of the Holy Spirit who is our helper, comforter, and encourager.

Be comforted, strengthened and encouraged deep down inside your heart.

The ‘heart’ in the Greek Mediterranean culture at the time carries the sense beyond emotion. The word ‘heart’ means both emotional and volitional aspects of human personality. It’s the centre of will, centre of life, and the centre of passion.

And so, if their heart will be encouraged, they, their minds will be enlightened. Their whole sense of being will be ignited, and they will be able to be on the path of what God expects of them. Paul is struggling so that they may be encouraged, not just be encouraged anywhere, but encouraged from the centre of their heart, or the centre of their lives.

Reason for the Struggle #2: Paul Wanted Them To be United In Love.

Paul struggles in prayer so that the church maybe united in love; first to Christ and then to one another.

The word ‘united’ could mean ‘knit together’ as of a body held together by its ligaments; Col. 2:19

The natural consequence of the influence of false teaching is to create division among people and division among leaders.

1 Corinthians 1:11-13,17

¹¹My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹²What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

In 1^st Corinthians, we see people just following these people because there have been some form of infusion of teaching that is causing all kinds of problems. Here in Colossi, we are not sure about what is going on. But we know that the natural consequence of infiltration of false teaching is that people are not likely to be together.

Paul says, ‘I am having this great struggle so that you might be united, knit together in love.’

United in love: There is something about the loving fellowship of fellow Jesus followers which does strengthen people.

What Paul is doing is taking that kind of thing and seeing it in a whole different dimension that somehow as you come together in love in this extraordinary new family that we call the church, then this will strengthen your hearts and minds.

Struggle #3: The Church may know the Christ, the mystery of God.

Colossians 2:2-3

Purpose of His struggle: That they might know the mystery or the secret of God which is to know Christ in a living relationship with him.

Do you remember the Christ hymn in Chapter 1?

Colossians 1:15-20

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Paul says, “Christ is supreme above all and in all. I want you to become people who live in that poem. I want you to be people who are following Jesus and discovering that this is where heaven and earth come together. Jesus is the place he says where you will find all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Who is Christ?

Colossians 2:3

….in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

There are so many stories about treasure hunt. They leave the map somewhere and somebody finds and they go off on a voyage or they leave clues and you go and find the treasure. In a sense, Paul says that there is a treasure out there hidden, and it is yours to find if you belong to the Messiah, the King Jesus. Christ is the treasure of wisdom, treasure of knowledge, treasure of understanding of all kinds of things.

Wisdom of Christ is seen in the nature.
Wisdom of Christ is seen all over the earth in the field of education, science, technology, and commerce.
Wisdom of God lies hidden within the scripture and is minded by careful exegesis and interpretation of scripture.

Struggle #4: They May Not Be Deceived By Fine Sounding Arguments.

Colossians 2:4

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

Paul is talking about false teaching that has crept into this church.

Teaching which is near to the truth, apparently sounding fine but far away from the truth.

Effect: Individuals and congregation will be deceived from the true gospel of Christ.

One needs to check if one has been deceived or swayed into false teaching and come back to focus their thoughts, their lives, their beliefs on Christ alone.

What it takes for a believer or a Christian to understand the false teaching?

Learn the word; 1:7
Understand God’s grace; 1:6
Know Christ. Be filled with the wisdom & knowledge of God which is in Christ; Col. 1;9-10.

Paul rejoices over their faithfulness to Christ.

Colossians 2:5

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.

He is in Ephesus, and he is in prison so he is not with them, but he says I am present with you in the spirit. The Holy Spirit is with him in the prayer and the Holy Spirit is with them.

Delighted to see how disciplined you are: Disciple or the good order is a military image actually. It is like a military parade where all these hundreds of soldiers keeping good order, absolutely in line with every command the commander gives.

It was an image of what Paul is talking about here of all God’s people being in line with his purposes, ready for the commanding officers word, ready to do whatever is necessary, and then as a result you have a solidity to your faith in the Messiah. It won’t be wobbly and wishy washy, it will have a firmness of foundation.

They may have a firm faith in Christ.

Paul was rejoicing to see their discipline and the firmness of their faith.

Central Message Of The Entire Letter.

Now comes the theses statement of Colossians according to scholars. This is the central message of the entire letter.

Colossians 2:6-7

⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him…

You received Christ, now continue to “walk in him.” We received him ourselves as Lord. When we receive him into our lives or when we acknowledge him, submit to his Lordship. When we say, “Yes Lord I know you loved me, you died for me, I am yours, please take me, please come and inhabit my life.” That is what it means to receive Christ for oneself and it is to receive him personally but also to receive the message about him with faith. To believe that he is the Lord and that God raised him from the dead.

But then, when you received him you cannot just sit back, you must also walk in him.

This idea of walking as a metaphor for conduct. Everything you do must now take place because you are in him. You are walking in him, walking with him, continuing your journey in him.

It is as though you should think all the time. Where am I going? Jesus is coming with me, I am in him is it okay to be going this way if I am in him? Is it okay that the spirit within me would be happy for me to go to this place to meet these people, to do this thing. If not then watch out. This is the deceit which he has warned about in the verse or two before.

Colossians 2:6-7

⁶So then, just as you received (Received is handing down of the oral law, you have received Christ as your tradition) Christ Jesus as Lord, (Jesus as the Lord of Creation and Redemption) continue to live your lives in him, (do not get deviated by false doctrines and false teachings. Press on, live your daily lives in union to Christ. How) ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

How Do You Continue In Christ?

Rooted In Jesus.
Built Up In Jesus.
Strengthened In Faith

Colossians 2:7

Rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Being rooted in him: This is a horticultural term. And so to say to be rooted, they could understand it as a fertile soil on which a seed is planted, and the seed grows and the roots go in to have such a solid foundation that it can stand firm and strong. That in the midst of storms, these trees or plants will not break or bend or actually lose its cause. ‘As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, being rooted, being well-firmly grounded in Him.’

Built up in him: This is an architectural term. This refers to the foundation of a major building that is built on a solid foundation, that the foundation can withstand earthquakes, rain etc. So when the storms come, when other things come, you will not be swayed or broken or smashed whatever way because you are in a firm place.

Christ is the soil into which the roots sink and Christ is the foundation on which to build.[1]

Strengthen in the faith: Here is a legal term. You must be established or confirmed in the faith to the extent that your validity and the ground in which you stand in the faith, is unshakable.

As you were taught: They were taught by Epaphras, 1:7

They were supposed to know this. It was expected for them to be rooted, built up, and established in this. Imagine a Christian life lived with this kind of imagery.

This is a creational image. It is a new garden image. A new creation image, put down the roots which happen when the word like rain or snow comes down from above Isaiah 55. But if it is the new creation it is also the new temple and hence being built up brick by brick in him on a firm foundation now steadily built up. Is it a new garden? Is it a new temple? It is both.

Overflowing with thankfulness: Once you realize who you are in Christ? What God has done for you in the King? Then thanksgiving is natural, appropriate and proper response. It is like a jug overflowing with water or wine.

Thanksgiving must characterize our every worship service and the whole of life. Col. 3:16

CONCLUSION

Beloved congregation,

As we conclude this sermon into the heart of Paul’s concerns for the Colossian church, we find ourselves immersed in the deep well of wisdom contained in his words. Paul desires to see the believers rooted, built up, and firmly established in their faith journey. I share the same concerns and aspirations for each of you. This passage transcends time, delivering a resounding message that stands steadfast as a guiding light for our own spiritual journey.

As we conclude, let these truths resonate deeply within us:

Encourage One Another.

Just as Paul strove for the Colossians’ encouragement, may we be steadfast in uplifting one another, infusing courage into every heart, standing firm against life’s challenges.

Cultivate Unity In Love Amid Diversity In Christ.

Paul’s plea for unity amidst diversity is a timeless call. Let us nurture loving fellowship, fortifying the bonds that bind us as a Christ-centred community.

Uncover Life’s Wisdom In Christ’s Treasures.

The riches of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. In Him, we discover the answers to life’s mysteries. May we remain rooted, grounded, and built up in Him, exploring His endless depths.

Stay Vigilant Against Deceptive Arguments, Anchored In Truth.

Paul’s concern for the Colossians’ spiritual safety resonates today. Let us be vigilant against fine-sounding arguments, firmly anchored in the truth of Christ.

Gratefully Overflow With Thanksgiving.

May this exploration be woven into the fabric of our lives, enriching our faith, nurturing our souls, and inspiring us to stand united as bearers of the Gospel. Let us continue walking in Christ, rejoicing in unity, and embracing the unsearchable treasures of wisdom and knowledge that He offers. And, may our hearts overflow with gratitude for the profound gift of faith.

[1] Bruce J. Nicholls and Brian Wintle, Colossians & Philemon, Asian Bible Commentary (Bangalore, India: Theological Book Trust of Bangalore, India, 2007), 96.

City Harvest AG Church

Rooted And Built Up | Colossians 2:1-7