Colossians 2:6-7

Outline of 2:6-23

D.

CHRISTThe antidote for false doctrine; Colossians 2:6-23

1.

Walk in Christ as you received him; Colossians 2:6-7

a.

Rooted and builded up.

b.

Established in your faith.

c.

Abounding in thanksgiving.

2.

Reasons to beware of men's traditions and hold to Christ; Colossians 2:8-15

a.

Philosophy is vain; Colossians 2:8

(1)

After the traditions of men.

(2)

After the rudiments of the world.

b.

Christ has perfect God-hood; Colossians 2:9

c.

Christ gives perfect completeness; Colossians 2:10 a

d.

Christ has perfect authority; Colossians 2:10 b

e.

Christ gives perfect circumcision; Colossians 2:11-12

(1)

A circumcision not done by hands; Colossians 2:11

(2)

Done in baptism; Colossians 2:12

f.

Christ gives perfect life; Colossians 2:13-14

(1)

Done in forgiving our trespasses; Colossians 2:13

(2)

Done by blotting out the written ordinances; Colossians 2:14

g.

Christ has perfectly triumphed; Colossians 2:15

3.

Things to let no one do to you; Colossians 2:16-19

a.

Judge you concerning rituals; Colossians 2:16-17

(1)

Rituals are shadows.

(2)

The body is Christ'S.

b.

Rob you of your prize; Colossians 2:18-19

(1)

By voluntary humility and angel-worship; Colossians 2:18

(2)

By not holding to Christ the Head; Colossians 2:19

4.

Reasons for rejecting ordinances of men; Colossians 2:20-23

a.

Ye died with Christ from worldly rudiments; Colossians 2:20

b.

All ordinances are to perish; Colossians 2:21-22

c.

Ordinances have no value against fleshly indulgences; Colossians 2:23

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6. As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. 7. rooted and builded up in him, and established in your faith, even as ye were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Translation and Paraphrase

6. In the same manner as you (pl.) received Christ Jesus (as) the Lord, be (thus) walking in him,

7. (being) rooted (like a tree), and (constantly being) builded up in him (as a building under construction), and (being) made (more and more) firm in the faith (of Christ), just as you were taught; and (be) overflowing in thanksgiving,

Notes

1.

Colossians 2:6-7 is a bridge which leads us from the discussion of Paul's ministry into the discussion of false doctrines that are opposed to Christ. These verses may be construed either as a close to the preceding discussion of Paul's ministry, or as the opening words of the discussion of Christ vs. false doctrines. In our outline we treat them as the opening words of the new section.

2.

As children of God we all once received Christ as our Lord and savior. This is necessary and glorious. But having done this, we must then walk in Christ in the same sincere obedient manner as we once received Christ. A faithful walk is as necessary as a good beginning Ephesians 4:17.

3.

Christ Jesus is LORD. If he is not the Lord of our lives, he is probably not the savior of our souls.

4.

The walk, or daily conduct, of the Christian must be deep-rooted and builded up. Ephesians 3:17. Trees grow well only when they have a good root system. Transplanted pine trees with their close-trimmed roots do not thrive until a new root system has developed. How deeply is your life rooted in Christ? How much do you love him and think about him? How much have you studied the gospels to learn about Christ's words and deeds? These are necessary things if we are to be rooted in Christ.

Being built up (Gr. epoikodomeo) describes us as if we were buildings. A big building has piles driven deeply in the ground beneath it, or strong footings. It rises solidly with strong walls. Our Christian walk is grounded upon unchanging principles in God's word, and is built up by solid deeds of goodness, that never have to be removed as undesirable stones. Jude 1:20; Ephesians 2:20-22.

5.

Rooted is a perfect participle, indicating a past action with present effects. Build up and established (or stablished) are present participles, indicating continuous action.

6.

We are built up not upon Christ, but in Christ. It is not a physical act of building, but a spiritual development. We are established (or made firm) in our faith (or by our faith.)

7.

The increasing firmness that we should gain as we are established in the faith, must match up with the way we were taught at the beginning of our Christian experience. We dare not abandon the basic truths by which we were saved as we increase in knowledge. Too many in our generation have left their earlier child-like faith when they went to some seminary or university for advanced learning. This is a curse to a man's soul. We cannot outgrow the true faith; we may, however, be deceived into departing from it.

8.

One mark of a faithful church is that it is abounding in thanksgiving. To abound is to have overmuch, to overflow, to have excess. Does your thanksgiving overflow?

9.

All of these thoughts about walking in Christ and being rooted in him are a necessary consideration as we go into the discussion about false doctrines that immediately follows. If we do not have the solid foundation of Christ to stand on, we have no criterion for judging false doctrine, nor any alternative to it.

Study and Review

1.

What is the topic of Colossians 2:6-23 in the outline?

2.

How are we to walk in Christ? (Colossians 2:6)

3.

By what title is Christ Jesus called in Colossians 2:6?

4.

What does walk mean in Colossians 2:6?

5.

To what do the expressions rooted and built up compare Christians? (Colossians 2:7)

6.

Explain established (or stablished) in the phrase established in your faith.

7.

In what are we to abound?