Nielsen’s Nook

Nestle-Aland 27

6 Ὡς οὖν παρελάβετε τὸν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον , ἐν αὐτῷ περιπατεῖτε , 7 ἐρριζωμένοι a καὶ ἐποικοδομούμενοι b ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ βεβαιούμενοι c τῇ πίστει καθὼς ἐδιδάχθητε, περισσεύοντες d ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ.

My Translation

6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and confirmed in the faith just as you were taught, excelling in thankfulness.

Grammar & Vocabulary

a ἐρριζωμένοι perf/pas/ptc/pl/nom/mas ( ῥιζόω ) cause to take root, [fig] fix firmlyb ἐποικοδομούμενοι pres/psv/ptc/pl/nm/mas ( ἐποικοδομέω ) build onto somethingc βεβαιούμενοι pres/psv/ptc/pl/nom/masc ( βεβαιόω ) establish, strengthen

d περισσεύοντες pres/act/ptc/pl/nom/mas ( περισσεύω ) be outstanding, prominent or to excel

Commentary

These two verses are a most marvelous summary of the Christian life. On account of all the transcendent wonder of the mystery of Christ united to the believer by faith, Paul draws his thinking to a point and applies it to the faithful at Colossae and to anyone else who is united to the Lord Jesus.

Just as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord. Paul is leaving no room for ambiguity here. There is much packed into these few words. The man Jesus was made of the same stuff as we were. He was not a spirit or a mere appearance of divinity, but a real viable human being in all respects like us, except that he did not sin. That man Jesus was the Messiah, which comes to us in the Greek form Christos ( Χρίστος ). This is the title of the deliverer, sent by God, who would save a people from the wrath of Holy God. Finally, this man Jesus, who is Messiah or Christ, is also Lord. There is but one person who is ever called Lord in this way and that is the person of holy God, YHWH as he names himself in the Old Testament.

This is beyond words. It echoes the questions that the Israelites ask in Deuteronomy 4:33 when they ask, “Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?” (ESV) It is craziness to think that we who are at root sinful could ever be in the presence of holy God, much more to be united eternally to him, and think that we would not be consumed in an instant on account of his holiness and our sin. And yet this is what Paul teaches us here. Christ Jesus the Lord has walked as the image of God, bearing the fullness of God, and restoring fellowship with God to his people on account of the blood of his cross (Col 1:15-20).

On account of what God has done on our behalf, Paul now commands the faithful to walk in Christ Jesus the Lord. What does this mean? How does one do that? Walking in the Lord is elsewhere spoken of as abiding in Christ (John 15:1-5). It is the living in the new life that God has given us in Christ through faith alone. We are rooted and built up in the faith through hearing the preaching of the Bible, reading it ourselves, prayer and in receiving the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As we walk we will find that our faith is confirmed according to the things we have been taught. Consequently, we find that we progress or excel in thankfulness and thanksgiving.