I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Context for this scripture:
Paul is writing this letter to the church of Colosse and the surrounding areas of Laodicea. He was addressing some false teaching that had begun to creep into the church. It stemmed from the religion called "Gnosticism".
They began to teach that Christ's death, burial and resurrection wasn't enough for salvation. It was too easy. There was a "special knowledge", a "mystery", that hadn't been discovered yet and when you attain it you will receive a deeper salvation. This knowledge was attained on your own, by your own consideration, by your own power. Truly they were slowly removing Christ from the equation.
They also began to teach the importance of following all the Jewish customs of the Law. Faith in Christ wasn't enough, there must be obedience to the Jewish law. Therefore, they began to return to obedience to the law, in order to secure their salvation. Faith in Christ alone was becoming less and less the focal point. Therefore, they were being encouraged to attain salvation on their own.
These false teachers were trying to create a religion that would exist without Christ. In fact, in Revelations 4, John writes about the church of Laodicea. Writing on behalf of Christ, he says...
Revelations 3:15-17 5 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Jesus is calling them on the carpet. "You are lukewarm. You say, 'I am rich, I have everything I want, I don't need a thing!'" Wow. They don't need a thing. Sounds like a religion that has removed Christ from the equation. They no longer have a need for the redemption and salvation of Christ. They received what they needed from God and now they have no need of God.
Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-7
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
He encourages the Colossians to "follow him", "grow down into him", "be built on him"..."THEN your faith will grow strong and you will overflow with thankfulness." He wants them to focus on Christ, centre their lives on Christ, make it about Christ. You can't do this on your own. It isn't possible. We NEED JESUS. So continue to make it about HIM. THEN their faith will grow strong and the natural result will be true, genuine thankfulness that is focused on Jesus. You'll remember that the only reason you are here in the first place is because of Jesus and what He did for you on the cross.
In fact, the Greek word used for "thankfulness" is Eucharisteo(ia). This word is used several times in the New Testament. Here are just two:
Luke 17:15-17 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
There is a lot here that we won't talk about but the main idea is that 10 men cried out to Jesus. They called him "Master"! They needed the salvation and redemption of Jesus. Jesus healed all of them. They all were restored, renewed and redeemed - but only ONE came back to give Him glory and to thank (Eucharisteo) Him. 1 out of 10 men put their attention and focus on Jesus and thanked Him for what He did.
Matthew 26:26-28 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Interestedly it was used by Jesus in Matthew 26 during the Passover feast. They were gathered together to remember and celebrate the time when the people of Israel smeared the blood of a spotless lamb over their doorpost so that the death angel that would come through the camp wouldn't harm them. They were protected and redeemed because of the blood of the lamb. They were remembering, focusing their hearts and minds and thanking God for this.
He broke the bread and handed out the wine and THANKED (Eucharisteo) God for it. Then he encouraged them to do the same when "remembering" (or focusing their hearts and minds) on Christ. Thankfulness was the response to the body and blood of Jesus Christ. True, biblical thanksgiving was focused on Christ FIRST. Our thankfulness isn't only about what He will do or for what He has given us (though important and good) but our thankfulness is about what Christ has already done for us.
When we focus on Christ, centre our lives, hearts and minds on Christ the natural (and spiritual) effect is our faith grows deeper and stronger and a true Eucharisteo (thankfulness) will OVERFLOW from our life. This will lead to being even more rooted in Christ, which leads to a deeper faith, which leads to even more thankfulness in our lives. See the cycle?
Today it is easy to just live life and forget how much we truly need Jesus. We live in such a blessed part of the world and many of us have so much. It is easy to start living a life that isn't centered on Jesus. A life that is about us. A life that is about our happiness and possessions. Those things aren't bad, but they, at times, can take the place of Christ in our lives. We all needed healing, redemption, salvation and forgiveness and now that we have received those we can tend to forget to THANK HIM, REMEMBER HIM and FOCUS ON HIM.
Keep your heart and mind centered on Christ, His sacrifice and keep your dependence on Him. Then your faith will grow strong, then you will overflow with thankfulness, desire and passion for God.
