Colossians 2:1-7

Colossians 2:1-7 … The Apostle Paul is writing to a tri-city area in a river valley in Phyrgia (now central Turkey). He’s never been there, but his disciples and learners have taken the Gospel message and planted churches there. As he continues his letter, let’s observe four things: first, he wants them to know that despite the fact he’s never been there and never met them, nonetheless he struggles for them in prayer. That should motivate believers to think globally in prayer … you may never have been to Africa, India, China or New England, but you can be confident that there are churches there who would benefit from your prayers. Second, as a result of the Apostle’s struggling in prayer for these churches, he wants them to know that there is security in Christ and in nothing else but Christ.

How would you evaluate a church? A good question to ask is this, “Is Christ predominate in everything?” Note also that in knowing Christ (v.3) there is wealth beyond description. In knowing Christ truly, a church will be knit together and gain in understanding because (v.4) all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him. The third thing to observe is that it’s possible to be deluded and detracted from the main thing. There are ministries that promote all sorts of things but don’t make the Gospel of Jesus Christ the focus of all effort. That’s why it’s always valuable to assess a ministry by its Christ-likeness and the centrality of Christ in every aspect of activity.

Finally, note in this passage the encouragement to walk in Christ. That would certainly imply knowing Him, being rooted in Him, growing in Him (which has two components: one is a growing relationship and the other is being edified by Him). Walking with Christ ought to include overflowing gratefulness of heart (v.7) and being grounded (established, or planted if you will) in Him. The concept of walking in Christ has all these things imbedded – relationship, being constantly built up in your faith, and joyous gratitude.