Rooted in Christ
"What am I supposed to do?"
It's a question many believers wrestle with. We hear about the sufficiency of Christ and understand that Jesus plus nothing equals everything, but then we wonder—what does that mean for my daily life? What action am I supposed to take?
This was a question I struggled with as Jesus was teaching me about grace and opening my eyes to see Christ as my Life. And maybe you're wrestling with it too.
In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul finally gives his first command after 35 verses of laying theological groundwork. And this command is crucial—one commentator notes that these verses, along with the closely related passage that follows, represent "the heart of Colossians." After establishing profound truths about Christ and our identity in Him, Paul now summarizes the natural response that should flow from those truths.
The Foundation: Receiving Christ
Paul writes: "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him."
That's it. That's the command: continue to live your life in Him.
But notice the qualifier—we're to continue living in Christ the same way we received Him. And how did we receive Jesus? By faith. We didn't follow rules, complete a system, or perform religious activities to bring Christ into our lives. We received His free gift of salvation by placing our faith in Him as Lord.
So if we received Jesus by faith in Christ alone—not Christ plus rules, not Christ plus a system, not Christ plus religious activity—then we continue to live through faith in Christ alone, not through all the other things false teachers might tell us we need.
What It Means to Walk in Him
The phrase "continue to live" literally translates to "walk." It's a figurative way of describing how we live, behave, and go about our daily lives. But notice who the walk is in: "walk IN Him."
Paul has already explained how believers are qualified, already in the Kingdom, spiritually united to Jesus. Since we are in union with Him, we're to live out of that union—with Him as our Source, walking by faith moment by moment in Christ in us and through us.
Here's how F.B. Meyer beautifully explains it: "We received Jesus into our hearts by faith... In the same manner we must live always and everywhere, receiving from Him, by faith, grace upon grace, and allowing what He works in to work out in all manner of godliness, tenderness, and Christlikeness."
The more we receive and draw on Jesus as our Source—not rules, systems, or religious activity, but Him alone—the more habitual it becomes to live from Him as our Source, drawing upon His grace in us and through us.
Four Pictures of Life in Christ
Paul gives us four participles that elaborate on what walking in Him looks like:
1. Rooted in Him
Think about the majestic pine trees of East Texas, standing tall and beautiful. Their deep roots keep them secure, preventing them from toppling over in storms. Paul says we are rooted in Christ in the same way.
This word is written in the perfect tense and passive voice, which means that at a point in time, we were rooted in Christ, and that rooting has ongoing results. The passive voice tells us we didn't do the rooting—Jesus did. He roots us firmly in a spiritual union with Him that lasts.
Just as roots secure a tree and draw nutrients to feed it, we are secured in Christ and draw from Him as our Source for everything we need.
2. Built Up in Him
The word Paul uses here means "to build upon something already built"—like adding to a foundation or watching a tree grow from its roots into a full trunk with leaves and branches.
This is present tense, passive voice, meaning it's an ongoing action that Jesus performs, not us. To walk in Christ means we are being built up by Christ into who we are as new creations in Him. We already are new creations beneath the surface, and as we continue to draw from our Source, He builds us up and begins to show who He's remade us to be.
As Jeremiah 17:7-8 says: "Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Even during life's droughts, we have access to the Living Water who supplies what we need, and we continue to display that Life as He produces it through us.
3. Strengthened in the Faith
Again in present tense, passive voice—this strengthening is an ongoing process done by Jesus, not us. The word often translated "established" means to stand firm and grow in strength until we become unshakeable.
Paul says we're strengthened "in the faith as you were taught." This refers to the content of their teaching: Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Jesus strengthens and establishes us in the truth of Christ in us, the hope of glory.
As He does this, we won't be "blown to and fro with every wind of doctrine." The more we draw upon Jesus as our Source, being rooted in Him, the more we're built up and established in the gospel we first received. When false doctrines come along, we stand firm, recognizing the lies and habitually clinging to Christ rather than rules, systems, or religious activities.
4. Overflowing with Thankfulness
This is the one action in active voice—meaning we perform it. Our response as we walk in Christ is to keep thanking Him over and over again.
We thank Him that we are rooted deeply in Him. We thank Him that He's building us up into who He's already remade us to be. We thank Him for strengthening and establishing us in the gospel.
To be thankful means we focus on all that we have in Christ and what He continues to do in our lives rather than focusing on what we lack.
The Power of Gratitude
Let's be honest: when we're not thankful for what we have but instead focus on what we lack, we don't experience His Life and all that we have in Him.
When we complain about our situations and circumstances, we aren't experiencing our rootedness or being built up or strengthened by Him. Instead, we experience fear, worry, and anxiety, and we think about what we can do to control the situation.
When we focus on religious activity, rules, or our failures, we don't experience our rootedness, being built up, or being strengthened in Him. We experience worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, or the need to perform and justify ourselves.
But when we give thanks to Him, we focus on who He is and what we have in Him. We begin to experience our rootedness, how we're being built up (regardless of the drought), and how we're being strengthened by Him.
So What Do I Do?
Here's the answer to that opening question: continuously walk in a prayerful manner of giving thanks for all you have in Christ and all that He is doing to build you up and strengthen you in Him.
As Paul prayed in Colossians 1:12-14: "Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Notice why we give thanks—because of all the things God has already accomplished in our lives with ongoing results. We often focus so much on what we're supposed to do instead of what He has already done and all that we already have in Him.
So give thanks for rooting you in Him. Because of that rooting, He will build you up into who He's already created you to be and strengthen you in the truth of Christ in you, the hope of glory—so that you won't fall for fine-sounding arguments that promise something more than what you already have in Jesus.
You are rooted. You are being built up. You are being strengthened. Walk in gratitude for these truths, and watch how Christ lives through you.
