The Epistle to the Colossians was written by Paul when he was under arrest in Rome. Most likely, some of you have “spent time” thinking about the clause “under arrest,” but most have not. What is it to “arrest” something? It is to stop, hinder, or to check the forward motion of something. Paul may have lived in his own home in Rome when he wrote this epistle. But he could not leave the city and perhaps not even his house. He had been “arrested.” So instead of visiting Colosse, he wrote this letter.
The second verse tell us that it was written “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” at Colosse. Paul probably started the church in which these saints were members, and if not, he certainly visited during his third missionary journey. So the people reading, or hearing, this letter were Christians – many of whom Paul knew. With that assumption, we can also assume that they became children of God in the same way that any other sinner becomes a Christian. At the hearing of the gospel, they came under the conviction of their lost and dead spiritual condition. They humbled themselves and repented before God. And at the same time they put their faith, hope, trust and love on the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter who people are, there is only one way to be delivered from sin – faith in Christ. So these people were justified, redeemed, regenerated, sanctified and all the rest of the salvation feast. And in particular, I’ll mention that they had “RECEIVED Christ Jesus the LORD.” Those are not mere words. That is not a simple phrase we throw around as Christians. The children of God acknowledge and bow their souls to Jesus Christ as their sovereign Lord.
The primary theme of this epistle is not salvation; it is the Saviour, the giver and means of that salvation. The nature and purpose of this book is different from most of Paul’s other epistles, like Romans. It deals with the deity of Christ and seeks to glorify His Name in various ways. With this in mind, it makes me think that Paul was afraid that the saints in Colossi, Laodicea and Philadelphia were growing weak in the doctrines of Christ. Paul had no doubt that the Gospel is empowered by the Holy Spirit and will never disappear. But it appears that he may have feared for its success – through the weakness of its friends. The Ark of God will never perish, but the hands that bear it may weaken and fail to hold it up.
Paul felt it was important that the Colossians possess, understand and defend the truths of Christ. But it was not a simple matter of – “the truth.” It was not whether or not the members of the church all agreed to their orthodox doctrinal statement. It was also important that they continue to progress by walking in the Christ of that doctrinal statement. The right kind of Christian life works to preserve and defend the faith of Christ – not just believe it. Walking in the light of the Saviour perpetually proves and declares the message of the Gospel. Walking in the Lord is the means of preserving the truth of the Gospel for future generations. Some things are lost by locking them. Like silver. Do you have any genuine silver objects at home like silver spoons – silverware? If they are not used or cared for, they loose their luster – they tarnish. Walking in the Lord continues the sanctification process of the soul. The water in the stream may be pure, but if it stops flowing it can become a stagnate swamp. Paul says, “As ye have therefore RECEIVED Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK ye in him.”
Let’s begin our little study by considering the word “AS.”
This Greek word “hos” is found between 450 and 500 times in the Bible, and it is translated 23 different ways. In this case, “hos,” or “as” becomes one of the hinges upon which we can swing this verse from idea to idea. Among others, it can mean “since” or “after,” but most often it is translated “as.” Does this “hos” mean “after that you received Christ you should walk in Him?” Does it mean “in the manner,” or “in the way, that you received Christ so walk ye in Him?” Or does it mean “since you received Christ, walk ye in Him?” Among all 23 ways to use the word, I’ll summarize things by saying these make the most sense.
Since you have received Christ, why are you walking in sin – or as if you still have another god? Since you have received Christ, why are you trying your best to look and behave as if you haven’t? This behavior is incomprehensible; this is indefensible. You are a Christian, you have in your possession, in your heart, the Holy Son of God, so walk ye in Him.
Here is an extreme illustration: Did you know there is a nudist resort just south of Coeur d’Alene? I will leave its name and location unmentioned for obvious reasons. There have been really ridiculous things written and said about places like this. For example, some are saying that nudist colonies have blessed local economies. It is a beneficial part of the tourist industry, drawing people who might not ordinarily visit here. And I have read that this particular resort is so clean and wholesome that visitors wouldn’t be embarrassed to bring their mother or father. Excuse me? When I was a teenager I was embarrassed to see my Dad without his shirt on. As an adult, one day I saw him in his underwear, and I thought I was going to die of shame. What sort of person would really like to be with their father or mother at a nudist resort?
Christian, since you have received Christ, He has become your closest companion, closer than your father. You cannot go into a bar, a nudist camp, or interdenominational evangelistic meeting without the Lord. And it should embarrass us to think that our Lord and Saviour should discover us in these places.
Since you have received Christ, you not only possess the Lord, but He possesses you – walk ye in him. To walk otherwise is going to necessitate a fight and struggle against Him.
Please turn to Ephesians 4:17 – “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. To walk in the things condemned in these verses requires a fight against the Lord who dwells within us. “Grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Since you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, ye are dead as He was dead. And ye are also alive as the Saviour lives. How can ye that are dead to sin live any longer therein in the light we have of the living Christ.
The word “as” as it is found in verse 6 might refer to TIME: “SINCE ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord.” But more scholars think that is talking about the MANNER in which Christ is received. And how was it that we receive the Lord when we repented of our sin and trusted Him? Wasn’t it WILLINGLY and VOLUNTARILY? So walk ye in him today. Didn’t we receive him WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, or was it with reservation? Walk with all your heart and serve Him in the same manner. Most of us, despite a few tears in some cases, received the Saviour JOYFULLY. Now serve the Lord with gladness. Some of us were EXCITED that day when the Lord became our Saviour. Where has all the zealousness gone, long time passing?
In the manner that ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. The gospel needs you to so walk. The Lord wants you to so walk, so as to glorify His name. Christ’s church wants and needs you to so walk, so that its evangelical ministry might not be hindered. As a recipient of the Lord so walk ye in him.
Paul’s exhortation is: “WALK ye in him.”
The word “walk” suggests motion, and to many people that speaks of exercise. When I was working in the manager’s office at the local shopping mall, we had an organized walking group. “The Silver Lake Striders” was a top notch, well-organized exercise program at the Mall. It was lead by a professional fitness trainer, who specialized in helping older people. It had a multitude of sponsors, goals and prizes. It had a professionally designed logo, created by someone in this very room. There were bi-weekly stretching and toning meetings. At its peak there were over a hundred people registered with the program. And some of those hundred plus people would walk every day of the week 362 days year. Walking suggests motion, exercise and maybe a bit of sweat. But those Striders never WENT anywhere in their walking around the mall. They went around and around, and around, and around the inside and sometime outside of the Mall. Some of them walked a hundred miles in a year, but they never left Coeur d’Alene.
My point is – the Lord wants us to walk, but He also wants us to progress – to move forward. Spiritually, He doesn’t want us to stay where we are. He wants us to grow, to progress, to mature, to develop and unfold. The Lord expects us to know the Word of God more thoroughly today than we did a year ago. He wants us to be better-equipped to share our faith with others. “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” He wants us to be stronger in faith and weaker in sin. Move forward; don’t stay where you are.
And I don’t think that Paul would commend loitering in regard to this matter. Seeing the mall Striders every day for a few years, I got to know some of them personally. There was one lady named Yolanda, who walked more than 5 miles every day, and she did so with gusto. And then there was Roger – a delightful gentleman who earlier had been struck down by a stroke. He was generally a joy to talk with; he was usually an upbeat, uplifting individual. But Roger walked with a special cane, very slowly; so slowly it was almost painful to watch him.
The Lord doesn’t expect us all to be Yolandas, going 100 miles an hour. God has decreed that some of us to be Rogers, only making one lap while Yolanda makes her ten. But at the same time, it could have been a death sentence for Roger to stop walking. His old joints and heart might have seized up just like that part of his brain which was stolen by the stroke. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, don’t dawdle; keep walking in Him.” We may not be permitted to choose our own speed, nevertheless we are commanded to keep moving on.
But what is it to walk “in Him?” A few minutes ago we sang “Walking in Sunlight” – “Walking in sunlight, all of my journey…” The Apostle John tells us – “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God…. The same was in the beginning with God… All things were made by him…. In him was life; and the life was the light of men… This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Walking in Christ, means walking in the light which the Lord provides. It means seeking and obeying his will “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”
As an addendum, look at the nature of spiritual GROWTH in verse 7.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Switching metaphors – we see a plant sending its roots down into the soil. Through those roots, the plant grasps stability and foundation. Similarly, with our heart firmly planted in the Word of God, we know what direction to grow – and we know what direction to walk. Also, being properly rooted, we have a source for the nourishment we need in order to walk. More often than not, if we destroy the root we produce no fruit and we destroy the plant. But when the root is strong, there is going to good upward growth as well.
With all the recent storms back east, newscasts have been filled with pictures of fallen and falling trees. And we’ve see that sort of thing around here. You might remember from a few years ago, a little boy was on dock jutting out into Hayden lake when a tree decided to come down killing the little guy. The root of that tree was not sufficient to match its upward growth, strengthening it against the wind.
While still here on earth, none of us are as close to Heaven as we ought to be. We need more spirituality; more closeness to Christ; more Christ-likeness. There are lots of people fabricating a false spirituality. But it all unravels at the first sign of trouble, because there is so little root.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Paul was often a little concerned that his ministry would go to waste among hearers. It was not because of the weakness of the gospel, but rather the weakness of the flesh. It is imperative that we, like the ancient Colossians, keep moving on, digging deeply while reaching up. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”