Colossians 2:6 tells us that we have received Christ and that we should walk in Him; verse 7 reveals that we also have been rooted in Him. The fact that we have been rooted in Christ reveals that we have a very particular kind of unity and identification with Him. We have been planted in Him in the way of life, and as such, we draw all our nourishment and supply from Him, just as a plant draws all its nourishment and supply from the soil. Do we realize that we have been rooted in Christ? Do we have the thought that Christ is our soil? We all need to see that we are like little plants that have been rooted in Christ so that by His nourishing and supplying we will grow up.
All these items mentioned in Colossians—receiving Christ, walking in Christ, and being rooted in Christ—reveal Christ to us. They are all aspects of the full knowledge of Christ. Thus, we must study and consider all these aspects as they relate to and unveil Christ. What does it mean that we have received Christ? How do we receive Him and where do we receive Him? Moreover, what does it mean to walk in Christ, and how is it that we have been rooted in Christ? What do these items tell us concerning Christ? The fact that we have received Christ reveals that Christ to us is our life; the fact that we must walk in Christ unveils that Christ is also our kingdom—He is the realm in which we live and walk; the fact that we have been rooted in Christ indicates that Christ is our soil—the source from which we draw all of our nourishment and supply. If Christ were not life, how could we receive Him? If Christ were not the kingdom, how could we walk in Him? And if Christ were not our soil, how could we be rooted in Him? If we would spend some time to consider these matters, the Spirit would grant us revelation. As a result, we would know Christ more and more and would have a fuller revelation of Christ. This will cause us to jump up and praise the Lord. Praise the Lord that He is so much to us!
The progression of thought in Colossians 2:6-7 is very peculiar. After telling us that we have received Christ, we might expect that the following phrase would tell us to keep Him. Instead, this verse says that since we have received Christ, we should walk in Him. Having received Christ, we should walk in Christ. Then verse 7 tells us that having been rooted in Christ, we are being built up in Him. It would seem to make more sense to say that having been rooted in Christ, we are growing up in Him, but instead of saying growing, this verse says being built up. Having been rooted in Christ, we are being built up in Christ.
What does it mean to be built up in Christ? What is the relationship between being rooted in Christ and being built up? As a young believer, I did not understand the meaning of being built up. I knew how stones were used in the building of a house, but I wondered, “How can I be built up?” Eventually I realized that to understand such a portion of the Scriptures requires that one spend much time to seek the Lord’s mind. It requires that one consider other verses in the Scriptures that speak of these matters.
One such verse is 1 Corinthians 3:9, which says, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s cultivated land, God’s building.” This verse corresponds with Colossians 2:7—our being God’s cultivated land relates to our being rooted in Christ, and our being God’s building relates to our being built up. As God’s cultivated land, we must be rooted in Christ as our soil in order to grow; as God’s building, we must be built up. Both these verses reveal that we are God’s plants and God’s building. What then is the relationship between growth and building, and how can being rooted and being built up be merged into one? The answer to these questions can be found in two verses in 1 Peter 2. Verse 2 speaks of our growth when it says, “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation.” Verse 5 then continues, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.” This verse merges growth and building together. We are stones that are being built, but we are living stones—stones that grow. As living stones we grow, and as we grow we are built together. On one hand, we are growing; on the other hand, we are being built together. As those who have received Christ, we must walk in Him as our kingdom; and as those who have been rooted in Christ, we must grow in order to be built up. This is Paul’s thought in Colossians 2:6-7.
From the verses we have just considered, we can see that growth is for building and that building is the result of growth. When we grow up in Christ, we are built up with others. Without growth, there is no building. When we speak about the building of the church, we must remember that the real building of the church is the growth of all the brothers and sisters. We are built together by our growth. Thus, without our growth we can never be built together.
Recently in fellowshipping with some brothers, I became familiar with their understanding of building. According to their understanding, the believers, who are all materials for building, are built together when the Holy Spirit uses someone to gather them and “pile” them together. This is absolutely wrong. The building of the church is not the result of some kind of work; it is the result of the growth of the life of Christ in all of us. These passages in Colossians very much stress the life of Christ (cf. Col. 3:4). If there is no growth of the life of Christ among us, there is no possibility that the church will be built up among us.