Colossians 2:7 Commentary and Bible Study

There is almost a little four-point recipe for resisting heresy and false teaching, even in its mildest, early stages in this verse. First of all, ‘be rooted.’ We are rooted in the word of God and in the gospel, of course. Our roots are there because that is what saves us and they must stay there and we must challenge anything, which threatens the gospel. ‘Rooted and built up’ – there is the root beneath the surface, it is actually a mixed metaphor. Be rooted like a tree, deeply and firmly in the earth. Then be built up like a building. In other words, be firmly rooted in the gospel and grow as Christian people. Don’t stand still, don’t mark time, always be learning from the Word of God, always be increasingly stronger, strengthened, knowledgeable by the word. This is the way to safety. Of course, if you are rooted in Christ and you never grow and you never learn anything, so that you become a vulnerable, naïve sort of Christian, you could well be swept away. So be rooted and built up is the sense of the term there. ‘And stablished in the faith,’ very interestingly the original Greek translated ‘stablished,’ means confirmed. In other words, experience Christ. Be rooted in the gospel, grow and learn as a Christian, and make sure you are experiencing Christ. You are praying, you are interceding for others, you are asking his help because you will get answers to those prayers and you will be very moved and this will make you confirmed. So, if you are rooted, you need to be learning and growing but don’t stop there because otherwise you will just be full of head knowledge. Be somebody who is praying and experiencing the deliverance and the blessing of God. Then at the end of the verse, ‘with thanksgiving.’ Praise him and thank him and then you will love him more, and you will love the gospel and the word more, because you praise God for these things and you will value and you will defend them.