Colossians 2:1-7 CONCERN FOR OTHERS How thankful we are for those who have a genuine concern for the spiritual well-being of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of God's choice servants labor in prayer for and visualize the condition and needs of those in other parts of the world. They have never seen them but have heard about them and read about the work in which others are engaged and seek to assess the best way they can be involved. They minister in prayer and other ways to those who are new believers in places they will never see in their lifetime. Paul's ministry to the Colossians was an effective work in the written word. He was able to make known to them the importance of the church and to clarify clearly its composition to all those God had saved. By this means, the false teaching they were hearing was exposed for what it was. He personally testified of this by the suffering through which he was going for the sake of the Gospel. That lent great weight to his stated concern for the new believers at Colossae.
He was able, through this letter, to verbalize the toil, the struggles, and the strife he was going through to convey the heartfelt concern he had for the saints at Colossae and those in the assembly eleven miles away at Laodicea. It is no small matter when we realize God's people in other places are in jeopardy because of false teaching that can ruin their lives and testimony. His commitment to them was to educate them, to give them the treasure of wisdom. It is evidence of genuine concern when one is emotionally conflicted about the well-being of others. But that doesn't excuse us from making contact with them to pass on understanding and comfort by means of bonding with them through honest communication. Paul's concern was because of what others were doing to the people of God through false teaching, and the Colossian believers didn't appear to be resisting the heresy.
His concern for them exemplified Paul's admonition to them. When the saints are under attack by the challenges made to the truth of God, they don't need to be consoled; they need to be encouraged to take action to resist and stop that which is wrong. Love for each other has the tendency to unite believers and promotes real encouragement. Encouragement to commit to the truth brings understanding and knowledge. That insight into all the "riches" we have in Christ gives full assurance and full knowledge of what God is doing in the church. He is uniting the church composed of all believers so they understand who they are and what they have. The heretics were propagating things they said were hidden before they came. Paul's writing assured the believers of the "full knowledge" (acknowledgment) of the previously hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. These were not things learned from religious hucksters but are truths already revealed to us.
Paul gave warnings to the Colossians against the heresy they were being attracted to through the deceptive trickery of false words. Spiritual perception shows that truth has order to it that originates with God. The firmness of faith counteracts any heresy because faith is based on God. We can greatly appreciate spiritual maturity when we see it or hear of it. When one receives Christ Jesus the Lord, that person has not just picked up some philosophy or strange ideas; they have received a living Person who is the Sovereign of the universe. Because of Him and who He is, we must be committed to walk in Him. When we have received Him and walk in Him, then we will be established in Him and will be taught in Him. The evidence will be seen because those who abound in Him are, and will always be, thankful for Him.
The commitment to faith and the building of Christian character is enlarged and increases as we are rooted firmly in the teaching we have received, and there is evident growth. The evidence of one being established in the faith is trust and overflowing thanksgiving that is real. Such people are not moved by heresy because they are satisfied with the spiritual maturity that is unmistakable. There is evidence in an assembly of "order" as in an army that has a standard to establish and form its basis and a protocol to follow for orderly conduct. There is provision for the soldier to overcome the enemy of the flesh by putting on the armor of light [Rom.13:12] as Joseph did when he resisted Potiphar's wife. There is ample authority to overcome the world when the armor of righteousness [2 Cor.6:7] is put on, and we only glory in the cross. The devil was overcome by the Lord Jesus when He quoted appropriate scriptures, indicating that even to us, the whole armor of God [Eph.6:11] is available.
Our commitment as believers is evident when we "so walk" as a pilgrim passing through this world, obeying the call of God and not looking to settle here on earth as our permanent dwelling place. Pilgrims are looking for a better land with their God- given far vision. We are to "walk in Him" by faith, acknowledging our faith, until we die in faith. That faith is "rooted in Him" as a tree grows by the "rivers of water" and can be counted on to bear fruit. Whether the fruit is a healing balm or full of flavor, the whole purpose of believers who are "rooted" is to glorify the Lord, be consistent in their lives, bring comfort to others, and promote fellowship and protection for the people of God, including themselves.
"Built up in Him" indicates a work that is still in progress. God's people are God's building that is being "fitly framed together" by God's pattern under the principles of God's revealed will. We ourselves will be built up in our own faith like a student learning from qualified teachers who have been tried and proven. The Lord taught His disciples. Paul taught publicly and from house to house. Teachers of the word are to communicate that which they know experimentally and by spiritual wisdom, so that others may abound in their faith "with thanksgiving." This is the concern of a true and faithful steward of the Lord.