Keep Growing

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, on this special day, I give You my thanks. You are always guiding, providing, and surrounding me with love.

Read Colossians 2:6-15

^[6] So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ^[7] rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ^[8] See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. ^[9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ^[10] and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ^[11] In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ^[12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ^[13] When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ^[14] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ^[15] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Meditate

“Nowhere does the New Testament teach perfection in this lifetime. It does, however, teach progress in the Christian life” (William Hull, 1930-2013). We must always remember this truth.

Think Further

One of the joys of living in a tourist city is that we receive many visitors each year. Tourists glide into town in their air-conditioned buses, stay for an hour, and then they are off to the next city. The tourist is quite different from the pilgrim. The tourist looks for the immediate, the pilgrim for the long-term. In this section, Paul describes three important areas of growth that should characterize the true disciple.

The first is a call to godly living. If we have received Christ, we must now live in him (6). “Receiving Christ” means receiving the truth of the Gospel, but also receiving the Person (“Christ in you” 1:27). And having “received Christ Jesus as Lord,” we are then to demonstrate that reality through living Christ’s life. It’s impossible to say, “I’ve received Christ as Lord,” and then fail to live a life that is dependent on him and obedient to him. The second call is to spiritual growth. Paul reminds us that we are rooted in Christ (7). We are settled and secure in him, nourished by his life. Now we must grow up spiritually, built up brick by brick. Third, there is the call to grow in Christian understanding. Having being taught the truth, we are now to be “strengthened” (7), to increase in our knowledge of the truth and our experience of its power. The early church, empowered by the Spirit, knew that this mattered: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42).

And notice verse 7: “overflowing with thankfulness.” God is the one who causes growth. Thank God you have received Christ–now live a Christ-like life. Thank God you have been rooted in Christ–now commit yourself to spiritual growth. Thank God you were taught–now grow in Christian understanding.

Apply

Can you identify one or two areas of your life where you would like to see progress? Make a note of these things, and focus on them in prayer.

Closing prayer

Yes Lord, I want to be overflowing with thankfulness. I rejoice in Your faithfulness to me and the abundance You have given me. I am truly blessed.

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