An Unmatched King (Colossians 2:6-15)

Colossians 2:6-15

An Unstoppable King

Sunday, July 19, 2026 — Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

Please take out your Bibles and turn with me to Colossians 2:6-15 (2x). It can be found on page #1169.

As we get started, I want us to return for a moment to the hymn we just sang, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing. It is a hymn that was written by Charles Wesley in 1740. A rich hymn because it is full of rich doctrinal truth that both teach and stir our hearts about the truths of our Triune God.

For it, like the book of Colossians, is rich in Christology, that is the study of Christ. Just consider verses 3-5 of the hymn. In verse 3, we sing, “Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease.” Verse 4then adds, “He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin, he sets the pris-‘ner free; his blood can make the foul-est clean.” Verse 5, “He speaks, and lis-t’ning to his voice, new life the dead receive.”

This is what good hymns of the faith are meant to do. They are meant to stir our hearts with rich doctrine. In the case here, our hearts are stirred to delight in Jesus and all that he has done for us!  

Though we must not miss what else this rich hymn teaches us according to the truths of the Bible. For it teaches us of the Lordship of our God. For it begins there in verse 1, with the desire to “sing … the glories of my God and King”. This is then followed in verse 2, with, “My gracious Master and my God.”

This hymn then is an important reminder for us in that we are not our own. That we are created by God in his image for his purposes in spreading his glory to the ends of the earth. Therefore, he is our King, he is our Master! He calls the shots, not us.

Of course, treason entered the Kingdom of the Garden of Eden in God’s good creation. Treason that had begun with that ancient foe, that slithering serpent, Satan himself. Treason that did not remain isolated but quickly spread. That ancient foe deceived the woman in the garden and she and then her husband ate, resulting in the treason to flow through them like deadly venom. A venom that would be passed on through the generations with each new birth coming through the ordinary means of bearing fruit between a man and a woman.

A venom that would cause all effected to reject God as King and to rebel against his rule. And yet, despite such rebellion, God sat his King on Zion’s hill to inherit all nations as his Forever King. A king who was to have dominion and be given allegiance!

It is then this news of this established king that we find in the message of the gospel. That God’s Anointed King is that of King Jesus! And that in responding to this message of the gospel, this good news, we are forsaking our previous allegiance to sin and giving it back to God and his King, King Jesus as our Lord, as our Master!

This is in fact, the message that we have been hearing over the last six weeks here in our study of Colossians that has come to the Colossians by way of Epaphras (1:7). And as Epaphras has faithfully proclaimed this gospel to the Colossians, and they heard it, it has led them to faith in Christ Jesus and has even been bearing fruit in these Colossians.

Paul has then in the introduction that has ran from Colossians 1:1-2:5, been telling these Colossians, both of his prayers of thanks to God for their faith and his prayer of intercession for their continued faith as he now labors to help them be a people now presented mature in the faith, not turning aside from their faith in Jesus. Faith in the one who is Supreme over all things, both in that of creation and redemption.

But now, as we get to Colossians 2:6, we enter the body of this letter that ends at Colossians 4:6. A body that moves from prayers and indicatives about Christ, to commands in light of one having come to faith in Christ.

Don’t miss that, Paul has been giving thanks for the Colossians faith and the salvation they already have in Christ and now moves into these 31 commands in Colossians 2:6-4:6. This reminding us then, that our salvation comes by God’s grace in Christ, but such grace is also at work then to transform us in light of such a great salvation. A truth that begins with remembering who our Gracious Master and King is. Let us then hear the word of the LORD from Colossians 2:6-15…

Here is the argument that I think is being made here from Colossians 2:6-15: Our values, thinking, and conduct are to be directed by Jesus Christ and no other; for he is the LORD of all. We will then unfold this in 2 Points:

1. Christian, you are to walk in Christ (2:6-7)

2. Christian, you are full in Christ (2:8-15)

I. Christian, you are to walk in Christ (2:6-7)

The purpose of this entire letter is found here in Colossians 2:6-7. And so, we read…

Paul has been giving both thanks for the Colossians faith and praying for its increase, while also laboring to exalt Christ in the introduction. But now, he begins to emphasize what the Colossians are called to do in light of this faith, to walk in Christ just as they have received Christ the Lord!

The point of saying Christ Jesus the Lord is an important one. In fact, it has been present throughout the letter. For it was mentioned back in Colossians 1:3,

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” (Colossians 1:3, ESV)

Likewise, in that rich, hymn like portion of Colossians 1:15-20, We see that Jesus is said to be supreme over all things, that is of both creation and redemption.

Therefore, it is to be understood that in hearing the gospel and receiving Jesus by faith, it is not possible to receive him as just a savior and not Lord. But to receive him is to receive him as one’s Lord, as one’s King.

And this then is precisely what the Colossians have done. They have heard the gospel through Epaphras and have received Jesus Christ the Lord by faith. Therefore, because he is Lord, they are now being exhorted to walk in him as their Lord.

Friend, what about you? In saying you have come to faith in Jesus, is it merely so that you can escape the penalty and consequences of sin, but you see it as you are still in control of your life and not Jesus?

If that is your understanding of receiving Jesus, friend, beware, your faith is in a counterfeit Jesus and not Jesus, the Supreme ruler of all. And you my friend, need to repent and come to a true saving faith.

For Jesus is the beloved Son of God who has been anointed King and led to the holy throne in Zion. And he alone is to be given allegiance! An allegiance then that is marked by how we walk. Our walk here being associated with the pattern in which we live our lives. An allegiance that we are not being instructed to carry out.

But what does this walking look like? Thankfully we are given four ways in verse 7 of what this looks like.

A. Be Rooted and Built up in Christ

The first two ways we walk in Christ are to be rooted and built up in Christ.

In us being instructed to be rooted in Christ, Paul turns here using the agricultural analogy to show us what is necessary for us to walk in Christ.  For with a tree, plants, crops, good roots are essential. For without good roots, they will not produce good fruit, they will not withstand the force of nature through the wind and the storms. Shallow roots will cause even the sun to wither the plant. But deep roots will help the plant to thrive and endure.

The same then is necessary for us to walk in Christ. We are to be rooted in him. For he is the vine and we are the branches. Therefore, we are to be nourished and sustained in him. And the deeper we go into Christ, the more we will walk in Christ.

Lest though we miss the first analogy of agriculture, Paul uses a second analogy of architecture and masonry to show us how we are to walk in Christ. For he calls us to be built up in Christ.

Consider your house. If it is built without a solid foundation and strong structural integrity, it will be easily damaged by storms and quickly deteriorate.

And so, it is with Christ if we are to walk in him. We must be built up in Him! We must rest upon him as our foundation and built upon him as our hope.

Let us then, be deeply rooted in Christ and built up in Him! For it is in Christ we are strengthened and sustained in our continued dependence upon him.

B. Be established in the Faith

The third way we are to walk in Christ is for us to be established in the faith, just as we were taught. The Colossians had learned the gospel from Epaphras. A gospel that they had believed and resulted in their faith being placed in Jesus. And now, they are being told that they are to be firm in this faith, to be established in it, not giving way.

C. Abound in Thanksgiving

The fourth way we are to walk in Christ is to abound in thanksgiving. While the temptation here is to think that this is an afterthought compared to the previous three, it is not.

For even in this call to walk in Christ, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as we were taught are all in the passive form. Meaning, that they are all implying while we have a role in these, they are ultimately the action of God in us through our being united to Christ by faith.

Therefore, when we abound in thanksgiving, we are abounding in thankfulness to God for his previous saving grace and his ongoing grace to strengthen and sustain us!

D. Walking in Christ

The call for us to walk in Christ is carried out in these four parts of verse 7. Our continual being rooted and built up in Christ, our being established in the faith, and our abounding thanksgiving.

For when we are walking in this manner, we are able to walk in Christ as those dependent and hopeful and thankful for what we have in Christ! More particulars of this walk will continue to come in this letter as we will see in Colossians 3.

But for now, let us be a people who are devoted to our King, King Jesus in walking in him. May we joyfully submit to his rule, his authority over us and walk as those who are being nourished and sustained by Him! A people who are established in our faith, not losing our footing in Him. And who are continuously thankful for all that we have in Him!

But now we turn to the threat against our walking in Christ. This brings us to our second point.

II. Christian, you are full in Christ (2:8-15)

Our first imperative, command, of Colossians was a call to walk in Jesus just as we had received the Lord. Our second comes in Colossians 2:8…

A. The Lies of Deception

The command to see to it is a warning for us as we seek to walk in Christ the Lord. For there is an enemy that would love to take us captive by various means and turning our hearts and minds away from Christ towards other things. Particularly in what we see here, a philosophy and empty deceit that is rooted in human tradition, to things still rooted in this world and the things of the flesh rather than that of Christ.

We see the particulars of this philosophy and empty deceit in Colossians 2:16-23, as Paul warns the Colossians to not allow others to disqualify them or pass judgment on them concerning these human traditions.

But these philosophies and empty deceit are not found alone in the day of the Colossians. For they appear throughout the ages and are ever changing as to what the particulars of these are. And yet we are here given the tools we need to be on guard against such being taken captive by such deceit.

For we have received Christ, the one whom the fullness of God dwells in, he who is full of wisdom and understanding and full of truth! He counters all such deceit. Therefore, any new teaching that arises teaching us that there is any lack in Christ is not a teaching rooted in Christ!

In fact, the root of all sin, is to think that there is lack or withholding good from our Triune God. Whether it be something lacking in the garden in God withholding some goodness from man or the lack in the Anointed King to bring about the fullness of God’s salvation. But the reality is, there is no lack in Christ! For we are filled in Him with all we need! For in Christ, we have received His fullness! Verses 9-10…

B. The Fullness of God in Christ

The primary defense against the dark arts of empty deceit is to look to the fullness of God in Christ! For Christ Jesus is no mere man. He is one who is both fully man and fully God! For the fullness of God’s divine nature dwells bodily within the person of Jesus! This is why Hebrews can say that Jesus is the radiance of God, the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3).

Paul’s point in saying this is not merely reminding the Colossians of what he has already said about the Supremacy of Christ. But to declare that the very fullness of God that dwells in Christ, is now in you as Christ dwells in you who have received Him by faith.

C. The Fullness of Christ in You

The fullness of Him who is Supreme over all things dwells within every believer who has been bought by the spilling of his own blood.

For while the false teachers labor to deceive in saying there is a lack of Christ for the Colossians to taste the fullness they need, Paul tells them the fullness they need is in Christ which is now in them! There is nothing more we then need to draw near to our God than through Jesus!

A fullness that is then explained.

1. Circumcised in Christ

Verse 11…  Paul first shows us the fullness of Christ in us in turning to that of circumcision. Circumcision being that of the removal of foreskin. First in the Covenant of Abraham, back in Genesis 17. A circumcision made with hands on the eighth day after a male child was born to the house of Israel.

But as we saw in our Scripture reading earlier from Deuteronomy 30, there was the promise of another circumcision, this time not of the foreskin of the flesh, but of the heart. A work not of human hands, but of God.

It is in Christ and the fullness of him in us that we receive this second and greater circumcision. For it is the removing of our hearts previously of stone and giving us a softened heart towards the things of God. Like always then, Jesus is the one who brings the fullness of God’s promises to fulfillment.

And it is in this circumcision of heart that will enable us then to walk in Christ in an appropriate manner elaborated more in Colossians 3.

2. Buried and Raised with Christ

Not only is the fullness of Christ in us in this circumcision of Christ, but also in that we are buried and raised with him. Verse 12…

Paul tells us that we have been both buried with Christ and raised with him. The imagery he then turns to for this is in the ordinance of baptism.

Baptism being that here of an outward sign of an inner reality. For when one is immersed under the waters of baptism, there is a spiritual significance of this. It is a symbol of what is taking place, of one having died with Christ on the cross in dying to the old man. Dying to a previous allegiance to sin.

Then, in one’s arising, it is a symbol of this inner working of new life being given in Christ. That in Christ, God brings dead sinners to life.

Beloved, if you are here and you profess Christ, but never have gone through the ordinance of baptism, let me encourage you to consider obeying Christ’s command for us to be baptized in Christ. For though there is nothing salvific to this act, it is a clear symbol both of our new allegiance with Christ and of the reality of this having died with him and been raised with him by faith! Please come talk with me later if this is something you would like to know more about.

3. Forgiven in Christ

There is another means of Christ’s fullness in us, and that is that in him, we have the fullness of forgiveness. Verses 13-14…

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Therefore, all are unworthy to stand before God and live apart from his mercy and forgiveness.

The false teachers teach us that human traditions are likely even necessary to aide in this forgiveness. But that is to miss of what takes place at the cross. For at the cross, when Jesus is nailed to the tree, our sins are nailed with him. For this is why he goes willingly to the cross, to pay the penalty of our sins, of our transgressions. And so, God makes us alive with Christ in forgiving our trespasses, the records of our treason against him.

Therefore, the fullness of Christ in us is that we have been forgiven all our debts and trespasses that previously left us dead in our sins! And we are no longer dead in Christ, but made alive in Him!

4. Jesus Triumphs over them!

Finally, the fullness of Christ in us is that of the full assurance of Christ’s victory. Verse 15…

Jesus puts all that opposes him to ultimate shame in his sacrificial death, paying the penalty of sin and then defeats death in his rising from the grave. And therefore, since he has conquered all of these, we need not fear various rulers and authorities of this world. For we are in Christ, the one who has and is triumphing over all of these!

Now, make no mistake, must we keep watch in this world as these rulers and authorities are still at work in it? Absolutely! That is why we are exhorted to hold fast to the faith and keep watch so that we are not taken captive by these false teachings. But we need not fear if we hold to Christ, as the victory has already come in Him!

Application for believers…

D. You Who are Still Dead

GOSPEL INVITATION!

III. Conclusion

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