(Thanksgiving) Thanks be to God for Christ - Col 2:6-7

INTRODUCTION:

If we were to ask,

how do you walk in Christ?

We would probably say many things.

We must believe in the Gospel.

We must spend time in prayer.

We must follow God’s Word.

We must rely on the Holy Spirit.

We must put to death sin.

We must love God and others.

But I would like to focus on a text today that does give us some of these traditional answers,

but also includes an often neglected part of the Christian walk.

Col 2:6-7

Colossians 2:6–7 ESV

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

The main command of this passage is in v. 6 - we are to walk in Christ.

Paul first tells us what we would typically expect when talking about walking in Christ.

where we are told what we typically expect when talking about walking in Christ.

We are to be Rooted and built up in Christ the Christ we received.

Our text challenges us to with the traditional

Paul challenges us to walk in the same way we received Christ.

We Rooted and built up in Christ.

But Paul places the same significance on the last part of the verse, “abounding in thanksgiving”

Equally important to us holding to Christ alone is for us to abound in thankfulness for Christ.

Does your walk with Christ include an abounding thanksgiving?

Let’s start with why we should be abounding in thanksgiving.

To put it briefly - declared that:

Christ is God. (v. 15, v. 19)

Christ is the highest authority of the Land (v. 16-17)

Christ created all things and hold all things (v. 16)

All of these truths about Christ should cause us to realize that

Christ is vastly greater than us

He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

He is the creator of the World.

All other Kings will bow to him

and further he is sufficient without us.

God could have lived without ever acknowledging us.

Psalm 8:4 ESV

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet, tells us that Christ also showed incredible love for us.

We often picture our selves under judgement to God because of our sin.

and we were.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

and we were.

But Colossians shows another side of our sin.

We needed peace and reconciliation because of our hatred for God.

Colossians 1:20–22 ESV

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Col

Were were the enemies of God - warring against God.

And yet God changed our hearts and minds from loving evil and hating the Holy God

- to a love of God and the things of God.

- He reconciled us to God.

So the vastly superior Christ,

making peace by the blood of Christ.

died for his own enemies - us,

accomplishing the reconciliation and peace that could only come from God.

When we consider that Christ - the Lord of Lords - Died for us (his enemies) in order to cause us to no longer hate,

but love God.

Is that not a good reason to abound in thankful gratitude for Christ?

We mentioned many reasons to be thankful towards God,

but may we especially as Christians saved by the Gospel of Christ

abound in thanksgiving.

- We are the recipients of a Gospel we do not deserve

- that was payed for by someone who should have never payed attention to us.

- and by his death gave us the riches found in Christ.

May we this thanksgiving give thankful praise that Christ died for us.

As we come to thanksgiving, may we walk in Christ, abounding in thanksgiving for the indescribable gift of the Gospel.