Colossians 2.6-Colossians Must Continue to Live in Fellowship with Christ Through Faith in Paul's Teaching Concerning Their Identification with Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday October 18, 2015
Colossians: Colossians 2:6-Colossians Must Continue to Live in Fellowship with Christ Through Faith in Paul’s Teaching Concerning Their Identification with Christ
Lesson # 44
Colossians 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. (NASB95)
Colossians 2:6 is an inference from Colossians 2:4-5.
“Received” is the verb paralambanō (παραλαμβάνω), which means “to receive, to accept” Christian instruction.
The verb is often employed in this manner in the Pauline epistles (1 Cor. 15:1, 3; Gal. 1:9, 12; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 2:13; 4:1; 2 Thess. 3:6).
Here in Colossians 2:6, it specifically refers to these faithful Christians in Colossae “receiving” or “accepting” Paul’s apostolic teaching concerning their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
This verb paralambanō indicates that they regarded this instruction as true and sound or in other words they believed what he taught them.
They exercised faith in this teaching which he affirms with them in Colossians 2:5.
In this verse, he asserts that he was rejoicing because of their discipline and specifically their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
“Christ Jesus the Lord” contains the figure of metonymy meaning that the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is put for Paul’s apostolic teaching concerning the Christian’s union and identification with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
“Walk” is the verb peripateō (περιπατέω), which means “to live, to conduct one’s life” and is used in a figurative sense with reference to the lifestyle of these faithful believers in Colossae.
Therefore Paul is commanding these faithful Christians in Colossae “to live their lives” or “to conduct their lives” in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
The present imperative form of the verb peripateō is a customary present imperative whose force is for these faithful Christians in Colossae to simply continue making it their habit of conducting their lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
The present imperative of the verb is not an ingressive-progressive imperative implying that these faithful Christians in Colossae were not doing this and Paul wanted him to begin again to do this since this epistle clearly implies the former was already doing this.
If you recall, in Colossians 1:3-5, the apostle Paul informed these faithful Christians in Colossae that he gave thanks to the Father in prayer for them after hearing about their faith in Jesus Christ and that they were practicing the love of God with one another.
Then, in Colossians 2:5, he asserts that he was rejoicing over the fact that they were disciplined and specifically their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
The intensive personal pronoun autos means “Him” referring of course to the Lord Jesus Christ and is the object of the preposition en which functions as a dative of association indicating Paul is commanding the Colossians to continue to make it their habit of living their lives “in fellowship with” Jesus Christ.
This prepositional phrase contains the figure of metonymy meaning the person of Jesus Christ is put for experiencing fellowship with Him.
Colossians 2:6 Therefore, just as all of you accepted the teaching concerning your union and identification with the Christ, who is Jesus, who is the Lord, so all of you continue to make it your habit of living your lives in fellowship with Him. (My translation)
The command in Colossians 2:6 is an inference from Paul’s warning and encouragement he expressed in Colossians 2:4-5.
In the latter, he informs the faithful Christians in Colossae that he communicated to them the Christ who he describes as a mystery.
The purpose of which is that absolutely no one would at any time deceive them with plausible persuasive argument.
He then presents the reason why he instructed the Colossians in writing and why he interceded in prayer for them.
He asserts that he was present with the Colossians through the agency of the Holy Spirit who inspired him to instruct the Colossians in this epistle and to pray for them and which prayer he communicated to them in Colossians 2:2-3.
In other words, what Paul is saying to the Colossians is that he was present with them through the Spirit in the sense that his Spirit inspired instruction in this epistle would be the same even if he were present with them.
He was also present with the Colossians through the Spirit in the sense that his Spirit inspired prayer for them would be the same for them even if he were present with them.
Paul then informs the Colossians that he was rejoicing because of their discipline and specifically their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Now, here in Colossians 2:6, Paul affirms that the Colossians had received his apostolic teaching in the past and up to the time he wrote this epistle.
Consequently, he commands them to walk or live their lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
So this statement is an inference from Paul’s statements in Colossians 2:4-5.
It is an inference from his statement that he wrote to them in this epistle and interceded in prayer for them to protect them from the false teachers.
Therefore Paul is saying that because he interceded in prayer for them and wrote this epistle to them to protect them from the false teachers, they should obey his command to live their lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ just as they have received his apostolic teaching in the past.
They should obey his command to live their lives in fellowship with Christ just as they received his teaching about their identification with Him based upon the fact that he wrote to them about their identification with Christ and prayed for them to protect them from the false teachers.
Based upon the fact that Paul wrote to them about their identification with Christ and prayed for them to protect them from the false teachers, they should obey his command to live their lives in fellowship with Christ just as they received his teaching concerning their union and identification with Christ.
When Paul states that these faithful Christians in Colossae accepted Christ Jesus, the Lord, he is affirming that they accepted by faith his apostolic teaching concerning their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
They exercised faith in this teaching which he affirms with them in Colossians 2:5.
In this verse, he asserts that he was rejoicing because of their discipline and specifically their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
The command in Colossians 2:6 which Paul issues these faithful Christians in Colossae required that they continue to make it their habit of living their lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we can see that Colossians 2:6 presents a comparison between the Colossians accepting by faith Paul’s teaching concerning their identification with Jesus Christ and his command for them to continue to live their lives in fellowship with Christ.
Thus, it is presenting the correlation between obeying Paul’s apostolic teaching concerning the Christian’s union and identification with Jesus Christ and the Colossians experiencing fellowship with Jesus Christ.
In other words, it is through obedience to Paul’s apostolic teaching concerning the Christian’s union and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection that the Christian experiences fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, when Paul affirms that these faithful Christians in Colossae received Christ Jesus the Lord, he is not referring to their faith at conversion when they were declared justified by their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Rather he is speaking of their post-conversion faith in their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
This is indicated clearly by the fact Colossians 2:6 is presenting a comparison between the Colossians continuing to experience fellowship with Jesus Christ by continuing to appropriate by faith their identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session.
Further support is found in Colossians 2:5 where Paul informs the Colossians that he was rejoicing because of their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:6 is not the first time that we see Paul expressing his concern for the lifestyle of these faithful Christians in Colossae since he mentions their walk or lifestyle in Colossians 1:10 in relation to his intercessory prayer for them.
Interestingly, in Colossians 2:6, the term “Christ” would refute Judaism which rejected Jesus of Nazareth as her Messiah since it affirms that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.
The term “Jesus” would refute the incipient form of Docetic Gnosticism found in the Essene branch of Judaism which denied the humanity of Jesus Christ since the term affirms the human nature of Jesus Christ.
The term “Lord” would refute those in the Roman Empire would declared Caesar as the sovereign ruler of the earth since it affirms the sovereign rulership of Jesus Christ over the earth.