1. Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV) 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

2. WALKING IN CHRIST Colossians 2:6-7

3. Walking In Christ  There are many challenges to the Christian life  There are especially many challenges to the young or newborn Christian  Jesus spoke of some of those challenges in the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:18- 23)

4. Walking In Christ  There is always the possibility of apostasy  The question for us is, how do we keep from falling away?  How do we remain faithful to Christ once we begin our walk with Him?  Colossians 2:6-7

5. Walking In Christ  Paul gives us an imperative verb, “walk” in Christ  It literally means to follow or to be occupied with  Following the imperative verb, we see 4 participles that explain to us how we are to walk in Christ

6. Walking In Christ  1. Rooted  The first participle we see is the Greek word rhizoo  It means to root or become stable  It’s the idea of a plant or tree taking root in the ground  That is done so that the plant can become more stable

7. Walking In Christ  1. Rooted  Once we give our life to Christ, and are baptized in Him, we need to begin to let our roots dig in  This is how we can walk in Christ  Those roots can grow and make us firm in so many different ways

8. Walking In Christ  1. Rooted  To be rooted by God means that we are set firmly in place  God has placed us as Christians into His church (Acts 2:47)  He is placing us in an environment in which we can be rooted

9. Walking In Christ  1. Rooted  Love and encouragement of the brethren (family)  Spiritual blessings in Christ  See the difference in our lives when we live for God and not the world (forgiveness)  If we are going to be faithful we need to have roots

10. Walking In Christ  2. Built up  The second thing that Paul lists here is the Greek word epoikodomeo  It means built up; to build upon something started (house)  A foundation is laid, but there must be something built upon it

11. Walking In Christ  2. Built up  Our faith is increased through the word of God (Rom. 10:17)  The “Christian Graces” carries the idea of being built up (II Pet. 1:5-7)  We should be growing in Christ if we wish to remain a faithful part of His kingdom

12. Walking In Christ  3. Established  Next we see the Greek word bebaioo which means to stabilize  Established means to make strong; to give confidence and security  Again, we think of the idea of building a house and the things we do to make it stable

13. Walking In Christ  3. Established  We can reinforce our faith and belief each time we gather to worship  Prayer is a way we can talk to God and ask Him to make us stronger in our faith and life  God is able to root, build up, and establish us in our walk in Christ if we allow Him to do so

14. Walking In Christ  4. Abounding  This 4 th Greek word that we see is the word perisseuo which means to be in excess or excel  This word is different from the first 3 because it is in the present active tense  It is something that we are constantly doing as a result of the first 3

15. Walking In Christ  4. Abounding  We should be overflowing with gratitude because of the fact that we are being rooted, built up, and established  Think about how a person acts and lives when they are thankful  It should affect all aspects of our lives

16. Walking In Christ  4. Abounding  Think about how many times a person was joyful or rejoiced because of their salvation in Christ (Acts 8:39; 16:34)  When we find ourselves walking in Christ, we need to recognize God’s hand in this  It should cause us to abound in thanksgiving