Paul had just exhorted the Colossian Christians to continue walking in Christ in the same way they received Him. Sanctification (the process of becoming more like Christ) is rooted in justification (the act of being made right before God). Both are the working of grace in our lives and take place “in Christ.” Both are appropriated through faith.

“To be rooted” captures the image of a tree with a strong root system. Psalm 1 pictures a rooted man as one who builds his life on the Word of God. “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2-3). Now “in Christ” our rootedness is not based on what we do (e.g. meditating on God’s word), but on what God has done for us in Christ. We have already been made righteous and are now rooted “in Him.”

Therefore, we are now being built up “in Him” and our faith is being established. What a strong combination. We are secured in Him and we are assured in our faith! As believers in Christ, we are safe for all eternity. “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14, see Romans 8:28-39).

Unfortunately not all Christians are assured, because either they lack knowledge or they lack mature faith. Paul just finished saying that our walk must be like our birth—in faith. Our faith was used by God to save us, and our faith is used for assuring us that we are secure. By faith we were saved, by faith we live the Christian life. This was engendered from Paul’s earlier instruction and had already resulted in overwhelming gratitude on the Colossians’ part.

So how do we walk by faith? By believing God’s Word! We believed the message of salvation through Christ, by His grace through our faith. This is the first and the greatest promise of God to us. Walking the Christian walk is simply a matter of continuing to believe the promises of God, believing in Him when He instructs us how to live. How much of our difficulties come from neglecting God’s Word to us and living by our own fleshly sight, “thinking ourselves to be wise,” without God’s help? He knows best how we ought to live our lives, so we need to believe that when we follow His commands, we are living as He wants  us to—and in the end, that kind of life brings Him the greatest glory!