What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth?

  

    With spring here again, I'm enjoying spending time  in my small garden.  With all sprouting and budding that happens each spring, it doesn't surprise me that this is also a picture of my own spiritual growth.

     Paul tells us this quite clearly that we are God's farm in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. As I’ve been reading through the Life-Study of  Colossians, Witness Lee has been expounding the different passages there about growing (1:10, 12, 28; 2:7, 19).   I’ve been seeing in these chapters that many of these believers were struggling with philosophies, religious observances, and ascetic practices that no doubt frustrated their growth. 

    Because of that Paul used this same metaphor of being a plant to remind  them that they were planted into Christ not Greek or Jewish culture.  In Colossians 2:7 he talks specifically about that, "Having been rooted and being built up in Him…."    Paul was encouraging these believers to focus on absorbing Christ so they could grow. 

    Whenever I gather vegetables from my garden, I’m amazed that the small seeds I planted have produced such big vegetables.    So just like plants have root hairs, this verse makes it evident that we also have spiritual root hairs that take in nourishment from God's word, from our times of prayer, and from fellowship with other believers, etc.   I found the exposition on this verse in Chapter 47 of the Life-Study of Colossians very helpful in understanding Colossians 2:7:  

Two of my grandchildren checking out the garden.

  For us to be built up does not first mean that we are built up in the church, the Body. It means that we are built up in the Lord and experience an increase of stature....First we are rooted in Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit, and then we grow up in Him. We build ourselves up by growing up. Our being built up depends on our assimilating into our being the riches of Christ as the soil.  Having assimilated these riches into us, we shall grow and be built up…. Our growth depends on how much nourishment we assimilate into us by being rooted in Christ (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Colossians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print).

 At the end of Chapter 47 Witness Lee talks about how we need to exercise our spirit in order to be more deeply rooted in God. And just like physical exercise is critical for human growth, spiritual exercise is imperative for our spiritual growth.  At the end of this chapter he says that's why Colossians closes with Paul exhorting the believers to persevere in prayer!  

You can listen to excerpts from the Life-Study of Colossians given in 1979 on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. 

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Colossians:

What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?
What is the Stewardship of God in Colossians 1:25?
What is the Hope of Glory in Colossians 1:27?
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
What is God's Intention for Your Life?
From the Life-Study of Colossians - What Happens When We Pray?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?
What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth? (Part 1)
What is the Goal of Spiritual Growth in Colossians 2:19?  (Part 2)
What is Christ Doing at the Right Hand of God in Colossians 3:2?