Pastor Nancy
Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God
Colossians 2:6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
These verses – walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him – mean to identify with, stay connected to, and seek spiritual nourishment in Jesus. It is the process of depending entirely on Him for stability, allowing His teachings to shape your character, and standing firm through life's challenges. It also means abiding in Him.
John 15:4-7
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
In these verses, the word remain (abide) is repeated eight times. It means anchoring yourself in Christ – not moving away or drifting.
Abide in Me means looking to Him exclusively and what He has done for us at the cross. It means that we understand that every solution we seek, for whatever the need might be, is found only in Christ. If we properly abide in Him – which we can only do by ever making the cross the object of our faith – then He will abide in us without fail.
When we abide, we bear fruit that identifies us.
Matthew 7:17-20
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
When we remain in Christ, we become more like Him because we bear the fruit of the Spirit. We develop Christ-like character, and this is what God desires of every believer.
It is the fruit that identifies us, not the gift. Fruit is who you are, but gift is what you have. A gift is what you have in your hand, but fruit is what you have in your heart. Our character comes first before our ministry or gifts. Our gifts and ministry should flow out of our relationship with God. Jesus relates with us on the basis of who we are (character), not what we have (gift).
Jesus said, "I never knew you," yet they worked for Him.
Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
Do not be wowed by the leaves but check the fruits. Do not be deceived by the ministry; counter-check against character. That is why Jesus says:
Matthew 7:16
You will know them by their fruits.
Gifts are given, but fruit is born out of abiding. The more you remain rooted in Christ, the more you become like Him as the Holy Spirit bears fruit and transforms our character. Allow the Spirit of truth to rule in you.
Ephesians 3:17
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.
When we fail to abide, we may have gifts and anointing but fail in our character. You may be anointed but still have a wicked heart like King Saul. He was the anointed king and a great warrior, but he was self-centred and full of jealousy and envy, such that he was ready to kill David.
On the contrary, David was anointed and had a godly heart because he was rooted in God. He had both the character and the gift.
Psalm 78:72
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
David led Israel with skillful hands and a heart of integrity. Unless you abide in Christ and are built up in Him, you can be heavily anointed and full of great gifts but have a heart of Saul – full of jealousy, bringing others down, competition, working for the downfall of others, or taking advantage of them. Instead of building up, you use your gift, position, or achievement to tear down. The key thing is having Jesus Christ established in your heart.
Abiding Results in Bearing Good Fruit and Good Deeds
When you are living in Christ, you are walking according to the word of God. This affects how you think (thoughts), how you talk (words), and how you walk (deeds). It affects every aspect of your life, and that is how you bear good fruit always.
Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Because this tree is planted by the rivers of water, the fruit comes naturally. The key thing is abiding in a life-source. The roots are always connected to the water, even in the dry season.
Good rooting results in good fruits. When you see bad fruits or no fruits, the problem is not the fruits but the roots.
When you are rooted in Christ, you cannot walk on the path of the wicked, neither can you tolerate evil, because you are led by the Spirit, thus bearing the fruit of the Spirit. When you are rooted in God, you receive guidance, direction, and counsel from God and not the counsel of the wicked.
Psalm 119:24
Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.
The health (strength and stability) of any tree is not in its branches but its roots. When a tree is deeply rooted, it is usually strong and stable, sinking down deep roots to ensure a constant supply of water and nutrition.
The life of the righteous man is marked by strength and stability, marking maturity. Such a man cannot be moved by the storms of life or the lies of the world.
Failure to Continue Abiding Results in Spiritual Immaturity
Paul warns believers against remaining spiritually immature, which leaves them vulnerable to false teachings, shifting cultural trends, and deceptive human schemes.
Ephesians 4:13-14
Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
Rooted in Christ, we are well grounded and we are not moved by every wind of doctrine or moved by the storms of life. Our faith remains strong and stable as we abide, and we can withstand trials and the attacks of the enemy. Job was well rooted. No amount of trials could bring his faith down. Despite the fact that he did not understand everything that was going on, he stood his ground: "I know my Redeemer lives..."
Job 19:25-27
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
Job was well rooted and he overcame the storm.
Some of us tukipitia tu matatizo kidogo ya muda tunakimbilia msaada kwingine. Tunajisort kimwili au kukimbia kwa waganga na manabii wa uongo badala ya kukaa katika njia ya ukweli. [Some of us, when we go through just a little trouble for a short time, we run to other sources of help. We sort ourselves out physically or run to witch doctors and false prophets instead of staying in the way of truth.]
When we continue living in Christ, abiding in Him and well rooted in Him, we mature, becoming more like Him, bringing glory and honour to His name as we bear fruit.
John 15:8
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Our Walk and Our Work
Abiding will always take care of these two things: our walk (which is fruitfulness) and our work (which is ministry). We should never prioritise our work over our walk. Our greatest delight should be our relationship with Him, which results in fruit bearing.
Unfortunately, we are prone to capitalise on works because gifts shout and can operate without abiding. This is very dangerous. Jesus reminded His disciples – and we need to remind ourselves – that our greatest call is to abide.
Luke 10:19-20
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
As you can see, Jesus cautioned His disciples not to boast in their spiritual power, gifts, ministries, or achievements, but rather to find ultimate, unending joy in their salvation – their walk with Him.
Paul was very keen not to prioritise gifts over character. He worked very hard to ensure he was always rooted in Christ.
1 Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Our works and ministry can never save us.
Revelation 20:12, 15
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Let us continue abiding in Him as we wait on Him, that we may be found in Him on that day when He comes.
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