Abounding in Thanksgiving

Reflection on Colossians 2:6–7

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6–7

It is remarkable how a single sentence from the Apostle Paul can contain such profound theology while also being beautifully crafted. Every phrase builds upon the last, leading us from the beginning of the Christian life to its ongoing expression in joyful gratitude.

Paul begins by reminding us that we received Christ. We did not discover Him through our own wisdom, nor did we stumble upon Him by chance. Salvation is not the reward for a successful spiritual search or through works, but the gracious gift of God, received through faith.

From there Paul immediately turns to discipleship: “so walk in him.” Notice what he does not say. He does not tell us merely to walk after Christ, as though following at a distance. Nor does he tell us simply to think about Him, admire Him, or even walk beside Him as a companion. We are to walk in Him.

This language speaks of our union with Christ. Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. We have been grafted into Him, rooted in Him, built up in Him, conformed to Him, and sustained by Him as the very source of our spiritual life. Christianity is not merely adopting the teachings of Jesus. It is life-long sharing in His death and resurrected life.

Paul then says we are to be “established in the faith.” We are not free to reinvent the gospel or reshape biblical truth to fit our own preferences or cultural assumptions. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). The faith that establishes us is not one we create but one we receive.

Notice Paul’s qualifying phrase: “just as you were taught.” The standard is the apostolic gospel faithfully handed down through Scripture. This explains his warning only a few verses later that no one should “delude you with plausible arguments.” False teachers were plentiful in the first century, and they remain plentiful today. Through podcasts, videos, social media posts, and countless self-appointed spiritual influencers, an endless stream of persuasive voices offer counterfeit wisdom disguised as enlightened truth.

The antidote has never changed. We remain rooted by feeding daily on God’s Word and by sitting under the faithful preaching and teaching of Scripture within Christ’s church. The church is not merely a gathering place but God’s gracious provision for our protection, formation, and spiritual maturity.

Paul concludes with the phrase that crowns the entire passage: “abounding in thanksgiving.” Gratitude is not merely a pleasant emotion; it is evidence of a heart deeply satisfied in Christ. A thankful believer is not necessarily one without hardships or anxieties but one whose confidence in Christ outweighs the circumstances surrounding him.

Paul knew what he was talking about. He wrote these words as one who had endured imprisonment, beatings, shipwrecks, snake bites, betrayal, and abandonment by people he once considered trusted companions. Yet he could still write elsewhere, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

When we regularly remember what Christ has accomplished for us—“by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands... nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14)—gratitude naturally overflows. A heart established in the faith and overflowing with thanksgiving is far less susceptible to being “taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition... and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Paul is giving the Colossians both an encouragement and an antidote. Thanksgiving guards the heart against spiritual drift. It keeps our eyes fixed on Christ rather than on the endless alternatives the world continually offers.

If you find yourself wrestling with doubt, anxiety, confusion, or a fading sense of joy, begin by remembering what Christ has done for you. Count your blessings. Trust the gospel. Walk in Christ each day. Make thanksgiving your daily practice, rejoicing in His mercy, His forgiveness, His presence, and His promises. Every spiritual blessing flows to us from the inexhaustible riches of God’s love—not sparingly, but abundantly.

Our pastor illustrated this beautifully in his sermon on this passage:

“You can take a bucket down to the shore and dip it into the sea until it is filled to the brim. You can say the bucket is filled with the fullness of the sea, but you could never put the sea into your bucket. The moment we, as finite creatures, dip our lives by grace through faith into Christ, we are filled with His fullness. Christ in us, the hope of glory! But unlike the plastic bucket, our hearts can grow. The more we receive of the fullness of Christ, the more we are able to receive. There is no limit to our capacity for growing in His fullness.”

The wonder of the Christian life is not that Christ becomes more full, but that we become more deeply rooted in Him. As we walk in Christ, our understanding of His love, our confidence in His promises, and our delight in His presence continue to grow. We never exhaust His fullness; we simply discover more of the inexhaustible riches that have always been ours in Him.

Now that is something to abound in thanksgiving for.