Turn with me to Colossians, chapter 2, in the New Testament, New Covenant, in Brit HaChadasha, Colossians, chapter 2. Colossians, chapter 2. I am going to read the first seven verses of Colossians, chapter 2. And I am reading from verse 1, Colossians, chapter 2, verse 1. "For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, be met together in love, be met together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Messiah, in whom I hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words, for though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus, or Messiah Yeshua, the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." "And I am stopping here with the reading." Now, of course, dear brothers and sisters, we have been occupied in the last while with the book of Colossians, and we have covered the first chapter of this book, the book of Colossians.

You remember what we said about the first chapter, the Apostle Paul is writing to these believers, reminding them of his concern that he has for them, even though he actually have never seen them, have never been in Colossians. And here is this Apostle, who is speaking, continuing to write to them in this letter, and you can see in these first seven verses of chapter 2, the care and the concern that he had towards these believers. And you know what, when we become believers in Yeshua the Messiah, some of us are perhaps long in the faith, some of us are not as long in the faith, you find yourself that you have entered into a relationship with the Lord, and yet you find yourself that you are like in a battle.

It is a constant battle. It is a constant battle for the believer to continue on, to grow, and to mature, and to realize that we always need to be on guard. Because a believer in the Lord Jesus the Messiah has a lot of enemies. And when I am using the word enemies, number one, enemies are on flesh. Number two enemy is, of course, the world around us, and its influence. Number three enemy, which is a very powerful enemy, is none else but the devil himself. As believers, we always have to realize that we need to be on guard. Always watching. Always careful. And you know how important that we are encouraging each other, and supporting each other.

And this is exactly what the Apostle Paul, what Shaul does here as he is writing to this Colossians. He already wrote to them before, and he told them that in him, speaking about the Messiah, all the fullness dwells. In him everything is dwells. In the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, everything is wrapped up in the person of the Lord. And so now, in this second chapter, he is telling them a few things. Notice that in verses one to three, you can see the burden and the concern that he had for them. You know, it is so wonderful to be a shepherd that has a care for the people of God.

It's so important for the believers to have a care for each other, and have a burden and concern for every person that belonged to the Lord and the Messiah. But specifically, you know, we have a little group that we have here, and we have a responsibility to care for each other. And a good shepherd or a leader or more than one leader is supposed to have concern for the people of God, especially the ones that have been placed under his responsibility. So notice what he does here. First of all, you see how he was agonizing, how he was in conflict prayerfully for the believers. Notice in verse one, Colossians chapter two, and verse one, for I would, he's saying to them, that he knew that great conflict or what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.

What does that mean when he says I have a great conflict? What does that mean when he says I have a great conflict? Like conflict is a fight. And a fight is something that you do in order to gain something or to achieve something. When Paul had a conflict, spiritual conflict, prayerful conflict, he constantly was praying and interceding for God's people before the throne of grace. How much time do you or I spend to pray for each other? You know, it is so important for the believer to have that conflict. In other words, to have a labor in prayer for the people of God. If you go back in chapter one, the last two verses, notice what he says in Colossians one, verse 28 and 29.

Whom we preach, warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Jesus Christ. Where unto I also, notice, I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. He's laboring. You know, to pray and to spend time in prayer on behalf of the people of God is a lot of labor. It's a lot of work. I still remember one time I went to a meeting room where we used to use the building and there was a group that was using the place before us. And I remember just going to the basement and I heard this one of the leading brothers of this particular group on his knees, praying for the group, for the believers with whom the Lord had been trusted to him to serve among them.

And I heard him praying for them. And he was beseeching the Lord and he was actually crying to the Lord. He said, Lord, we pray for this brother and for this sister and for this individual and for this individual. He was laboring with God, praying for the people of God. And you and I have to see that here's the care that the Apostle Paul had for the people of God. He says, I'm telling you, I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you. For the Colossians and for as many as have not yet have seen my face in the flesh. You know, we see each other at least every week or at least once a week, once every two weeks, once every three weeks.

And you see the Apostle Paul, Shaul, never seen the people of the Colossians, never seen them. But he was praying for them. He was laboring for them. He had conflict for them. That shows us the spiritual energy that the Apostle Paul had. Every day he was praying for the people of God. It's like parents. You know, those of us that are parents here. I don't think there is a day that I don't pray. My wife Irene and I don't pray for our children. I don't think there is a day. There is not a day that I get up in the morning that I don't say, Father, Abba, I pray for Shalom, for Yoram, for Nataner.

I don't know whether I have their spiritual state one way or another, but I pray for them every day. And I'm sure you do for your children or for your wife or for your husband. But can you imagine not to see these people? Not to know them? And to labor such a conflict of prayer with God interceding on their behalf. What a wonderful attitude this man must have had. And it cost him time, energy. It cost him. But that's the commitment that he had. You know why he was praying for them? Because he knew that they are going to go through tough time. He knew that there have been enemies that are seeking to destroy the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah.

Even in Colossae, just like the enemy desire to destroy the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah in many places in this world. And prayer, beloved brothers and sisters, is essential. We cannot substitute anything for prayer. We need to spend time in the conflict of prayer. And we have to admit that this is something that is very difficult for us to do. It's very difficult. It demands discipline. It demands time and energy to spend in prayer for the believers. Now, notice, that is the great conflict, verse 1. In verse 2, look at the desire of the Apostle Paul for the believers. Colossians, chapter 2, and verse 2. Notice what he is saying.

"That their hearts might be comforted, be knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Messiah." Why does Paul have this great conflict? Why does Paul laboring so much on behalf of the believers at Colossae? You know why? Because he wanted them to mature and to grow spiritually. Beloved brothers and sisters, this is something that is needed. A baby that doesn't grow, that doesn't develop. You begin to wonder what's wrong with that baby. With a child of God, with a child, a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, if a believer doesn't grow spiritually, something is wrong.

And so Paul is saying that he wanted, notice there are four things that are mentioned here in verse 2. What is the desire of Shaul for them? What is the desire of Paul for them? Number one, that their hearts might be comforted. You know that, in other words for that, is that encouragement and comfort for the believers. There's so much discouragement. So many problems in this world. So many things that are causing the believer, the child of God, to be not comforted. Well, he's praying for them and he's wishing for them that their hearts at Colossae might be knit together. And first of all, he says they will be comforted, that they will be encouraged.

You know, we need an encouragement all the time. Somebody to cheer us up, not to put us down, but to cheer us up, to help us to move along in our spiritual life. To carry on like in a race. Go on! That's the encouragement that he wanted. He wanted them to be comforted and encouraged in their most holy faith. You notice he continues. The second thing he says in verse 2, that they should be knit together in love. You know, knit together in love is so important. If believers are not knit together, and there is no love among believers, among the people of God, things begin to fall apart.

To stimulate love. You know, love, when we think about love, we always think about feeling. I love him. Oh, I love her. But you know, love in the Bible is not always has to do with feeling. Love in the scripture has to do with something that would be a sacrifice, an expensive, you know, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Here's a definition of love. God so loved the world, what did he do? It's not only a feeling. He did something about it. He acted upon it. He gave the darling of his bosom. He gave the Messiah himself. There's nothing he can give us any more than that.

It's not only a feeling, though it is important to have this phileo, the feeling that we have towards the family and relationship, it has to do with a sacrifice, that they might be knit together in love. You notice that? That when we do things together, everybody cheats in, and everybody is working together, and everybody makes a sacrifice. You notice how beautiful it is? The Lord blesses it, and then there is a growth, and there is a joy. And you can go home, and you can say, I have spent some time, and I have spent some energy, and I have spent some money, but I know it's worth it, because I have been honoring to the Lord and a blessing to my brothers and sisters.

Even though you get tired, even though you may be not always being appreciated, but to be knit together in love, that means that there will be a sacrificial energy, time that has been spent for the benefit of the others. That's what he wants the believers at Colossians to have, to enjoy, not only an encouragement, but also to be knit together in love. Thirdly, verse 2, not only encouragement, not only to be knit together in love, notice he's speaking about enrichment. It says in verse 2, and unto all riches. Now, what riches is he talking about? He doesn't talk about money here. He doesn't talk about money, because if you just go to chapter 1, back in verse 27, he's speaking about spiritual riches.

Riches. It says in verse 27, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. The riches of the glory of the mystery. You know how rich the believer is when he or she understands their place in Christ, in the Messiah? Do you know what God has done for us? That I know today we don't appreciate this enough, but what God has done for us, beloved brothers and sisters? He has given to us something that is far beyond this world. He has given to us the riches that we have in this mystery of the body of Messiah united together with the hand in heaven, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus in heaven.

When a person is associated with the Messiah, if we knew the riches that belong to the believer, we will never be with our head down anymore, miserable and unhappy. We will never be feeling sorry for ourselves. Had we experienced in our own soul and knew that mentally and actually appreciated what we have in the Messiah, if we only knew the riches that we have in the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, all the riches of this world will one day going to be set aside when we have to leave this sin. But the riches that we have in the Messiah. But the riches that we have in Christ, in the Messiah, we are always going to have it because of what he has done for us.

We are always going to have it because of what he has done for us. Paul, what do you want from the Colossians? Well, I want them to be encouraged. I want them to be knit in love, but I also want them to understand the fullness of the riches that they have in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful truth to get a hold of. And finally, in that verse 2, he's saying, after he says all the riches, and then notice, he says of the full assurance of understanding. Many times people come to me and say, Brother Gideon, I'm really not sure that I'm saved.

I'm not sure that I'm saved. I'm not sure if I'm a child of God. You know, one day I've been on the mountain, now I'm in the valley. I'm not sure that I really belong to the Lord Jesus. You know, brothers and sisters, let me tell you, our salvation does not depend on your performance. God knows that your performance is not 100%. If your salvation and your relationship with God depend upon your or my performance, then we will never get saved. We will never be assured of our salvation. But you know what we can be sure about? Of the beauty of the Lord Jesus and the work that he accomplished for us on the tree.

That is the assurance that we have. How do I know that I am a child of God? How do I have this assurance? Not because my feeling, but because my Bible tells me. That if I believe, whosoever believeth on the Son, have life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. It has nothing to do with our performance, but it has everything to do with the work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah on the tree for us. And Paul wanted the believers at Colossae to have this full assurance of understanding of the mystery of God and of the Father and of the Messiah.

To have this full assurance. And you see, they were in danger. You see, they were young believers. I mean, they must have been in various ages, but they were a young group. And God had saved them and brought them into a relationship with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, but they had been in danger. They needed to grow spiritually. There were always those who seek to stop their growth and so on and come in with all kind of teaching. And Paul saying to them, number one, there is this great conflict for you, but I desire that you will grow spiritually, mature. They have an encouragement to be knit together, to have an enrichiness to understand where you are standing before God and to have full assurance of the believer standing before the Lord standing.

And so, in verse 1 and 2, he is speaking about the great conflict and the great desire that he has for them. And connecting with this, of course, you have verse 3. In verse 3 of Colossians 2, he says, listen. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In whom? This is in Messiah. The last word of verse 2 is Christ, Messiah. You know that in the Lord Jesus, ahid or wrapped up. The word for hid can be used laid up or stored away or reserved in Christ, in the Messiah, in the Lord Jesus, in Yeshua. Are laid up all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You know, the people who came to influence the Colossians were people who said, you don't know everything.

Let me tell you some things that I know. There was Gnosticism there. Human knowledge. People were thinking that they have a lot more knowledge than God. They introduced themselves, influenced the Colossians. The Colossians were in danger. Well, Paul is saying to them, do you really want to have the wisdom of God? Do you want to know things? He says, you learn about the person of the Lord Jesus. Because in Him, hid. In Him, laid up. In Him, stored away all the wisdom and knowledge. Turn to 1 Corinthians, please, for a moment. Chapter 1. Look at this. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 22. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 22 says, for the Jews, require a sign.

The Greeks seek after wisdom. You see, there was a Grecian influence. Human wisdom. Well, notice what it says. But we preach the Messiah crucified. And to the Jewish people, he became a stumbling stone. But unto the Greeks, foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Gentiles, or Jews and Greeks, the Messiah, Christ, is the power of God and the wisdom of God. You see, the Greeks seek wisdom. The Jewish people looking for a sign. But you see what happened. The preaching of the cross. The preaching of the death and burial and resurrection of the Messiah. For the Jewish people, it was a stumbling block.

Most of our people do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah because they were anticipating the Messiah to come and to redeem the nation and to give the nation the kingdom that he promised. Not knowing that he came the first time to deal with the question of sin. And he's going to come the second time to reign as king of kings and lord of lords. But to the Greeks, it was foolishness. What's so special about here is this man nailed to the tree, died. There's no strength. There's no wisdom in it. It seemed to be for them. But our beloved brothers and sisters, it says here, to us who believe, Christ became that wisdom.

You notice it says in verse 24. To us who believe, to the Jews, the Greeks. And then it says that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Verse 30 of 1 Corinthians 1. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. Notice. And righteousness and sanctification and redemption. The wisdom of God, the Messiah, became for us righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Through the work of the Lord Jesus, God could redeem people such as you and I. And so beloved, verses 1 to 3, we can see Paul's burden for the Colossians. Now back to chapter 2 of Colossians. And now verses 4 to 7 is the second part that he's mentioning here.

In verses 4 to 7, you notice Paul is calling the Colossians to grow. And so he's saying in verse 4, Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. You notice that those who come to entice the believers are often coming and they have a lot to say. They have all kind of enticing words. Maybe they are eloquent. Maybe they have some ability to say certain things and they are kind of somehow sick to entice the believer, to trick them, to deceive them. By the way, how do you think actually the first sin, even though actual first sin was Adam's.

But you remember when Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she was deceived. The serpent came to her, Satan came to her and said to her, Has God said really that you should not eat? And of course she answered him, you know the answer she said, He told us not to eat, not even to touch of it. And lest we die. And he said to her, the serpent told her, you will not die. He enticed her, deceived her. And what did she do? Instead of waiting and listening to her husband, who actually later on plunged the whole human race into sin.

But what her husband told her, I am sure, because the very fact that she answered the serpent is because her husband have told her. But she had been deceived, she had been beguiled. She took of it and she ate of it. But she gave it to her husband. And Adam, of course, you know, not only had been deceived, he had been disobedient. He had plunged the human race into sin. But Eve had been beguiled. That's the way Satan is working. Always finding something to trick the people of God. In John chapter 8, Yeshua called him that he is a liar from the beginning. And what does he do?

He has those individuals that come across among the people of God, seeking to beguile them and to deceive them. This I say, Paul say, lest any man should beguile you. You know this, lest any man should beguile you. He speaks at those that will come and beguile them with all kinds of words. Be careful, don't be deceived. You know, we have the Bible in our hands. We have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us. We have the Word of God before us that we can read. We have to be careful not to be beguiled and not to be deceived by those who come around and teach things which are not found in the Word of God.

Just to be careful. Just to be careful. In other words, this is part of growth, part of maturity, part of that which belongs to the people of God that are to grow. And notice now, in verse 5, he's telling them, "I am not with you in the body, but I am with you in spirit." In verse 5, he's saying, "For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joining and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Messiah." You see, there's two words here that he says, "Even though I'm not with you, I know and I hear, perhaps, heard from this man, Apaphras." In verse 7, we read about Apaphras of chapter 1.

Apaphras, perhaps, told him some of the things that happened in Colossae. And apparently, there was some order there. There was some steadfastness. You know, order, when you think about order, godly order is so important among the people of God. You know, if somebody comes to our midst, and he or she are not aware of who we are, if they come and they see order in the local assembly, it's wonderful. It's a great testimony. Order, we cannot do what we want as we please. There's got to be an order among the people of God. So, apparently, even Paul said, "I'm not with you, I'm absent from you in the flesh, but I'm with you in spirit, joining and looking and beholding your order and your steadfastness." You know, steadfastness speaks about moving on.

Continuing on. Step after step. Continuing on. Not one day this way and one day that way. You know, continuing on. Be steadfast. You remember what Paul said to the Corinthians? Immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. That's what he's saying to them here, to the Colossians. He says he heard it, even though he was not with them, he heard of the order and the steadfastness. Order and steadfastness. And he must have been impressed by that. But at the same time he was cautioning them to be careful not to be enticed and not to be tricked and beguiled. Now I'm moving down to verse 6.

And in verse 6 he's saying to them, listen, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk ye in him." You received him. By faith, simply received him. There was no all kind of who knows what. You simply acknowledge what God says in his word. You accepted the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in your heart. Just the way that you have accepted him, also walk in him. Very simple and yet, beloved, very important to walk in light of the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. You see, God actually could have taken us and brought us into his presence into heaven immediately when we have accepted the Lord Jesus.

And we will be ready. We are already ready to go to be in the presence of the Lord. So, as he saved us and brought us to himself, we are just as suitable to go to be with the Lord in heaven if he would take us today. But, he left us here. But, he left us here. So, he left us here to walk with him. To walk in the Messiah. To live a life for the Lord. And to be a testimony for him. You know, he used this expression "walk" many times in the Bible, in the New Testament. It's one of the most favorite expressions that the Apostle Paul, he uses the word "walk" many times.

Let me just show you one or two times that he has used this expression "walk." If you go to Ephesians, please. Ephesians chapter 4. Back a couple of pages. Ephesians chapter 4. Notice what he says there in verse 1. Using this expression "to walk." Ephesians 4 verse 1. "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Vocation is, you know, we often ask somebody, "What is your vocation? What is your occupation? What are you doing? What is the thing that you are doing?" But here, Paul is saying, "He beseeched them," the Ephesians, "to walk worthy of their vocation wherewith they have been called." You know, we have been called outside of this world.

We have been called to be part of a heavenly company. Now, often times, it doesn't look like we don't behave the way that we ought to be behaving. Often times, the influence of the world is coming upon us and we are not walking in a way as people who really don't belong to this world. I am not talking about having a house, having a car, having a telephone. I am talking about in our thoughts, in our mind pattern, in our way of conduct. Sometimes, unfortunately, when the unbelievers look at us, they don't see any difference. They don't see that we are different in the way in the language we speak.

They don't see us ever praying, communicating with God. And they're wondering, "What's the difference between you and I?" Well, here, Paul is saying today, Ephesians says, "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." You are called to have a different type of lifestyle. You are called to be associated with the person of the Lord Jesus. He said to us in our chapter, "Walk in Christ, in the Messiah." Look at another verse in the book of Thessalonians. In the book of Thessalonians, another verse in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. Notice, in this chapter, Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians and he's telling them in verse 11 and 12. In 1 Thessalonians 2, 11 and 12, he's saying to them, "As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charge every one of you, as a father does his children." Listen, verse 12.

"That ye would walk worthy of God." "Walk worthy of the Lord." "Walk in Him." You see, he's using this expression to remind the believers that our walk ought to be different than the world that is around us. Than the world in which we live in. In Colossians, of course, he tells them to walk in Christ, in Him. And the walk is the place where the feet touch the ground. Sometime we hear that your walk and your talk do not match. And it's true. Our walk and our talk oftentimes do not match. And so we need the grace of God. The help of God to help us in our walk.

And we all have to confess this is something that we need, the help of the Lord. So there is walk worthy of the Lord. There is to walk in wisdom. In Colossians 4, he used another expression, "walk in wisdom." In Ephesians, "walk worthy of the vocation." And in 1 Thessalonians 2, "walk worthy of God." We need the Lord to help us to walk in a way that it will be pleasing to Him. Now quickly, the last verse. And I am going to stop with this for today. In verse 7 of Colossians chapter 2. He is telling them to continue to grow up. He is speaking about growing, maturity. Notice he is taking an expression that he says, "Being rooted." Verse 7, Colossians 2:7, "rooted, built up in Him, established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." There are five words here that are important.

I am not going to elaborate long on all these words. Rooted. What is rooted? You see a tree that has roots deep, roots inside. It makes the tree strong. When the wind is coming, when the wind is blowing, the tree that is rooted deep down is able to stand at a time of trials. And Ephesians often says that you will not be with every wind tossed to and fro, with every wind of doctrine. Roots is very important. Deep roots. We read Psalm 1 today. And you remember what the psalmist says in Psalm 1. He says, "Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly." And I probably misquoted.

I just want to make sure that I am reading it right. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, No man is in the way of sinners. No citizen is in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law does he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Bringeth forth fruit in his season. "Leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." To be rooted down. To get down, deep down in our appreciation of the Lord and our walk with the Lord.

That means, beloved, that we need to do at least two things here. Read the Bible. And pray every day. Communicate with believers. Every day. That's what we need to do every day. Read the Bible. Pray every day. You know we sing it with the children. Read the Bible. Pray every day. And you grow, grow, grow. By the way, the reverse of it. Don't read the Bible. Don't pray every day. And you will shrink. And you will not grow. To be rooted. He wanted it to be rooted. This is the first word. Notice the second thing in verse 7. He is speaking about to be built up.

Another word for built up is to be edified. You know, we don't need things that do not edify. We need to be edified. To hear the word of the Lord. To be built up. To be built up spiritually. To be edified spiritually. It's so precious. When you hear the word of God. And your soul has been satisfied with the person of the Lord. It is building up. It is edifying. It doesn't take a lot to tear down. We are all able to tear down. They say. To build up, you need to be a master carpenter. Or a master builder. To tear down. All you need is a hammer.

You can tear down everything. You don't need skill for that. But to be built up spiritually. To build each other up. Maybe we will make a phone call to each other. To give a word of edification. Of encouragement. Have the Lord set before the hearts of the believers. That is a building up. That is what he is saying to the believers. Grow up. Build up. Be rooted. And build up. Then the third word. Here he is saying to them. Be established. Be established. And a word that he is using many times in the scripture. I have various verses that I can give you. Thinking about established.

The person to be established. You know we are talking about the person. He has a great establishment. To be established means that the person is already moving on in his spiritual life. He or she aware of the truth of the scripture. They have been established in the truth of the word of God. Fourthly. Abounding. Abounding. You know what he says here? Abounding in depth. As he says. Established in the faith. As ye have been taught. Abounding in the faith. Having abounding. In other words. Being having more. Being abound. Continuing on. In the spiritual growth. And finally. He is using the word. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. To be thankful.

For what God. Have done for us. For the trials. Even if we go through some time. To be thankful. In the spiritual. And that is what he is saying to the Corinthians. In this particular. Verse 7. As he is calling them to grow. To be rooted. To be built up. To be established. To be abounding. In faith. And to be. A people. That have. A thankful. Hearts. Well. I trust that we all. Will get help from this. And that we all. Get encouragement from Paul. For ourselves also. To see his concern for us. And his desire. That we as believers. Also. May grow.