Colossians 1:9-14
In case we missed you last week, Paul wrote the letter to the young Colossian church from prison, after getting a report from Epaphras that there were false teachers trying to pull the believers away from the church. They were denying the deity of Jesus, claiming that he was not God.
Paul began his letter by affirming the believers’ growing faith in Jesus, as well as their love for one another. He reminds them of the power of the gospel, and how their lives have helped to draw others to the beauty that it holds. He moves on to a specific prayer that he is praying over them, one that we can pray even so today.
Colossians 1:9-14
Big Idea: Our prayer is that we would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Paul transitions out of the first section with an “and so,” which is essentially a “therefore.” “We have heard of your faith, of your love, of the fruit the gospel is bearing in your lives. But we have also heard of the opposition that you face. And since that day, we have not ceased to pray for you. And here’s what we are praying:”
“That you would be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Let me ask you something. When is the last time you prayed this over someone? I’m not sure I can answer that before this week. It’s not how we are taught to pray. It’s not how prayer is modeled for us today. There is a needs-driven prayer culture that has been cultivated in our day, which is important, but it would benefit us all if our prayers were directed towards the spiritual growth of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Filled with the knowledge of his will - This word filled has a 2-layered meaning. It carries the idea of being fully equipped, like a ship that was packed and ready for a voyage. A layer deeper, it also implies a controlling effect. “Filled with the knowledge,” a Greek word meaning knowledge gained by experience. “Will” is what one wishes or has determined shall be done or that which is desired or wished for. Put that all together.
Paul’s prayer is that these believers would be filled by experiencing God in such a profound way that it would control (influence) the way they lived. That they would be driven by a deep understanding of the desires that God has for their lives.
This was Paul’s prayer, and we should pray the same for ourselves, and for our brothers and sisters. And then, there are varying effects that this filling has on our lives:
SO AS TO.
1.. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
The picture being painted here in the original Greek carries the idea of scales being balanced. What is on one side of the scale should be equal in weight to the other. Paul is applying this concept to the spiritual. Our manner of life, the way in which we walk (live) must be equal to the character of God. It must be of the same worth. But this seems impossible! How can I, a broken human being, ever come close to living at the standard set by our Lord? Because when God looks at us, He sees Jesus. He doesn’t see who we were, He sees who we are in Christ. We’ll talk more about that in our 4th point.
But in the meantime, the Bible gives us a lot of insight into what this life would look like:
humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity (Ephesians 4:1-3)
knowledge, joy, thankfulness, fruitfulness (Colossians 1:10-14)
contentment (1Co 7:17)
Paul is praying that these young believers would live at the standard set by Jesus. Don’t let the world around you influence the way that you live. Don’t buy into the schemes and false gospels being thrown at you. Don’t let culture dictate what you do with your money, how you spend your time, what entertainment permeates your heart and mind. Let it be influenced by the Word of God.
Picture a scale. Picture yourself on one side, and the standards that God has laid out on the other. Does the media that I consume bring the scales into balance? Or does it weigh me down? Does my time management prove a priority of the things of God? Or do the activities in my down time pull me away from Jesus? Does the way that I treat my wife, husband or kids reflect biblical attitude and value? Or am I damaging relationships by the way that I handle my responsibilities? Am I pursuing Jesus and allowing Him to work in me so that the scales are balanced? Or am I tipping the scales by living for myself…
Our prayer is that you would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
The 2nd effect of Paul’s prayer for this church is that they would “bear fruit in every good work.”
2.. Bear fruit in every good work
The good that we do should be for the benefit of others. This phrase is speaking to benevolence. We are intentional with how we treat and serve others so that kindness is felt and others are better because of our works.
There is no room for selfish gain here. The fruit that is born out of our good works has the gospel at its center. It is gospel fruit. In other words, our good works are a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. They point people to Jesus. People must see Jesus in and through us. And when we get out of the way and let Jesus shine through us, relationships are deepened. Trust is built. Walls come down. People are more open to talk about spiritual things because we have loved them like Jesus.
And this comes from being filled with the knowledge of His will. What does God desire? God’s desire is that we care for the “least among us.” God’s desire is that we give our time, energy and possessions to help others. God’s desire is that we look after the orphans and widows. God’s desire is that we live as salt and light. It’s like what Paul said at the beginning of this chapter. The gospel is bearing fruit. People’s lives are being changed because of how the young church was living.
As I’m preparing this past week, I was struck with this question of “when was the last time I helped someone and they saw Jesus through me?” When is the last time I served someone and there was intentionality in planting seeds towards gospel fruit? When is the last time my serving turned into a gospel conversation? When is the last time my life shined Jesus so brightly that the recipient made a decision to follow Jesus? I don’t want to have to think that hard about it!
Our prayer is that your good works would bear gospel fruit!
The 3rd effect of Paul’s prayer is that:
3.. Increase in the knowledge of God
We’ve talked a bit about the experiential type of knowledge, but the knowledge mentioned here is an all-encompassing type of knowledge. There is an intellectual knowledge, an experiential knowledge, and a spiritual knowledge that we are to pursue:
Intellectual Knowledge - A head knowledge. Facts. Reason. This comes from reading God’s Word. This comes from reading solid books about the history of Israel, the history of the church. This comes from memorizing Scripture, knowing the stories of how God worked throughout history.
Experiential Knowledge - This comes from living our lives and being aware of how God is working. We see Him even in the mundane, even in the simple moments. We pray and see God answer. We pray and wait for an answer, but feel God’s presence in the waiting. And so we learn more about Him. His character, how He works in our lives.
Spiritual Knowledge - This can only come because of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. It is a supernatural discernment, a supernatural conviction that comes from the Spirit. We are in tune with Him, we have surrendered control, and we follow as He leads. We recognize His voice and can tell the difference between our fleshly desires and the Spirit’s leading.
Our prayer is that you would increase in the knowledge of God.
The 4th effect, and we could almost argue it being the cause. It’s how we are able to pursue Jesus and grow in faith in the first place, but it’s also a result of our growth. For the sake of fluidity and congruency, let’s keep it as an effect.
4.. Strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might
Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul shares this and then boasts in his weakness, for in it the power of Christ is shown. “When I am weak,” Paul says, “then I am strong.” Jesus took it a step further in John 15 by saying that apart from Him, we can do nothing. We are paralyzed apart from Jesus. This doesn’t mean that we literally can’t do anything in life, but what Paul is getting at is anything that is Christ exalting, kingdom furthering work. We are incapable of living out our Christian calling apart from the power of God.
But this is a good thing, for we are able to do much in and by the power of God! And when we do, the only One that can receive the credit is God Himself. So as I grow in the revealed knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, I am being strengthened to bear the burdens of others. I am able walk the difficult season and continue glorifying God along the way.
And why does Paul pray this specific effect over them? So that they will have endurance, patience, and joy. The road is long and the journey is hard. The terrain is rocky and there isn’t much by way of true rest. And we fight, and we step forward, and we trust, and we fail, and we trust, and God works, and we hit a roadblock, and we fight, and we fight, day in and day out, and it’s exhausting. And only by the power of God can we overcome, can we endure. Not only that, but there is a supernatural joy that we can and will experience. It’s bizarre but beautiful.
Romans 6:11 - The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.
The power that raised Jesus from the dead is more than sufficient to get us through our afflictions. That power is strong enough to overcome.
Our prayer is that you are strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might.
There is one more effect that Paul talks about, but it is really more an effect of all the others:
5. Give thanks to the Father (who has qualified you to share in the inheritance)
It all leads to an outpouring of gratitude. And I love what Paul does. He could have just said, and “giving thanks to the Father,” and ended things there. Would have made sense. But why do that, when he can inject another reminder of what God did through Jesus? I love this letter because Jesus is just weaved through all of it.
Qualified - to make adequate, to make sufficient or to render competent or worthy. Jesus did this. God sent His Son to die in our place to make us enough.
We grow up and go to school for a long time. Some of us, then, go to college. Some of us, then, go to graduate school. This is where I stop using the “us.” Some people, then, get a PhD. Some get multiple PhDs. But all along the way there are tests and examinations that render us competent or worthy of the degree that we have worked hard to obtain. But we don’t have to do anything to be counted worthy by our heavenly Father. We are qualified because of the work that Jesus did on our behalf.
Inheritance - We talked much about this last week. Ephesians 1 and the spiritual blessings. Future eternity in the presence of Jesus. A new heaven and a new earth with no pain, sickness or death.
Delivered out of Darkness - Out of the domain of darkness. A domain is an area or territory owned or controlled by a ruler or government. Satan, the ruler of the darkness, the spiritual darkness that we are all born into, held us captive by our sin, but Jesus. Jesus died to bring deliverance from our sins. And this word deliverance refers to a snatching from danger, evil or an enemy. A snatching. The blood of Jesus snatched us out of the hands of Satan. And…
Transferred into the kingdom of Jesus, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
If that doesn’t get you pumped up I don’t know what will.
Can you imagine, if we were committed to praying these things over each other? if our genuine desire for ourselves and one another was that we would be filled with the knowledge of His will, that we would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, that we would bear fruit in every good work, that we would grow in the knowledge of the Lord, that we would be strengthened with Holy Spirit power?! You know what, let’s do that right now. I’m going to leave these points on the screen. And this might be a little uncomfortable, but we need to be a church that prays. So I’m going to leave these points on the screen, and I’m going to ask that you gather in groups of about 5, and spend just a few minutes praying these over this church. Pray that God would fill us with the knowledge of His will and would have these as their effect.
