Growing in Knowledge, Living in Power
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This morning I want to look at the prayer portion of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. That is Colossians 1.9-14. As you may remember this letter was written by the apostle Paul who is not a apostle of his own authority but of the authority of Christ and he is with a young man named Timothy who probably wrote down his dictation. Paul is also in prison with the pastor of this church, Epaphras. In the previous section we saw all the good things that Paul was thankful for that he heard from their pastor, notably their faith, hope, and love. In this section we see Paul’s prayer for the people which expresses his deepest desire for them.
As we last week heard our prayer life is very important, it is beyond the power of our words to express. This is something that Paul knew. He was not oblivious to the work of God in the life of the believer, he probably understood it better than anyone else ever could! So the words of Paul's prayer carry significant weight because after all that he has heard about this church this is what he wants for them. As we will see, this is a constant prayer that Paul and Timothy have been offering since they first heard of all the things in the previous verses.
Knowing the gravitas and the power of this prayer let us now go to the text. Colossians 1.9-14
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
From the day that they had heard of the faith, hope, and love of the Colossian church they have been in continual prayer for them. Now this does not mean non interrupted constant prayer. It means regular prayer for these things, like the things on your prayer list that have been there for quite some time. This prayer hinges on two main parts and is then ended with a sentence focused on the redemption that we have in Christ. The two main parts that the others hinge on are knowledge and strength.
These two parts of the prayer embody a great depth and well rounded look at the Christian life. For people who have faith, hope, and love these things will deepen them and continue to grow them spiritually.
In this we find the central idea of this text: Paul’s prayer is that the people of Colossae would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and strengthened by His power, and all of this is to stem from the redemption they have in Christ.
Let us now turn to God in prayer and then we can begin to look at Paul’s Spirit inspired deepest desire for the church in Colossae.
Filled with His Knowledge
Filled with His Knowledge
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul begins his prayer by praying that they would be filled with knowledge. This is not just any knowledge though, it is a knowledge of his will, it is a deep spiritual comprehension that leads to discernment and right action. Throughout the Bible this type of knowledge is mentioned and commended. We see in Proverbs 2.6
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
then in Philippians 1.9-10
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
and later in the book of James we see this, James 3.17
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
This is a pure knowledge that is wise so that is can discern and we can receive this from God. As it says in James 1.5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Knowledge is what we know and wisdom is the ability to apply it well. This is what Paul is desiring that they be filled with. Today in the current world we live in there are so many that are anti-knowledge. They say things such as doctrine divides and don’t give me theology give me Jesus. Here is the thing though with people like this and even for all of us, we all do theology and we all have and talk about doctrine. The truth of the matter is that some of us are just really bad at it. One of my favorite theologians said it this way, everyone is a theologian some people are just really bad ones.
This failing mentality can be a detriment to the church. When I was growing up the answer I got to many of the questions I asked about the Bible was that it is just a mystery of the Bible. Now there are mysteries in the Bible, but as I have grown I have found that those people were often just to lazy to find out what the Bible says about certain things. I have heard of pastors being confronted with questions related to how they do things only to say it is a gray area and there really isn’t a answer when the answer is as black and white as can be.
Our growth in the divine knowledge of the Bible where we see the will of God, where we grow in wisdom, where we grow in understanding, should be a priority in our lives. It is after all the greatest safeguard of the church. I tell this regularly to the youth, how do you know how to live the Christian life if you aren't in the words that tell you how, how do you know that what I am telling you is true if you are not studying it for yourself.
We need to read our Bibles and study them and let the words of it soak into our very being. I also say that it is highly beneficial to read the writings of others about the Bible to grow in our understanding of it. Books are no substitute for the Bible but good books can push you even deeper into your Bible. I would love to give you book recommendations and I know Terrell would too.
Growing in our knowledge is something that we should pray for and it is something that we should work towards. This is a vital element to the life of the Christian and is one that so many miss today.
The question is what is the purpose? I trust my pastors, I’m not worried about false teachers (though you should be). Well the text tells us right there in verse 10.
The purpose of being filled with knowledge is so that we can walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. To be able to walk in a way that is pleasing to him. What a great thing that we get the opportunity to do! To live our lives in a way that pleases God. This is not in a way to earn salvation because you can never earn salvation, it is an out-flowing of thankfulness towards him. Because Christ saved us we should desire to live our lives in ways that please him. To do this we must be filled with knowledge.
This idea of walking in a way pleasing to the Lord is one we see throughout the Bible and is one that we should be careful to listen to. It says in Ephesians 4.1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
and then again in 1 Thessalonians 2.12
we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
The life of the Christians is to be a life that walks in a way that is worthy of God, that is worthy of the calling in which we have all been called, that is worthy of the gospel. Our knowledge is not to lead to great people on Sunday it is to lead to people who walk this walk all the time.
In the Old Testament we see many laws that the people of Israel were given by God. Have you ever noticed the purpose behind many of those laws? The purpose behind a lot of them is to set the people of Israel apart as different from the rest of the world. It was to distinguish between the people of God and the pagan nations of the earth. In the same way today we are to be set apart from the world in a visible way. Our manner of life should reflect God in all areas of life. People you are around should know of your faith by the way you live.
A few weeks back I was out here in front of the youth building talking to a pastor from a different town after we had just finished doing some stuff. While we were talking a man came up to us asking if we knew of any places that were hiring because he was looking for a job. We were not sure but pointed him in the best direction that we could and then this pastor began to ask him what he believed would happen after he died. This then launched into a gospel sharing conversation in which the full gospel was shared and even wrong belief corrected and the true belief defended with scripture. By the end of that conversation that man who we met walking down the sidewalk knew this pastors belief, he knew who he served, and he knew that he loved him enough to share it with him. I’ll be honest after that happened I just came into my office and sat there a while. I had to process that and I had to think about how I was not walking in near as powerful a way as he was.
This pastor was walking in a manner worthy of the Lord and it was obvious because he was bearing fruit. That is the first thing that Paul uses to describe what this looks like. Are our lives bearing fruit? We are told in the Bible over and over that we are known by our fruit just like a tree. An apple tree is known as an apple tree because it has apples! A Christian is known as a Christian because they bear the fruit of a Christian. A lifetime of study can be devoted to this and that is why we must continue to grow in our knowledge.
That is the circle that we see in this first part of the passage because it ends with the final thing that describes walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, this final thing is increasing in knowledge of God. It ends right where it started. Being filled with knowledge leads to us walking in a manner worthy of God and what this looks like is bearing fruit and increasing in knowledge all the more! The more we increase in knowledge the more pleasing we will live to God, and the more pleasing that we live to God the more we will increase in knowledge!
This is why people of God are to be people of the word. Some say that they are more of a doer than a learner. They would rather spend time acting than studying. This logic is folly because it is the learning that makes us all the more capable of action.
I charge you this morning to be people of the word. To seek to be filled and increase in your knowledge of the word. To be a good theologian as opposed to a bad one. To live out your life for Christ because you know what his word says it is to look like.
Strengthened by His Power
Strengthened by His Power
being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Paul’s prayer does not stop with knowledge though, he goes on to pray that we would be strengthened with the power of God. What a beautiful reality for us! We are weak but that doesn’t matter because we have access to the power of God and he gives it to us. Just like Israel when they begin to take the promised land but they sin and then they fall to Ai when they try to take it by their own strength in the book of Joshua. You know what happens next though, they take care of the sin and then God tells them to now go take Ai. When they take it we are told that God killed more of the enemy with hail then the soldiers of Israel did. It was not by their power because they were weak, it was by the power of God.
It says in Ephesians 3.16
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
We are granted power through the Holy Spirit working in us. This is a deep inner working within our soul. This is all according to the glory of God! How great are the riches the Christ bestows upon us! In Isaiah 40.31 it says
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
God will renew our strength. He will renew it so that we can walk through this life and all of it’s difficulties without worrying about any of then, with the strength of God we will not grow weary or faint on this journey but it will be as though we are carried by an eagle through it all.
The journey we are on I think is best illustrated by John Bunyan in his book The Pilgrims Progress. In this book the main character Christian comes to Christ and then on his journey encounters many people and many challenges. Many of the people that he meets succumb to the challenges and turn away from the true path that he is on. Not Christian though, he remains steady on the path no matter how difficult it gets. He is strengthened every step of the way through all of the trials and toils until he finally reaches the celestial city.
This strength is directed towards an end too. Just as is illustrated in the life of Christian. The end of this strength is endurance and patience with joy. This strength is to help us to continue on this way with joy. When we look at the context of Paul this becomes increasingly clear, he is writing this book from prison! Where is the strength to break the bars and escape? Where is the strength to evade the captors? That is not the strength he is talking about. Think about the famous verse Philippians 4.13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Paul is talking about enduring all things because of Christ. Paul has suffered unlike any of us ever have and hopefully none of us will ever suffer like he did, yet he maintained joy through it all because of the strength that Christ has given him.
This is not a conquering strength like we see in Revelation because we see that the one in Revelation that is conquering is not us. We are the ones that are enduring the trials of this present time.
I fear that we are nearing a time where Christians in the United States will once again experience the realities of first century persecution. Around the world this persecution is on the rise. When this happens there are only two options, to give in and renounce the faith or to be strengthened by his power to endure to our dying breath.
Us who are strengthened in this was must give thanks to the Father. Look at so many of the stories of the martyrs and how they cry out with thanksgiving in their final breaths. We give thanks because he has strengthened us to endure. We give thanks because Christ has qualified us to share the inheritance with the saints in light. This is our salvation. Christ has saved us, if he hadn’t it would be a works based salvation.
We are in Christ as it said in the previous verses! We can endure with joy! We can live in a way pleasing to God! We can be filled with the knowledge of God! That’s why we give thanks! That’s why we praise his! That’s why we sing! That’s why we offer him everything!
What a great God we serve who will fill us with his knowledge and strengthens us with his power. This is Paul’s prayer for the Colossians and it should be our prayer as well.
Redeemed Through His Son
Redeemed Through His Son
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
As we come to the end of this section of the letter to the church of Colossae Paul is so excited that he cannot help but launch into a short part about the redemption that we find in Christ. It tells us that God has delivered us from darkness, he has delivered us from the power of sin, satan, and the world. In that deliverance he has transferred us to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of light, he has freed us from all of those evil things.
It says in Acts 26.18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
God has opened our eyes so that we may be delivered from darkness. He has opened our eyes so that we could be forgiven! Then in 1 Peter 2.9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Here it tells us that we must proclaim the excellencies of Christ because he brought us from darkness to light, to Christ. This is part of what is looks like to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
In Christ we have redemption, we have forgiveness for all of our sins. We are so unworthy of this yet Christ still gives it to us. About redemption it says in Ephesians 1.7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
It is through the blood of Christ that we have redemption and all because of the riches of his grace. To go even further it says in Hebrews 9.12
he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
It was no animal sacrifice that secured our eternal redemption, it was the blood of Christ. It was through his sacrifice. Redemption is the act of saving and that is what Christ accomplished on the cross. It is clear to everyone that we have sin, we all do things that bring displeasure to God. Because of this we deserve to be punished and even the one smallest sin is like cosmic treason towards God and makes us deserving of eternal punishment, and none of us only have one small sin! We are so deep in sin that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. Some say that we are as though we are lost at sea and Christ came and threw us the lifebuoy to save us. That is so far off, we are so sinful that we are at the bottom of the ocean and Christ had to come all the way down to get us and do CPR to put breath back in us.
The only payment that could cover the greatness of our sin and accomplish salvation for us is the blood of Christ. This is exactly what he did too, he died for us while we were still sinners. Then three days later he rose from the dead, just as I mentioned earlier he is the one who conquers! He conquered sin and death once for all! Earlier in verse 4 Paul commends the Colossians for their faith. This is what is required to accept the salvation that Christ offers, this is what is required to be forgiven, this is what is required to be redeemed. You must put your faith in Christ.
You can never hope to be filled with his knowledge and you can never hope to be strengthened with his power if you have not first been redeemed through his son.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Paul’s prayer is that the people of Colossae would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and strengthened by His power, all of this is to stem from the redemption they have in Christ.
My prayer this morning for us is much the same. May the God of hope fill us with all knowledge so that we may live the life that he has called us to live. May we be strengthened with all of his power so that we can endure all of the trials of this life. May we be always be thankful for the redemption that we have in Christ.
If you are here today and you have never put your faith in Jesus, you are not saved, you have not been redeemed, then let today be that day. There is no way to be filled with knowledge or strengthened in him if you are not first in Christ and he in you. Without Christ you are deserving of punishment and will never understand the riches of his grace. Though my deepest desire for the people of God are these things that Paul is talking about my deepest desire for you is that you would come and join in with the people of God, that you would give your life to Christ. Here in a moment I am going to pray and Rod is going to come sing and I am going to ask you to come and talk to me about giving your life to Christ.
For those of you who have been redeemed, today is all about a prayer. Are you being filled with his knowledge? Are you being strengthened by his power? There is a response for each of us here this morning even if it is just asking for more of his knowledge and more of his strength. Maybe it is just that you need to give thanks to God for the redemption that he has given us.
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it
Redeemed by the blood of the lamb
Redeemed through His infinite mercy
His child and forever I am
Pray with me then you respond how God directs.
