To Be Pleasing

Intro.

In the midst of the Roman Empire, early Christians made significant sacrifices to remain faithful. One such example was Polycarp, who, at 86 years of age, was brought before the proconsul and urged to renounce his faith. He boldly replied, 'For 86 years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?' Polycarp's unwavering faith serves as a powerful historical illustration of living a life that pleases God, even in the face of immense pressure.

Walk to Please

Colossians 1:9 LSB

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

In v. 9, we talked about Paul’s praying that they would receive “full knowledge of His will [what pleases Him],” as well as spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding.

v. 10 introduces the consequence of being filled with this “full knowledge” and this spiritual sort of wisdom and understanding: Walking pleasing to God and bearing fruit.

Walking worthy

Ephesians 4:1 “1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” — This verse bring with it the same idea. That being, live your life in a manner which is suitable. One may also think of 1 John 2:6 “6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

Pleasing Bearing Fruit

Last week, we talked about being fully knowledgeable of what makes God happy, and then knowing what to do with that knowledge. V. 10 takes that a step further, and says that the consequence of this knowing is the doing.

How did Jesus walk in His life on Earth?

Blessing

Healing

Investing in others

Sacrificing

This is the kind of lifestyle which proves pleasing to God in bearing fruit in good works.

Fruit-Bearing is not simply baptisms, but a life which is more and more subjected to the pleasure of God in Christ.

Transition: Something else happens as we are bearing fruit in good works.

Pleasing by Growing

Colossians 1:10b “...and multiplying in the full knowledge of God;”

“Multiplying”

Other versions may translate this word better as “growing” or “increasing”.

One commentator put it well to say that this phrase, “represents the knowledge of God as the dew or the rain which nurtures the growth of the plant”.

This knowledge is the same kind of knowledge as in the previous verse: a deep and thorough knowledge. As we gain more of this full and experiential knowledge of God — that is, more than what makes Him happy, but Who He is — we also will thus grow up in Christ. Notice, too, that we “increase in the full knowledge of God” — and a couple of weeks ago we saw how the word of God was increasing/multiplying throughout all the world and created the same results everywhere it went. That same fruit born everywhere else will also be born in us as we follow God.

Transition: We are not left up to our own devices, however. God, Who calls us and desires we grow this way, will help us through faith!

Walking in Power

Colossians 1:11 LSB

11 being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously

Given strength from His might

“Strength” is the ability to do something, and “might” is the actual manifestation of the ability. In other words, God is the One who gives us the ability to:

Attain to all steadfastness

That is, “endurance”. The ability to persevere through the trial of life.

He also gives us the ability to be patient

The same word here is used by Paul in both 1 Cor. 13.4 (Love itself is patient and forbearing) and Gal. 5.22 (patience is a part of the Spirit’s fruit in our lives).

We often say things like, “I need to be more patient,” or even that we “be careful what you pray for,” in regard to this particular virtue.

An orange does not make itself more flavorful

Why would the Christian be careful to not pray for that which God desires us to have?

Have you grown in patience over your life as a Christian? Thank the Lord for it, because your own muscle did not earn it for you — not if it is the patience like God’s, which is what we are given here.

Walk Thankfully

Colossians 1:12 LSB

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Joyous thanksgiving

Notice how Paul links together that we are strengthened toward endurance in this life, as well as patience, and connects both of those to a joyful thanksgiving toward the Father!

I’m again reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “18 in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Do you find it as hard as I do to be thankful when you are immediately in need of being patient, or exercising endurance? Yet, this, too, is what God’s glorious might strengthens us toward!

We are to give thanks to the Father in all circumstances, especially as He has “qualified us” to be given the inheritance with all the saints.

It is important that we know that God qualifies us. We do not and cannot earn our way into the family of God.

This point brings us to an important question about this verse: What does it mean that God has qualified us for the inhereitance?

To answer, we should ask: Who receives and inheritance? The answer, of course, being children! The Greek for “qualified” here also is aptly defined as “made adequate, competent, and qualified.” In other words, God the Father makes it so that we, who were not His children, are now qualified to receive the inheritance as children — He has adopted us!

Ephesians 1:5 “5 by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”

Therefore, as children, should it not be what we aim for to please our Father who chose us?

We want to represent Him well

We want to be the people He is teaching us to be

As vs. 9-10 say, we want to know what pleases Him, how to please Him, Who He is, and we want to live a life which makes our Father happy.

Conclusion

You are an adopted child, once lost in the world with not guidance, now under the guidance of the Great Shepherd and loved by the Good Father. Let us all be thankful!

Our Father Strengthens you to live well and pleasingly to Him with endurance and patience.

Church, this is the direction God is calling us to! We were called out of the world, not to remain complacent in it, but to set our intention toward pleasing God in everything and bearing fruit in His service!

He adopted us, and now we live, as it were, under His roof and thus must abide by His rules. If it makes God our Father happy to see His children living the right way (meaning more than simply not doing bad), why are so many believers all over the place content to just “not be bad”? Are we content with that, or do we want to intentionally make our God happy?

This week, spend extra time with God the Father in prayer and study of the Word, and then as you are living your life privately or publicly, be intentional about finding some good work to do for the sake of pleasing God as you grow in Christ.