Rooted in Christ-Part 3-The Will of God

Introduction

Paul was certainly thankful for the report of the spiritual health of the believers in Colosse that he received from Epaphras.

What he heard about them provoked him to pray to God for their continued growth and for them to know the will of God and that they might have the wisdom and understanding to do the will of God.

Paul was aware that even those who were making progress spiritually could still be turned aside out of the will of God and thus he prayed to God for them.

Again we see the evidence of Paul’s constant concern not only for the salvation of unbelievers but for the spiritual growth of believers.

We will take the next few weeks to examine the content of Paul’s prayer for the believers in the church at Colosse and how it’s content is applicable to us.

Paul’s first prayer request is that the believers in Colosse would:

Know the Will of God (Vs. 9b)

Paul communicates his request in a notable way requesting that the believers in Colosse would not simply know the will of God but that they would actually be “filled” with the knowledge of His will.

Looking at a few other occasions where this particular word is used will help us to understand just exactly what Paul desires for these believers.

John 16:6- sorrow hath filled your heart/Acts 5:3- Satan filled thine heart to lie/Acts 13:52- disciples filled with joy/II Corinthians 7:4- filled with comfort, exceeding joyful/Ephesians 5:18- not drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit

In each of these instances what the individual or group is filled with is what is controlling their thoughts and behaviors.

It was Paul’s desire that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will meaning that their thoughts and actions would be motivated by the will of God.

The believer’s thoughts should be consumed with a singular focus upon doing the will of God each moment of every day.

Far too often we consider the will of God only in the most significant decisions that we have to make when we ought to seek God’s will in every decision we are faced with.

The passion of our lives should be to know God’s will and His will should be what motivates our thoughts and behaviors. Before we make any move we ought to ask ourselves “Is this consistent with the will of God for my life?”

There are many professing Christians today who seem to have little or no concern for what God’s will is for their life. There are many more who would say that they want to know God’s will but they only turn to God when faced with a decision of serious consequence.

We ought to desire that every facet of our lives be directed by the will of God not only the major decisions.

This is also a valuable pattern for spiritual leaders in praying for the spiritual growth of those under their influence.

We ought to pray this same prayer for our Sunday school class, for our children, for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul then adds a request for wisdom and spiritual understanding which would enable the Colossian believers to:

Do the Will of God (Vs. 9c)

It is not enough for us to have a full and complete knowledge of God’s will for our lives. We also need the wisdom and understanding to actually do the will of God!

Matthew 21:28-31- we must follow through

Wisdom has to to with the comprehension of truth while understanding has to to with the proper application of truth. Both are vital to our ability to live out the will of God.

We are already aware that wisdom comes from God and that He will freely disperse it to those who ask. (James 1:5)

God will give us the wisdom to fully comprehend His will for our lives as He communicates with us through his Word and we shall understand the specific application by the leadership of the Spirit.

By wisdom we understand that the will of God will never contradict the Word of God but will be drawn from it as the spirit gives us understanding.

The prevailing problem in Colosse was that there were some who declared that they had special revelation beyond the Word of God and that they alone had the deeper insights necessary to please God.

Paul is countering their teaching by insisting that God alone will give us the insight we need to discern His will.

We must not expect to have wisdom and understanding apart from the Word of God or without the Spirit of God’s guidance.

God will use His word to provide the general instructions we need and the Spirit of God will direct us in the specific application which must be made in our individual lives.

There are a number of scripture that serve to give us insight into God’s will for every believer. Romans 12:2- not conformed but transformed/I Thessalonians 4:3- sanctification/I Thessalonians5:18- give thanks

When we do not spend time in God’s Word we may often convince ourselves that something is the will of God even though in truth it contradicts the truth of scripture.

We must saturate our minds with the Word of God so that we may have the wisdom to know the will of God as the Spirit of God gives us the understanding to apply it’s principles to our individual lives.

There are some things that we know are the will of God for every believer and yet there will also be a variance in the specifics of God’s will for each of our lives as the Spirit of God leads us.

Finally Paul expresses his motivation for such a request so:

That You May Walk Worthy (Vs. 10a)

Ultimately Paul’s desire for the believers in Colosse, and undoubtedly every believer, is that they would walk worthy of the Lord so that their lives would be pleasing to the Lord.

The word walk here refers to the pattern of their daily conduct. Paul speaks of a worthy walk on a number of occasions as he writes to the local churches. Ephesians 4:1/I Thessalonians 2:12

The idea is not that we are somehow worthy of the great sacrifice that Christ made for us but that we would live in such a way as to honor that sacrifice.

The question each of us must ask is simply this “Is the life I am living worth Jesus dying for?” This is what Paul desired that the sacrifice Christ made was not in vain. I Corinthians 15:10- Paul’s own testimony in answer to such a question.

Only by knowing and doing the will of God can we walk worthy of the Lord. A life lived in pursuit of our own selfish ambitions can never please God.

It ought to be the desire of every believer to live a life that is pleasing to God. God is not pleased simply because we abstain from certain sinful and immoral behaviors or because we show up to church and read our Bible and pray.

In order to please God we must have a deep knowledge of the Word of God and we must allow the Spirit of God to make specific applications in our own individual lives.

The remainder of this passage will begin to shed more light on what worthy walk looks like. We certainly cannot walk worthy without God’s enablement but as we yield our will to His will, we can live a life that pleases God.

Conclusion

Have you sought to know God’s will for your life? Do you have a consuming desire to know and to do the will of God?

Are you daily in the Word of God and are you daily yielding to the leadership of the Spirit of God?

You can know God’s will and more importantly you can do God’s will and in doing so you can walk worthy of the Lord so that He will be pleased!