The letter of Colossians Paul wrote likely from house arrest in Rome, while awaiting a trial before the Emperor. Paul had never seen most of the Colossian Christians before. It was not a church he’d established or ever visited (Col 1:7-8; 2:1; 4:12-13). What prompted him to write this letter was the report he heard about the Colossian church from the evangelist who brought them the gospel, a man named Epaphras. For some reason Epaphras was in Rome and visited Paul. In our last study we notice several clues in the letter about the circumstances of the Colossian church that Paul would have heard about from Epaphras.
I imagine the report Paul received about the Colossian church went something like this:
Epaphras said to him, “Paul, I’m really concerned about the brethren in Colossae.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“Well, they’ve got Jewish neighbors quoting to them from the Law of Moses and telling them that they can’t possibly be right with God unless they’re circumcised, and quit eating pork chops and bacon and trout and catfish and such, and stop working on Saturdays, and start observing Passover and Pentecost and such. And then they’ve also got friends making them feel like they’re unspiritual and unholy because they don’t fast often and they wear soft clothes and sleep on soft beds and they don’t treat their bodies severely enough. Then they’ve got people telling them they need to be worried about having the favor of other spirit beings, that they’re not going to be alright unless they have, in addition to Christ, the help and protection of some angels and the spirits of their ancestors as well. They’re just getting all kinds of religious input and they’re not sure what to believe.
Paul, I’ve tried and tried to tell them that Christ is all they need. But they say, ‘Epaphras, you may be right, but how do we know that you’re not mistaken? I mean you’re not an apostle of the Lord. You’re not an inspired spokesman for God. You’re just an ordinary Christian like us.’ So Paul, would you write them a letter, because they’ve heard much about you and they’re convinced that you speak for Christ and for God. They know of the many miracles you’ve performed, and the extremes of persecution you’ve endured to serve the Lord, and how your ministry has resulted in churches all over the world full of beautifully transformed people They know the other apostles acknowledge your apostleship. So Paul, they’ll listen to you. Will you tell them about what they need and what they don’t need, that they might be fully assured about the will of God and their salvation in Christ?”
Then I picture Paul sending for his faithful assistant Timothy with instructions for him to bring sheets of papyrus, ink and a pen. Then Paul dictated this letter for the troubled Christians in Colossae.
Perhaps the most debilitating heart condition there is for a Christian is uncertainty about the will of God and your own salvation. And perhaps the most energizing motivating strengthening joyous heart condition there is for a Christian is to know for sure God’s will and salvation. It really is blessed assurance, a foretaste of glory divine, to know that Jesus is mine, heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His spirit, washed in His blood. When you know the truth and you know that you know it, that makes for joyful, grateful, loving, serving, on fire for the Lord kind of Christians.
Two statements of reassurance are loud and clear in the opening greeting and thanksgiving section (1:1-8). The first is…
“What I hear about you Colossian Christians tells me you are saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (1:2-4)
The word “saint” did not in that day have the connotations that it does today. Today the word “saint” commonly brings to people’s minds great men and women of the past who were martyred for their faith, or elite super Christians. But the word “saints” in the Bible simply means holy ones, set apart ones, special ones. It refers simply to those who have been set apart from the world as God’s people.
In verse 4 Paul identifies the two qualities about the Colossian Christians he’s heard about that have convinced him that they are fellow members of the family of God.
The first is…
Their Faith in Christ Jesus
Now, faith is an inward thing, it’s something you have in your mind and your heart. We can’t see into the minds and hearts of each other. So how could somebody have noticed to tell Paul about their faith in Christ Jesus? Well, these Colossians must have exhibited their faith. Colossians 2:11-12 tells of part of how they showed their faith, that in response to the gospel they were buried and raised with Christ in baptism. Colossians 3:5-7 tells us they laid aside the old self with its practices of immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed. Their baptism and the fruits of repentance in their life demonstrated, that in their hearts, they really believed that Jesus is our risen Lord and Savior who me must follow. That was the first evidence that told Paul of their high standing with God.
The second was…
Their Love for All the Saints.
Like faith, love is an inward unseen decision. It’s a decision inside to value another, to see the other as important, to want good things and happiness for them. These Colossians must have been doing something observable for somebody to notice love in their hearts and be able to tell Paul about it.
We all know what the observable kind of things are that show love. It shows love when you greet a person. You don’t ignore them. And when you inquire about how they’re doing, how’s their job, their health, their kids, their interests, and you’re there if they need help with something, and you give your time to listen to them when they’re hurting and want to talk, you take positive action to encourage, to lift their spirits, to bless them in some way… Like somebody here the other day who saw a brother’s car outside the church building and they knew he was in this room over here studying and they just decided to drop by, out the blue, and give him a coffee and a muffin.
Do you have these two primary identifying marks of a Christian? Observable faith in Christ Jesus and observable love for all the saints?
Verses 5-8 make a second statement of reassurance…
“You Colossian Christians did not receive an embellished inaccurate message from Epaphras” (1:5-8).
What you heard, what you understood, Paul tells them in verses 5-6, was the word of truth. That was the gospel that God’s servants have been spreading all over the world. You did not get a different message from Epaphras. He tells them in verse 7, Epaphras is our beloved fellow bond-servant. He’s a trustworthy servant of Christ.
And Paul tells them here that “Those parts of the gospel they heard that almost sound too good to be true, those parts about the hope laid up for you in heaven and about the grace of God, are not wishful thinking that Epaphras added or was mistaken about. That’s actually the message God has given us. That’s the same stuff I preach and that the other apostles preach that we received from God. It is reality that God forgives every sin of every person, Jew or Gentile, who realizes that Jesus is the risen Lord, repents to go Jesus’ way in life and expresses their faith and commitment through being baptized in His name. God not only forgives us, but accepts us as His sons and daughters, makes us heirs of the world to come, gives us His Spirit to help us live righteously and bless others. He requires only that we be faithful disciples of to Jesus, that we keep on trusting Him, keep on learning from Him and developing into His likeness. Epaphras delivered to you the same message I received from the Lord Himself.”
Then Paul’s prayer for these Colossians in 1:9-12 introduces his main concerns in this letter.
1:9-12, “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, 10 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. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
May you be filled with the “knowledge” of God’s will (1:9-12)
Let’s define an important word here. The word translated “knowledge” in the phrase “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will.” Epignosis is the Greek term. It’s a compound word. The word gnosis is the word for knowledge. And joined to it is the little intensifying preposition epi, epi-gnosis. It means not just to know about something, but to recognize it to be what it really is. One Greek dictionary I read said it involved intellectual understanding and existential recognition. It’s more than just intellectually understanding something. Like, it’s one thing to know your Bible, to intellectually understand the truths it teaches. But it’s another thing, it’s epignosis, to realize that what it teaches is reality and to feel that, for that to really sink in and register and change your life. That’s epignosis. A lot of times in the NT the verb epignosko is translated realize or recognize or acknowledge (Matthew 14:35; Romans 1:28; I Corinthians 14:37).
It’s that knowing that what they know is reality, part of what these Colossians seem to have really been lacking. They intellectually understood what Epaphras was telling them, about what God has done through Christ, God’s plan of salvation, what God requires of them and does not require of them. They understood the concepts. But they were lacking the total realization that that is the truth. They were full of uncertainties, doubts and questions. So Paul’s prayer is that they may be filled with knowing for sure the will of God.
And the will of God here I don’t think is just how God wants us to behave. It’s more than that. It includes what God has decided to do, His whole plan for the world and human beings, what He wants for us and from us. The will of God includes all of that.
And Paul prays that with knowing for sure the will of God, that they may also have all spiritual wisdom and understanding so they can see the implications that God’s will has for their personal lives; so they can see how to apply it, so they can see what they need to do about it.
You’ve heard the expression “knowledge is power.” Knowledge about many different things is powerful. But the most powerful transforming thing in the heart of a person is the “realization” kind of knowledge of God and His will. In the rest of the passage we read, verses 10-12, Paul explains why he wants them to be filled with the epignosis of God’s will. It’s because of how powerful it will be in their hearts and lives.
Why do we need to know God’s will and know that we know it? 1:10 “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him“. Without epignosis of God’s will, you lack possibly the know-how and definitely the motivation to live a life that’s fully pleasing to the Lord.
Now, what does that mean to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and fully pleasing to Him? Paul gives us four participles to explain what that means. Participles are verbal adjectives that further explain. They are usually translated with “ing” words. So here are four descriptions of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.
First, it’s…
Bearing fruit in every good work.
People who are pleasing the Lord in their lives are outwardly focused on the souls of the people around them and wherever they go they are seeking not to be served, but to serve. “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
They walk into church, their mindset is not notice me, welcome me, compliment me, entertain me, make me feel good, invite me to lunch. Certainly it’s okay to get some of that at church. But what pleases the Lord is the selfless mindset, “I’ve come to welcome others, to encourage others, to see how others are doing, to worship, to bless the lives of others.”
At home it’s not “My spouse should do this for me and take care this chore and serve me in this way, and my neighbor should do this and that for me.” It’s “What can I do for my spouse and what can I do for my neighbor.”
At the job it’s not “How can I do the least for my employer and get paid the most?” It’s “How can I reflect Christ to the people around me and draw them closer to the Lord?”
Second two, living worthy of the Lord is…
Growing in the knowledge of God.
It could be growing in the knowledge of God or growing by the knowledge of God. Certainly either rendering would express something the Lord wants us doing. Being a disciple involves both growing in our knowledge of God and growing in our character to be more like Him by our knowledge of Him.
The Lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect or have all the theological answers. But He expects us to keep growing, keep making progress in our knowledge and character. Are you growing? Are you more like Jesus today than you were a few months ago?
Third, living worthy of the Lord is…
Being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.
Pleasing the Lord involves gaining strength from God to keep on serving and learning and growing toward the image of Christ, no matter what affliction, what criticism, what hardship, no matter what Satan throws at you, you stay steadfast and patient, you keep on keeping on.
There’s multiple ways through which God gives us strength, (His Spirit, Christian family, Scripture, prayer…). But one indispensable source of strength is the epignosis of God’s will, and especially the future that God has in mind. That gave Paul the strength to persevere through almost unbelievable suffering for his ministry. He said at the end of II Corinthians 4, “We do not lose heart… For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Paul could see the unseen things the Bible reveals to us. More than just getting the concepts, he could see those things are as real as the things that are seen. He could see the power of the gospel to save souls. He could see that the Lord was with him. He could see what awaits us when this short life is over. He could see what was at stake eternally for himself and the people around Him. And it gave him strength to be endure and be patient and to do so even joyfully.
Finally, living worthy of the Lord is…
Giving thanks to the Father.
Did you know giving thanks is fundamental to being a Christian? Paul’s going to emphasize it in every chapter of this letter. In every chapter we’re going to see instructions about being thankful.
You’ve heard “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil…” Well, a thankful spirit is a root of all sorts of good. Think about it. If we have a thankful spirit we’re not going to be jealous or envious of what others have. We’re not going to be greedy. We’re not going to be whiners and complainers. If we’re thankful and feel indebted to God as we should, we will desire to worship and serve and please Him. It’s much easier to give and share and let go of stuff, isn’t it, when you know you have more stuff than you deserve. A thankful spirit makes for a joyful, a friendlier, kinder, more encouraging person. It gives you strength to get through the trials of life. When you lose stuff, when you lose your health, when you lose friends, when you lose family, when you lose a job, it’s not as devastating when you realize that you are still blessed far beyond what you deserve, that God has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints.
So here’s walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing the Lord: it’s four things. It’s bearing fruit in every good work. It’s being others focused, seeking not to be served, but to serve. It’s growing in and by the knowledge of God. It’s becoming more like Jesus each day. It’s gaining strength to stay endure and be patient with joy. And it’s giving thanks to the Father. And to live in that amazing way we need the power that comes from knowing the will of God and knowing that we know it. That epignosis of the will of God is what Paul is going to try, in the rest of this letter, to impart to these Colossians.
Three things to do this week.
- Examine yourself for observable faith in Christ Jesus and love for all the saints. If somebody didn’t know you, would they be able to look at your life and be able to tell from what they see, that inside your heart there must be genuine faith in Christ and love for all His people? And are you bearing fruit in good works, growing, strengthened to where you’ll never quit or compromise no matter what, and joyfully giving thanks on a regular basis to our Father?
- Pray this prayer that Paul prayed for yourself and your fellow Christians. Paul apparently believed this was a worthwhile prayer. Paul believed that God can be moved by prayer like this to work in the hearts and lives of people to fill them with a knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So let’s do that.
- Let’s not just pray about it and expect God to just infuse it within us. Let’s also do our part to attain it, including read Colossians carefully, because Paul wrote this letter that Christians may be filled with the epignosis of the will of God.
– James Williams