For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
- Col 1:9
Paul did not want the Colossian believers just to be filled with knowledge, but the knowledge of God’s will and to be in all wisdom and spiritual understanding or perception. The word filled means to be complete or to be filled full. (Col 2:9,10)
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. Referring to the fullness which is in Jesus Christ, (John 1:16) says, And of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace.
(Eph 5:18) Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Holy Spirit. The person who is drunk with wine is controlled by what he has drunk. We the believers should be controlled by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is a person, it is not possible to get more of Him. We need to submit ourselves to the complete control of the indwelling Holy Spirit, first by confessing any known sin, then by completely following the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Paul’s desire was that we should be under the Spirit’s control. Jesus provides us with the power and life. We must do our part by choosing to yield to that life. By an act of our will, we must let His life manifest itself on the outside. The Lord Jesus Himself is the best example. He was committed to doing the will of God inspite of the obstacles He faced. Even though Jesus did not desire to experience death on the cross He was more than willing to do so because of His love for fallen mankind.(Heb 12::2) What a wonderful God we have!
(Eph 1:17) Paul’s prayer is that we fully know the will of God so that we would have a practical knowledge of what is right and true in the sight of God. This knowledge specifically consisted of the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.(Col 1:9) All true spiritual wisdom comes from God alone and not from fallen mankind. For the believer, Christ Himself is his wisdom.(1Cor 1:30)
Knowledge is an accumulation of facts, whereas wisdom is the proper application of those facts to a particular situation. Paul’s prayer and our prayer to God is that we might receive wisdom from God so that with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual understanding we can intelligently apply God given wisdom to our own situations.
Many of us today have only a superficial knowledge of God, and we are in danger of becoming easy prey to various errors because we do not know how to apply our knowledge when we hear of a teaching that is new to us .Because of this lack, we are like” children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” .Eph 4:14
We can only grow in the knowledge of the will of God as we grow in our knowledge of the Word of God. We must be thankful that God has not only provided all we need for salvation but also all we need for godly living and discernment of His will.(2 Peter 1:3,4)
Jesus Christ is fully God and He indwells each believer (Col 1:27) so each believer is complete in Him. (Col 2:10) Knowledge of these truths and a wise application of them will produce a unity of faith among believers, as we keep edifying each other “till we come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the stature of the fullness of Christ”.(Eph 4:13) This is a lifelong process. Even Apostle Paul did not consider himself to have reached the point where he could say,”I have arrived”.(Phil 3:10-14)
Knowledge of the will of God is intended we lead a wise, practical life which will glorify God. A life pleasing to God, and not man. (Gal 1:10).” For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please man? For if I yet pleased man, I should not be the servant of Christ”.
Living in a way that pleases God cannot be done in our own strength, it is only by means of the indwelling Christ that we can exhibit the fruit of the Spirit and walk pleasing to the Lord, not compromising truth in anything we say or do.
Bear fruit and increase in knowledge – As we bear fruit and increase in the knowledge of God, the Gospel bears fruit and increases its effect in the world (Eph 2:10)
We bear fruit as we abide in Jesus, in His Word, for without Him we can do nothing. (John 15:4,5) (Heb 13:21). The choice is ours. As we abide daily in fellowship with the Lord through His Word and prayer, our heart will be strong and full of spiritual energy to overrule the flesh and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. We will be able to make the right choices.
Increasingly comprehend God’s greatness - Each of us who knows Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour needs to increase our knowledge of God. He has not only paid the penalty for our sin, but also He now indwells us to accomplish great and wonderful things in our lives (Col 1:10)
Although Moses gave himself wholeheartedly to God to lead the Israelites from Egypt, he did not really know the true greatness of God until God took him aside for 40 years in the desert. At the age of 80 Moses was much different. Jonah too was more willing to go to Nineveh after his 3 days and 3 nights in the “whale’s college”. Peter too was a different man after the Holy Spirit came upon him at Pentecost. The Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Philippians believers towards the end of his life wrote that his greatest desire was to know Christ better because he had not yet attained as he desired to.
Increasing in the knowledge of God involves a constant process of growth. It takes us time to understand God’s working in our lives. Paul knew that increasing in the knowledge of God takes time.
(Phil 3:13,14) “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.
The Apostle John wrote (I John 3:2,3) – “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”.
Be strengthened by His power – Paul's prayer (Col 1:11) is we be strengthened with all might according to his glorious power”. (Eph 3:16) (Eph 6:10). It is not our might or strength but His. Christ is all sufficient for the believers needs. We need to comprehend the superiority of Christ and to appropriate the supremacy of the indwelling Christ for daily living. Such an understanding would produce strong believers. There is no room for weakness that is why Paul prayed that we might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col 1:9).
It is important that every believer be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph 1:19,20) Paul wanted the Ephesians to know “ what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” This is why Paul desired the Ephesians might be filled with all the fullness of God.(Eph 3:19-21)
The power that is available to us is not according to our need, or even according to our capacity to absorb, but according to His ability to supply.(Phil 4:19) “ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
(Eph 1: 19)God offers to give “according to”, not out of, “His riches. We honor God as we allow Him to display His mighty power in our behalf.
