9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Paul gives thanks for the spiritual attainments of the saints at Colossae. We must remember the essential concepts of the past verses that we have gone over in our study. We are saints. Those who are His are saints. Saints are not devoid of the Spirit. Saints possess the Spirit of God in truth and righteousness. The question is, are we faithful brethren and sisters in truth for the aim of God’s glory? The saints at Colossae were faithful brethren. Their aim was the glory of God alone and faithfulness was their top priority. We are to be faithful brethren in Christ because if we are in Christ we need to walk worthy of the gospel. How many of us walk worthy of the gospel in our daily lives? I exhort you to walk worthy of the gospel of Christ. I think it is appropriate to say to remain obedient to Christ in our daily lives. We ought not to be engaged in gross sin, linger in sin and fail to repent when we sin. Are our lives consistent with the truth of Scripture and the glory of God? Do we have holy pride about our lives? Do you realize that the glory of Christ is on the line? If we aim our lives in conformity with the truth of Scripture, we will not cease giving the glory to Christ. We need to be conformed to the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to frame our lives in accordance with divine Scripture. God has given us the light of Scripture. We can turn to it and be assured of its truth. It speaks divine truth. We need to frame our lives after the example of Christ. He was pleasing to the Father. We are frail, feeble and fallen. We have failed the Lord because of our sin. We are sinners while the Lord Jesus was the Sinless One. If we follow the Lord Jesus in this sinful world, we will follow Him to heaven. But if we walk amiss and waywardly and lack the consistency of repentance in truth and righteousness, it makes our testimony doubtful. We need to surrender to the Lord, and continue in prayer and reading and studying the Word.
We are to make conversation good. We are to have good knowledge with a good life. If we lack both, it will not profit us. We are to have a spiritual understanding. It should be clearly seen in the way we live of lives. We ought to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. It is in regard our relationship to Him and our profession we profess of Him. We are to be pleasing to God and in the sight of men as well. Let us walk in all-pleasing to God. It must be done in and according to the will of God. We are to be fruitful in every good work as Paul himself was. Good works should be our aim. We are to have good works with our good works. If one is lacking, it will not do. May we abound in good works and every good work! We are not to abound in some only or in ones more easy, but in all good works and in all instances. If we are fruitful in good works, the more we will increase in the knowledge of God (Matthew Henry’s Commentary On Colossians).
We ought to realize that the ministry of Paul was according to the will of God. It was a God-appointed, God-honoring and God-focused and centered ministry. Can we say the same of our ministry for the Lord Jesus? I am not saying that we are apostles. I am not saying we are of the same level of Paul. I am not even saying we have the same level of the way he conducted ministry. What I am saying is, we are to be people who follow what the Word says, and proclaim the message of faith and repentance. We need to proclaim the gospel in truth and righteousness. How many of us proclaim the gospel with clarity? Timothy was a man who preached the gospel. He was a man who labored for the glory of Christ and served Christ. He was the brother of Paul in the Lord. Do you get overly excited when brothers and sisters in Christ share the gospel with others who are hopelessly lost? We are people who are possessors of grace and peace from God our Father. It came from God our Father. He is the First Person of the Trinity. He is the God who Jesus Christ served, lived and died for. That is, Christ served the Father without imperfect obedience and He always pleasing the Father. Paul was the man who Christ appeared too, and who drove Saul (who we know as Paul) to his knees and who submitted to Christ.
We are to be people who give thanks to God. We are to be people of thanks. Does giving thanks characterize your life? The question is, dearly beloved, why have you lacked the giving of thanks and praise to God? Has He not saved you? Think about this: Everything by God was ordained for your good. If everything was ordained for your good, why do we lack thankfulness to the Blessed Trinity? If everything if ordained for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose, we ought to never stop giving thanks! We ought to thank Him all the day long. But this is the subject Christians struggle the most on. Hasn’t God saved you, and do you give thanks to Him for the evangelists and the spreading of the gospel? Do you give thanks for the saints and for faithful brethren? We ought to give thanks, not only for this, but for all things. We need to give thanks to our Lord because think of Who He is: His attributes, His character, His work—these are things who ought to thank God for.
Think of the work He has done in your life. Think of the work He is doing in other peoples’ lives. Think of how He is working in the lives of those who hate Him. Think of His purpose for those who are the pre-converted elect. Think of those He has ministered to through you. Think of how He has used the Word to change your heart. Think of His grace that He has used in your life. Think of His Son who lived to die so you could live. Think of His Spirit that has worked in your life and Who is making you holy in sanctification. Think of the Father who sent His Son into the world who lived sinlessly to Him, and died the all-sufficient atoning sacrifice for His chosen people. Think of the faithful saints in the world, who live for Christ; who were delivered from a life of sin and hopelessness. My friends, we have much to be thankful for. We are to give thanks in the instrument of worship (that is, prayer) to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The God of Jesus Christ is God the Father. Christ remained submissive to the Father. He was subordinate to the Father’s will and He was co-equal with the Father. The Lord Jesus was a man of thanks. In fact, He was the perfect example of a Person giving thanks. Think of this: if we pray always, how much thanks would God receive? We are to be people of thanks!
We are to be committed to prayer. If we model after Christ, it will prayer always. Think of the nights Christ prayed. It was part of the nights. It was all night. What if we spent that much time in prayer? We are to be people of prayer. Do you spend hours in prayer? Do go to God on bended knee? We ought to be on our knees, and prostrate ourselves to the Lord in our hearts. I love to prostrate myself physically to the Lord, and I love to kneel to the Lord. It is something that is delightful to me, and I love it. God’s all-attracting grace and truth by the Spirit and the Word is at work. We need to ask the Lord to revive our hearts to submit to Him in reverent submission, awe and fear in unadulterating and unvarnished humility.
Do we delight in the Lord when we worship? Are we submitted to Him? Do we love to speak to Him as much as He loved us? Do we submit to His will when He says, “I love you too much to give that”? Or He has He said in answer to your prayer “Yes I will grant your prayer, but not at this time but later according to My all-trustworthy purpose”? Do we “do what we need to just to get by”? Have we sinned in prayer, and have we lacked repentance? That is, have we slacked off in our self-discipline and diligence? We need to be people of self-discipline and diligence and dedication. Do you realize that prayer is a great weapon against Satan? He utterly hates it because he knows God hears the prayers of His people according to His all-trustworthy Word. When we pray we submit to God’s Word—we submit to Him. Communication with God should be what makes up your Christian life.
So many today pray to saints and angels. So many presume it is acceptable. So many believe that the all-sufficient Lord is not enough, but that we need saints and angels to pray to. So many lack the obedient passion to pray to God alone! So many hate the doctrine of prayer to God alone! Do we not see people in gross idolatry by praying to saints and angels? Is it not worship when they pray? We see Peter forsaking worship of others in the Book of Acts, and we see John being forbidden to worship angels in Revelation. The Word of God is clear: it is wrong to worship saints and angels. We are not to pray to them. Every time people pray to saints and angels commit sin. It is actually a stench in God’s nostrils. He hates having people pray to saints and angels. They are nothing less then idols, and sinful objects of idolatry. Do we see in divine Scripture that God’s people practice praying to saints? We do not see God’s people practicing works or idolatry like praying to saints and angels. We need to pray to God alone. We need to pray for God’s people in the fear of God. It would not please God if we engage in foolish prayers to angels and saints.
Do you give thanks for the saints? That is, do you give thanks of hearing of their faith in Christ? We ought to give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and kindness in saving a people unto Himself. When we hear of God’s saving a people unto Himself we hear of the glory of God. It is to the praise to His glorious mercy and grace. God’s get glorified in the saving of lost souls held captive by Satan. It is wonderful thing and a blessed thing to give thanks because of the saints and because His people are faithful people. When we are faithful we are a testimony of grace toward others in the church and outside of the church. We must give an excellent testimony to the world, the church and to God.
We are to live our lives in obedience in a world that is evil and sinful. We are to live our lives faithfully. We are to live our lives as stewards of God who love His appearing. We are to be slaves of God in love toward the brethren and having the love of God with our hearts, minds, and strength. We are to be people of the Word. When we are bathed in the Word God will hear our prayers. We are to live our lives in consistency with Scripture. When we have an excellent testimony unto God’s glory we show good fruit, and a committed and devotion to Christ. We see in our day a rebellious people. We see in our day a spiritually irrational people. We see our day an immoral people. But we are to live our lives faithfully to the Lord because we are possessors of the true faith of Christ. The faith of God’s people is always in Christ because when God saves His people, He does so, in Christ Jesus our Lord and divine Redeemer.
We are to have love for all the saints. Think of the love Christ had for His beloved. Think of the love Christ has for us. It is unimaginable; it is unbelievable. Though we cannot have perfect love as Christ loves us, we are to love nonetheless. We are to love His people. His people ought to hear of the love of His people. We are to love all the saints. We are to be known by our love. And do you love the saints in our local church? Are you known by your love for all the saints? Do you demonstrate your love by what you say and what you do? Do you have loving thoughts toward God’s people? Are you kind to each other, and do you forgive? Are you tenderhearted toward one another? Submit to His Word and love your brother and sister in Christ. Once before, we were people of hate, and children of disobedience and of wrath. We hated when we were unconverted. We hated each other. We did not have love; we lacked love. But now, we should be people of love, because Christ loved us, and we are to follow His example, and follow His holy commands.
We are to give thanks to God for the hope laid up for His people who have a place in heaven. We are to give thanks to for our salvation. God’s people on earth who now live will have a place in heaven. There is an appointed time when God’s people will die. God has fixed the time; the deaths of His saints are precious in His sight. Whether we live or die, we are to live to the Lord. We have the hope laid up for us in heaven. We have this hope because of Christ who purchased us; died for us; rose for us; ascended for us and He intercedes for us. We have the hope laid up for us in heaven because of the Spirit who changed our hearts. We know we are His children because of the Spirit. We have the Spirit who now intercedes for His people. We are to think upon this glorious matter. If we do, we will delight in the Lord, for the Lord has done mighty things for His beloved people! Let us praise Him, and join the heavenly chorus, and thank Him forevermore. Amen.
We need to remember that the gospel is the word of truth. People’s hearts are not changed by the techniques of preachers and rational argument. Rather, it is because of the Spirit and the Word. The gospel is not from the wisdom of men. It is not from the tradition of men. It is from God’s Word. It is divine rather then human in origin. God’s Word is to be handled with great care and caution. God’s Word in the gospel has been distorted by men. For centuries men have distorted and twisted the divine text to mean their distorted foolishness. We live in a day of a people who continue to persist in unbelief and rebellion. I think Peter’s words apply hear. If we hear today, I can hear him saying the same words: "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." (Acts 2:40 NIV). The gospel is God’s pure words, sound speech, and acceptable divine words. These days there are so many “other gospels” or “different gospels” or “another gospel.” We need to remember that God’s Word is true. We know that God’s wisdom is far greater then man. We see that God’s Word speaks of the gospel as the word of truth. God has given us His Word to communicate it, edify souls, convicts sinners, judge the thoughts and actions of men, and to create belief in an unbelieving world.
People should rejoice when the gospel comes to them. Nowadays we see people who hear the gospel and reject it. We see people spit in the face of Jesus and reject His message of eternal hope and reconciliation. We see this because man is totally corrupt. In fact, man is radically corrupt. We may call this the radical corruption of man. It is the same as total depravity but it has more effectiveness. The hearts of people are corrupt; hardened; and calloused hearts. There is no way that man’s stony heart will change apart from the divine Spirit and the divine Word. People who reject the gospel will face a greater condemnation in the last day. Some people reject the gospel at one time in their lives, and at another time they embrace the gospel. Why? It is because of the Word of God and the Spirit of God. But some people go throughout their whole lives without embracing the gospel. In reality, all people hate the God of the Bible, and without divine election no man would be saved. If we relied on the almighty free-will of man, no one would be reconciled to God. We are told that God opened Lydia’s heart. You see, we need God to open our hearts otherwise no one would be saved. We proclaim while adhering to divine election with boldness, “Be reconciled to God.” God will choose His own, and His elect only will respond.
When God’s message is proclaimed from His Word and not from human tradition it will increase and bear much fruit. God’s people will carry the gospel to lost people, and when His truth is proclaimed, it will spread and endure. We need to understand that God’s grace is in truth. It is not in error that we have the grace of God. We have God’s grace because God has chosen in eternity past to save some while leaving others to bear eternal damnation. God brings justice to the non-elect. God provides mercy to the elect. God never exercises injustice on any. God has a purpose and His purpose will avail. God’s message will fall on spiritually deaf ears; unperceiving minds and undiscerning hearts. God has blinded them so they may not believe. He will accomplish purposes. He hides the gospel from the wise and prudent. He has a plan to save a spiritual Israel, and the spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham. That is, God’s people.
We learn that Epaphras was beloved fellow bondservant of God. He served Christ. We are dearly beloved people. We see fellow bondservants of Christ, but we also see corrupt teachers and prophets who server their bellies and not God. They do not obey His law nor His gospel. Epaphras was a faithful servant of Christ. Are you a faithful servant of Christ? We need to look to the Lord Jesus who served God faithfully without flaw and imperfection. One day we will be glorified and perfected in heaven. We will serve God in perfection and flawless faithfulness.
We are to be in the love of the Spirit and be informed of the love of the Spirit in the lives of His people. Have you heard of the love of the saints in your local church? Have you heard of it in the world? We do not hear of the love of Christ in the ways of the world. We do not hear of the love of Christ in people devoid of the Spirit. We do not hear of the love of Christ in people who hate Him and His gospel. But we should hear of the love of Christ in the church of Christ and in Christian families. When we hear of the love of Christ we should rejoice over it because it is a testimony of God’s all-sufficient grace. When we hear of the love of Christ we should glorify God. It is an excellent thing that the love of Christ is shown forth in a loveless world of sin and corruption and rebellion. We need to remember that Christ commanded His people to love his neighbor and enemies. God’s has redemptive love that He gives to His elect only. God also has a general love known as common grace that all receive. But as the servants of Christ we are to love because we enjoy obeying God’s commands in our lives. We see that the opposite of love if pride. We see that people are more prideful then loving. We need to be people of love. May God give us the all-prevailing grace to love others in Christ!
We ought to fervently pray for the saints of God. We ought to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” We are to submit to His will. We are to be spiritually wise. The world is devoid of the Spirit. They are spiritually foolish. We ought to have spiritually understanding as the saints of God. If are filled with the knowledge of His will, we will walk worthy of the Lord. If we walk worthy of the Lord, we will please Him. If we please Him, we will bring Him glory. If we bring Him glory, we will show what an awesome and excellent God He is. We are to please God in all respects. In the small things and in the great things! We are to be “bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” If we bear fruit in every good work, we will stand on the Incarnate Rock, and live worthy of Christ’s gospel. If we bear fruit we show that we have evidence of God’s work in our lives. We must increase in the knowledge of God. Sometimes it could cause arrogance. It is because we are all sinners. But we most learn as much as possible about the things of God. We are to know what God’s truth is. We are to embrace it with our very lives. We must honor God in following divine Scripture. We are to be “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” We are to be strengthened in the Lord by His Spirit in His blessed grace. We are strengthened with all might according to His glorious power. We are fortified against the temptations of Satan and ready to stand against Satan and his demons. The God who gives us strength and power is the God of all-power and all-holy-strength. In our spiritual life we are to have spiritual strength. We are to have spiritual strength for all the actions of our spiritual life in Christ. We need to be furnished by His grace to accomplish every good work, and able to stand against all evil ones who follow Satan and his wicked ways. We are to do our duty and hold on to our integrity. The Spirit of God is the Author of the strength of the Christian. We are told in Ephesians that we are strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inward man. God’s Word is the means of it. It must be fetched by fervent prayer. The Apostle Paul or St. Paul prayed and obtained God’s all-sufficient grace. Paul prays that God’s people are strengthened with might. By this he means, that God’s people would be mightily strengthened, and strengthened with might taken from one another. I am sure this brings great encouragement in the life of a Christian as well. May God strengthen His people by His sufficient grace! The glorious power of God is a reference of the grace of God. The grace of God is the power of God. In the power there is glory. God has excellent and sufficient power. God supplies it not according to our frailty but according to His glorious power. He prays that they be not only supported in their troubles but strengthened for them. We are strengthened to all patience. We are to bear our troubles patiently. We are to understand them as gifts from God. We are to be thankful for them to God. God’s people are given the gift of suffering to conform us to Christ’s image. Circumstances could be aggravating and many, but we are to bear them patiently. Patience includes all kinds of patience. We are to have long –suffering. That is, if it drawn out. And we are to bear suffering with joyfulness and rejoice in tribulation. We need to understand that when we suffer we do so because we are counted worthy to suffer for His name. So we are to have joy and patience in the troubles that go on in life. We could never do by our own strength but by the all-powerful and glorious grace of the Living God. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Colossians).
If we are strengthened by His power, we will endure until the end. He has begun a good work in us, and He will finish it until the end. It is according to His glorious might. We cannot utterly fall away if He has strengthened us with His all-powerful hand. We are to attain the steadfastness and patience. We are to be steadfast and strong in the Lord. We are to be patient in the Lord. We are to give joyous thanks unto the Father. God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Light. I think the phrase “in Light” means in glory, and those who are in Christ will be carried by Christ to Himself. In glory we will please the Lord perfectly. There is a great company of saints that will dwell in the light, who have an imperishable inheritance. Let strive to live faithfully to Him in all matter of submissive obedience. We are to be people of courage and constancy. We are to serve Christ as people who are obedient and walk worthy of the gospel. Let us live our lives light of God’s Word. Let us be committed to grace and forgiveness and faithful obedience. Let us be faithful to Christ in what we say, do and think. Let us not commit deeds of wickedness but live as reconciled children to the glory of the Father. Amen.
