Colossians 1b:3-14. Faith, Hope, Spiritual Wisdom, Knowledge of God’s will and…

Colossians 1:3-14

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ 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 being 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. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

21 And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, 22 but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

A short review of the previous study from Colossians 1

Paul wrote to the Church at Colossae while he was under house arrest in Rome. Epaphras who had founded the church at Colossae about 3.5 years before Paul’s letter, told Paul of the state of the Church who had been influenced by heresy, men’s tradition, and worldly ways. So Paul wrote to the Saints instructing them to continue in the gospel they had first received, not being moved from the truth, but rather having been reconciled to God by the blood of Christ Jesus, they should walk in His way, being firmly rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving.

In this study of Colossians, I’d like to briefly share some thoughts and scriptures on the 4 foundational points of; Faith, the Hope laid up in Heaven, Spiritual Wisdom, True Knowledge of God, and one more vital point:

• Starting in v4. we read: “since we heard of your Faith in Christ Jesus“.
  • There are various applications of the word “faith”, both in the Word of God, and in common matters.
    But the object of faith here, is Christ Jesus. Paul acknowledged the Colossian Saint’s belief that Jesus is the Son of God who was prophesied to come to earth incarnate (in human form), and that He is the only means of eternal salvation from the penalty of sin. and he reminded them of this so that they would “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that they heard.“
    
    • Because this doctrine is the foundation of all subsequent hope, spiritual wisdom, knowledge and more.
      
    • It’s a doctrine that’s been known since the garden of Eden, when it was delivered by God, in the presence of Adam and Eve, when He said:
      “… I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”; this prophesy speaks of Satan’s evil influence and actions through time, and of Christ’s victory over him.
      
    • The doctrine was also acknowledged approximately 2000 years after the garden of Eden, when Job proclaimed:
      “Oh that my words were written!
      Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
      Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
      For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.“,
      
    • Then approximately 2000 years after Job, Paul told of the fulfilment of the gospel, in his first letter to Timothy, 3:16:
      “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
      He was manifested in the flesh,
      justified by the Spirit,
      seen by angels,
      proclaimed among the nations,
      believed on in the world,
      taken up in glory.”
      
    • And today, nearly 2000 years after Christ ascended, the gospel prophesied in the garden, is still delivered by God, and it’s saving and changing lives.
      
  • The moment a person is given faith in the gospel, their relationship to God changes; He enables the person to realise their own sinful state and the need to repent from their will, and submit to His.
    Before this time, we’re described in Ephesians 2 as being “dead in trespasses and sin”, and in Romans 6, we’re described as being slaves to sin.
    But when God grants Faith, and repentance to eternal salvation through Christ Jesus, we’re raised from death to life, Paul wrote in verse 13-14 that God has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”.
    This transition was experienced by the thief on the cross, who changed from speaking against Jesus, to recognising and honouring Him, when he said to the other criminal being crucified:
    “Don’t you even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
    “And we are truly suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” Luke 23:40-42.
    
    The thief who became a saint and then shortly after, went into God’s presence, is an example of what this faith leads to, and this is what Paul was impressing on the Colossian’s to bear in mind and live in the light of. He said in verse 12 that they had been qualified by God the Father, to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, they didn’t earn this qualification, and neither can any other person, Jesus paid for it on the cross with His blood.
    
    We can barely comprehend what it presently means to share in the eternal inheritance of the saints in light, to be qualified to enter heaven by the will of God, but when you’ve experienced being delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son, even the present personal earthly experience of the light of God that comes in through salvation, is immeasurably above all other earthly promises of peace and hope!
    
    • If eternal salvation depended on the strength of man, no one would be saved, but we’re told in John 1:13 that we “were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.“.
      So Paul tells us in verses 21-23: “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
• The foundational point which Paul spoke of, “the hope of the gospel that you heard“, which is “the hope laid up for the saints in heaven.“, can be forgotten if we become distracted by earthly relationships, possessions, responsibilities, cares and pleasure; but Jesus died “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,“, we’re told in chapter 3:
  “1. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.“.
  
  We can read more about this transformation, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 :
  
  “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.“.
  
  This change from perishable to imperishable, and from mortal to immortal, coupled with perfect righteousness, is going to be instantly totally experienced, we’re told we’ll be set free from corruption! and it’s only one of the many aspects of “the hope laid up for us in heaven.”;
  
  This is the change in the condition of the Saints, that the whole of creation looks for, as we’re told in Romans 8:18-25
  • “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
    For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
    For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
    For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
    For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope,
    for who hopes for what he already sees?
    But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it.”.
    
    With perseverance we can glimpse and experience a taste of what “we eagerly wait for“, through committing time to study and reading God’s Word, engaging in fellowship with other Christians and being occupied in doing works of service in Jesus name.
    Essentially the “perseverance” mentioned here, means denying ourselves and doing God’s will, so that we live in the power of the freedom that Christ has bought for us.
• This is the result of the application of these foundational points, that God was delivering through Paul:
  “Bearing fruit and increasing… in every good work“, being filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, since having been delivered from the domain of darkness.

So Paul exhorts us here to be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,“:

Although there are a variety of depths of common wisdom and understanding in the world, the distinction that Paul makes in his letter to the Colossians, is that spiritual wisdom and understanding comes through the “knowledge of God’s will”, and it results in the type of works that praise God, while unifying the saints, and saving them from personal sin and it’s subsequent earthly outcomes.

In verse 28, we’re told:

Him we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

Those who are focused on being wise and knowledgeable in the ways of the world, don’t generally want to hear about walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, or being fully pleasing to him: or increasing in the knowledge of God. And those who teach for the purpose of raising themselves in the church, or for their own financial gain, often elevate people in the church through worldly principals, they don’t want the congregation to increase in the knowledge of God. This isn’t anything new among God’s people, If you have time, you can read in 1 & 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles, about Jeroboam son of Nebat who did this in Israel, around 900BC.

Spiritual wisdom discerns and deals with persuasive arguments, such as those Paul warned the Colossian Saints of in chapter 2 verses 1-4, where he wrote:

For I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh, so that their hearts may be encouraged, having been held together in love, even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive argument.

Then in verse 8, Paul warned of those who teach from Godless principles for their own gain:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

But we’re taught in verse 4, that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
“in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,“.
It’s the joy and defence of the Saint’s to the praise of God, to search and learn more of God, so that we discern and are kept from “philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men,“.

A pastor, was asked:
“What do non-Christians need to know most?” he responded “Who God is”,
and then he was asked, “What do Christians need to know more of?”, he responded, “Who God is”.

We’re told in Proverbs 9:10 that…

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

With minimal fear of God, some blame and question Him for the sad circumstances of their lives and the condition of the world, which are actually a result of mankind’s fallen condition from our own choices.
So they tell God what they think of Him in disrespectful terms.
Essentially, many are saying that God is unrighteous.
But there’s no unrighteousness in God, there’s no shadow of darkness in Him.
And it’s a sin to attribute any unrighteousness or injustice to God.

In Romans 9, we’re told

What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! …He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

Then we’re told in 1 Timothy 6:15-16

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honour and eternal might! Amen.

So we need to submit ours and others perception of God, to the revelation of Himself in His Word and His creation, which declares His glorious omniscient, omnipotent, immutable self.

God’s provision of spiritual wisdom is throughout His Word, more prominently known in books such as Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, but included here in Colossians and also in 2 Timothy 2, God shows the application of Spiritual Wisdom in response to heresy and doctrinal error, which reduce the joy, fruit, light and unity of the Church; To see an example of what this type of spiritually wisdom looks like, I’ll read from 2 Timothy 2:24-26

… the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

James 3:13&17 delivers a summary of the character of Spiritual Wisdom, and you can see its character was expressed in Paul’s teaching in 2 Timothy 2:

Who among you is wise and understanding?
Let him show by his good conduct his works in the gentleness of wisdom.
…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting, without hypocrisy.

James 3:13&17

• Pure wisdom contains no corruption of any form, it’s not tainted by selfish desire or pride.
• It works in humility to bring peace. When we pray for God’s wisdom on a matter of concern, His answer will either redirect or confirm our direction in peace, or will sustain us in our present situation with peace.
• The wisdom from above is applied by us being lovingly considerate of others, working to maintain or build unity, submitting ourselves to the needs of others, acting in selfless good will toward each other.
  It acts in faith, not doubting that God will bring good from what He has given us to be engaged in.
  It’s delivered selflessly and gently.
• It may be accompanied with practical help, not just telling the person how to do it, but actually working with them in application of it.
• There’s no hypocrisy in pure wisdom, the person delivering it will be known for applying it and benefitting from it. They’ll be practicing what they’re teaching.

In v13, the contrast between earthly wisdom and spiritual wisdom, is foundational, those who are governed by earthly wisdom and knowledge are referred to as living in “the domain of darkness“, while God’s children have been transferred “to the kingdom of his beloved Son,“. The “domain of darkness” metaphor identifies the influence and realm of evil, and the blindness that accompanies sin.
Whereas the saints have been rescued from this to be walking in a manner worthy of Christ, as we’re told in Ephesians 4:13-14

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 
so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Spiritual maturity works to guard the knowledge of God’s Word that’s been delivered to us through the apostles, and It develops through fellowship with God, which is inclusive of fellowshipping with the Saint’s, holding the truth in love, learning from, and sharing with each other, examining and discussing God’s Word in humility.

These times of fellowship in discussion about the Word, often reveal differences in perspective of doctrine, but the basis for coming to consensus of the truth is having hearts of love, patience, kindness and humility, governed by the Word of God, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things, because the Word of God doesn’t contradict Himself.

But as important as Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding are in this present world, which are predominantly for producing spiritual fruit and preserving the saints against the darkness of heresy and sin in this world. There’s actually a more important point coupled to these foundational teachings, which I haven’t specifically identified yet, which needs to be recognised and applied, It’s an unbreakable thread that runs from before the creation of man, before the foundations of the earth were laid, through all the victories and failures of the saints, to the incarnation of Christ, His death and resurrection, through our present time, and eternally beyond the creation of the new heavens and earth, this thread is mentioned by Paul in verse 4, when after noting their life transforming faith, he said he had observed: “the love that you have for all the saints,“

We can have all wisdom, all knowledge, all understanding and faith to move mountains, but without love, we are nothing, not that we shouldn’t seek after wisdom, knowledge, understanding and faith, but we should have these with love.

Love never ends. 
As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Benediction:

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you fill us each with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we walk in a manner worthy of Christ Jesus, fully pleasing to him: 
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 
Being strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might,
for all endurance and patience; 
We give you thanks with joy dear Father,
for You who have qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
You have delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of Your beloved Son Christ Jesus,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Enable us to be lights in this darkened world, guarding the truth and showing your love, for your glory, until our heavenly hope is fully realised, 
in Jesus name we pray, amen.

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