“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Introduction

How would you feel if someone were to compliment you for something—say a kind personality—and then went on in the next breath to pray that you might have a kind personality? Would you feel the person’s compliment was not quite sincere? Or would you think the person has a short attention span?

A Prayer for Observed Qualities

This is pretty much what happens in Colossians. Col 1:9-14 contains Paul’s first prayer in Colossians after the salutation and greeting. And in it he actually prays for those qualities in the Colossians for which he had thanked God in vv. 3-8. Let us take a look at the similarity between the passages.

• “always thank God” (v. 3) and “not stopped praying” (v. 9)
• “love you have for all the saints” (v. 4) and “please [God] in every way” (v. 10)
• “since the day you heard” (v. 6) and “since the day we heard” (v. 9)
• “understood God’s grace” (v. 6) and “ask God to fill you with…all spiritual…understanding” (v. 9)
• “bearing fruit” (v. 6) and “bearing fruit in every good work” (v. 10)
• “growing” (v. 6) and “growing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10)

Why do you think Paul repeats so many elements from his thanksgiving in his prayer? Paul is reminding the Colossians of his concern for them. Their ability to remain faithful to God is due in no small part to the prayers of people like Paul, Timothy, and Epaphras. The Colossians are not to become proud of their being able to stand firm but are to recognize their debt to those who diligently pray for them.

The Knowledge of God’s Will

The central concern Paul has in this prayer is that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. He wants them to be so deeply immersed in God’s will that they would have no doubts about it. Paul indicates that God does have a purpose for the Colossians. They are part of God’s larger plan and not a mistake. When we study Col 1.15-20 and Col 2.6-15 we will see what kind of errors the Colossian church was facing. Here, let it suffice to say that, as with the reference to the will of God in v. 1, Paul’s reference to God’s will is intentional. The Colossian church is not outside God’s purposes. Quite the contrary they are an integral part of God’s purposes.

The means by which the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of the will of God are spiritual wisdom and understanding. That is, God’s ways are to be grasped only in so far as he reveals his ways to us.

To Live Worthy of the Lord

What do you think is the reason for which Paul wants the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will? What does the passage say? To say that Paul was not concerned with moral living or ethical conduct is blatantly incorrect. Here he writes that he wants the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in order that they may live lives worthy of the Lord. In Col 3-4 Paul touches briefly on some aspects of living worthy of the Lord. And these are all moral and ethical.

Living worthy of the Lord is a means to please God in every way. Paul mentions two ways in which we please God: bearing fruit and growing. Here bearing fruit is linked to doing good works. And growing is related to the knowledge of God.

In v. 6 bearing fruit is linked to the productivity of the gospel all over the world. What do you think Paul means when he now links bearing fruit with the good works done by the Colossians? How does this relate to the productivity of the gospel?

Now these good works are not done on our own strength. Rather, Paul prays that the Colossians would be strengthened with God’s might. It is only by God’s empowerment that we can do good works that contribute to the productivity of the gospel.

The Inheritance

We do contribute to the spread of the gospel. This is because God has qualified us to share in his inheritance. Who do you think are the most natural recipients of an inheritance?

Paul’s use of Father here as a designation of God is important. We partake of the inheritance God bequeaths to his Son only in so far as he is our Father and we are his children.

What, then, is the inheritance that God gives to his Son? It is a kingdom, here called the kingdom of the Son he loves. God as Father gives his Son a kingdom and we stand to benefit from it in so far as we are adopted into God’s family.

This kingdom is contrasted with the dominion of darkness. We cannot be children of the light and live in the dominion of darkness. Paul uses the language of redemption in connection with our being rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. What imagery comes to mind readily when you read this?

Questions

• What other passages from the bible remind you of this picture of our being rescued from the dominion of darkness?
• What other language does the bible use to describe forgiveness of sins?