Grow With Pastor Joe

If you could ask God for anything, what would it be? Each of us would probably have a list about a mile long that we would have to narrow down. In Kings 3, we see that young Solomon, son of David, who was becoming the king of Israel was asked by God this very thing. Solomon had a choice to make. Solomon chose wisely by asking for wisdom as he recognized and confessed his limitations from his age, experience, and inherent human nature. God was pleased and gave him wisdom that made the world wonder. People use phrases like, “Solomon’s wisdom” or “Oh, to be as wise as Solomon.” We must understand that the wisdom that he had was not his own, but it came from God. All the wisdom that we have is from God and if we are lacking in wisdom then we need to seek God. Sadly, Solomon like all of humanity eventually lost sight of God’s wisdom and made grave errors. However, we still read of the wisdom that God gave to him for our own learning and living. I would say that the wisest thing that we can do is to live in the will of God. The issue that we face is the bigger question, what is God’s will. Can we know God’s will? In one sense, no, in that there are mysteries that we cannot know or comprehend. Yet, in the other sense, yes, we absolutely can know God’s will. Knowing God’s will is not about secret wisdom or knowledge, but rather it is about knowing and submitting to the revealed will of God in the word of God by the Spirit of God. Jesus had prophesied about the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers in John 14-16. In this passage we see that the Holy Spirit is the One who reveals the truth of who Christ is, the truth of the scriptures, corrects us, convicts us, convinces us, and conforms us to and by the word of God.

            Col. 1:9-14 serves as another opening greeting and prayer of Paul. He offers to God four requests for the Colossian church to be filled with wisdom, have a worthy walk, be strengthened, and live with gratitude for the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ’s person and work. Col. 1:9-14 says, “⁹ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; ¹² Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: ¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: ¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” Paul is having to combat a heresy that had come in and threatened the growing believers. There was false teaching that subverted the truth of Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency. False teachers brought in the idea of adding to Christ’s wisdom with our own, often viewed in an extrabiblical and personal revelation of which couldn’t be put to the test. They also were teaching that man could or had to add to the work of Christ through one’s own work for salvation and sanctification. Here, Paul prays for them making intentional intercession on their behalf. While he praised God in the previous passage for their growth, each believer, and local church must continue growing in the apprehension and application of Christ being supreme and sufficient. We must continue to grow in the gospel and grace of Jesus Christ. Paul’s prayer deals with the continued growth in the Colossian’s belief and behavior. Today, we will focus on Col. 1:9 and see that believers are to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Before we can do God’s will we must first discern God’s will. To discern and do God’s will, we must be filled with the word of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.

            Paul’s intentional intercession for them serves as a reminder that spiritual progress is a product of prayer. Practical Christian living proceeds from prayer. The Christian life hinges upon constant, intentional intercession for oneself and others. Perhaps the most wonderful thing that we can do in the work of God is to pray for the filling of our heart and our fellow believers with the will of God by the Spirit of God. Paul prays that they would be “filled” which is the word “pleroo” which means to fill to the brim, pervade, take possession and control. The idea is also used for something to be fully complete or mature. This word is in the passive voice which signifies that the filling is coming from an outside force. You don’t fill yourself; He fills you. Our problem in practical Christianity is that we are so filled with ourselves that we don’t know what it means to be filled with the spirit and knowledge of God’s will. Paul told the church at Ephesus what God’s will for them was in Ephesians 5:17-18 saying, “¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Once more, we see the word “fill” being used. The sense of it is that we would be filled up and controlled by the Holy Spirit in our life. It is not God’s will that we would live according to our fleshly works or wisdom. We need His work in us to produce His wisdom and works through us. There are several illustrations of how this word was used in the Bible and in the Greek speaking world. This word often referred to the picture of a ship’s sail being filled by the wind, then being moved and directed by it. It was also used of the pervasive and preserving nature of salted meat. Also, it was used in the sense of an outside force, including emotional response as a controlling force; for example, being controlled by lust, pride, or bitterness. Whatever fills us controls us.

            Paul prays that the Colossians (and all believers) would be filled with deeper understanding and application of God’s will. What is the will of God? The word used is “thelema” which means the desire of one’s heart. God’s will include His sovereign will of eternal decrees, His moral will of His desires for His creation, and His specific will of His designs for each of His redeemed. Essentially, Paul is praying that we could know God’s heart within our heart. How can we know God’s will? We only know His will by His word and work of the Holy Spirit. We can only discern and do God’s will according to the scriptures and indwelling Holy Spirit. The scriptures explain God’s will and the Spirit enables us to do God’s will (See Phil. 2:13). Proverbs 1:1-7; 4:1-7 show us that our life should be filled with understanding and wisdom which ultimately comes from the fear of the Lord. If we are to be filled with an understanding and application of God’s will then we must, like the Lord Jesus, pray, “Not my will, by thy will be done.” Sinclair Ferguson writes, “The will of God is death to our own will.” The filled life begins and ends with death to self, so that our life would be filled by the word, work, and will of God in our life. There are three things that we see in Col. 1:9 that we are to be filled with.

            First, we are to be filled with knowledge. The word for knowledge is “epignosis” (from “gnosis” meaning knowledge gained by experience with the prefix “epi” which is used here to intensify the meaning). The Colossian heresy had to do with some works-based legalism and then an early form of Gnosticism which added man’s own wisdom. Here, Paul uses the word to signify that we can have and ought to have a fuller, deeper, more precise, and complete knowledge which one’s own wisdom or work can never provide. This word is used by Paul to show that this knowledge that believers are to be filled with is an experiential, intimate, and personal knowledge of the will of God. This means that we must have an experiential, intimate, and personal relationship with Him through Christ and be indwelt by the Holy Spirit who then teaches us the word of God. Being filled with such knowledge can only come from the word of God by the Spirit of God. Someone who is still in their flesh and only walks in their flesh can never discern or do God’s will. Paul wrote extensively about this in 1 Cor. 2 after showing that Christ is our wisdom and His wisdom through the preaching of the gospel is supreme and sufficient compared to the wisdom and work of man. Paul also told this truth to the Ephesians writing in Eph. 1:15-23 that the knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding in the life of the believer comes from the continual revealing and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. We must understand though that our knowledge of God’s will is always in line with the word of God. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is not going to teach or lead outside of the scriptures which are supreme and sufficient revelation. I believe as well that there are many who have theoretical knowledge about the gospel, but don’t have the experiential knowledge that Paul is discussing here. You can know all about the gospel, but if you haven’t experienced its saving power then you know nothing of the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ. You can know where honey comes from, know all about bees, and beekeeping; but if you have never tasted honey then you don’t really know what you’re talking about. The knowledge that should fill us is not just an intellectual pursuit nor is it just an emotional experience. God doesn’t desire that we would be mindless nor does He desire that we would live heartless. The more that we grow in a fuller knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ the more our lives should be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. The more we know Christ, the more we grow to love Him. The truth we affirm should lead to affection and even true Spirit filled emotional response to our Lord Jesus Christ.

            Second, we must be filled with wisdom. The word “wisdom” is the word “sophia” which is a general word for judging rightly and to follow the best course of action. In the Bible, wisdom is often viewed with successfulness in life and prosperity. It is also understood as spiritual and moral excellence that is based upon knowing God by faith. Some have said that wisdom is knowing how to use knowledge. All of these things that we are to be filled with in Col. 1:9 are interconnected or at least overlapping. Paul’s prayer here is a reminder that discerning and doing God’s will requires being filled with scripture by the Spirit. Knowledge can be learned horizontally, but wisdom must be vertical from the Lord. Vance Havner preached, “If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees!” James 1:5-6 says, “⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” Proverbs 2:1-6 says, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; ² So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; ³ Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; ⁴ If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; ⁵ Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” To seek wisdom is a great thing, but it is only found through prayer, the word of God, and it is obtained as a gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. True wisdom will deal with your inner man before it shows up in wise or worthy living. Wisdom is soul knowledge. True wisdom deals with one’s mind (thought), emotions (affections), and will (decisions). We don’t become wise or live wisely by accident. Being filled with wisdom begins and ends with being filled with the word of God by the Spirit of God.

            Third, we must be filled with spiritual understanding. There are two parts to this. Everyone is born and learns to have worldly or fleshly understanding. This is natural understanding of the natural fleshly world. However, this understanding that ought to fill us is to be spiritual. As we have covered previously, this only occurs by way of the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. The word “spiritual” is the word “pneumatikos” which literally means the blowing wind but is also used in describing the inner man that is invisible to the naked eye. This word in the New Testament is always used in conjunction with the role and work of the Holy Spirit as He teaches, leads, and empowers believers. The Spirit and the flesh are at odds with one another (See Gal. 5). Essentially, to be spiritual is to be sensitive and submitted to the Spirit. With this in mind, we aren’t to be filled with an old understanding but are to grow in spiritual understanding and maturity. The word “understanding” is the word “sunesis” which means to comprehend, to reason or put together. Understanding is “street smarts” or having a grip or grasp on things. The idea is as well as one who is able to connect the dots to see the whole picture. Often times we give children connect the dots activities. Upon connecting the dots, a picture forms in completeness. The same sense is seen in spiritual understanding. God wants us to have a grasp on spiritual things and connect the dots in our life so that we can be filled by His Spirit. He wants us to connect the dots to see the bigger picture of the glory of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I believe that many Christians miss out by not connecting the dots. We must learn to reason and comprehend the scriptures, theology, and the connective dots of redemptive history. We must see how to connect the dots of God’s will to see the bigger picture so that we can then do God’s will for our life. Many Christians see practical Christian living with fuzziness. God gives us clear spiritual understanding through His word by His Spirit. We learn to live what we have learned by His leading!            

As we bring this to a close, I want us to be reminded of the focus of Colossians which is that Christ is supreme and sufficient. God wants us to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” This only occurs when you and I begin to see that Christ Himself is our wisdom. Our knowledge of Him and spiritual understanding come from the indwelling Holy Spirit through the scriptures that daily transform us by the truth of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. All of us are filled with something. What fills you? What fills your mind? Your heart? Your mouth? God wants to fill us all the way up! There should be no room in our glass for anything but Him. We can’t do God’s will until we discern God’s will and we see that God wants to fill us with His will. Furthermore, prayer is the application of knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding. The more we are filled with these things the more our life will be filled by prayer. The more our life is filled and controlled by the Spirit the more prayerful we will be and therefore will be filled with knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding. Prayer can empty us of us and fill us with Him. Don’t live life being filled with self but being filled by the Spirit and the scriptures so that you may discern and do God’s will. Don’t miss out on what blessings belong to those who submit to Christ being supreme and sufficient. Because He is supreme and sufficient, we can trust that being filled with Him is more supreme than our own wisdom or works and that it alone is sufficient to live the practical Christian life.