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, 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. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He 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." - Colossians 1:7-14
Colossians 1: 7-8
Something that can be tough for Christians to speak of other Christians well. I know that there is one person in particular, in my life, who loves Christ with everything he has, but my sinful nature always wants to belittle him or speak in ill will of him. We see the flaws in our fellow brothers, but the godly man speaks as Paul does of Epaphras as well as Epaphras does of the brothers at Colossae; if we do speak of our brothers and sisters then we should do so in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord, so that we do not cultivate a loathing for the Holy Spirit's work in the world.
Colossians 9
I like that Paul doesn't only pray for faith, love, and hope; he prays also for them to know God more fully and to be filled in the knowledge of His will. We can look at this in so many ways! As Christians, we know our Triune God, but we can sinfully believe that we have it all down. We are saved, so that is enough, but WRONG! If you believe that you have learned all that is worthy to learn then in the future when God reveals truth to you in His Spirit, your heart will grow in contempt, and as it grows in contempt you will begin to disdain God's dignity. The beautiful thing here is that to be filled in the knowledge of His will all you must do is read his word: it is up to him what you are blessed with in your reading, prayer, and meditation over the scriptures. Be encouraged, Christian. You will be blessed.
Colossians 10-11
The thing that resounds in this passage is holiness; we hear from God himself to be holy, for I am holy. In order to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, we are to seek holiness in steadfastness in our lives. This may mean that we must cut things off from our life, but this is also as Christ encourages us to do the same when he says if you right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, for it is better to go to heaven with one hand rather than go to the fires of hell with both hands. That was paraphrased, but this passage spoke to me saying to be holy and that cutting off your old self is simply apart of your sanctification. He has previously prayed that they might have both a sound understanding and the right use of it, so also now he prays that they may have courage and constancy.
Colossians 12-14
We have so much to give thanks for as Christians; I attended a local church in Madisonville where they were so thankful and joyous that I was filled with glee knowing that these brothers and sisters love Jesus Christ with everything that they had! Our God has made himself known to us through his son in whom his blood not only is redemption for us, but pardons all of our sins in the past, present, and future. We truly have a gracious God who knows of the depth of our sin, but can still come to us, and present us Holy before himself through the blood of his son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. When I read this passage I always am reminded of the prophet Isaiah when he says "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and thick darkness the peoples;but the LORD will arise upon you,and his glory will be seen upon you." It goes back sin yet again-- our sin separates us from God, for it is darkness, and God is light; darkness and light cannot coexist. This is why we must hold on to Christ because we are not acceptable to God other than through Christ. He says that this redemption was procured through the blood of Christ, for by the sacrifice of his death all the sins of the world have been expiated.
