Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship | Part 4: Fruitfulness | Part 5: Intimacy | Part 6: Muscle 

Paul now comes to the fourth and final characteristic of one “walking worthy of the Lord” (Co 1.10): “giving thanks unto the Father” (Co 1.12). 

Gratitude. It’s a characteristic we often lack. 

I suppose there are several reasons for that—beyond the general fact of human depravity, of course. 

First, we’re selfish, self-centered. We’re focused on what we need, or what we want; if we don’t have it, we’re driven to get it. If we do have a particular thing we need, then we focus on something else that we don’t have. There’s always something, isn’t there? And the drive to get The Thing typically attracts our attention more easily than the gratitude for The Things that we do have. 

I suppose a way to mitigate this problem is to be content—that is, to recognize that you need less than you think you do. Now, I’m not talking to the single Mom of 4 kids who’s working two or three jobs—somehow—to keep all the bills paid. There are clear instances of genuine need, and feeling that lack is no failing. 

But for most of us, that scenario is not what we’re facing, even in times of economic pressure. Witness the ubiquity of businesses renting out storage lockers—there are two within a block or two of my house—as just one evidence of the fact that we have more than we need. As further evidence, take my testimony, which is typical of people my age. We’re trying desperately to get rid of a houseful of stuff so our kids don’t have to wade through it after we die. And much of that stuff we haven’t used, or perhaps even seen, in years, or even decades. These days I’m finding boxes of stuff in my attic that I had literally forgotten I had. I’m not suggesting we go all Marie Kondo on everything, but the simple fact is that most of us have much, much more than we need. 

I’m realizing that in my retirement I can live much more simply, much more cleanly, and yes, simultaneously even much more comfortably than I ever thought possible. Contentment is a liberating and pacifying thing. 

A second reason for thanklessness, I think, is a lack of attention to the source of what we have. Where did I get my ability to walk routinely without pain? To smell the honeysuckle growing in my yard? To see the gradations of brilliant color that embellish my skies every morning and evening? To hear the laughter of my grandson when I say, “Gotcha!”? My generous Father has given me all these things freely and from my earliest days on this earth. How good. How kind. How deserving of a daily word of thanks. 

My daily prayer time includes a section of thanking God for the countless things he has done for me physically, providentially, and spiritually. I have a list, and I go over it constantly. And let me say that a side effect of this practice is peace—something sadly missing in much of the current culture. 

A third reason for ingratitude, and the last one I’ll mention, is lack of attention—or rather, inordinate attention to less important things. We’re focused on What We Gotta Do Right This Minute. And there’s something to be said for responsible living, for excellence, for prioritization, for stewardship. But life is about people as well as projects and processes, and we invest wisely when we give attention to the benefits that others bring to our lives. When they smile, or say a kind word, or offer a hand, or give a gift, these are things that have measurably improved our lives and for which we should be grateful. And we should put that gratitude into words, whether prayed, spoken, or written. 

Well. This has been more of a meditation than an exegesis. There’s a place for that. 

Next time, we’ll turn to the passage, where Paul spends the rest of the chapter—17+ of its 29 verses, or more than half—specifying things for which we should be thankful. It will be fun to spend some time on that pleasantly aromatic pathway. 

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Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship | Part 4: Fruitfulness | Part 5: Intimacy 

Paul comes now to the third in his list of four characteristics of those who “walk worthy of the Lord” (Co 1.10): they are, he says,  

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness (Co 1.11). 

There’s a lot to talk about in this clause. I’ll note initially that most of us have trouble taking Paul seriously here. This is an astonishing promise. 

First, he says, we are “strengthened with all might.” Now, right on its face, it seems beyond belief. “All might?” Really? 

Well, that’s what it says. Of course, we need to read contextually. God is omnipotent (e.g. Ge 18.14), and he’s also holy, or unique (Is 6.3; 45.5-6), which means that we are not as powerful as he is. So in what way is the mature believer “strengthened with all might”? 

I’d suggest that God provides us with all the strength we need to do whatever he wills or calls us to do. We’re strong enough. We can get it done. 

And lest we get nervous about making extravagant claims, Paul piles on the confirmation. In just this phrase Paul uses both the verb and the noun forms of the same word: literally, we are “strengthened with all strength.” 

Now, Paul is a Jew, educated under Gamaliel the Rabban, and he knows his Hebrew language and culture. When a Hebrew speaker wanted to emphasize something, he repeated or duplicated it. In Genesis 1, for example, God says to Adam, if you eat the fruit of that tree, “dying, you shall die” (Ge 2.17). Most English translations rightly render that as “You shall surely die” or “You shall certainly die.” Scholars call that a “Hebraism.” 

So if the mature believer is “strengthened with all strength,” then he is, as my Bostonian friends would say, “wicked strong.” 

But there’s more. The next phrase gives the scope, or the measure, of that strength: “according to his glorious power.” The word “power” here is a different Greek word, one that means simply “might,” whether physical or military or political. I think the point here is not that we’re as strong as God—as we’ve already noted, that’s impossible—but rather that God’s commands for us are backed up by his omnipotence; we act not merely in our own strength, but with the impelling force of his omnipotence. We can do whatever God calls us to do. 

One more thing. Paul adds a phrase here that specifies the kinds of things he’s calling us to do. Not impressive exploits or acts of strength, but rather “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Co 1.11). Both patience and longsuffering have to do with bearing up under a heavy load, not collapsing, finishing a difficult experience. We might say “endurance.” Often in the Scripture the words are connected to suffering or persecution. 

How about that? A key evidence of spiritual maturity is that you don’t lose your cool. You don’t quit under pressure. You don’t let exhaustion, or pain, or fear move you to stop trying, to stop standing. When you’re persecuted, you take it, for as long as the persecutor can dish it out. 

You Just Do It. 

And finally, Paul says, you Just Do It with a smile on your face. “With joyfulness,” he says. 

Yikes. 

We have an example of that in the very earliest days of the church. After Peter healed a lame man in the Temple (Ac 3.1-10), he preached Christ to the gathered crowd (Ac 3.11-26). In response the Jewish leadership demanded that the apostles stop their preaching, under threat of severe punishment (Ac 4.1-22). But the church saw this opposition as the fulfillment of prophecy (Ac 4.23-31) and determined to continue preaching; and the apostles continued their healing miracles (Ac 5.12-16). 

In response the Jewish leadership came down hard and eventually determined to execute the apostles, but began with a beating (Ac 5.17-40). And how did the apostles respond? 

They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name (Ac 5.41). 

They rejoiced that God had allowed them to suffer. 

And they kept preaching: 

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ (Ac 5.42). 

Strengthened with all might. 

It can happen. 

Next time: thankfulness. 

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Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship | Part 4: Fruitfulness  

As Paul continues his list of specific ways that we will “walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing,” he comes to item 2: “increasing in the knowledge of God” (Co 1.10).  

It shouldn’t surprise us that he lands here at this point; while the “good works” he’s just discussed are a necessary, even crucial, evidence of our regeneration—“faith without works is dead,” Jesus’ half-brother pithily observed (Jam 2.20)—Jesus made it abundantly clear that good works are not the central definition of Christian life. Throughout his ministry he lambasted the Pharisees, who had more good works going for them than anybody else in their day—even tithing their herbs and spices (Mt 23.23)—because they ignored “justice, mercy, and faith” (Ibid.). He identified the greatest commandment as “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Mt 22.37); and in an intimate conversation with his Father, he said, “This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (Jn 17.3). 

So it’s clear that Christian maturity is about more than just Doing What the Boss Says. Perhaps we can even say that it’s about more than the Lordship of Christ—though it is certainly about that. Christian maturity goes beyond that to the personal, to the intimate, to having a deep and loving—may I say affectionate?—relationship with God. We sometimes speak of “asking Jesus into our heart”—there’s some controversy about that—but as we’ve noted already, God is One, and we seek that intimacy with the Father (recall John 17.3, referenced earlier) and with the Son and with the Spirit, as One. 

The word knowledge here, as in the previous verse, has a preposition prefixed to it in the Greek (epiginosko as contrasted with ginosko). Sometimes, but not always, such a preposition signifies an intensification: so here, perhaps “to know with certainty,” “to know more deeply.”  

Maybe, maybe not. Trench thinks so, as does Geisler in the Bible Knowledge Commentary. But in any case we do not doubt that Paul is holding before us the goal of knowing God as thoroughly,as profoundly, as transformatively as a human can. 

Note that Paul describes this knowledge of God as “increasing.” This is something that grows, that develops, over time. 

We know what that’s like; we experience that in all our human relationships. My wife and I have been married for more that 41 years. There was a time when I didn’t know her at all. As we became acquaintances, we needed time for our understanding of each other to develop. Along the way there were times of misunderstanding due to the relative shallowness of the relationship. But as time proceeded, as experience was added to experience, we began to understand one another, to care for one another, to love one another. Most couples say that they thought they knew each other when they got married, but they realize now that they were just beginning. 

So it is in our walk with God; we are, after all, his bride (Rev 21.9). Unlike our human relationships, this growth is not reciprocal; God knows us perfectly from the beginning. But we have a lifetime of learning to do, and mature Christians find that their understanding and trust grow with that learning. 

Skeptics sometimes accuse Christians of being naïve, overly trustful, acting in blind faith. But that is not at all what’s happening. I trust my wife when I can’t see her, because I know her and have known her for decades. The mature Christian has the same kind of relationship with God. He knows his goodness and greatness from experience, and  he trusts him as a consequence. 

Do you have trouble trusting God? That’s normal for people who aren’t well acquainted. Give it time, and pay attention; God’s greatness and goodness will become apparent, and that will mature you over time. 

Next time: slow-twitch muscle.

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Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship 

Paul now lists four specific ways that we will “walk worthy of the Lord, into all pleasing” (Co 1.10): 

• Being fruitful in every good work, 

• Increasing in the knowledge of God; (Co 1.10) 

• Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (Co 1.11) 

• Giving thanks unto the Father (Co 1.12). 

That’s quite a list. Keep in mind that these things are what God accomplishes in us—so they are achievable. 

The first characteristic that Paul chooses to list is fruitfulness. This follows naturally from what he has just said; if you are walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, then you are bearing fruit. 

In my early days as a Christian, my instructors tended to see “fruit bearing” as soul-winning or evangelism. I don’t doubt that that’s part of it, and a significant part; evangelism—and then discipleship—is the Great Commission that the ascending Christ left with us (Mt 28.19-20). Some see in Psalm 126 a motivation to evangelism: 

⁵They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. ⁶ He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Ps 126.5-6). 

While I believe the context indicates a much broader scope to this observation, it certainly would include the concept of evangelism. 

But overall, when the New Testament speaks of “fruit” in the Christian life, it’s speaking about good works as evidence of faith (e.g. “the fruit of righteousness,” He 12.11; Jam 3.18) or character development, most famously in the “fruit of the Spirit” (Ga 5.22-23). I think it’s reasonable in this context (“fruitful in every good work”) to read this characteristic as demonstrating consistent success in our spiritual efforts to walk in a way that’s pleasing to God. We will fail on occasion, of course; the “old man,” as Paul describes our sinful nature, remains with us (Ro 7.24), and we stumble along the way, perhaps every day. (Or is it just me?) 

But in the main, there is growth and development of character; we can see progress from the way we used to be to the way we are now. I’ve been encouraged by the fact that as I grow older, and I have a longer timeline to recall and evaluate, the progress is easier to see. The sin nature is still there, and it may not be easy to see improvement from last week, or even last month, but oh, are things different from 50 years ago! Here is clear evidence of God’s working in my life, his ready grace and empowerment over time. 

Because he is omnipotent, God is never in a hurry; he is never under the pressure of time. He has done his work in me, and in you, as he has pleased, and he will continue faithfully until our last breath—and then he will sanctify us perfectly. There is great peace in that. 

And there is great peace in meditating on the specific “fruit of the Spirit” that he is developing in our character: 

• Love, or others-centeredness. Thinking about, and living for, others instead of your own priorities or even needs. 

• Joy, or persistent optimism about God’s control of present and future. Looking for what he’s doing rather than complaining or fearing about trials. 

• Peace, or confident resting in the goodness of God’s plan. Freedom from fear, the predominant characteristic of present society. 

• Endurance, or the ability to bear up under challenging loads for as long as necessary. This is a natural consequence of peace. 

• Kindness, or care in treating others as you would be treated. This is a natural consequence of love. 

• Goodness, or “interest in the welfare of others” (BDAG). This, too, springs from love. 

• Faithfulness, or reliability, persistent adherence to the truth. I would suggest that this is another consequence of peace. 

• Gentleness, or “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” (BDAG). Another consequence of love. 

• Self-control, or strength over your natural instincts. This too springs from love, a devaluing of your own interests in favor of those of others. 

God is doing this in you, over time, in his time. Enjoy watching this happen, and take heart from the experience. 

Next time: increasing in the knowledge of God. 

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Part 1: Introduction

So what does Paul pray for the members of the church at Colossae? He begins this prayer (Co 1.9-23) with a basic request (Co 1.9) followed by its typical result (Co 1.10a) and then amplifies that result with four descriptors (Co 1.10-12). As I noted in the previous post, the final descriptor (thankfulness) opens the door to a long list of specific things for which believers should be thankful (Co 1.13-23).

That’s a lot to digest. Let’s start at the beginning, chewing slowly and thoughtfully.

[ Sidebar: I’ve noticed in recent years, particularly among what we used to call “the young, restless, and reformed,” that many preachers like to use the metaphor of unpacking a box when they exegete a passage; they’ll say, “Let’s unpack this passage.” I rather suspect that they have a favorite preacher who uses the expression, and they’re imitating him (Piper? Mohler? Macarthur?). I have to admit that since I’m a hopelessly out-of-touch old coot, I don’t know who the exemplar preacher—the Yoda, if you will—is. But in any case, I’ve always used a different metaphor, that of chewing and digesting. I do have considerable experience at chewing, and I find great pleasure in it. And there’s always Jeremiah 15.16 to consider:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

So there’s that.

End sidebar. ]

Paul’s primary prayer is straightforward:

We … 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 (Co 1.9).

The second infinitive, “to desire,” is, I think, simply a restatement of the first, “to pray.” (In Greek, the word “and” can often be translated “even,” as introducing an appositive, a restatement.) And what is that prayer, that desire? That they would know God’s will, or, more expansively, “be filled with the knowledge of his will.”

For the believer on the way to spiritual maturity, the essential thing is to be determined to live according to the will of God. That means, of course, not just knowing what God wants, but being oriented toward it (being “filled with it”) and then doing it. Paul is praying that they would obey God. That’s where it all starts.

And that’s why he immediately says, “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” These words have to do with more than just knowing. We must not picture the hypercranialized space aliens who just know all kinds of stuff and always win at “Jeopardy!” Wisdom and understanding have to do not so much with intellect, but with application: knowing how to use what you know to do practical things. I once read somewhere that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable; but wisdom is knowing that you don’t put ketchup on ice cream.

It’s more extensive than that, of course; wisdom and understanding include creative thinking, problem-solving, and what Bloom called synthesis. It’s the opposite of the ivory tower. It’s the ability to get stuff done.

So if Paul is attaching the concept of wisdom to the knowledge of God’s will, he is praying for us to do what we know, to live out who God has designed us to be.

Well then. We begin here.

But how? How are we to know the will of God?

To the college students I’ve taught for many years, the will of God has to do with three w’s: what (is my career going to be), where (am I going to live), and who (am I going to marry). Those are important questions, of course, but the teaching on the will of God in the Bible doesn’t focus on that. It focuses instead on the kind of person you’re going to be. For example, Paul writes elsewhere,

This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication (1Th 4.3).

And there’s more; grab your search software (or, if you’re over 75, your concordance—and a good magnifying glass) and have a field day.

God’s well-rounded people start every day, and the rest of their lives, with the question, “Based on what I know of the Bible, what does God want me to do?”

That’s a start.

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