Increasing in the knowledge of God

Colossians 1:1-17 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

¹³ For He rescued 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.

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

In today’s text, Paul speaks of an important aspect of our Christian walk. He says:   For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God        Paul’s prayer for the church is that they would be, filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding and that they would be increasing in the knowledge of God.      The Christian life is not to be a static life. A person may be able to go to school, to read books and learn and fully  know and understand religion and doctrine, but we can never fully know God. To be filled in the knowledge of God’s will with spiritual wisdom, is an ongoing, a daily even moment by moment learning. Throughout our entire lives we should be increasing, growing in the knowledge of God. There is a saying that anything that is not growing is dying. That is true of our spiritual life. It cannot remain static and if it is not growing and increasing, then it and we are dying.

Paul gives two reasons why he prays this for the church:  so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work…and that they would be:   strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.     So the increasing in the knowledge, wisdom and will of God is both for what we are to do, bearing fruit and so that we ourselves will be strengthened, that we attain steadfastness and patience. Salvation, redemption from sin happens in the moment we believe that Jesus died for our sins, the moment we accept His work on the cross and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior. That moment though is only the beginning of our life in Christ. Along with redemption from sin and eternal life, through Jesus and the cross we are also reconciled to God. The moment of our salvation is just the beginning of our knowledge and understanding of God, just the beginning of all there is in our reconciliation with Him.

Often when we go through dark or dry times in our spiritual lives we say we are in a wilderness or like the nation of Israel in a desert place. The truth is that even in the desert, God provided manna for the people. It may not have looked like much or tasted like much, but that manna, that daily provision from God had all that they need for the day. They could not live on yesterday’s manna today or the next day. They needed to go out and gather it each day. Exodus 16:16 speaks of the commandment to gather manna saying:   This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat        Very often when we are in a spiritual desert or dry place, it is in part because we are trying to live on the revelation, the understanding, the knowledge of God that we already have. Yesterday’s revelation doesn’t have what we need for today. Yesterday’s revelation and knowledge of God doesn’t have sufficient steadfastness and patience for today. Yesterday’s revelation of God doesn’t have what we need to bear fruit in the God ordained appointments we have today. When we are in a dry place we need to seek God’s daily revelation, His daily manna for that day. Just as the manna in the wilderness looked the same every morning when they went out to gather it, so scripture, the Bible, God’s written Word may look and sound the same as we read it each day. But for 40 years God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. If we will be faithful to search out God’s wisdom in His Word, He will provide fresh manna, fresh revelation each and every day. That’s why I use the One Year Bible format, even though I have read through it nearly each day almost 30 years, there is something new and fresh every time. Just as each one needed to gather manna, so also each one must seek God’s revelation.   

Paul says also that this increasing ongoing knowledge of God and His will is demonstrated and results in:     giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.  For He rescued 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.   The more we know and understand God, the more thankful we will become. Paul says He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. It is not only the saints that we share an inheritance with though. Romans 8:16-17 says:   The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.      Our inheritance is with Christ. We share in the inheritance of God as fellow heirs with Christ. As fellow heirs we receive what Christ received, all that there is in the kingdom of God. We also then as heirs with Christ, having received the kingdom with and through Him are also given the responsibilities of stewarding the kingdom. We are called to bear fruit in and for the kingdom.

We cannot attain the fullness of God through human understanding. Again Paul’s prayer is that the church: be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.     Spiritual wisdom comes only by and through the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 says:  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  As we seek God daily, as we search in His Word for fresh manna, fresh revelation for the day and as we walk through our day to the divine God ordained appointments He has for us, may we do it all in and through the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, thank You that You have qualified me to share in Your inheritance. Thank You for providing fresh revelation each day, a new understanding a deeper knowledge of You and Your will for the circumstances of each day. May I be a faithful steward of the inheritance I share in and with You. I yield to You Holy Spirit, that You would guide me and tech me all things, that You would reveal to me what I need today.   Amen