THE ROOT AND THE TRUNK, “FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL" (VS. 9B)
1:9b to fill you with the knowldege of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The tree figure seen in the terms, “bearing fruit and growing,” reminds us of a very important principle in life, that of the root and the trunk. You simply can’t have fruit without the root to provide the life sustaining nourishment needed and a strong trunk to give stability so the fruit doesn’t lie in the dirt or the trunk doesn’t break off and cut off the supply of nourishment from the fruit. Ours is a day, however, when people want to by pass the root system and go directly to the fruit. Today, in many schools those in authority have abolished failing grades and care more about making certain the children feel good about themselves even if they cannot spell, read or, add and subtract. But these simple ABCs form the root and trunk. The real world out there won’t care about one’s self-image. Rather, the world of business expects its employees to be able to add, subtract, spell, read, and write so these employees can do the job they were hired for. Likewise, developing a healthy spiritual root system and a strong trunk are vital to fruitful Christian living.79
With the words “to fill you" in verse 9, we are introduced to the content and purpose of Paul’s prayer. Literally, the Greek text has, “that you may be filled.” The Greek text uses a hina clause with the subjunctive mood. This construction may express the content (substantival use of hina) or the design (the purpose-result use of hina) of Paul’s prayer. While this construction is probably best understood to point to the content (substantival use) of their prayer, surely Paul and his associates prayed this prayer because this was also the purpose or the result they sought from the Lord in the life of the Colossians. Essentially, Paul prayed for two things: (1) that his readers might have a full knowledge of the will of God and (2) that, as a result, they might live in manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every respect. Both requests, though distinctive, are intimately related and bound up one with the other as cause and effect. Verse 9 without verse 10 is incomplete and falls short of the will of God, but verse 10 without verse 9 is impossible.
This request forms the objective of the prayer, but essentially, it is also the root and foundation for all that follows. This request points us to the great need in every believer’s life and the means by which this need is met. It is important that the readers, and by application all believers, be filled with the knowledge of God’s will (the need), but not any means will accomplish this. We must never seek to fill this void through man’s fleshly wisdom or human imagination (cf. 2:2-3, 8, 18 and Rom. 1:18ff). Thus, with the words in (or by) all spiritual wisdom and understanding, the apostle points to the all-important means.
Through out this epistle, the apostle used biblical terms like knowledge, filled, spiritual, understanding, and wisdom. These terms also formed part of the vocabulary adopted by the false teachers, but what they meant by these terms was a far cry from sound doctrine or biblical truth. As Wiersbe points out, “Satan is so deceptive! He likes to borrow Christian vocabulary, but he does not use the Christian dictionary! Long before the false teachers had adopted these terms, the words had been in the Christian vocabulary.”80 In this epistle, the apostle often used the theme of “fullness” or “completeness” to combat the claims of the false teachers. This can be seen in the different, but similar terms used in 1:9, 19, 24, 25; 2:2, 3, 9, 10; 4:12, 17. “It seems that the false teachers boasted that they offered the fullness of truth and spiritual maturity, while Epaphras had only instructed the Colossians in the first steps (Beare, 156).”81
“To fill you…” may also be translated, “that you may be filled…” As previously mentioned, this clause does more than refer to the content or substance of what Paul and his team prayed for. It points also to the design and the reason for the prayer! The Colossians had been told that they needed more knowledge and deeper wisdom beyond what they had been taught regarding the person and work of Christ. Now Paul shows them they indeed needed more knowledge, but the true knowledge of God’s will by means of all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Satan has all sorts of tricks he uses to distract and turn people away from the Word. He especially seeks to keep them an understanding of the sufficiency of salvation in Christ alone. "That you may be filled" represents the subjunctive mood in the Greek, which is the mood of potentiality. It points to that which is God’s designed potential for every believer, i.e., to be filled with the knowledge of His will, but not necessarily the reality. So, while this is the potential and God's design, it may not become a reality. Its reality can be hindered by all kinds of distractions like indifference, laziness, carnality, materialism, and wrong priorities. Or, it can be hindered by counterfeit ideas that seek to add to or subtract from the fullness of salvation as revealed in Christ. It is this that the Colossians were facing with the false teachers at Colossae. God wants all believers in Christ to have their roots deeply planted in His Word like a tree planted by flowing streams.
I grew up on a small cattle ranch in east Texas. Around our house were some towering oaks that spread their branches out providing shade and beauty to our home. Just behind these oaks was our garden where my mom raised vegetables like squash and cucumbers. Now it took years to produce those huge and enjoyable oaks that gave us shade and beauty year after year, but it only took a few weeks to produce a squash or cucumber. So, we might ask, “What kind of Christian do we want to be? Do we want to be like an oak or a squash?” Solid and strong spiritual growth requires time and a life that is perennially fed by the streams of God’s Word, the source for the knowledge of His will.
"Be filled" is full of meaning and significance. First, the tense is aorist, which looks at the effective culmination, the end product and the design of acquiring the knowledge of God's will. The idea is filled full and running over. No one ever reaches this goal, but should it not be our objective. Second, the heretics regularly used the word fullness. It was their claim that what they were offering as a substitute or addition to the gospel and to the believer's life in Christ would bring an added fullness of life. Don't believe it! The world and Satan are always making this claim, but it is a lie. Fullness of life only comes through an understanding of the fullness Christians automatically have in Christ as they continue to grow and relate their lives to Him through the Word (2:6-10). Third, the verb is the Greek pleroo, which may carry three key ideas, all of which may have application here though the first meaning listed below is primary:
- “To fill up a deficiency.” Every believer has deficiencies in his or her knowledge of the Word and these deficiencies need to be removed through a careful and accurate handling of the Word (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).
- “To fully possess, influence, control, take over.” What comes to your mind when you hear the statement, "he was filled with fear?" Don't you envision a man so controlled and motivated by fear that his every move and action is the product of that fear? Likewise, the knowledge of God's will is to so pervade all our being that it controls all our thoughts, affections, purposes, and plans. The more of the mind of Christ we have, the more God can bring His control into our lives.
- “To fill with a certain quality or character.” When a house is filled with a certain fragrance, that house takes on the quality of that fragrance (cf. John 12:3). The more our lives are filled with the Word, the mind of Christ, the more our lives can take on the quality and character of Christ's life (cf. Eph. 3:16-19).
“Knowledge” is the Greek epignosis, a compound form of gnosis, “knowledge.” A concordance study of this word in the New Testament reveals that it is used only of moral and spiritual knowledge (the knowledge of God and His truth), but there is considerable debate as to its precise meaning. Vaughn has a good summary of the issues in the debate:
…Armitage Robinson, for instance, concludes that the simple, uncompounded form (gnosis) [This is a quote. What do you do about the lack of omega?] is the wider word and denotes knowledge in “the fullest sense.” The compound form used here he takes to be “knowledge directed toward a particular object” (Epistle to the Ephesians, p. 254). Earlier scholars, on the other hand, are inclined to see epignosis as the larger and stronger word. Meyer, for example, defines it as “the knowledge which grasps and penetrates into the object” (p. 215). Lightfoot remarks that “it was used especially of the knowledge of God and of Christ as being the perfection of knowledge” (p. 138). The older interpreters who understand the word as denoting thorough knowledge, that is, a deep and accurate comprehension, are probably correct. Such knowledge of God’s will is the foundation of all Christian character and conduct.82
Whether epignosis refers to knowledge directed toward a specific area of knowledge like the knowledge of God and spiritual things or to a deeper understanding of the knowledge under consideration, it refers to a knowledge that impacts the life for positive spiritual change and blessing. In Paul’s prayer, the issue is not just knowledge, but the knowledge of God’s will. “Of his will” points us to the precise area of knowledge needed, but in context, what precisely does the apostle have in mind?
In general, the knowledge of God’s will concerns the whole counsel of God’s truth as it is found in the Bible (the source) regarding the person and work of Christ (the primary subject). As Revelation 19:10 points out, “Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The point is simple and clear. The purpose of prophecy, all prophecy, is essentially to bear testimony to Jesus Christ and to glorify Him. The prophetic Scripture, by its very design in the plan of God, is to unfold the beauty of the person and work of Jesus Christ. In both His first and second advents, He is God’s perfect solution to the evils of a fallen world. Thus, all Scripture ultimately points to the person and work of Christ in His preincarnate glory, His incarnation and ministry on earth, His death, resurrection, ascension, session, and imminent return. This was precisely the Lord’s point to the two disciples on the Emmaus road in Luke 24.
24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 24:27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27). (NASB)
In this context (vss. 9-14), the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding has as its focus the dynamic result that a proper understanding of the person and work of Christ should have on one’s spiritual walk. In this case, God’s will refers to the complete rule of faith and practice. It is a knowledge that should lead to Christ-like living in the many and varied situations of life. As verse 10 will show, properly understanding the will of God should yield fruit in a worthy walk that pleases the Lord in every respect. This passage is not primarily speaking about the vague impressions people may have about God’s will regarding those questions that concern where one should live or what car one should buy or what person one should marry. Instead, it refers primarily to the principles and promises of Scripture that point believers to the theological and moral will of God. It is this that forms the basis for making wise biblical choices. Such knowledge gives discernment and enables believers to make choices that will glorify God in all the questions and issues of life. In this prayer of Paul, the great object is to grow in the knowledge of God's will so that it leads to pleasing Him, not ourselves. Barclay is correct when he says,
…We are trying not so much to make God listen to us as to make ourselves listen to him; we are trying not to persuade God to do what we want, but to find out what he wants us to do. It so often happens that in prayer we are really saying, “Thy will be changed,” when we ought to be saying, “Thy will be done.” The first object of prayer is not so much to speak to God as to listen to him.83
The important question is how do we gain such knowledge, and how does it manifest itself? What form is it to take? This is answered for us in the next statement, "in (or ‘by’) all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Several things need to be considered here.
First, such knowledge is not the fruit of man’s wisdom or searching. It comes through the illumination of the Holy Spirit who imparts “wisdom and understanding” from the Scripture, God’s revealed will to man. Paul had just mentioned a “love by the Spirit” and now speaks of spiritual wisdom and understanding. “Spiritual” is the Greek adjective pneumatikos, which is emphatic in the Greek text.84 In the New Testament, this adjective most often means “actuated or controlled by the divine Spirit” or “pertaining to the divine Spirit” (pneuma)” whether of things or persons. Here in 1:9, it means a wisdom and understanding given by the Spirit.85 The false teachers also boasted of wisdom, but it was only a show of man’s wisdom (2:23). This is an empty wisdom that belongs to human philosophy and is even the product of the delusions of demonic spirits (cf. 2:8 with 1 Tim. 4:1). By contrast, believers need the wisdom and understanding that is found in the Scripture and is taught by the Holy Spirit, an important theme of the New Testament (cf. John 16:7-15; 1 Cor. 2:6-3:3; Eph. 1:17f; 3:16-19; 1 John 2:20, 27).
Second, what is meant by “wisdom and understanding”? "Wisdom" is the Greek sophia. Sophia refers to the basic, fundamental precepts, the facts and first principles of any subject. In this context, it refers to the basic principles and truths of the Word that every believer should know and live by. However, it is not just knowledge because it looks at a knowledge that makes one wise. And who is a wise person? He or she is one who has a holy reverence or awe for God. Reverence for God forms the beginning and essence of wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 4:7; 9:10). But such reverence or wisdom comes from an understanding of God’s being—His divine essence or character, especially as God has manifested Himself in the person and work of Christ. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30) (NASB)
Biblical wisdom, then, is a knowledge that shows one how to live so that one’s life is meaningful and good, just and right, effective or fruitful regardless of what life might bring. How, then, can we define wisdom? Two definitions might be offered. First, biblical wisdom consists in choosing the best means to the best end. The effect of this wisdom "…is to make us more humble, more joyful, more godly, more quick sighted as to His will, more resolute in the doing of it and less troubled (not less sensitive, but less bewildered) than we were at the dark and painful things of which our life in this fallen world is full…"86 Second, "Wisdom is the God-given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability."87 But the knowledge of God as He is revealed in the Word is always the root of wisdom and its effects (cf. Ps. 119:97ff).
Interestingly, the text does not say "all wisdom and all understanding" as though they were two independent and unrelated things, but all wisdom and understanding because they are intimately tied together. When you think of wisdom, the book of the Bible that probably comes to your mind is the book of Proverbs. The first nine chapters of Proverbs give us a single sustained exhortation to seek this gift from God, but we should also notice that Solomon mentions these two together nearly half the time. In fourteen of some thirty-five references to wisdom, he includes understanding.
"Understanding" is the Greek word sunesis, which literally means, "a uniting, union, a bringing together." It looks at the faculty of putting two and two together. In sunesis you take wisdom (biblical truth) and apply it to the details of your life or to a specific problem or issue for critical discernment. Understanding is what allows one to see clearly to discern the good from the bad and the best over the good. Whereas "wisdom" (sophia) looks at the theoretical, the theological, or the various truths of Scripture, "understanding" (sunesis) looks at the practical, the application of wisdom.
The wise application of God’s truth is the reason for studying and living in the Word on a daily basis. Oh, that we might become burdened and hungry for God’s Word and that this might take root throughout the Christian community. God says in effect, "stay in My Word and I'll change your life." God places no value on ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss. To remain ignorant when you can know and learn is to play the fool (cf. Prov. 1:20-22 with 1:29f).
Third, the apostle prays that they might be filled with “all spiritual…” The word "all" (pas) may refer to everything that belongs in kind to the word with which it is used, i.e., every kind or category or area of wisdom.88 There are many spheres or categories of wisdom God's wants us to know and have, and this is undoubtedly involved here. But in this context with the term “filled,” perhaps the primary idea is "the highest degree, the maximum."89 This means the maximum knowledge of God's will in all its categories is the goal of the request. God wants us to have a maximum of wisdom and understanding. God does not want His people to remain spiritual babies or adolescents. Milk is fine for the babe for a while, but eventually, if the babe is to grow and become strong, he or she needs a solid meal of spiritual meat and potatoes (Heb. 5:11-6:1). God wants us to be continually growing in the knowledge and application of His will in all spheres of life (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18). As Wiersbe humorously points out:
Spiritual intelligence is the beginning of a successful, fruitful Christian life. God puts no premium on ignorance. I once heard a preacher say, “I didn’t never go to school. I’m just a igerant Christian, and I’m glad I is!” A man does not have to go to school to gain spiritual intelligence; but neither should he magnify his “igerance.”
Great men of God like Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, and H.A. Ironside never had the privilege of formal Bible training. But they were devoted students of the Word, learning its deeper truths through hours of study, meditation, and prayer. The first step toward fullness of life is spiritual intelligence—growing in the will of God by knowing the Word of God.90
Conclusion
As the next verse will stress, the knowledge of God in all spiritual wisdom and understanding enables us to walk in a worthy manner so we can please the Lord in every situation of life and bear fruit for Him. Perhaps an illustration will help. Kathie, my precious and faithful wife and co-laborer for the last forty-one years, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 99, just seventeen months ago. Her myeloma is the kind that also attacks the kidneys and she is now experiencing kidney failure. About twelve weeks ago, the doctors thought she had only four to six weeks to live, and though the Lord continues to give her one good day after another, we know that her time on this earth is short, barring, of course, a miraculous healing. We were devastated when she was diagnosed with this terrible disease and were faced with choices concerning how we will respond to the Lord and to this terrible disease. Would we get angry with God, question His love and wisdom? After all, she is not even sixty years old and a vibrant and contributing member of her family, her church, her friends, and of the BSF staff.
As Bible believing Christians, we have continually cast this burden on the Savior and have sought to trust and honor Him throughout this entire ordeal. Because of the principles and promises of Scripture and what it teaches us about God and the Savior’s love (God’s wisdom to us), we know that the Lord could have healed her instantaneously anywhere along this road and still could. We know that with God nothing is impossible (Gen. 19:14; Matt. 19:26; Mark 14:36; Luke 1:37), but we also know from Scripture that healing her might not be His will or what is best according to His infinite wisdom and eternal plan. Naturally, my heart is breaking over the thought of losing her and I, along with many others, pray daily for her healing if that can be His will and will glorify Him the most. While the hurt is deep and the tears have been many, our biblical responsibility (the knowledge of God’s will) is to humble ourselves under His might hand, to desire His glory and honor, and to rest in His loving care and perfect wisdom (1 Pet. 5:6-7) (biblical understanding or wisdom applied). Again our need is to remember Psalm 40:16:
May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, “May the Lord be praised!” (magnified, NASB, exalted, NIV).
We also know she, as all believers in Christ, has an eternal home and a hope laid up for her in the heavens with the Lord where there is joy unspeakable and glory beyond our imagination. In knowing and resting in these and other truths of the Bible, we know that there are things going on behind the scenes of human history that are beyond our comprehension. This is one of the great lessons in the book of Job as is so evident in Job 1-2. And it is interesting and significant that, when Job had become a bit demanding with God, God never told Job about the angelic conflict going on behind the scenes. He simply reminded Job of Who He is as the sovereign and infinitely wise creator of the universe (see Job 38-41).
Job learned much from this encounter with God and responded:
42:1 Then Job answered the Lord:
42:2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted;
42:3 you asked,
‘Who is this who darkens counsel
without knowledge?’
But I have declared without understanding
things too wonderful for me to know.
42:4 You said,
‘Pay attention, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye has seen you.
42:6 Therefore I despise myself,
and I repent in dust and ashes!
When Job said, “but now my eye has seen you” (vs. 5), he was not necessarily saying that he had had a vision. He was simply saying that this experience with God was real and personal. In the past, his knowledge of God was what he had heard. Now, through the suffering he had endured and through this encounter with the Almighty, he had grown in his knowledge and understanding of God.
Thus, greater glory can accrue to God through our suffering when Christians simply rest in God and His infinite wisdom and mercy in spite of their own pain or loss. Kathie has shared her experience and testimony in various e-mail messages to a number of people around the world. These have touched the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike. We know of two people in India who, being fearful of dying, wanted to know more when they heard of Kathie’s peace in the face of death. For those interested, she has shared her faith and thoughts in a document on our web site called, “Calm Amidst the Storm.” This entire experience has already been used of the Lord in many lives in ways far beyond our comprehension.
In our study of the believer's knowledge of the will of God, we are considering seven truths that build upon one another, found in the original language of Colossians 1:9-12:
Believing the Gospel of Christ is what makes knowledge of God's will possible.
Precise and correct knowledge of God's will is possible.
Precise and correct knowledge of God's will comes because of two things - prayer and study of the Word of God.
Knowledge of God's will involves wisdom in the general sense.
Knowledge of God's will involves understanding in the specific sense, and it is an understanding that involves joining various aspects of God's revelation together in the mind.
The Christian's knowledge of God's will is superior to the world's false and speculative knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge of God's will has a specific purpose.
Spiritual Wisdom
In our last study, we took up point number four: Knowledge of God's will involves wisdom in the general sense. In other words, it has to do with general principles. We noted a division of terms that is not apparent in most English Bibles. In Colossians 1:9, Paul says the he is praying that these believers will be filled with the knowledge of God's will "in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." In the original language, the adjective "spiritual" actually applies to both nouns, wisdom and understanding. Paul is really saying, "in all spiritual wisdom, and in all spiritual understanding."
In our last study we addressed the matter of spiritual wisdom. The word Paul uses here in the original language is sophia, which means discernment with regard to general principles. This is the understanding that the general will of God for believers is given to us clearly in the Bible, and in all the necessary detail. The Bible gives us the general sense of right and wrong; what pleases God and does not please God; of what constitutes sound doctrine, and what constitutes heresy; of what is right and proper in the life and worship of the church, and what is not. Paul addresses these things in some detail in Colossians chapter two.
Also, the Bible gives us the general sense of how we should conduct our lives as Christians - how the Christian mind should think; what Christian character looks like; how a Christian is to conduct himself before unbelievers, in the home, in the workplace, and in relation to other believers. The general principles of spiritual wisdom will give us answers to the vast majority of questions as we seek to know the will of God.
Spiritual Understanding
But then we come to a different category in verse nine - "spiritual understanding." How does this differ from "spiritual wisdom"? The Greek word that is used here for "understanding" is sunesis. It is a compound word made up of the root word hiemi, which means "to bring", and the prefix sun, which means "together". So the basic meaning of the word for "understanding" in verse nine is "to bring together."
Sunesis in this context means that as a Christian you are to use your mind, employ your God-given intelligence, "to bring together" various aspects of your knowledge of God's general will as revealed in His Word, and to bring that combined knowledge to bear on a specific situation or question. The specific will of God for any given situation will always agree with the total body of truth He has set down in His Word. The better you know God's Word, the better you will know God's general will. The better you know God's general will, the easier it will be to discern His specific guidance in your daily life.
Notice in this passage what Paul was not doing. He was not encouraging the Colossian believers to go off after the kind of false knowledge and wisdom that the pagans were promoting. He was not praying that they would see visions or hear voices. Paul's prayer for the Colossian believers was that they would get deeper into God's Word, and that by the power and authority of God's Word alone they would be filled with wisdom and insight concerning God's will.
He wanted them to have "all wisdom." That did not mean they were going to know everything. But it did mean that they would have all the wisdom necessary to exercise their minds in a Scripture-driven way in order to make decisions and live lives that would please God.
The Sum: Spiritual Intelligence
What the Holy Spirit through Paul is describing in Colossians 1:9 is spiritual intelligence. That is what God wants us to have. God does not ask you to put your mind in mothballs when you become a Christian. He does not ask you to put your intellect in the deep freeze. God does not place a premium on ignorance. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ liberates Christians to use their minds in a way that the unbeliever cannot even understand.
It is God's Word that equips believers to do this. It is God's Word that equips the Scripture-driven Christian, and the Scripture-driven church. God wants you to use your mind, driven by Scripture illuminated by the indwelling Holy Spirit, to live a godly and fruitful life for His glory. God wants this for every Christian, not just an elite group. You do not need to have a Bible college or seminary degree to be a Scripture-driven Christian who is "filled with the knowledge of His will."
In the eyes of the world, Peter and the other apostles were uneducated and untrained men. But we read in Acts chapter four that as they preached and taught in the early days of the church, the Pharisees - the educated men of the day, but men who were lost and spiritually dead and did not know how to think God's thoughts - marveled because these uneducated, untrained apostles could preach with such power and live with such boldness. Acts 4:13 tells us that they took note of the fact that these men, Peter and John and the rest, "had been with Jesus."
The same was true in a different way of the Apostle Paul. By human standards, he was a highly educated man. But he declared this to the Galatian church, in chapter one of his epistle beginning at verse eleven: I am not giving you my own wisdom or my own understanding of things. I am giving you the knowledge of the will of God that I received directly from Jesus Christ. I have been with Jesus.
According to Colossians 1:9-10, we can see very clearly that if we want to please God and bear fruit, we should know His will in our spirit. The relationship with God in our spirit is the basis of God’s pleasure and our fruit-bearing. It is vanity for a believer to try to please God on the one hand, while walking according to the soul on the other hand. God is pleased with His will and nothing else. Nothing else can satisfy His heart. The most painful thing for believers is to not know God’s will. Although we can conjecture and search, it seems that we cannot touch God’s will. These verses tell us that the way to know God’s will is not to have more thoughts, considerations, and judgments according to human sentiment, but by spiritual understanding. Only the human spirit can fathom God’s will in the spirit because only the spirit has the intuition to know God’s movements. By the understanding of the intuition, believers can know God’s will.
When believers continue to know God’s will, they will be "growing by the full knowledge of God." This means that the believers’ real knowledge of God will grow gradually. These verses also speak of the spirit. If in everything we seek God’s will in our spirit, we will know God more. The intuition in our spirit will grow without limit. The intuition can grow. The growth of the intuition speaks of the believers’ total growth in the spiritual life. Each time we have real fellowship with God, there is a result; it trains us to know how to fellowship with Him more the next time. Since a believer has been regenerated and can fellowship with God in his intuition, he should pursue perfection. He should utilize every opportunity to train his spirit so that he can know God more. We need to really know Him in the deepest part of our whole being. Many times we think that we really know His will, but with the passage of time and events, it is proven that we have made a mistake. Everyone of us needs to really know Him and His will. Therefore, we should seek to be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the Bible says, so when this prayer is answered we will have the fear of the Lord in abundant measure. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. So the person who is filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding not only KNOWS what God wants him to do, but also is fully inclined to do it, because he HATES all suggestion of disobedience and rebellion against God.
There is more to wisdom than the fear of the Lord, but that holy fear is a big part of it. Wisdom acquires relevant knowledge. We need to acquire the relevant knowledge for each situation we are in. A lot of time we cannot acquire this knowledge merely by empirical research, by leaning on our own understanding, or by the use of natural reason. We need spiritual revelation. We need the input of the Holy Spirit for the really important decisions in life. And I wonder just how much the Holy Spirit is willing to communicate with someone who is totally obedient to God, or at least is consistently so.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
There are gifts of the Holy Spirit that we need like “the word of wisdom” and “the word of knowledge”. As far as I am concerned these gifts are supernatural. They are impartations of wisdom and knowledge from God’s infinite resources. They are not derived from sense knowledge or rational problem solving skills. They are not a reference to superior human capacity. Anyone can have a strong natural capacity even if they are not born again. There is worldly wisdom, there is “common sense” and there is specialist knowledge. Those things are useful and sometimes even necessary. But there is a supernatural wisdom, and a supernatural knowledge, where “God talks to you” and the results will be outstanding where this really happens and is acted upon.
To be flowing in “all wisdom and spiritual understanding” we cannot exclude the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. [Tweet “To be flowing in “all wisdom and spiritual understanding” we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”] When you think about it, there are going to be times when to do God’s will we are going to need the other gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 also. There are times we need the gift of discernment of spirits, other times we need the special gift of faith. At still other times we need gifts of healing and miracles to do God’s will.
There is no real wisdom in anything that is proud, or delighting in evil, or contrary to the commandments of God in the New Testament. There is no real wisdom in unbelief. When we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, we will find our lives are purged of these negative characteristics.
It is exciting to know that Paul prayed for this kind of state of being. That means it is possible for us. So let us not cease to pray for these things, for ourselves and others.
The Spirit of Wisdom
(Hebrew is Chockmah - Greek is Sophia)
The first function or operation of the Mind of Christ, produced by the Spirit of the Lord in us, is the Spirit of Wisdom. The Spirit of Wisdom is simply all of God's supernatural Thoughts that He has already placed in our hearts at our new birth. Hebrews 8:10 says that God inscribes or engraves His Word in our hearts. God's Wisdom is His supernatural intelligence-His secret knowledge. God's Wisdom is like a hidden "mystery" that can only be revealed by God's Spirit.
God's Wisdom is not a wisdom of the world, because it can't be bought, it can't be studied for, or earned. There are many highly intelligent men who have exhaustive knowledge of the world's wisdom, but are completely ignorant of God's Wisdom, His Thoughts and His Word. Job 32:9 says, "Great men are not always wise:..."
God's Wisdom is the foundation of our lives and the basis upon which the rest of our spiritual "house" will be built. Proverbs 24:3 validates this when it says, "through wisdom a house is built..." So, whether we realize it or not, God's Word (His Wisdom) must be our sustenance, our nourishment, our food, and our life's bread.
"Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone"
A few years ago, while having my coffee and toast and reading my morning newspaper, God spoke to my heart and said, "you give the best part of your day to your toast and the newspaper, what about Me?" Then, He brought to mind Matthew 4:4 which says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." As a result of this exhortation, I did a study of what it means to "live by God's Word" and I found that it means we are not just to dabble in and taste His Word, but we are to literally exist by it. In other words, only as we allow the Word of God to go down into our innermost part and begin to change and transform our lives, will we ever truly experience what Scripture means when it says, "Thy Words were found, and I did eat them." (Jeremiah 15:16)
In these end times, we can't afford to only "taste" God's Word because then we won't be able to stand against the wiles of the enemy and all the events of the last days. I truly believe that we grow only in proportion to the daily diet of God's Word that we are "eating." I know personally that my daily actions are largely determined by the amount of time I spent in the Word that day. Only in reading and eating God's Word will I be reminded to put off the garbage in my own thinking and put on the Mind of Christ. Then, I'll be "ready" and "prepared" for whatever God allows into my life.
Our life literally depends upon our daily eating God's Word. "...Faith cometh [how?] by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)
"If Any Lack Wisdom"
If any of you are having trouble disciplining yourself to read and hear from God daily, I would suggest getting a good daily Bible reading plan. There are many excellent ones available at any Christian bookstore. Before you begin to read, pray and ask God to show you what He specifically wants you to see and understand at that particular time. If you don't find anything right away, keep on reading until you come away with something especially for you-even if it's just one verse.
A good suggestion: read at least three chapters a day-one from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament and one from Psalms or Proverbs. Then as you are seeking God and His Wisdom for your particular situation, you can listen for His answer in your daily reading.
Another suggestion: take any subject that you are interested in and do a word study on it throughout the Bible. For example: if you are having marital difficulties, then do a study on "marriage," "love," "divorce," etc. Do a study on children, husbands, jobs, careers, goals, purposes, money, etc. This is exactly how The Way of Agape and Be Ye Transformed began.
It's critical to keep on "investigating" new and different ways to be excited about God's Word. Remember, we exist only by His Word! "Unless thy law (His Word) had been my delight, I should have perished in mine affliction." (Psalm 119:92) I think of God's "written" Word as a translation of the "inscribed" Word (Jesus) that's already in my heart. The more I understand the written Word, the more I will understand the living Word (Jesus) who lives in my heart. So, the entire Bible is God's written Wisdom and it's something I totally believe in and receive into my heart. However, I don't always understand, perceive or grasp some of the Scripture's full meaning. As Proverbs 1:21 says, wisdom is just the entrance to the city (the opening of the gates). In other words, wisdom is just the first step...to understanding...and then to knowledge, etc.
The Spirit of Understanding
(Hebrew is Binah - Greek is Sunesis)
Isaiah 11:2 tells us that the next function or operation produced by the Spirit of God, giving us the Mind of Christ, is the Spirit of Understanding. Just because we have God's Wisdom written and inscribed in our hearts does not necessarily mean that we'll understand that Wisdom. This is a whole other step.
The Spirit of Understanding is God's supernatural revelation-His secret insights to His Word. Understanding simply means a "putting together" or a comprehending or a grasping of His Word. The Spirit of God illuminates our hearts and gives us understanding of His Wisdom. In other words, He "turns on the lights for us."
How many times have you sat down and read God's Word, gotten up and not remembered a thing you read? Well, God's Spirit of Understanding was not operating.
"Written in the Sand"
Often, in preparing for my classes, I would come across something that I had no supernatural understanding of at all. As I would pray for God's enlightenment, eventually (in God's timing and in His way), the "lights" would go on.
On one occasion, when I was out riding my horse in the hills above our home, the insight (the understanding) to something that I had been struggling with for a long time just clicked in and the "lights went on." Past history has taught me, however, that unless I immediately write down what the Lord is showing me, I won't remember it. If it's a supernatural revelation from God, then it's not something that is registered in my own mind yet.
On this particular occasion, I knew I had to write down what God was showing me or I would lose it. When I ride horseback, however, I ride "English style," with britches that obviously have no pockets or any place to carry pencil or paper. So, I stopped my horse, got off, cleared a place in the sand and dirt, and scribbled what God was saying to me with a stick. Later, feeling rather silly, I drove my four-wheel drive jeep back up the hill and copied my notes. This is a true story! I know myself-I know if I don't write down the supernatural wisdom and understanding that God is giving me, I'll lose it. I'll bet it's the same for you!
"Dripping Wet"
Often when I'm in the shower, supernatural revelations and answers pop into my mind to questions that I've been asking God about for months. I don't know what it is about running water, but it seems that that's when God often opens my understanding. Again, so I won't forget it, I'll get out of the shower dripping wet, tippy-toe to where I can find a pencil and paper and write down what God has shown me. See, I know it's not "me" that has "turned on the lights" at that moment, but God's Spirit of Understanding.
What good is God's Wisdom (His Word), without our being able to understand it and apply it to our lives? Psalm 119:27 is a good prayer, "Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works." The point is, we must have God's understanding of His Wisdom before we can begin to apply it to our lives and before we can pass it on to others.
Reading God's Word
One of the reasons I believe so many Christians are stumbling and falling today is because of "ignorance." We've spoken about this before. Ignorance not only as to what the Word of God says and requires of us, but also ignorance about ourselves (understanding our own real motives, our own wrong dependencies, our own misconceived priorities, and so on). As we read God's Word, it's the Spirit of Understanding that will reveal and expose these things so that we can "deal" with them. When we don't read the Word and the Spirit of Understanding is not allowed to operate, then we won't be able to see or find our way. Hosea 4:14 says "...people that do not understand shall fall."
All of us have God's written Wisdom lying in our laps, but many of us, because of busyness, distractions, hurts, unbelief, and other self-centered thoughts and emotions, don't take the time to sit at God's feet, listen and hear what He wants us to say to us. Instead, we depend upon what we think and feel, what others are telling us and what our circumstances are. Consequently, when God allows "trials" in our lives, we don't understand what He requires of us, nor how to act. Thus, we end up falling before we even begin.
"Through Wisdom is a house builded; and by Understanding it is established: [But] by Knowledge shall all the chambers be filled." (Proverbs 24:3-4)
and walk in it"? First, we will look at knowledge, wisdom, and understanding as a single issue. How Long Will Knowledge Be Useful?
1 Cor 13:8b-12 (Phi) For if there are prophecies they will be fulfilled and done with, if there are "tongues" the need for them will disappear, if there is knowledge it will be swallowed up in truth. For our knowledge is always incomplete and our prophecy is always incomplete, and when the complete comes, that is the end of the incomplete. When I was a little child I talked and felt like a little child. Now that I am a man I am finished with childish things. At present we are men looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present all I know is a small fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall know it as fully as God has known me!
In The Meantime...
Knowledge is needed because there are problems as a result of The Fall. Knowledge that is true allows problems to be solved and avoided. If a car breaks down, mechanical knowledge is useful, otherwise it is unnecessary. It is the same with all of life's problems. God gives us knowledge to help "fix" broken people, protect ourselves from the difficulties of life, and allow love to express itself in good works. Knowledge Allows Love To Do What?
Prov 3:19-20a (NIV) By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided.
Prov 24:3-4 (NIV) By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Love Without Knowledge?
Sandy Gregory's story of the ignorant but loving mother: She feeds her children an all meat diet, because she believes meat is the best kind of food. One day she gains some important knowledge after reading a nutrition guide, and she starts buying a mixture of food types for her children. As a result her children become healthier. Question: Did this mother love her children more before or after she gained the knowledge? Hmmm.... The same! But until the knowledge, her love was fruitless, even counterproductive. Knowledge that is true allows love to blossom into good fruit. Rom 10:2 (NIV) For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.Prov 19:2 (NIV) It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Hos 4:6 (NIV) My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
The "Simple" [those who are deliberately ignorant and actively avoid truth]
Prov 1:28-33 (NIV) "They will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat of the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."
Eph 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
Prov 23:23 (NIV) Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
Prov 9:6 (NIV) Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.
Jam 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Prov 8:11 (NIV) For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Prov 19:8 (NIV) He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.
Prov 13:20 (NIV) He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Prov 24:5-6 (NIV) A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength. For waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.
Knowledge To Be Avoided
Gen 2:17 (NIV) But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.
1 Cor 14:20 (NIV) Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be like adults.
Rom 16:19b (NIV) But I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
Rom 16:19b (Phi) I want to see you experts in good, and not even beginners at evil.
Mat 10:16 (NIV) I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Our Own Understanding
Phil 4:7 (NEB) Then, the peace of God, which is beyond our utmost understanding, will keep guard over your hearts and thoughts, in Christ Jesus.
Job 36:26 (NIV) How great is God, beyond our understanding!
Prov 3:5,7a (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.... Do not be wise in your own eyes.
The Two Kinds of Wisdom: From Above and From Below
Jam 3:13-17 (Phi) Is there some wise and understanding man among you? Then let his life be a shining example of the humility that is born of true wisdom. But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and rivalry, then do not boast and do not deny the truth. You may acquire a certain wisdom, but it does not come from above--it comes from this world, from your own lower nature, even from the devil. For wherever you find jealousy and rivalry you also find disharmony and all other kinds of evil. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, approachable, full of merciful thoughts and kindly actions, straightforward, with no hint of hypocrisy.
1 Cor 1:18-31 (Phi) The preaching of the cross is, I know, nonsense to those who are involved in this dying world, but to us who are being saved from that death it is nothing less than the power of God. It is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent will I reject." For consider, what have the philosopher, the writer, and the critic of this world to show for all their wisdom? Has not God made the wisdom of this world look foolish? For it was after the world in its wisdom had failed to know God, that he in his wisdom chose to save all who would believe by the "simple- mindedness" of the gospel message. For the Jews ask for miraculous signs and the Greeks an intellectual panacea, but all we preach is Christ crucified--a stumbling-block to the Jews and sheer nonsense to the gentiles... for God's "foolishness" is wiser than men.... But God has chose what the world calls foolish to shame the wise... that no man may boast in the presence of God.... And this makes us see the truth of the scripture: "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
1 Cor 3:19-21 (Phi) Let no one be under any illusion over this. If any man among you thinks himself one of the world's clever ones, let him discard his cleverness that he may learn to be truly wise. For this world's cleverness is stupidity to God. It is written: "He that taketh the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain." So let no one boast of men.
Knowledge Without Love?
1 Cor 8:1b-2 (Phi) It is easy to think that we "know" over problems like this, but we should remember that while this "knowing" may make a man look big, it is only love that can make him grow to his full stature. For if a man thinks he "knows" he may still be quite ignorant of what he ought to know.
1 Cor 8:1b (NIV) Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Cor 13:2 (NIV) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge... but have not love, I am nothing.
The Source Of True Knowledge
Prov 2:6,9-11 (NIV) For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.... Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Mat 11:25 (NIV) At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little children."
Jam 1:17 (NAS) Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.
God's Secret, Revealed By The Spirit
1 Cor 2:6-10a (Phi) We do, of course, speak wisdom among those who are spiritually mature, but it is not what is called wisdom by this world, nor by the powers-that-be, who soon will be only the powers that have been. The wisdom we speak of is that mysterious secret wisdom of God, which he planned before the creation for our glory today.... But, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him". Thus God has, through the Spirit, let us share his secret.
1 Cor 2:10a (NIV) But God has revealed it [wisdom] to us by his Spirit.
Phil 1:9-10 (Jer) My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognize what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ.
Col 1:9,10 (NIV) For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Can We Ever Know Enough?
2 Pet 1:2-3 (Phi) May you know more and more of grace and peace as your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord grows deeper. He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his glorious goodness.
Romans 15:14 (NIV) I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
Col 1:28 (Phi) So naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ.
Phil 3:16 (Phi) It is important that we go forward in the light of such truth as we have already learned.
Jam 4:17b (Phi) If a man knows what is right and fails to do it, his failure is a real sin.
Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom
1 Cor 12:8 (NIV) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit.Scripture often uses the words knowledge, understanding, and wisdom interchangeably, but occasionally they are spoken of as separate and distinct. Thus, it may be useful to attempt to define the differences of meaning. Knowledge is the facts. Understanding is the ability to lift the meaning out of the facts, and Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Since God rarely gives all three gifts to any person, we need to cooperate and assist each other with our particular gift--in this, as in every area.
| Knowledge | Understanding | Wisdom |
|---|---|---|
| Facts | Meaning | What to Do |
| Information | Principles | Application |
| Memory | Reason | Action |
| Scholars | Teachers | Prophets |
Those with knowledge are able to collect, remember, and access information. They "know" the Scriptures. God's word is literally "in them". They are scholars. But, it is possible to have knowledge and lack understanding and wisdom; to have the facts, but have no clue as to the meaning or what to do next. Those with understanding are able to abstract the meaning out of information. They "see through" the facts to the dynamics of what, how, and why. They are teachers. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus. Understanding produces "rules of thumb" or principles. Those with wisdom know which principle to apply now. Understanding without wisdom can appear contradictory (Prov 26:4-5). For example, "He who hesitates is lost", is a valid principle as well as: "Haste makes waste". We see the truth of both. But which should we apply next? Those with wisdom know what to do next; they know which way to go. They do the right thing. In contrast, there are many who have great knowledge and understanding, but consistently do the wrong thing. Wisdom, in this sense, is the goal, and knowledge and understanding only have eternal value as they result in wisdom, or what we end up doing. Jam 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.God promises wisdom to those who ask. Knowledge and understanding may be beyond us. Most often, when we pray for wisdom, God calls us into fellowship with believers who can provide an answer, but whom we may not like. God has given generously, but we will not submit ourselves to the Body of Christ to receive it! The above definitions give the words a "special meaning". More often than not, the words are used in English as synonyms; and so it is with Scripture. By attaching "special meaning" to the words, it is hoped that real differences in function can be made clear.
The purpose of wisdom and knowledge of the will of God is "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" (Colossians 1:10). A little later Paul will write, "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Colossians 2:6). How did you receive Christ? It was by grace through faith.
Our knowledge of God’s will is not an end in itself. Our goal and ambition in the Christian life is to be pleasing to our Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-9; Eph. 5:10).
Live worthy of the Lord and please Him
The word "walk" suggests the idea of living or conducting one’s life. Live your life this way. Live in a manner worthy of the Lord and to please Him.
Not only does Paul stress the importance of a changed life in his Colossian letter, but also when he wrote to the Ephesian church. "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3).
A life worthy of the Lord is one that is conformed to God’s will. You want to make Jesus look good in everything you do. You want to please Him in every way. You want to live in such a way as to bring joy to God’s heart.
The word "pleasing" in this passage suggest the idea of mind and heart in which we anticipate God’s every wish so that we may please him.
Bearing fruit in every good work
What kind of fruit should we be bearing as Christians? What kind of life is pleasing to the Lord?
Paul gives us four in verses 10-14. They are revealed in four ongoing action words or participles. The believer is to "bear fruit (v. 10), "increase in the knowledge of God’s will" (v. 10), "being strengthened" (v. 11), and in "giving thanks" (v. 12) (Col. 1:10-14).
"Bearing fruit" is the Christian’s continual exhibition of fruitfulness. Fruit bearing is in the present tense suggesting perennially bearing fruit. The fruit consists of every good work. It is also the fruit of the Spirit as Jesus Christ is allowed to live His live out in and through us.
This fruit bearing is the result of a living faith in Christ. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). This fruit does not come automatically; we have to make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit and obey Him. Because we have been saved by grace we will produce good works.
Growing in knowledge of God
Growing in the knowledge of the will of God results in a "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" (Colossians 1:10). The knowledge of God is the sphere or realm in which spiritual growth takes place. It never takes place in a vacuum. Knowledge of God for the believer is like rain and sunshine to plants; we continually grow and mature in our spiritual life as we grow in knowledge of Him.
STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS MIGHT (v. 11)
Paul prays that they be "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously" (Colossians 1:11). That is the resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead. This is the power God places at our disposal.
Perhaps you are asking, well how in the world do you live such a life? Listen to another prayer of Paul. "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:14-21). God does not want His children to pray asking for too little.
Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly, above, beyond all things, superabundantly, and over and above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.
Don’t tell Christ that you cannot live the Christian life. He makes Himself available to you to live in and through you as you make yourself available to Him. It is not you; it is Christ who lives His life in and through you to do all that He wants to do.
The word for "power" denotes to be strengthened, to make strong. The believer is constantly strengthened by God’s enabling power. We have the inherent power to live the Christian life because Christ lives in us.
This strength comes from "His glorious might." God is at work in us. This "glory" (doxa) reminds us of the bright light over the mercy-seat in the wilderness Tabernacle in Israel. The Shekinah glory of God was the manifest symbol of His presence with His people. God is with His people all the time.
How many Christians go through life cheating themselves out of the most wonderful life far beyond anything we could ever imagine or ask for?
We need the constant strengthening with all power because we are engaged in a spiritual warfare. We cannot possibly win the battle with sin, Satan and the forces against the Christian life without God’s indwelling presence through the Holy Spirit. This continuous empowerment is essential. The apostle Paul declared with conviction from personal experience: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength. No one can live the Christian life but Christ. The wonderful truth of the Scriptures is that Christ comes and lives His life in and through us to His glory.
The power is "according to the might of His glory." It is in proportion to God’s abundant supply. It is according to His measure, not ours. We are empowered by "the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might" (Ephesians 1:19).
Do you long to see God at work in your life? The power of God is a prominent theme in this letter of Paul (1:29; 2:12; cf. Eph. 1:19; 3:7, 16, 20; 6:10).
Attaining steadfastness patience with joy
Are there times when you want to throw in the towel and call it quits? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). "Patience" is the opposite of being a coward; it is a steadfast endurance, fortitude to follow through. Patient endurance is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Joy is the pervading element of patience and steadfastness. The Christian keeps on keeping on with steadfast endurance. He endures patiently without grumbling and complaining with joy. This is an outlook toward life that maintains a wholesome attitude toward life. We can live above the chances, changes and circumstance in life.
Paul is not one to lie down and let his enemies run over him. He had an overcoming patience. Second Corinthians 11:22-28 gives along list of extreme pressures that came his way one after another in which he turned the events into that which would give glory to God.
POSSESSION OF GREAT SALVATION (vv. 12-14)
Paul continues "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" (Colossians 1:12-14).
We are the people of His choice. Our inheritance is not a process, but an instantaneous act of God. Paul is absolutely sure of the salvation of believers that he sees it as an already completed transaction. It is not something await us in the future. We have eternal life now.
Qualified by the Father to share in the saint’s inheritance (v. 12)
The believer in Jesus Christ has a shared allotment in God’s inheritance. This is true even now. Christians live in the presence of the Lord all the time. Jesus expressed this inheritance as "I in you," and "you in Me." It is an intimate, personal living relationship with Him. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to enjoy our inheritance. God is our inheritance and we are His.
We have a great inheritance. Paul gives "thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light" (Colossians 1:12).
The word "qualified" in this verse has the idea of making sufficient or competent and therefore qualified. It can denote empowering or authorizing.
What is infinitely clear in the Bible is that no one is fit for sharing in the inheritance of God’s people because of our depravity. We are guilty sinners. However, what we cannot do God does on our behalf. This is the believer’s standing before God. We are "in Christ" and that is the qualifying factor. It is not our character or virtue or good works, but Christ’s virtue that qualifies us for the inheritance.
The apostle Peter stressed: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Remember how God provided an earthly inheritance for the Jewish people? The apostle Paul tells us we have an even better inheritance. "Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12-13).
God in His sovereign grace chose to include us in this great inheritance. It has nothing to do with human merit or character. It is an "inheritance" meaning it is a gift one receives by the good grace of another. You do not earn an inheritance. It is a gift from a gracious heart.
It is God who makes worthy those who are not worthy. He enables the unworthy sinner to receive His inheritance. The "inheritance of the saints" is the inheritance of redeemed believers in Christ Jesus.
The inheritance of the saints speaks of the now and the yet to be. Our inheritance has not yet been manifested in its infinite wealth, but the divine act by which believers have been rendered meet for it has already taken place. The kingdom of God has already broken into this world in the redeeming work of Christ; it will break in one day in the plentitude of glory which only the Second Coming of Christ will reveal. There is a future consummation of which this present life is only a foretaste. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
"And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32).
We have been delivered from the power of spiritual darkness (v. 13)
It is almost like a doxology and Paul continues saying, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13).
The saints have their inheritance in the kingdom of light, not the kingdom of darkness.
The kingdom of darkness is the realm of Satan. It is a powerful picture of the power of sin and Satan and his rule over the unbelievers. Jesus said, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
We are rescued from this realm of spiritual darkness and the power of sin and the hold of Satan were broken when we believed on Christ as our Savior. We are now the citizens of the kingdom of His Son in the realm of light. In the Christian life we are now under new management.
Note especially that God did more than rescue us out of the power of spiritual darkness; He "transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13).
We have been transferred to the kingdom of God’s Son
God the Father declared Jesus to be His unique, one of a kind Son at Jesus’ baptism. "Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’" (Matthew 3:17).
The apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian believers, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
When God "transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" He changed our place of residence. He delivered us over "into the kingdom of the Son of His love."
Paul’s readers were very familiar with the word "transferred" because it was used of removing a king, terminating with an employee, remove from one place to another, and executing a prisoner. It describes the removal of whole countries to other locations. Their forefathers had experienced the exile. Conquering governments removed persons from one country to another settling them as colonists and citizens of another country.
Paul stresses the wonderful fact that when we were born again we entered into the kingdom of light. Gnostics claimed special illumination and initiation into special knowledge and religious experiences, but it was a spiritual darkness.
We are dwellers in the light because God is light. In the Bible "light" speaks of purity and perfection. Where we are going there is no night.
We have a new master. Is Jesus Christ the sovereign ruler of your life? Are you walking in the Light?
We have been redeemed (v. 14)
The apostle closes his petition "in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). Paul uses the word "redemption" meaning a release brought about by the payment of a price. Slaves were set free from bondage and prisoners of war were released upon a payment of ransom.
We have been purchased and set free. We have this present possession. Our freedom that we enjoy in Christ was purchased for us at the price of the death of Christ when He died as our atoning sacrifice for sin. "The wages of sin is death," and Christ paid that debt in full once and for all. Christ came to give His life a blood-ransom for many (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Gal. 3:13; 4:5; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:18-19, etc).
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). At the last supper Jesus told His disciples, "for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
Our redemption has been procured by the death and resurrection of Christ; it now behooves us to trust in that sacrifice.
Again Paul wrote, "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed" (Romans 3:24-25).
"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Come and receive eternal life today by trusting in Jesus.
The redemption in Christ brings forgiveness of all our sins.
We have the forgiveness of sins
"Forgiveness" is a sending away, the removal of our sins from us so they are no longer a hindrance to separate us from God. Prisoners were released from bondage or imprisonment. When God forgives He separates us from our sins as far as the east is from the west. They are infinitely removed from us. Even God can no longer see them because they are all under the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ paid the penalty of human sin in full when He died on the cross, therefore satisfying the just and holy demands of the law of God. Our sins were put away, sent away forever.
There is no greater joy than knowing that all of your sins have been forgiven and you stand right in the eyes of a holy God. There is no need for any one reading this who does not have peace with God and assurance of eternal life. If you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ knowing that He died for you on the cross all of your sins are under His atoning blood. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
SOME ABIDING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Colossians stresses the preeminence of Jesus Christ. As sovereign Lord He touches every area of our lives.
Because we have put our faith in Jesus Christ we are a rescued people.
We have been delivered from the realm of spiritual darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. We are no longer held in bondage to Satan. Sin can no longer be the master of our lives. Jesus Christ is Lord.
When we love the Lord Jesus Christ we will obey Him.
Is Jesus your most valued person? If He is your most valued person you want Him to be your Lord and Master. He becomes the boss in your life.
Because we have been redeemed and all of our sins have been forgiven we have peace with God and assurance of eternal life.
When we are "strengthened with all power according to His glorious might" we have everything we need to live the Christian life. You do not need any Gnostic secrets and names of pagan gods whispered in your ear.
"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are no longer dwellers in darkness, but people of the light.
When we are "filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and understanding" it will change our lives for our betterment and for God’s glory.
First, Point out to you the fountain, from which all those blessings flow, that the elect of God partake of in Jesus Christ, “Who of God is made unto.” And,
Secondly, I shall consider what these blessings are, Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
First, I would point out to you the fountain, from which all those blessings flow, that the elect of God partake of in Jesus, “who of God is made unto us”, the father he it is who is spoken of here. Not as though Jesus Christ was not God also; but God the Father is the fountain of the Deity; and if we consider Jesus Christ acting as Mediator, God the Father is greater than he; there was an eternal contract between the Father and the Son: “I have made a covenant with my chosen, and I have sworn unto David my servant;” now David was a type of Christ, with whom the Father made a covenant, that if he would obey and suffer, and make himself a sacrifice for sin, he should “see his seed, he should prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hands.” This compact our Lord refers to, in that glorious prayer recorded in the VERSE17th chapter of John; and therefore he prays for, or rather demands with a full assurance, all that were given to him by the Father: “Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” For this same reason, the apostle breaks out into praises of God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for he loved the elect with an everlasting love, or, as our Lord expresses it, “before the foundation of the world;” and, therefore, to show them to whom they were beholden for their salvation, our Lord, in the
Would to God this point of doctrine was considered more, and people were more studious of the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son! We should not then have so much disputing against the doctrine of election, or hear it condemned (even by good men) as a doctrine of devils. For my own part, I cannot see how true humbleness of mind can be attained without a knowledge of it; and though I will not say, that every one who denies election is a bad man, yet I will say, with that sweet singer, Mr. Trail, it is a very bad sign: such a one, whoever he be, I think cannot truly know himself; for, if we deny election, we must, partly at least, glory in ourselves; but our redemption is so ordered that no flesh should glory in the Divine presence; and hence it is, that the pride of man opposes this doctrine, because, according to this doctrine, and no other, “he that glories, must glory only in the Lord.” But what shall I say? Election is a mystery that shines with such resplendent brightness, that, to make use of the words of one who has drunk deeply of electing love, it dazzles the weak eyes even of some of God's dear children; however, though they know it not, all the blessings they receive, all the privileges they do or will enjoy, through Jesus Christ, flow from the everlasting love of God the Father: “But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”
Secondly, I come to show what these blessings are, which are here, through Christ, made over to the elect. And,
1: First, Christ is made to them wisdom; but wherein does true wisdom consist? Were I to ask some of you, perhaps you would say, in indulging the lust of the flesh, and saying to your souls, eat, drink, and be merry: but this is only the wisdom of brutes; they have as good a gust and relish for sensual pleasures, as the greatest epicure on earth. Others would tell me, true wisdom consisted in adding house to house, and field to field, and calling lands after their own names: but this cannot be true wisdom; for riches often take to themselves wings, and fly away, like an eagle towards heaven. Even wisdom itself assures us, “that a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses;” vanity, vanity, all these things are vanity; for, if riches leave not the owner, the owners must soon leave them; “for rich men must also die, and leave their riches for others;” their riches cannot procure them redemption from the grave, whither we are all hastening apace.
But perhaps you despise riches and pleasure, and therefore place wisdom in the knowledge of books: but it is possible for you to tell the numbers of the stars, and call them all by their names, and yet be mere fools; learned men are not always wise; nay, our common learning, so much cried up, makes men only so many accomplished fools; to keep you therefore no longer in suspense, and withal to humble you, I will send you to a heathen to school, to learn what true wisdom is: “Know thyself,” was a saying of one of the wise men of Greece; this is certainly true wisdom, and this is that wisdom spoken of in the text, and which Jesus Christ is made to all elect sinners — they are made to know themselves, so as not to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. Before, they were darkness; now, they are light in the Lord; and in that light they see their own darkness; they now bewail themselves as fallen creatures by nature, dead in trespasses and sins, sons and heirs of hell, and children of wrath; they now see that all their righteousnesses are but as filthy rags; that there is no health in their souls; that they are poor and miserable, blind and naked; and that there is no name given under heaven, whereby they can be saved, but that of Jesus Christ. They see the necessity of closing with a Savior, and behold the wisdom of God in appointing him to be a Savior; they are also made willing to accept of salvation upon our Lord's own terms, and receive him as their all in all; thus Christ is made to them wisdom.
2. Secondly, righteousness, “Who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness:” Christ's whole personal righteousness is made over to, and accounted theirs. They are enabled to lay hold on Christ by faith, and God the Father blots out their transgressions, as with a thick cloud: their sins and their iniquities he remembers no more; they are made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, “who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” In one sense, God now sees no sin in them; the whole covenant of works is fulfilled in them; they are actually justified, acquitted, and looked upon as righteous in the sight of God; they are perfectly accepted in the beloved; they are complete in him; the flaming sword of God's wrath, which before moved every way, is not removed, and free access given to the tree of life; they are enabled to reach out the arm of faith, and pluck, and live for evermore. Hence it is that the apostle, under a sense of this blessed privilege, breaks out into this triumphant language; “It is Christ that justifies, who is he that condemns?” Does sin condemn? Christ's righteousness delivers believers from the guilt of it: Christ is their Savior, and is become a propitiation for their sins: who therefore shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Does the law condemn? By having Christ's righteousness imputed to them, they are dead to the law, as a covenant of works; Christ has fulfilled it for them, and in their stead. Does death threaten them? They need not fear: the sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law; but God has given them the victory by imputing to them the righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
And what a privilege is here! Well might the angels at the birth of Christ say to the humble shepherds, “Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy;” unto you that believe in Christ, “a Savior is born.” And well may angels rejoice at the conversion of poor sinners; for the Lord is their righteousness; they have peace with God through faith in Christ's blood, and shall never enter into condemnation. O believers! (for this discourse is intended in a special manner for you) lift up your heads; “rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.” Christ is mad to you, of God, righteousness, what then should you fear? You are made the righteousness of God in him; you may be called, “The Lord our righteousness.” Of what then should you be afraid? What shall separate you henceforward from the love of Christ? “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, I am persuaded, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” who of God is made unto you righteousness.
This is a glorious privilege, but this is only the beginning of the happiness of believers: For,
3: Thirdly, Christ is not only made to them righteousness, but sanctification; by sanctification, I do not mean a bare hypocritical attendance on outward ordinances, though rightly informed Christians will think it their duty and privilege constantly to attend on all outward ordinances. Nor do I mean by sanctification a bare outward reformation, and a few transient convictions, or a little legal sorrow; for all this an unsanctified man may have; but, by sanctification I mean a total renovation of the whole man: by the righteousness of Christ, believers come legally, by sanctification they are made spiritually, alive; by the one they are entitled to, by the other they are made meet for, glory. They are sanctified, therefore, throughout, in spirit, soul, and body.
Their understandings, which were dark before, now become light in the Lord; and their wills, before contrary to, now become one with the will of God; their affections are now set on things above; their memory is now filled with divine things; their natural consciences are now enlightened; their members, which were before instruments of uncleanness, and of iniquity into iniquity, are now new creatures; “old things are passed away, all things are become new,” in their hearts: sin has now no longer dominion over them; they are freed from the power, though not the indwelling of being, of it; they are holy both in heart and life, in all manner of conversation: they are made partakers of a divine nature, and from Jesus Christ, they receive grace; and every grace that is in Christ, is copied and transcribed into their souls; they are transformed into his likeness; he is formed within them; they dwell in him, and he in them; they are led by the Spirit, and bring forth the fruits thereof; they know that Christ is their Emmanuel, God with and in them; they are living temples of the Holy Ghost. And therefore, being a holy habitation unto the Lord, the whole Trinity dwells and walks in them; even here, they sit together with Christ in heavenly places, and are vitally united to him, their Head, by a living faith; their Redeemer, their Maker, is their husband; they are flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone; they talk, they walk with him, as a man talketh and walketh with his friend; in short, they are one with Christ, even as Jesus Christ and the Father are one.
Thus is Christ made to believers sanctification. And O what a privilege is this! to be changed from beasts into saints, and from a devilish, to be made partakers of a divine nature; to be translated from the kingdom of Satan, into the kingdom of God's dear Son! To put off the old man, which is corrupt, and to put on the new man, which is created after God, in righteousness and true holiness! O what an unspeakable blessing is this! I almost stand amazed at the contemplation thereof. Well might the apostle exhort believers to rejoice in the Lord; indeed they have reason always to rejoice, yea, to rejoice on a dying bed; for the kingdom of God is in them; they are changed from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord: well may this be a mystery to the natural, for it is a mystery even to the spiritual man himself, a mystery which he cannot fathom. Does it not often dazzle your eyes, O ye children of God, to look at your own brightness, when the candle of the Lord shines out, and your redeemer lifts up the light of his blessed countenance upon your souls? Are not you astonished, when you feel the love of God shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Ghost, and God holds out the golden scepter of his mercy, and bids you ask what you will, and it shall be given you? Does not that peace of God, which keeps and rules your hearts, surpass the utmost limits of your understandings? And is not the joy you feel unspeakable? Is it not full of glory? I am persuaded it is; and in your secret communion, when the Lord's love flows in upon your souls, you are as it were swallowed up in, or, to use the apostle's phrase, “filled with all the fullness of God.” Are not you ready to cry out with Solomon, “And will the Lord, indeed, dwell thus with men!” How is it that we should be thus thy sons and daughters, O Lord God Almighty!
If you are children of God, and know what it is to have fellowship with the Father and the Son; if you walk by faith, and not by sight; I am assured this is frequently the language of your hearts.
But look forward, and see an unbounded prospect of eternal happiness lying before thee, O believer! what thou hast already received are only the first-fruits, like the cluster of grapes brought out of the land of Canaan; only an earnest and pledge of yet infinitely better things to come: the harvest is to follow; thy grace is hereafter to be swallowed up in glory. Thy great Joshua, and merciful High-Priest, shall administer an abundant entrance to thee into the land of promise, that rest which awaits the children of God: for Christ is not only made to believers wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, but also redemption.
But, before we enter upon the explanation and contemplation of this privilege,
Firstly, Learn hence the great mistake of those writers and clergy, who, notwithstanding they talk of sanctification and inward holiness, (as indeed sometimes they do, though in a very loose and superficial manner,) yet they generally make it the cause, whereas they should consider it as the effect, of our justification. “Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness,” (and then) “sanctification.” For Christ's righteousness, or that which Christ has done in our stead without us, is the sole cause of our acceptance in the sight of God, and of all holiness wrought in us: to this, and not to the light within, or any thing wrought within, should poor sinners seek for justification in the sight of God: for the sake of Christ's righteousness alone, and not any thing wrought in us, does God look favorably upon us; our sanctification at best, in this life, is not complete: though we be delivered from the power, we are not freed from the in-being of sin; but not only the dominion, but the in-being of sin, is forbidden, by the perfect law of God: for it is not said, thou shalt not give way to lust, but “thou shalt not lust.” So that whilst the principle of lust remains in the least degree in our hearts, though we are otherwise never so holy, yet we cannot, on account of that, hope for acceptance with God. We must first, therefore, look for a righteousness without us, even the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ: for this reason the apostle mentions it, and puts it before sanctification, in the words of the text. And whosoever teacheth any other doctrine, doth not preach the truth as it is in Jesus.
Secondly, From hence also, the Antinomians and formal hypocrites may be confuted, who talk of Christ without, but know nothing, experimentally, of a work of sanctification wrought within them. Whatever they may pretend to, since Christ is not in them, the Lord is not their righteousness, and they have no well-grounded hope of glory: for though sanctification is not the cause, yet it is the effect of our acceptance with God; “Who of God is made unto us righteousness and sanctification.” He, therefore, that is really in Christ, is a new creature; it is not going back to a covenant of works, to look into our hearts, and, seeing that they are changed and renewed, from thence form a comfortable and well grounded assurance of the safety of our states: no, but this is what we are directed to in Scripture; by our bringing forth the fruits, we are to judge whether or not we ever did truly partake of the Spirit of God.“We know,” (says John) “that we are passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” And however we may talk of Christ's righteousness, and exclaim against legal preachers, yet, if we be not holy in heart and life, if we be not sanctified and renewed by the Spirit in our minds, we are self-deceivers, we are only formal hypocrites: for we must not put asunder what God has joined together; we must keep the medium between the two extremes; not insist so much on the one hand upon Christ without, as to exclude Christ within, as an evidence of our being his, and as a preparation for future happiness; nor, on the other hand, so depend on inherent righteousness or holiness wrought in us, as to exclude the righteousness of Jesus Christ without us. But,
4: Fourthly, Let us now go on, and take a view of the other link, or rather the end, of the believer's golden chain or privileges, redemption. But we must look very high; for the top of it, like Jacob's ladder, reaches heaven, where all believers will ascend, and be placed at the right hand of God. “Who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”
This is a golden chain indeed! and, what is best of all, not one link can ever be broken asunder from another. Was there no other text in the book of God, this single one sufficiently proves the final perseverance of true believers: or never did God yet justify a man, whom he did not sanctify; nor sanctify one, whom he did not completely redeem and glorify: no! as for God, his way, his works, is perfect; he always carried on and finished the work he begun; thus it was in the first, so it is in the new creation; when God says, “Let there be light,” there is light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day, when believers enter into their eternal rest, as God entered into his. Those whom God has justified, he has in effect glorified: for as a man's worthiness was not the cause of God's giving him Christ's righteousness; so neither shall his unworthiness be a cause of his taking it away; God's gifts and callings are without repentance: and I cannot think they are clear in the notion of Christ's righteousness, who deny the final perseverance of the saints; I fear they understand justification in that low sense, which I understood it in a few years ago, as implying no more than remission of sins: but it not only signifies remission of sins past, but also a federal right to all good things to come. If God has given us his only Son, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? Therefore, the apostle, after he says, “Who of God is made unto us righteousness,” does not say, perhaps he may be made to us sanctification and redemption: but, “he is made:” for there is an eternal, indissoluble connection between these blessed privileges. As the obedience of Christ is imputed to believers, so his perseverance in that obedience is to be imputed to them also; and it argues great ignorance of the covenant of grace and redemption, to object against it.
By the word redemption, we are to understand, not only a complete deliverance from all evil, but also a full enjoyment of all good both in body and soul: I say, both in body and soul; for the Lord is also for the body; the bodies of the saints in this life are temples of the Holy Ghost; God makes a covenant with the dust of believers; after death, though worms destroy them, yet, even in their flesh shall they see God. I fear, indeed, there are some Sadducees in our days, or at least heretics, who say, either, that there is no resurrection of the body, or that the resurrection is past already, namely, in our regeneration: Hence it is, that our Lord's coming in the flesh, at the day of judgment, is denied; and consequently, we must throw aside the sacrament of the Lord's supper. For why should we remember the Lord's death until he come to judgment, when he is already come to judge our hearts, and will not come a second time? But all this is only the reasoning of unlearned, unstable men, who certainly know not what they say, nor whereof they affirm. That we must follow our Lord in the regeneration, be partakers of a new birth, and that Christ must come into our hearts, we freely confess; and we hope, when speaking of these things, we speak no more than what we know and feel: but then it is plain, that Jesus Christ will come, hereafter, to judgment, and that he ascended into heaven with the body which he had here on earth; for says he, after his resurrection, “Handle me, and see; a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have.” And it is plain, that Christ's resurrection was an earnest of ours: for says the apostle, “Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that sleep; and as in Adam all die, and are subject to mortality; so all that are in Christ, the second Adam, who represented believers as their federal head, shall certainly be made alive, or rise again with their bodies at the last day.”
Here then, O believers! is one, though the lowest, degree of that redemption which you are to be partakers of hereafter; I mean, the redemption of your bodies: for this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. Your bodies, as well as souls, were given to Jesus Christ by the Father; they have been companions in watching, and fasting, and praying: your bodies, therefore, as well as souls, shall Jesus Christ raise up at the last day. Fear not, therefore, O believers, to look into the grave: for to you it is not other than a consecrated dormitory, where your bodies shall sleep quietly until the morning of the resurrection; when the voice of the archangel shall sound, and the trump of God given the general alarm, “Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment;” earth, air, fire, water, shall give up your scattered atoms, and both in body and soul shall you be ever with the Lord. I doubt not, but many of you are groaning under crazy bodies, and complain often that the mortal body weighs down the immortal soul; at least this is my case; but let us have a little patience, and we shall be delivered from our earthly prisons; ere long, these tabernacles of clay shall be dissolved, and we shall be clothed with our house which is from heaven; hereafter, our bodies shall be spiritualized, and shall be so far from hindering our souls through weakness, that they shall become strong; so strong, as to bear up under an exceeding and eternal weight of glory; others again may have deformed bodies, emaciated also with sickness, and worn out with labor at age; but wait a little, until your blessed change by death comes; then your bodies shall be renewed and made glorious, like unto Christ's glorious body: of which we may form some faint idea, from the account given us of our Lord's transfiguration on the mount, when it is said, “His raiment became bright and glistening, and his face brighter than the sun”. Well then may a believer break out in the apostle's triumphant language, “O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory!”
But what is the redemption of the body, in comparison of the redemption of the better part, our souls? I must, therefore say to you believers, as the angel said to John, “Come up higher;” and let us take as clear a view as we can, at such a distance, of the redemption Christ has purchased for, and will shortly put you in actual possession of. Already you are justified, already you are sanctified, and thereby freed from the guilt and dominion of sin: but, as I have observed, the being and indwelling of sin yet remains in you; God sees it proper to leave some Amalekites in the land, to keep his Israel in action. The most perfect Christian, I am persuaded, must agree, according to one of our Articles, “That the corruption of nature remains even in the regenerate; that the flesh lusteth always against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh”. So that believers cannot do things for God with that perfection they desire; this grieves their righteous souls day by day, and, with the holy apostle, makes them cry out, “Who shall deliver us from the body of this death!” I thank God, our Lord Jesus Christ will, but not completely before the day of our dissolution; they will the very being of sin be destroyed, and an eternal stop put to inbred, indwelling corruption. And is not this a great redemption? I am sure believers esteem it: for there is nothing grieves the heart of a child of God so much, as the remains of indwelling sin. Again, believers are often in heaviness through manifold temptations; God sees that it is needful and good for them so to be; and though they may be highly favored, and wrapt up in communion with God, even to the third heavens; yet a messenger of Satan is often sent to buffet them, lest they should be puffed up with the abundance of revelations. But be not weary, be not faint in your minds: the time of your complete redemption draweth nigh. In heaven the wicked one shall cease from troubling you, and your weary souls shall enjoy an everlasting rest; his fiery darts cannot reach those blissful regions: Satan will never come any more to appear with, disturb, or accuse the sons of God, when once the Lord Jesus Christ shuts the door. Your righteous souls are now grieved, day by day, at the ungodly conversation of the wicked; tares now grow up among the wheat; wolves come in sheep's clothing: but the redemption spoken of in the text, will free your souls from all anxiety on these accounts; hereafter you shall enjoy a perfect communion of saints; nothing that is unholy or unsanctified shall enter into the holy of holies, which is prepared for you above: this, and all manner of evil whatsoever, you shall be delivered from, when your redemption is hereafter made complete in heaven; not only so, but you shall enter into the full enjoyment of all good. It is true, all saints will not have the same degree of happiness, but all will be as happy as their hearts can desire. Believers, you shall judge the evil, and familiarly converse with good, angels: you shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the spirits of just men made perfect; and, to sum up all your happiness in one word, you shall see God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and, by seeing God, be more and more like unto him, and pass from glory to glory, even to all eternity.
But I must stop the glories of the upper world crowd in so fast upon my soul, that I am lost in the contemplation of them. Brethren, the redemption spoken of is unutterable; we cannot here find it out; eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of the most holy men living to conceive, how great it is. Were I to entertain you whole ages with an account of it, when you come to heaven, you must say, with the queen of Sheba, “Not half, no, not one thousandth part was told us.” All we can do here, is to go upon mount Pisgah, and, by the eye of faith, take a distant view of the promised land: we may see it, as Abraham did Christ, afar off, and rejoice in it; but here we only know in part. Blessed be God, there is a time coming, when we shall know God, even as we are known, and God be all in all. Lord Jesus, accomplish the number of thine elect! Lord Jesus, hasten thy kingdom!
And now, where are the scoffers of these last days, who count the lives of Christians to be madness, and their end to be without honor? Unhappy men! you know not what you do. Were your eyes open, and had you senses to discern spiritual things, you would not speak all manner of evil against the children of God, but you would esteem them as the excellent ones of the earth, and envy their happiness: your souls would hunger and thirst after it: you also would become fools for Christ's sake. You boast of wisdom; so did the philosophers of Corinth: but your wisdom is the foolishness of folly in the sight of God. What will your wisdom avail you, if it does not make you wise unto salvation? Can you, with all your wisdom, propose a more consistent scheme to build you hopes of salvation on, than what has been now laid before you? Can you, with all the strength of natural reason, find out a better way of acceptance with God, than by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it right to think your own works can in any measure deserve or procure it? If not, why will you not believe in him? Why will you not submit to his righteousness? Can you deny that you are fallen creatures? Do not you find that you are full of disorders, and that these disorders make you unhappy? Do not you find that you cannot change your own hearts? Have you not resolved many and many a time, and have not your corruptions yet dominion over you? Are you not bondslaves to your lusts, and led captive by the devil at his will? Why then will you not come to Christ for sanctification? Do you not desire to die the death of the righteous, and that your future state may be like theirs; I am persuaded you cannot bear the thoughts of being annihilated, much less of being miserable for ever. Whatever you may pretend, if you speak truth, you must confess, that conscience breaks in upon you in more sober intervals whether you will or not, and even constrains you to believe that hell is no painted fire. And why then will you not come to Christ? He alone can procure you everlasting redemption. Haste, haste away to him, poor beguiled sinners. You lack wisdom; ask it of Christ. Who knows but he may give it you? He is able: for he is the wisdom of the Father; he is that wisdom which was from everlasting. You have no righteousness; away, therefore, to Christ: “He is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” You are unholy: flee to the Lord Jesus: He is full of grace and truth; and of his fullness all may receive that believe in him. You are afraid to die; let this drive you to Christ: he has the keys of death and hell: in him is plenteous redemption; he alone can open the door which leads to everlasting life.
Let not, therefore, the deceived reasoner boast any longer of his pretended reason. Whatever you may think, it is the most unreasonable thing in the world not to believe on Jesus Christ, whom God has sent. Why, why will you die? Why will you not come unto him, that you may have life? “Ho! every one that thirsteth, come unto the waters of life, and drink freely: come, buy without money and without price.” Were these blessed privileges in the text to be purchased with money, you might say, we are poor, and cannot buy: or, were they to be conferred only on sinners of such a rank or degree, then you might say, how can such sinners as we, expect to be so highly favored? But they are to be freely given of God to the worst of sinners. “To us,” says the apostle, to me a persecutor, to you Corinthians, who were “unclean, drunkards, covetous persons, idolaters.” Therefore, each poor sinner may say then, why not unto me? Has Christ but one blessing? What if he has blessed millions already, by turning them away from their iniquities; yet he still continues the same: he lives for ever to make intercession, and therefore will bless you, even you also. Though, Esau-like, you have been profane, and hitherto despised your heavenly Father's birth-right; even now, if you believe, “Christ will be made to you of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption”.
But I must turn again to believers, for whose instruction, as I observed before, this discourse was particularly intended. You see, brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, what great blessings are treasured up for you in Jesus Christ your Head, and what you are entitled to by believing on his name. Take heed, therefore, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Think often how highly you are favored; and remember, you have not chosen Christ, but Christ has chosen you. Put on (as the elect of God) humbleness of mind, and glory, but let it be only in the Lord; for you have nothing but what you have received of God. By nature ye were foolish, as legal, as unholy, and in as damnable a condition, as others. Be pitiful, therefore, be courteous; and, as sanctification is a progressive work, beware of thinking you have already attained. Let him that is holy be holy still; knowing, that he who is most pure in heart, shall hereafter enjoy the clearest vision of God. Let indwelling sin be your daily burden; and not only bewail and lament, but see that you subdue it daily by the power of divine grace; and look up to Jesus continually to be the finisher, as well as author, of your faith. Build not on your own faithfulness, but on God's unchangeableness. Take heed of thinking you stand by the power of your own free will. The everlasting love of God the Father, must be your only hope and consolation; let this support you under all trials. Remember that God's gifts and callings are without repentance; that Christ having once loved you, will love you to the end. Let this constrain you to obedience, and make you long and look for that blessed time, when he shall not only be your wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, but also complete and everlasting redemption.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. I Corinthians 1:30 (KJV)
I love this verse. It explains to us several of the many things Jesus becomes to us when we receive Him. He is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Any one of those things is wonderful all by itself, but to have all four is huge. Let’s break each one down.
Wisdom
The word wisdom in the Greek is sophia, which refers to wisdom in general, not necessarily spiritual wisdom or worldly wisdom, but both. In other words, Jesus has been made wisdom to us in both the natural and supernatural aspects of life. While knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts and information, wisdom is the understanding of how to use that knowledge. When we know Jesus, we know more than mere facts and figures; we know how to apply the Word of God to our lives. Ecclesiastes 7:12 tells us that wisdom will preserve our lives, and Proverbs speaks of the value of wisdom in protecting us. In becoming our wisdom, Jesus preserves and protects us.
Righteousness
The word righteousness is the Greek word dikaiosune, which means justification or righteousness. Because of Jesus, we have been made righteous, or right with God. It is our position with the Lord. He sees us as just and upright before Him. The shed blood of Jesus has purchased that position for us. We cannot earn righteousness. It has been bestowed upon us because of what Jesus did. And as long as we remain in Christ, we are righteous. We are not sinners saved by grace- we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, we are saved by grace, but we are no longer sinners. To say our identity is that of a sinner is to say that the shed blood of Jesus did not accomplish anything for us.
Sanctification
Sanctification in the Greek is hagiasmos, which means purification, the state of purity, holiness, sanctification. What this tells us is that faith in Jesus Christ is needed in order to be cleaned up and purified. As we walk with Jesus, His Word purifies us more and more each day. While righteousness is an instantaneous change in position that happens at the new birth, sanctification is a process. It is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus. We cannot change ourselves, but we can cooperate by staying in the Word and submitting to the direction and correction of the Holy Spirit. As we do, the blood of Jesus sanctifies us. Without Jesus, mankind cannot ever become pure and holy.
Redemption
Redemption is the Greek word apolutrosis and means to ransom in full. It refers to salvation, deliverance and redemption. Although it is listed last, it is the most crucial of the four words because the other three would not be possible without this one, In order for Jesus to become our wisdom, make us righteous, and work sanctification in us, we must first be purchased out of the kingdom of darkness. Jesus paid the ransom in full with His shed blood. We were slaves to sin, but Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us and buy us out of that bondage. He purchased us and made us free. Because we received Him as our redemption, He also became our wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification.
Jesus purchased other things for us besides these four; we have healing, peace, prosperity and so much more. Salvation in Jesus really is the full package deal. Everything we need to prosper and succeed in life is found in one Person- Jesus Christ.
Enjoy the Transmission of Christ as Wisdom from God to us in our Daily Experience
Every day our living and work must be righteous, holy, and redeemed; even our entire being needs to be righteous, holy and redeemed.
![Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Abide-in-Me-and-I-in-you-1.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17")
He knows our thoughts, memories, imaginations, feelings, intentions, and longings; He is the Shepherd of our soul, we are dear to Him, and we just need to let Him be TO US from God!Lord Jesus, we open to the divine transmission of Christ as the wisdom from God to us. Keep us in the transmission of Christ as wisdom from God to us in our daily experience in a present and practical way. We want to learn, Lord, to open to You and allow You to flow in us to be our practical and present wisdom in our experience. We give ourselves to You to learn to turn to You, receive the divine transmission, and have Christ as our wisdom in a continual way, day by day and hour by hour. Keep us with You to receive the divine dispensing so that Christ may be transmitted into us as the wisdom to handle all the problems and matters in our daily life. Oh Lord, we want to be one with You and receive Your divine dispensing so that we may experience and enjoy You day by day and hour by hour!
No comments:
Post a Comment