Colossians 1:9
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
What someone prays for says a lot. The saints in Colossae were known for their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints (v. 4) which is great. But as we will see and as we’re starting to see now, they might have been lacking in some things.
All throughout the first-century church, false teaching was sprouting up. And for new Christians, false teaching is something that can be easily received. Not because of a lack of faith or a lack of love, but because of a lack of knowledge of God’s will and a lack of wisdom and spiritual understanding that would enable them to discern what is good and true from what is twisted and untrue.
This was Paul and his team’s prayer for the saints in Colossae and the letter he was writing to them was his way of infusing them with what they lacked.
The Greek word that is translated “will” is thelēmatos and it can also be rendered as wish or desire. What is God’s wish and desire? That’s something worth learning. That’s something worth pursuing. That’s something to hunger for. What does God desire?
Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep growing. But we must understand this: “being filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” is not the end goal. It’s a means to an end. And tomorrow we’ll see what that goal, that end, is.
Onward, saints.
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