Truth Today: Colossians 1:9

This is a long passage that addresses many things.

Paul stated that he always thanked God for them and that he prayed for them. He recognized both what they excelled in and what they needed.

As we continue through this passage, Paul expands on the issues he is praying about for them. He does not specifically identify their problems, but the entire epistle addresses their needs. Before Paul attempted to solve a problem in the church in Colossae, he spoke to God about it. By praying for them, he demonstrated that he cares beyond simply proving his knowledge.

Paul is saying that he prayed for the Colossian Christians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Here we encounter the trio of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

However, this is not just any wisdom, knowledge, or understanding; it is one connected to the will of God.

Wisdom is knowing how to solve problems, knowledge is understanding what is true, and understanding is how one strand of knowledge connects to another.

Paul prays that this group of Christians be filled with what God knows, not in isolation but connecting it to real-life actions to achieve the results God wants, i.e., wisdom. Paul was not merely wishing it; he was praying for it.

It is not enough to have knowledge because, as Paul wrote elsewhere, knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1).

It is not enough to have wisdom, as James wrote that wisdom can be earthly, natural and demonic (James 3:15). One might think they know how to commit a crime and get away with it—but that is wisdom detached from the will of God.

It is also not enough to have understanding, merely being able to connect one strand of knowledge to another and derive a conclusion.

There are intelligent people with understanding who can persuade others with their insights but might conclude there is no God, and write volumes on it. They use the brains God gave them to arrive at the conclusion that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). That is a form of understanding unhinged from the will of God.

What Paul prayed for is not just understanding but spiritual understanding. It is different from academic understanding. Spiritual understanding impresses upon you why Jesus had to die on the cross.

***

Paul's prayer that they be filled with the knowledge of the will of God is similar to his exhortation to be filled with the word of Christ (Colossians 3:16).

He does not want them to think that someone else can have the knowledge of God's will on their behalf.

He does not want them to seek this knowledge from palm readers, tarot readers, or prophets.

In the past, the knowledge of God’s will was sought from prophets’ writings or speech, but now, Moses' prayer has been answered: all God’s people are 'prophets' (Numbers 11:29), having the Spirit as a permanent reality. This is why Jesus said that the least in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11).

Another John (the apostle) said you have no need for anyone to teach you because you have an anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20, 27).

He did not say no one must teach you, but rather that you don’t need it as if your life depends on it, thus avoiding enslavement to anyone in the name of needing knowledge from them.

No one should overwhelm you with claims of knowledge of God's will. John advises against developing a sense of neediness that makes you susceptible to false prophets and teachers.

People are enslaved to false teachers who project their own indispensability or the indispensability of their ministry while creating perpetual gimmicks to ensure people continue to support what they are "selling."

Believe the Scriptures: you have no need for any man to teach you. You have an anointing from the Holy One and the anointing teaches you about all things. You know all things potentially through the Holy Spirit within you.

That is where Paul's prayer becomes useful. He is praying that wisdom transcends potentiality so that we may be filled, in reality, with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

***

A fundamental point to note is that there is a spiritual understanding behind the will of God. You don't just need to know what God is doing but also why He is doing it and why it makes spiritual sense for Him to do it that way to achieve His desired results. Do you understand?