1) What title did you give this section of scripture? (My title is in the topic.) :)
2) What has God shown you through this section of scripture?
3) Following are my thoughts/impressions. Do you agree? Disagree? Have more to add?
Please feel free to share what God is showing you so we can all be growing closer to Jesus and encouraging each other!
Observation (what do I see?):
The Colossians heard the truth of the gospel and they GOT it! They understood the truth and God’s grace. The gospel was growing and bearing fruit in the world AND among the Colossians. Paul prayed they would know God’s will, walk in HIs ways, bear fruit, and grow in intimacy with God. Paul also encouraged the Colossians that the strength they would need to walk in God’s will would be provided and would be enough, because they would be walking in God’s strength. God has given them “the inheritance of the saints.”
Meaning of Key Words (taken from Strong’s Concordance):
Saints: sacred, pure, morally blameless, consecrated, holy
Knowledge: recognition, full discernment
Understanding: a mental putting together
Wisdom: thoughtful, acumen (the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions)
Walk: follow, be occupied with
Strengthened: enabled
Might (“Power” in ESV): miraculous ability/abundance
Power (“Might” in ESV): dominion, strength
Interpretation (what does it mean?):
What is the gospel, at it’s root? Basically, it is the “good news.” The good news that we are all born sinners who cannot be in the presence of the one true God (because sin cannot be in the presence of His holiness), BUT GOD, because of His grace, sent His Son to qualify, deliver, and redeem us! BUT GOD!
People can hear the gospel, but without KNOWLEDGE and an UNDERSTANDING of it, there is no awareness of the need to be rescued from the sin in which we dwell (or dwelt).
For the saint, knowledge (recognition) of what God’s will is should lead to obedience. Obedience leads to bearing fruit and “increasing in the knowledge of God.” I believe this refers to both an increased ability to discern God’s will and a deeper, more intimate relationship with God Himself. So, obedience leads to fruit which leads to a more intimate relationship, which leads to increased obedience. It’s cyclical. Intimacy with God cannot exist separate from obedience to Him.
Strength to obey WHATEVER God is calling a believer to walk through is given according to GOD’S strength, not the believer’s strength. So if God is calling someone to something, He WILL give that person everything she needs to do it.
The Colossians were walking in darkness, BUT GOD qualified them to receive the saints’ inheritance by delivering them from darkness and transferring them to the Kingdom of His Son. This could happen only because Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice. It’s all because of Jesus. Hallelujah! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS!
Application (what do I do?):
As a born again Christian, I am no longer a sinner, I am a saint. BECAUSE OF JESUS. He has redeemed me (i.e. “gained possession of [me] in exchange for payment,”).* This redemption is a gift to me. He gave me knowledge of my sin, understanding of the payment necessary for my sin, and knowledge and understanding of the redemption He offers as a gift (by His grace). Accepting that gift of redemption means I am no longer my own. It is my responsibility to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” And He gives me His strength to do so.
My walk needs to not just be following Him, but I need to be “occupied with” Him. He needs to be the focus of my life. Every moment of every day. I need to obey without reservation. (And He wants this obedience to flow from my love for Him.) I cannot know His will without spending time with Him. Intimacy is a fruit of knowing and obeying His will.
In order to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord”
- I need to spend time with Him (worshipping Him, talking to Him, listening to Him, reading and studying His Word)
- I need to obey Him (loving Him and loving others)
- I need to pray for the spiritual health of others (inferred from the example of Paul praying for the Colossians)
As a result of this
- Fruit of various forms will be produced (although NOT through my efforts to produce it)
- I will grow in intimacy with Him
- Others will grow in intimacy with Him, also
Lord, help me walk in a manner worthy of the gospel!
*(According to the “New Oxford American Dictionary.”)
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