Colossians Day 5: Wisdom

Day 5 ~ Wisdom

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."  Colossians 1:9-14

For today's study I want to dig into Paul's prayer for the Colossians. It contains our word for today and gives us a sense of the context for Paul's use of this word throughout the book. I'm going to go through this passage in the manner which I use most often to begin observation of a passage: As a reporter. Reporter's ask questions that enable them to see clearly - who, what, where, when, why, how. Walk with me through this passage. Included are photos of my study notes. The words marked, circled or underlined with colors are words that are on our list.

Paul begins this passage with why he continually prays for the Colossians, and the answer is found in the previous passage (1:3-8). The report Paul received from Epaphras about their faith and love has prompted Paul to keep them in his prayers.

Why does Paul pray for them and what does he ask God? The main point of Paul's prayer is that they would be "filled with the knowledge of His (God's) will".

Fullness will be one of our words in the days ahead, but for now we will get a brief understanding of it in order to grasp what Paul is praying here. The Greek word Paul uses here for "fill" has the sense of being filled completely full; abounding in fullness. It has the sense of completeness, fulfillment. So Paul is asking God to completely and abundantly fill them with the knowledge of God's will. Remember, we saw yesterday that the knowledge Paul speaks of here is that which is gained through personal experience, through relationship.

How does Paul intend for them to be filled with the knowledge of God's will? Through all wisdom and understanding. How? Through the Spirit God has given them.

Why does Paul want them to be filled with the knowledge of God's will? SO THAT 1.) they will live a life worthy of the Lord, and 2.) please Him in all ways. Here is the bottom line: Knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone is vain, it's empty - it holds no meaning other than to puff us up. We are often not changed simply by knowing something. Experiential knowledge, however, leads to obedience and results in life change. Knowledge about God's will should bring about a changed way of life, and this pleases God.

Remember in the introductory post I mentioned that the Colossians were in danger of losing their focus as a result of some false teaching in their church. Paul's prayer for them to have experiential knowledge of God through the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives, is meant to keep them grounded in Christ. Commentator Robert Wall says this:
"At the root, the Colossian crisis is a crisis of knowing God. And so it is with every challenge to a congregation's spiritual formation."
We need to cooperate with the Spirit and grow in the knowledge of God's will through the wisdom and understanding He gives us. And that knowledge of God's will should be evident in the manner in which we live.

So what does it look like to live in a manner worthy of the Lord? Paul gives us four ways that this worthy living will show in our life:
1. Our lives will bear fruit. We will pursue "good works" - serving others, loving others, sharing the good news.
2. We will continue to grow in knowledge. Life long learning of who Christ is and how He calls us to live.
3.  We will depend on God's power, not our own, and depend on Him to strengthen us. This will result in endurance, patience and joy.
4. And finally, we will live in gratitude, continually giving the Father thanks, first and foremost for our salvation through His Son.

Paul goes on to say that the Father has qualified us. For what? He has made it possible for us to share in the inheritance of His holy people.

How? He rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His Son - the kingdom of light.

How? Through the redemption His Son provides - the forgiveness of our sins which results in reconciliation with God, power to live in ways that please Him, and eternal life. This is what we inherit!

Through this letter Paul will continually draw the Colossians focus, and ours, back to Christ "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

Wisdom: 1:9, 1:28, 2:3, 2:23, 3:16, 4:5

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Colossians Words Day 4: Knowledge

Day 4 ~ Knowledge

Today's word is a bit more difficult to trace throughout the book of Colossians because 1.) a variety of Greek words were used, and 2.) they were translated into a number of English words. The four Greek words that are used (epignosis, epignosko, gnorizo, and gnosis) all originate from the word ginosko. Ginosko is not knowledge one learns by acquiring facts or having information about something or someone. Ginosko is experiential knowledge, knowledge that comes from close, intimate relationship. It is personal knowledge. Ginosko is the first Greek word I learned in Bible study. Learning that there were numerous Greek words for the English word knowledge and that this particular word had such a deeper, richer meaning opened the Scriptures to me in a deeper way, and began my journey into learning how to study the Bible by understanding the original language. I am in no means a Greek scholar. I have not been professionally trained through seminary education. I just have an incredible thirst and desire to learn, especially God's Word, and I have been blessed with pastors and friends that have helped me develop my study skills. The reason I have become so passionate about teaching others how to study the Bible is that we live in an age where, because of the internet, we have so many study tools available to us for free, that would have cost hundreds and thousands of dollars to accumulate in printed form in the past. Thus, we have at our fingertips, through the use of our computers, the tools that pastors and seminary students and professors use. We have only to learn how to use them!...Okay, just a bit of a glimpse into what drives my passion for Bible study and for leading others in it.

So, back to ginosko. Look briefly at some of the verses the apostle John uses this word in - it is a favorite word of his!

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3. That they KNOW personally, by experience, the one true God and Jesus Christ. Not simply know about Him or are informed about Him, but truly, deeply KNOW Him because you are in a personal, intimate relationship with Him.

Try this one: "We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:69. The 12 disciples were not just taught, informed, or educated about who Jesus was. They lived with Him, followed Him, experienced the lives He changed, the miracles He performed, the blinded eyes He opened. They came to believe in who He really was because they KNEW him personally, intimately through experience.

Last one, I promise! "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:10. John had began his gospel with an explanation of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, and who He is. He then says that the world, however, did not recognize (ginosko) Him. They did not KNOW who he really was because they did not KNOW Him personally, intimately. 

Sometimes knowing the full meaning of the Greek words used will open up deeper understanding of the Scriptures for us. Other times the Greek word simply means exactly the same thing as our English word. But digging into it can be so eye-opening. And heart-opening! So now with your knowledge of this root Greek word, see if it gives some new understanding to some of its uses in Colossians. I'll just go through a few of them and then provide the full list and words at the end and you can dig into the rest.

"In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace." Colossians 1:6

This word that the translators of the NIV chose to use "understood" in English, is epignosko in Greek. From the root word ginosko, epignosko means to know something thoroughly, and again, this is by experience, intimately. so, through the gospel they came to intimately KNOW and understand God's grace for them through Jesus Christ. They came to KNOW this from Epaphras who shared the gospel with them. It makes me think about what we looked at on day one, when Paul lifts up these faithful people who were living their faith out in relationship with their friends, family and neighbors in Colosse, They apparently saw in Epaphras a faith that showed them what God's grace looks like! And so, they too, came to have that same faith in Christ.

"...you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Colossians 3:9-10. Again, epignosko is used here. As we grow in our faith in Christ, we must over time put off the practices of our former way of life, and embrace and live out the practices of our new way of life. For this to take place we need to thoroughly KNOW and understand Christ's ways. We become more Christ-like as our very being, who we are, is renewed by the knowledge of who Christ is. This is where the values of Bible KNOWLEDGE (experiential, not just information) and community play vital roles. We gain intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ and His ways through the Word. We learn how to live them out in community. We have the examples of those who are living godly, faithful lives to help show us and lead us to godly living.

"I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:1-3. Now you may have noticed that there is the use of the  word "know" in the first verse that I did not highlight. The "know" in verse 1 Paul uses the Greek word "eido", which  is objective knowledge that is learned or acquired.  The other word for "know" in verse 2 is epignosis and means a precise and correct knowledge. Paul wants the Colossians to fully KNOW what the mystery of God is: Christ, who they KNOW intimately. He then continues in verse 3, stating that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and KNOWLEDGE (gnosis). In KNOWING Christ intimately the mystery of God is no longer hidden. It has been made KNOWN to them through the gospel message: Salvation, forgiveness and reconciliation with God come to them through a relationship by faith in Christ Jesus.

There is so much here to absorb, and I know my passion for this has caused me to ramble on and on. So, please take time to soak in the Word. Read the passages slowly and let the understanding of Paul's deliberate use of words in the Greek language open your heart to his message. We grow in our spiritual life as we come to KNOW more deeply who Christ is through the pages of the Holy Scriptures.

Here are the verses that contain the various Greek words originating from ginosko which Paul has used for knowledge in the book of Colossians. The number in parentheses is the Strong's number in case you would like to look them up in a concordance.
1:6 understood = epignosko (1921)
1:9, 10; 2:2(know); 3:10 knowledge = epignosis (1922)
1:27 (made known), 4:7 & 9 (will tell, declare, make known) = gnorizo (1107)
2:3 knowledge = gnosis (1108)

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Colossians Words Day 3: Hope

Day 3 ~ Hope

We most often think of hope as something we wish for. When I was a child the Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs came to our house in the mail. At the end of summer the special edition Christmas catalogs would arrive full of every toy one could imagine. My sister and I spent hours and days combing through the pages of these catalogs and making lists of what we hoped to receive on Christmas. The anticipation of joy would fill us as we imagined opening these gifts on Christmas morning. 

Biblical hope is not like that wished for anticipation of toys under the Christmas tree. John Piper says, "Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future - it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen - it is confident it will happen."

As Christ followers we can be confident of our future because we have God's Word as a promise. Paul does his part, here in the book of Colossians, to describe for us that confident hope.

Paul tells us that the faith and love we've looked at over the past two days "spring up from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven" (1:5). Paul points to the gospel, the word of truth, as the place where the promise of hope is stirred up in our hearts. The hope the gospel gives us is the good news that there is hope for sinners. Paul describes our state before faith in Christ as those who are "alienated from God" (Colossians 1:21). In Ephesians 2:12 he puts it this way, "separated from Christ - without hope and without God" - hopeless. When the gospel is shared with us, we hear the good news that reconciliation with God is made available to us through Christ. Through Christ our sins are forgiven and we are made holy. The hope of eternal life is now a reality for us. It is stored up for us in heaven! The gospel provides hope for what is yet to come.

That future hope is what helps us remain steadfast and firm in our faith in this life.

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant." Colossians 1:21-23

The NRSV puts verse 23 this way: "without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard" Hope is an anchor. It keeps us grounded in our faith. Peter calls it a "living hope".

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5. 

The three times Paul uses the word hope in the book of Colossians are all found in the first chapter. He closes the chapter with his final thoughts on hope by pointing us once again to the source of our hope: Jesus Christ.

"Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:24-27

There is so much in this passage and we will dig deeper into it when we connect with other words, such as fullness and mystery. For now we will just focus on the last verse. 

Hope is not just a reality we look forward to in the future, but a present reality that we have right now, within us. Christ dwells in you, here and now, providing us with a confident hope of His glory in the future, but also the means by which we are being transformed into glory right now! When I  see the word glory, I immediately think of 2 Corinthians 3:18. The NASB translates it this way:

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.""

In this present life Christ is transforming us into His holy people, preparing us for a future glory where we will be fully transformed. In this is our hope! The hope of the future provides us with the hope we need for day-to-day living, firm in the faith.

"We have hope for the future because of what Christ has done in the past and is doing in the present." ~ Bruce Hurt

 A few additional pages in my Colossians Words journal:

A quote I find on faith, hope and love

My inside cover

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Colossians Words Day 2: Love

Day 2 ~ Love

In the same prayer where Paul thanks God for the Colossians because he had heard about their faith in Christ Jesus, he also thanks God because he has heard of their love for all the saints.

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel." Colossians 1:3-5

As we trace the word love through the book of Colossians we learn a lot about the significant role love plays in our life as Christ followers.

"You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit." Colossians 1:7-8

"I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. " Colossians 2:1-3

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14

(Love is also mentioned in 1:13 and 3:19)

The first thing I notice is something God has been pressing into me for quite some time - that might be why it jumped off the page immediately! We do not produce love, the Holy Spirit is the source of love. Another way of stating Colossians 1:8 would be " ...has told us of your love that the Spirit brings about in you". I'm going to step out of Colossians some to dig deeper into this. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He has "poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). We cannot simply work harder to try to love more because love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Spirit produces love in us. Thus, in order to love more, the answer is not to try harder to produce love ourselves. Rather, our role is to connect more with Christ through the Holy Spirit and  to depend on Him. The result, or fruit, that comes from this deep abiding is love. " This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."    1 John 4:13-16

So, to grow in love, what we really need to do is position ourselves to grow in depending on the Spirit, abiding in Christ, not trying harder to love.

The second thing I see as we trace love through Colossians is that the way our faith is made visible is in our loving others. Paul stated in his prayer of thanksgiving that he had heard of their love for all the saints (1:4). Paul goes on to remind the Colossians (and us) in chapter 3 that they are God's chosen people who are holy and loved. Because they are ones who are loved by God and made holy, Paul calls then to express love in their community in characteristically loving ways: with "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience". Commentator Marianne Meye Thompson says, "These traits, so contrary to the natural, grasping, self-seeking way of human beings, comes about as fruit of God's Spirit in the believer and in the church." We respond to God's love for us with love for others. Our faith is seen in the loving behavior we express to others in our faith community: We "bear with each other", we "forgive each other", and we don't hold on to grudges (Colossians 3:13). Tough acts that we cannot do within our own power!

Paul says the most important virtue for building our  unity as the body of Christ is love (3:14). Paul has shown us this elsewhere as well. Read 1 Corinthians 13. Summing up that chapter, Paul says "I will show you the most excellent way (13:1)....the greatest of these is love" (13:13). In Galatians 5 Paul tells us,  "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (5:6). Later in Galatians 5 he reminds us that "The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself" (5:14). John adds that our love for others will show that we are Christ's followers: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

I write this as one who is woefully inadequate to write about loving others. I so often fall short. But I also write this as one who knows that God's grace and mercies are renewed each morning. God has gifted us with His Spirit and in this we can rejoice! Our ability to love others comes from our relationship with the source of love.

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Colossians Words Day 1: Faith

Day 1 ~ Faith

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."  ~ Colossians 1:3-8

One of the things I am most struck by in Paul's letter to the Colossians is his deliberate use of words and phrases to both build up and strengthen the church, and to renounce the false teachings that were trying to influence them.

There is a sense throughout the letter that Paul's use of the words faith and faithful are a calling out of the Colossians true identity. In using these terms he both calls them to be who they already are and sets forth various members of their congregation as examples of those who live out the very faithfulness he is calling them to.

Words have the power to shape us and inform us; to build up and tear down; to open our eyes to insight and wisdom, and to help us focus on what is important. Words can change us. 

"To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse." Colossians 1:2

Holy and faithful. Wouldn't you want to live up to these words if a letter were addressed to you in this manner? Someone who is faithful is trustworthy, loyal, dependable. Someone who is holy has been set apart by God for sacred and godly purposes. Paul says they possess these qualities because they are "in Christ". Their relationship with Christ has made them who they are. They did nothing to earn except remain true to One in whom they placed their faith.

He will go on in the letter to connect adjectives to their faith such as stable and steadfast (1:23), firm (2:5), and established (2:7). He reminds them of who they are, building them up with words of identity.

In these verses about the Colossians faith, I was also struck by some of the other words Paul used. First Paul heard about their faith (1:4 and 2:5). He was told that they had come into saving faith through their trust in Jesus Christ, but also implied here is that their faith is visible. It is active; it is seen and known.

Their faith is also steadfast and firm because it is based on hope (1:5, 1:23). Their hope is in the gospel, the word of truth, that they heard from those who shared the good news with them. 

Faith grows when we see active faith in others and when we hear stories of their faith journey and how God has been active in their lives. Living faith that is steadfast shows, or proves genuine,  our faith in Christ. Faith is our mark as Christ followers.

So I think our takeaway today is this: Is our faith visible? Do our actions prove our faith to be real? Are we sharing our faith stories with others so that they too come to know the saving faith found in Christ? 

Paul mentions a few people from the Colossian congregation in his letter, holding each of them up as faithful, highlighting their ministry and faithful service to the Lord and to the church - Epaphras (1:7), Tychicus (4:7), and Onesimus (4:9). Is your life a faithful example to others? Are you serving in the ministry of your church, using your gifts and talents to further His kingdom?

The word faith/faithful is found in Colossians 9 times: 1:2, 1:4, 1:7, 1:23, 2:5, 2:7, 2:12, 4:7, 4:9. Many English translations also have the word faith in 1:5, however that word does not appear in the Greek translation.

My page: hand cut letters on a scrappy collaged background. I'm adding typed words to each page to use up all the words I typed for my Colossians Words challenge banner!

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