A note from our Pastor:

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;”

Colossians 1:9

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

As you read Colossians 1:9, you will note that the Apostle Paul uses the plural pronoun “we.” Though the Apostle was the one to pen the letter, verses like this point to an important point. Timothy, and other ministers, were often with the Apostle. They shared the spiritual experience. They prayed together. And, importantly, the thoughts expressed were discussed before being written down.

Our study verse this week shifts the subject of the Apostle’s writing. As noted in this verse, the Apostle and his companions had a mindset for prayer. Included in their prayers were the many congregations that they were in contact with or had received reports about. That was the case for the congregation at Colossae. While this verse is about their prayer, the Apostle also begins to introduce great doctrinal concepts as well.

The Apostle says they “desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will” and that it might happen with “all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” In considering the will of God, there is the revealed and the secret. The secret will of God concerns the day-to-day events of our lives, the future outcomes in this world, and the time of his second coming. Of those items, the children of God are not to have knowledge. The understanding of that portion of the will of God resides only in heaven.

The revealed will of God first and foremost relates to the events of eternal salvation. Through Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the writers of scripture, we have an understanding of this portion of the will of God. It was this knowledge that the Apostle prayed the saints at Colossae might be filled with. He desired that they might understand the workings and assurance of eternal salvation through the wisdom and spiritual understanding that can only be granted by the Holy Spirit.

This points to an essential doctrinal point. While the child of God is not able to look into the portals of heaven and know whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they should have solid assurance of their salvation. That assurance is founded in knowing the mind and purpose of God. It is locked in by knowing the completed work of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a hope, but hope is founded in a faith in God.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah