Col. 1:9-13

The reason for this prayer (v9) is that their mature character (faith, hope, love) will result in a worthy walk (remember the worthy walk from Ephesians?).

          There is one basic request in this prayer: to be filled with the knowledge of His will (v9).  This must be true in their lives so that the ultimate request can be answered: to walk worthy of the Lord (v10-13).

To be filled with the knowledge of His will.

¨     His will: The reference here is to God’s will revealed in Scripture. 

¨     Filled: They must be complete, permeated, consumed by the will of God.  This is the same term used in Eph. 5:18 of being filled with the Spirit which was contrasted with being drunk.  So here they must be so saturated with God’s will that it controls every facet of their lives.

¨     Knowledge: This is the same special word used in Col. 1:6.  In that verse they had full knowledge of God’s grace when they were saved.  Now they need to be saturated with the full knowledge of His will.

¨     In all wisdom and spiritual understanding:  They must not only know His will intellectually; they must know God’s will in it’s practical implications.  Spiritual wisdom refers to street-knowledge; spiritual understanding concerns the ability to decide what is right in particular situations.  The word all makes it clear that understanding of God’s will has a view to our lifestyle.  Remember 2 Tim. 3:16-17: the inspired word of God is profitable for many things, all of which are designed to make the man of God perfect or complete.

To walk worthy of the Lord.

          4 phrases describe the worthy walk of the believer.  The first is all-inclusive; the others break it down into specifics.  Each phrase has an “all” word in it to remind us that spiritual growth is an all-encompassing, lifetime issue.

¨     The worthy walk involves everything we do: it must please God.

          A simple translation of this phrase says in all things pleasing.  The Greek word pleasing originally referred to the cringing, subservient attitude of slaves to masters.  In Christianity it was transformed into a joyful description of the believer and his relationship to God. The slave who pleases his Master eagerly anticipates His every wish, putting the will of his Master before his own.  We are to abound or increase in pleasing God (1 Thess.4:1).  The key is that we are to present our bodies to Christ as living sacrifices; this is pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1).  When we have thus abandoned ourselves the other aspects of the worthy walk will come easily.

          Are you committed to the renewal of the mind that comes from being fully saturated with the knowledge of His will?  Do your habits of study bear this out?  As you learn His will are you prayerfully seeking to apply it to daily life?