Steadied and Shaped by the Knowledge of God’s Will

STEADIED AND SHAPED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WILL

Unpacking and applying Colossians 1:9

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: January 25, 2026

Series: The Basics of the Christian Faith

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

GETTING RIGHT TO THE POINT

Don’t lose the forest for the trees. Don’t lose the main idea for all the small details that will come up in this sermon. The whole point of this sermon is that you would be convinced that should make every effort to receive and internalize the knowledge of God’s will, so that it is changing your life. I don’t care if you are able to recall all the details of this sermon twenty-four hours from now, but I do care that you grab ahold of this main point.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Though my intent is to focus especially on Colossians 1:9, let me begin by reading Colossians 1:9-14. Holy Scripture says:

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

INTRODUCTION

We come now to the third of thirteen sermons on the basics of the Christian faith. This third sermon marks a transition point in the series, and this transition point sets the stage for the remaining ten sermons. Let me explain.

The first two sermons were about how a sinner becomes a Christian in the first place. In those first two sermons we spoke about repentance, about turning away from sin and turning to God, about meeting Christ personally and entrusting yourself to Him, about not putting confidence in your own ability to save yourself but instead putting your confidence in the grace of Jesus. Once a sinner has become a Christian through a heartfelt and divinely enabled repentance and faith, that sinner is a brand-new person: he or she is forgiven, justified, reconciled to God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and in place of the old person there is a new person that has begun to reflect the character of God. For such a person who has become a new person in Christ, the question is: What’s next? How is that new person supposed to live the rest of his or her life? The answer, of course, is that those who have come to believe in Christ have entered into a lifelong journey of growing in their relationship with God and glorifying Him through a fruitful and holy life. The point of this third sermon is to make clear that sound instruction (sound teaching, sound doctrine) is key to this lifelong journey called the Christian life.

SEEING HOW COLOSSIANS 1:9 FITS INTO COLOSSIANS 1:3-14

Colossians 1:9 is the focus of this sermon, but first I want to show you how Colossians 1:9 fits into Colossians 1:3-14. If you can see how verse 9 fits into this section, then you’ll understand that sound teaching is foundational to living effectively and fruitfully as a Christian.

Starting in verse 9: “From the day we heard”

Look at verse 9. Paul begins: “And so, from the day we heard”. Okay, let’s pause right there. Why does Paul say “we”? Because this letter is not only from Paul, but also from Timothy, as you can see in verse 1: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.”

Next question: what thing is Paul referring to when he says “from the day we heard” – from the day that Paul and Timothy heard what?

Getting the answer from verses 3-8

Answer: from the day that Paul and Timothy heard that these men and women in Colossae had become followers of Jesus. Paul and Timothy weren’t the evangelists who took the gospel to the city of Colossae. Epaphras, one of their colleagues, was the man who took the gospel message to the people in Colossae. And many of the people who heard Epaphras preach the gospel believed the message and became Christians. And eventually word got back to Paul and Timothy that these men and women in Colossae had become Christians. Paul says all this in verses 3-8:

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on yourbehalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:3-8)

Do you get the picture here? The gospel came to Colossae (v. 5-6)! More specifically, the gospel came to Colossae through the ministry of Epaphras (v. 7). Certain people in Colossae – the people to whom Paul is now writing – certain people in Colossae heard the gospel (v. 5, 6) and not only heard it but understood the gospel (v. 6): they “heard it and understood the grace of God in truth”. Having heard and learned and understood the promise of God’s grace through Jesus Christ, these people put their faith in Jesus. When you put your faith in Jesus, it isn’t a one and done kind of thing – it isn’t something that gets relegated to the past. When you put your faith in Jesus, now your faith in an ongoing way is in Jesus – now your confidence and hope, your heart and life, are directed to the Lord Jesus.

FAITH AND LOVE (v. 4)

And though sinners are forgiven and justified and reconciled to God through faith alone, that faith never remains alone. True faith immediately gives rise to a loving disposition toward your fellow believers. All throughout the New Testament, faith and love are discussed in tandem. In Colossians 1:4, these new Christians are characterized by faith in Jesus and by love for all the saints. In Galatians 5:6, Paul tells us that the only thing that matters is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). When the apostle John summarizes basic Christianity, he simply says: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” (1 John 3:23) When the apostle Peter describes a Christian’s growth in 2 Peter 1:5-7, he lists eight qualities: the first and foundational quality is faith; the final, crowning quality is love. Back in Colossians, in Colossians 2:9-15 Paul talks about how we have entered into the reality of God’s saving work “through faith” (Colossians 2:12). Then in Colossians 3:14 he tells us to “put on love” as the crowing virtue “which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). Don’t complicate what is not complicated: faith in Jesus, which expresses itself in practical love for your fellow believers, is what it’s all about.

FAITH, LOVE, AND HOPE (v. 4-5)

Furthermore, this faith and love are tied to the fact that the Christian believer has been set free from the tyranny of present circumstances. Sometimes you’ll see faith, hope, and love together as a triad, right (e.g., 1 Corinthians 13:13)? Do you see that in verse 5? Verse 5 continues the line of thought from verse 4, saying: “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven”. Their title to heaven, the promise that they have of a heavenly inheritance that will never be taken away from them, has set them free to walk in faith and love. You see, when your life is all about managing and negotiating one pressure after another, there isn’t much space for faith and love, because life’s pressures are always weighing you down and preoccupying you. But when you know that your life and future are forever secure in God’s hand, when you know that your life and future are beyond the touch of worldly spoilers like moth and rust and thieves and death, then you discover the freedom to depend on Jesus and demonstrate love even amid all the trials and pressures of life.

The bottom line in verses 3-8 is that Paul and Timothy had heard that these people in Colossae had become Christians, which means that these people had shifted their confidence and allegiance to Jesus, and they had indeed begun to follow Jesus in the pathway of love. When Paul and Timothy heard this, they began to regularly pray for these Christian brothers and sisters. And when they prayed for them, they first of all gave thanks to God for His gracious work in their lives (v. 3).

Back to verse 9 for just a moment: “we have not ceased to pray for you”

Now, returning to verse 9 for just a moment, when Paul and Timothy prayed for their Christian brothers and sisters in Colossae, they prayed that they would be divinely enabled to life a faithful and holy life. In other words, Paul and Timothy prayed that these Christians in Colossae would be increasingly transformed, that they would grow into maturity, that these spiritual saplings would become like mighty oak trees. That’s the idea. In a moment I want to call attention to the key reality that Paul and Timothy pray for in verse 9, but let’s skip that for the moment to catch the vision that Paul and Timothy are praying for.

A portrait of a faithful Christian life (v. 10-14)

Paul and Timothy pray that these young Christians would “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (v. 10). The point of trusting in Jesus isn’t to get a “get out of jail free” card, but is instead to be reconciled to Him so that we actually learn to walk with Him and follow Him in our everyday life. “And come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21), Jesus says. And in a variety of what Jesus tells us, ‘Do unto others as I have done to you. Love one another as I have loved you. Serve one another as I have served you. Wash each other’s feet as I have washed yours. Forgive each other as I have forgiven you.’ “Follow me” (John 21:19)! And so, our daily life as a Christian ought to be “worthy of”, ought to be a fitting reflection of, our Lord and His gracious character – indeed it ought to reflect the fact that we are actually following Him, and thus learning from Him and seeking to imitate Him. Having learned Christ (Ephesians 4:20), we now seek to reflect the character of Christ in our daily walk.

What does this worthy walk look like? Paul gives us several phrases that describe a faithful Christian life in the remainder of verses 10-12.

“FULLY PLEASING TO HIM” (v. 10)

First, the worthy walk consists of being “fully pleasing to him [the Lord]” (v. 10). In 2 Corinthians 5:9, Paul says that “we make it our aim to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9). And so Paul and Timothy pray that these young Christians would live their entire lives in a way that meets with the Lord’s approval: “fully pleasing to him.” In John 8:29, Jesus said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him [the Father]” (John 8:29). Although we will never achieve perfection this side of heaven, our aim, our goal, the trajectory of our life, is to have a manner of life, conduct, and speech that is completely and consistently pleasing to the Lord.

Now let me interject a heart check at this point. If you have a fleshly legalistic mindset, you may hear this “fully pleasing to him” goal as an impossible burden that only serves to highlight your failures and discourage you, or you may think that it is a matter of checking the right boxes. If you have a fleshly cynical mindset, you may hear this “fully pleasing to him” goal as ‘pie in the sky’ nonsense that has no bearing on real life. ‘Just preacher’s talk’, you say. But if you have a gracious mindset that is being generated by the Holy Spirit’s work within you, then you will hear this as the invigorating goal of the Christian life in which real progress is possible and for which plentiful grace is supplied to us.

“BEARING FRUIT IN EVERY GOOD WORK” (v. 10)

Second, the worthy walk consists of “bearing fruit in every good work” (v. 10). In Ephesians 2:2, the unconverted sinner walks in trespasses and sins; in Ephesians 2:10, the converted saint now walks in the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) We’re not saved by our works, but we’re saved “for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). In marriage, in family life, in the household, in the church community, in our place of employment, in our neighborhood, in all our relationships and responsibilities, we are to pursue what is good and put love into practice and glorify God, even in our eating and drinking.

“INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD” (v. 10)

Third, the worthy walk consists of “increasing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10). Knowing God is, of course, the main point. “And this is eternal life,” Jesus said to the Father, “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) This increase in the knowledge of God is not about becoming a master of philosophical or theoretical information about God. This increase in the knowledge of God is personal, relational, and experiential knowledge, such that we can actually say that we know God, that we know His faithfulness and fatherly kindness, that we grasp the great love that He has for us. The refrain of “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” begins, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!”[1] When you’ve proved Jesus over and over again, then you have firsthand knowledge of His trustworthiness and goodness.

When a man boasts in his own intelligence, he is personally acquainted with and impressed by his own mind. When a man boasts in his own strength, he is personally acquainted with and impressed by his own abilities. When a man boasts in his own riches, he is personally acquainted with and impressed by his own wealth and the joy that it gives him. But what does the Lord tell us? “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24) Are you increasingly acquainted with and impressed by the living God in a personal and captivating way? Do you increasingly taste and savor the heart of God and His great love for you?

“BEING STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER” (v. 11)

Fourth, the worthy walk consists of “being strengthened” by God’s power (v. 11). In this fellowship that we have with the living God, He is actively at work in our lives through His Holy Spirit. He strengthens us “with all power, according to his glorious might” (v. 11). We recall in Ephesians 1 that “the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead” is the measure of His immeasurably great power that is at work in our lives (Ephesians 1:19-20). Although God’s power equips us for ministry and may at times even generate miracles in and through our lives, nevertheless it is noteworthy that God’s power is especially aimed to nourish and sustain godly character in us: “for all endurance and patience with joy” (v. 11). We need patient endurance, stamina, steadfastness, stick-to-itiveness, faithfulness over the long haul, undying resolve to honor the Lord at all times – and we need all of this to be flavored not with dour and sour faces, but “with joy” in the heart.

“GIVING THANKS TO THE FATHER” (v. 12-14)

Fifth, the worthy walk consists of “giving thanks” (v. 12) – of having a heart full of gratitude to God for all of His abundant mercies toward us. Paul and Timothy give thanks to God for these fellow believers (Colossians 1:3), and all believers must live with their hearts thankful to God. This is no small thing. This must not be an afterthought. In Colossians 2:7 we are told that we should be “abounding with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:7). In Colossians 3:15-17 we are told to “be thankful” (v. 15), to minister and sing to one another “with thankfulness in [our] hearts to God” (v. 16), and to undertake all things with “[thanksgiving] to God the Father through him [Jesus]” (v. 17). Then in Colossians 4:2 we are instructed to be watchful in continual prayer “with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). Since ingratitude is highlighted as part of humanity’s foundational rebellion in Romans 1:21, it is no surprise that the restoration of gratitude to God would be characteristic of a faithful Christian life. In Colossians 1:12-14, this giving of thanks to the Father is done with special reference to His gift of salvation to us: “[He] has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (v. 12); “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (v. 13); He has, through Christ, redeemed us from bondage and forgiven our sins (v. 14).

Reviewing the whole context of verse 9 in verses 3-14

Now this whole context of verses 3-14 is crucial to see in order to understand the key point that is made in verse 9. In verses 3-8, Paul makes simple mention of the fact that the people that he is praying for are Christians: they trust in Jesus and they love their fellow believers. They’ve started out on the right foot, if you like. Then in verses 10-14, Paul envisions what these Christians will increasingly become over time and prays into that vision. The vision or portrait in Paul’s mind is of fellow Christians who are walking with the Lord in a manner that is worthy of Him, which means: (1) pleasing the Lord in every respect; (2) bearing fruit in every dimension of life; (3) knowing God more deeply; (4) being strengthened by God for faithful and joyful living; and (5) giving thanks to God, first and foremost for His saving mercies to us, and beyond that for all the help and care and empowerment that He so often bestows upon us. Do you see the picture?

PITCHING OUR TENT IN VERSE 9: “THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL”

Now the question is: how will the new believers described in verses 3-8 become the mature believers described in verses 10-14? This brings us to the key ingredient in verse 9: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

Mark this phrase: in between the reality of their new relationship with the Lord in verses 3-8 and their mature relationship with the Lord envisioned in verses 10-14, is this precious key: “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. And so, let’s pitch our tent in verse 9 and stay here for a little while.

The knowledge of God’s will is supposed to fill you, shape you, and steady you

Let’s begin by noting God’s design for how this knowledge is supposed to function in your life. Simply put, the knowledge of God’s will is supposed to fill you, shape you, and stead you.

First, God’s design for you, dear Christian, is that you “be filled with the knowledge of his will”. Not half a cup. Not mildly influenced. Not a little trickle here and there. Not occasional bursts of excitement that quickly die out. Filled with, inundated with, permeated with. If a net can be full of fish (Matthew 13:47-48) and if a house can be filled with the fragrance of perfume (John 12:3), so you ought to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. It ought to fill your heart and mind. It ought to fill your meditation and imagination. It ought to define and govern your mindset. Just imagine having an everyday mindset that is governed by the knowledge of God’s will – when things don’t go your way, when a knock at the door interrupts your tea time, when you’re facing a difficult relationship at home or work.

Second, God’s design for you, dear Christian, is that your life be shaped by this knowledge of God’s will that is filling your heart. This is obvious when you see how verse 9 flows into verse 10: the knowledge of God’s will filling your heart in verse 9 leads to “[walking] in a manner worthy of the Lord” in verse 10. This knowledge, therefore, is a practical and experiential knowledge that is meant to be lived. I appreciate Alistair Begg saying that we must have “an experiential grasp of… essential doctrines.”[2] It is only when we have this “experiential grasp” that our knowledge of God’s will actually shapes our life.

Third, God’s design for you, dear Christian, is that your life be steadied by this knowledge of God’s will that is filling your heart. Epaphras, the evangelist named in Colossians 1:7-8, the man who taught the gospel to the people in Colossae, diligently prayed for these people to be steadfast in God’s will: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” (Colossians 4:12). Epaphras’ prayer in Colossians 4:12 mirrors Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12. Just think what Epaphras is praying for: that your feet be firmly planted and your soul be full of confidence in all of God’s will.

Being securely anchored in God’s will protects you from the temptations that are thrown at you in order to throw you off. In Colossians 2:8, Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) If you’re full of the world’s ideas or your own ideas, or if you’ve got half-baked ideas about God’s will, then you’re an easy target. You’re already off course, and you’re likely to lose the faint grasp that you have. But if you’re “rooted and built up in him [Christ] and established in the faith” (Colossians 2:7), if you’re “holding fast to the Head [that is, Christ], from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:19), then you’re on track to stay the course and “not [shift] from the hope of the gospel that you heard” (Colossians 1:23). Being filled with the knowledge of God’s will is key to the steadfastness that remains anchored in Christ.

What is the knowledge of God’s will?

Now let’s ask another question related to Colossians 1:9. What actually is the knowledge of God’s will? The word translated “will” could also be translated “desire” or “purpose”.[3] Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will; be filled with the knowledge of God’s purpose; be filled with the knowledge of what God desires and delights in. This same word is used in the prayer that Jesus taught us: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) This same word is used to describe those who will enter into the kingdom of heaven on the day of judgment: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) This same word is used to describe who is part of Jesus’s spiritual family: “And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”” (Mark 3:34-35)

It is quite obvious, then, that the Father’s will is meant to be done, meant to be lived, meant to be practiced – which corresponds to what we see in Colossians 1:10. But the point of Colossians 1:9 is that the Father’s will must first of all be known: “be filled with the knowledge of his will”.

Now I suppose that we could split hairs in an effort to give an absolutely precise definition of what God’s will is in Colossians 1:9. Alternatively, I suppose that we could make a tedious effort to give a thoroughly comprehensive description of God’s will in all of its various aspects. But I’d like to keep things simple and I’d like to keep things tied to the Book of Colossians.

But before getting to what God’s will is, let me clear one thing out of the way. Too often – far too often – when we speak about God’s will for us, we speak about it in overly personalized terms: is it God’s will for you to go to this college or that college, take this job or that job, marry this person or that person, attend this church or that church, go to Sunday School or Monday School (or both!), and so on. That is not what the knowledge of God’s will in Colossians 1:9 is about. The knowledge of God’s will in Colossians 1:9 and elsewhere in Scripture is ordinarily, typically, and primarily about the objective reality of God’s will, God’s purpose, and God’s good pleasure that are revealed to us in Holy Scripture. In other words, it is about what the Scripture teaches: it is sound teaching, sound instruction, sound doctrine from the Bible.

This is how discipleship works. People hear the gospel, understand it, believe it, get baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then what? In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, “[Teach those who have believed and been baptized] to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20) After the three thousand people were baptized in Acts 2:41, what did they do? “[They] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). When a whole bunch of new Christians popped up in Antioch, what needed to happen? “For a whole year they [Barnabas and Saul] met with the church and taught a great many people.” (Acts 11:26)

In Colossians itself, Paul describes his ministry in Colossians 1:28-2:3, saying:

1 ²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. ²⁹ For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

2 ¹ For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 1:28-2:3)

What Paul prays for in Colossians 1:9-14, he pursues through the preaching and teaching ministry that he describes in Colossians 1:28-2:3. Do you see? Paul prays that they would be filled, then he endeavors to fill them up by teaching them – and of course they must receive it.

If you really want to know the things that are being referred to in the phrase “the knowledge of his will” in Colossians 1:9, start by reading the Book of Colossians. Or pick another book of the Bible. But don’t go off into spiritual la-la land, don’t try to read the stars or turn over tea leaves or draw wisdom out of your own heart or find the deeper significance to all the coincidences in your life. Read the Book of Colossians. Or the Gospel of Mark. That will tell you what “the knowledge of his will” is. And then go on from there to read the rest of the Bible!

The big picture knowledge of God’s will

So when we ponder the Book of Colossians, one thing that we learn is that “the knowledge of his will” cannot be reduced down to God’s moral commands to us. Those moral commands come, of course, in Colossians 3:5-4:6. That is part of the knowledge of God’s will. But those moral commands are anchored in and flow out of the new relationship that we have with God as a result of His saving grace to us, and that’s what Paul talks about in Colossians 2:6-3:4. And God’s gracious salvation is itself centered on Jesus Christ – who He is and what He did and why He did it – and that’s what Paul talks about in Colossians 1:15-23. Ultimately, the knowledge of God’s will is centered upon Christ. Paul says that he ‘proclaims Christ’ in Colossians 1:28, and in Colossians 2:2-3 he says that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Christ, and in Colossians 3:17 he instructs us to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus”. At the heart of knowing God’s will is for you to what it means for you to be in Christ (Colossians 1:2), and for Christ to be in you (Colossians 1:27), and for Christ to be your life (Colossians 3:4). That’s the idea.

In reference to Alistair Begg’s sermon that is tied to the third week of our Basics Study, you will find in the Book of Colossians many of the essential doctrines that he highlighted in his sermon.[4] In the Book of Colossians you will find teaching about:

• the doctrine of the person and work of Christ;
• the sovereignty of the Father and of the Son in creation, providence, salvation, consummation, and judgment;
• the awful sinfulness and the guilt of mankind;
• the wonderful redemption that comes through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ;
• the resurrection of Christ and the present reign of Christ at the Father’s right hand;
• the regenerating work of God to bring deadened sinners to new life in Christ;
• the reality of the church as the body of Christ;
• the promise of a heavenly inheritance to God’s faithful ones.

All of that and more is in the Book of Colossians. And all of it is presented in such a way that it is designed not only to anchor us in Jesus, but also to produce good moral fruit in our lives. We must put off the remnants of sin (Colossians 3:5-11). We must put on the qualities of godly character (Colossians 3:12-14). We must live in harmony with our fellow believers and minister words of encouragement to one another (Colossians 3:15-16). We must follow Jesus everywhere we go and in everything we do (Colossians 3:17), especially at home (Colossians 3:18-21). And we must faithfully represent Jesus to the wider world, having a gracious and savory presence as we seek to communicate the gospel and make new disciples (Colossians 4:5-6).

All of this is meant to be known and cherished and meditated upon, as Colossians 1:9 tells us, and all of this is meant to be reflected in how we actually live, as Colossians 1:10-12 tells us.

Spiritual light shining brightly in our hearts

The knowledge of God’s will isn’t dull and dry knowledge. No one has the capacity to be full of what he dislikes or is disinterested in. What does Colossians 1:9 say? We are to “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (italics added). Not mere intellectual information. Not dry doctrine. Not boring data points. Not abstract theory. The picture here is of people in whom God’s spiritual light is shining brightly in their hearts. It is not an academic knowing but a spiritual knowing: it is what happens when God gives you “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” and when He enlightens “the eyes of your hearts” (Ephesians 1:17-18). If that is happening in your life, then the knowledge of God’s will is pleasant to their soul. If that is not happening in your life, you’re missing out! But if it is happening, then you bask in the beautiful tapestry of God’s purpose revealed in Christ. You get it – by God’s grace, you get it – you see and delight in the centrality and supremacy and sweetness of Christ and His saving work, and you make it your aim to please Him.

We must actually live out God’s will

Of course, it isn’t enough to be filled with this knowledge of God’s will: it must be lived, it must be shared, it must draw you closer to the Lord, it must fill you with joy, it must give you strength to press on in all the good things and all the hard things that the Lord has set before you. Notice, in the passage that Aaron read at the beginning of the service, that Jesus didn’t say, ‘My food is to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.’ Instead He said, “My food is to do the will of him [the Father] who sent me” (John 4:34, italics added). Proper spiritual eating is being filled with and then doing God’s will. We must live it out. 

A CONCLUDING QUESTION

I leave you with one simple question: will you indulge yourself in the knowledge of God’s will? We like to indulge in many not so healthy things, but here is something you have the green light to glut yourself on. Don’t settle for crumbs. Don’t settle for piecemeal information. Don’t settle for data points. Don’t settle for a once-a-week sermon. Don’t settle for ‘a verse a day keeps the devil away’ mindset. Dig in. Dig deep. Draw it out. Dialogue about it with your fellow believers. Your appetite grows on what you feed yourself, so feed yourself the words of God. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you (Colossians 3:16). Let Him fill your cup to overflowing. And let the knowledge of His will define and direct you for the rest of your life.

ENDNOTES

[1] From the hymn “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” by Louisa M. R. Stead

[2] Alistair Begg, “Believing”. Preached March 12, 2006. Available online at Truth For Life: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/believing/

[3] See the entry “2307. theléma” on Bible Hub. Available online: https://biblehub.com/greek/2307.htm

[4] Alistair Begg, “Believing”.