Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Colossians 1:9-14 | Date: October 25, 2020 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

OK, now my mic is on. After, I think, some generations of misunderstanding, too many mystical understandings of what God’s will is, I mentioned a couple of books that might be helpful. And so I went home, and I actually wrote a blog on it for our Books at a Glance site. But let me read for you what I have there. And if it’s helpful, good. If not, well, then we’ll get on to something else in a minute.

Finding God’s will for my life is a notion that in recent generations of evangelicalism has been surrounded by mystical ideas of various kinds, mostly unhelpful. In the common notion, God, more or less like a cosmic Easter bunny, hides his will from his people in a bush and leaves it to them to find it. The search is attended sometimes by torturous prayer and soul searching, awaiting for confirmation that this is it. I don’t mean to sound pejorative, and I think any who’ve been acquainted with the idea will recognize that. Even in circles that otherwise would insist on the sufficiency of Scripture and deny the idea of special revelation from God or other such individual communications, this notion often prevails. God has an individual will for each of us that affects virtually every decision we make: whom to marry, what car to buy, what job to take, whether or not to write this letter, and on and on it goes.

The upshot of this understanding is too often a heavy dose of frustration, uncertainty, and subjectivism. Just how can you know when this is it? And why did God so secretly hide his will from us anyway? Wouldn’t he want to make it more obvious? Or maybe we’ve been asking the wrong questions. In 1979, Gary Friesen published his famous Decision Making and the Will of God, a biblical alternative to the traditional view. I remember when the book came out, it made quite a splash at the time. I think it was the only book of its kind arguing as he did. Friesen challenged the prevailing notion outright and set out to explore a more sane, objective, and biblical approach. Even if he did overstate his case at certain points, many found it to be a very refreshing and even a liberating alternative.

In 1982, Sinclair Ferguson published a helpful little book, Discovering God’s Will, that encourages us to approach the question with a firmer confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture and in divine providence. We are not to discover God’s will by crying out in crisis moments, but as we walk with God as he has directed. In his 2002 Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion, Bruce Waltke, a well-known Old Testament scholar, challenges the notion of seeking such guidance on specific individual questions. He explores the similarities to pagan rituals, like whether looking at the planets or examining the sheep’s liver or whatever. And he charts out a path to live in God’s will as he has directed us in Scripture.

And then in 2009, I think probably the most helpful book to look at, at least for starting the discussion, Kevin DeYoung published his very helpful Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will. His fuller title tells us up front what he wants to accomplish and correct. Here’s the full title: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will, or How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, et cetera. He sums up his argument rather crisply: “So the end of the matter is this: live for God, obey the Scriptures, think of others before yourself, be holy, love Jesus, and as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God.”

I think the traditional view has left too much frustration, and its subjectiveness has allowed too many to blame God for their decisions. And these kinds of resources, I think, are helpful. If you need those titles again, let me know; I can get them to you.

Characteristics Of The Pleasing Walk

Now I mentioned that also to bring us back to this passage. And I think a lot of what Kevin is arguing in his book is at least implied here in Colossians 1. Notice verses nine and following again. He’s asking that God will fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you can live accordingly in a way that is pleasing to him. And then he describes what that worthy walk or pleasing walk with God looks like. And that’s in those next four participles that I mentioned last week.

One, bearing fruit in every good work. Two, increasing in the knowledge of God. Three, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. And then fourth, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of his saints.

Just briefly then, I think the way this passage would direct us to think about God’s will for my life is, to use Kevin’s title, just do something. Work in a way that’s pleasing to God. I mentioned last time that that has long been my approach to the question of spiritual gifts. Years ago, 30 or 40 years ago, it was really in vogue in churches to investigate: what is the gift God gave you? And there would be long questionnaires, like these personality analysis tests that some corporations give, that kind of thing. And after you answer these 45 or 145 questions, you’ve narrowed it down: well, it’s probably your gift is X. And I’m not gonna say they’re useless, but I think the approach is wrong. I think the approach to finding your spiritual gift in the New Testament is: look for an opportunity of service, determine if you can fill it, and you found God’s gift for you. I think that’s the way it should work in the local church.

I think the same is true with regard to God’s will. How can I please God? That’s Paul’s words here. How can I work to please him? And so Kevin asks at length in his book: what can I do to please God? What can I do to please others, to serve God, to serve others? You ask all these questions and you found God’s will. Well, I’ll open it up for questions, but only if this is really, really important and of relevance to the whole congregation. Otherwise, I’d like to move on. Anything just you can’t wait for?

OK. “I just came across this verse this week as I’m reading through the Bible. And it just struck to speak exactly to what you’re saying. It’s in 1 Chronicles 15:22. And it just said, Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing. And then it says this: because he was skillful at it.” That was his responsibility. There you go. There you go. Excellent. And you have found God’s will even in Chronicles. That’s great. That’s very good. Thank you for sharing that. Excellent. And I think that’s right. God has given you the ability to do X. Use that to the service of others and the glory of God. Pastor Boyd. Excellent. Again, the thrust is the same. The bottom line is: don’t complicate the matter. Don’t frustrate yourself with questions you can’t answer. Don’t rely on subjectivism—”Well, I just feel that”—and God gets blamed for more things that way. Look for a place to please God and do it.

Okay. Now, again, we’ve worked our way through what Paul is praying for: the spiritual understanding. And a spiritual understanding so that we can live in a way to please God. He uses the metaphor of walking in a worthy way. Walk in a way that is worthy of your profession of Christ. Live in a way that reflects well on what you say you believe. And then we have the characteristics of that pleasing walk: bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, and giving thanks to the Father. So let’s work our way through that. And then keep in mind, I asked last week at the very end, if you would think of this passage in terms of what can we learn from it, how to pray? This is Paul’s prayer; what can we learn from it, how we should be praying? And we’ll get to that at the end.

All right, the first characteristic of this worthy walk is bearing fruit in every good work. And that, I think, is just what Paul was saying, if you remember, two weeks ago in the earlier verses of this chapter about the gospel taking root in the lives of people and effecting transformation. Remember, we even saw the analogy or the subtle connection back to the creation mandate: be fruitful and multiply. And how that becomes in the New Testament the gospel advance—taking the gospel to every creature, making disciples of all the nations, and so on. And Paul speaks of the gospel going everywhere, bearing fruit in the lives of people wherever it goes. And he’s praying now that that would happen in the lives of the people at Colossae. So he’s praying for what has happened in the history of gospel advance so far. Lord, may this happen in the lives of these people who have embraced Christ in Colossae.

Number two, growing in the knowledge of God or increasing in the knowledge of God. So along with being and doing what is pleasing to God, he’s praying that they would grow in acquaintance with God. And I take that to mean—I don’t want to render this to be something too mystical—but understanding who he is, what he is, what he requires, how to live under him, how to live for him, and a growing acquaintance with him personally. Now, these first two, bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, are closely connected with the little word “and.” So somehow there’d be—Paul takes them together. So bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. And I think there’s some connection with that. And that is, it is in serving God, it is in living for God that our knowledge of God will increase. I want you to live for God, bear fruit of the transforming effects of the gospel, and in the meanwhile, grow in acquaintance with God. So the net of it is, so far, he’s praying that they would have a worthy walk that pleases God by evidencing it in their everyday life, the reality of gospel transformation.

Okay, number three: realizing strength from God for perseverance. Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all strength, for all endurance and patience. So he’s praying now third that this worthy walk would be characterized by a continual realization of strength and power from God. Why? Because this worthy walk requires work. It requires effort. It requires energy on our part. And the fact is we’re likely to get tired and we’re likely to say, “I don’t know if I can do this” or “I don’t want to do this.” And so Paul is praying that God would energize his people as he’s promised to do by his Spirit so that they will continue this worthy walk that he’s praying for.

Now this fits so well with so many of Paul’s commands that we’ve seen over the years here in his epistles, that he has this regular reminder that his commands, the imperatives in the New Testament, are backed up by—well the big word is the indicatives—the statements of what you ought to do is backed up by what is. So if he commands you to do this or to be like this, he also reminds you that God is at work in you to do that. And so our responsibility is grounded in God’s work. Let me give you an example of that. Look at Philippians. Someone read for us Philippians 2 verses 12 and 13.

That, I think, might be the clearest statement of this point that we’re making in the New Testament. Verse 12, work out your salvation. Not work it in, not work for it. God does all that. Work it out. That is, show the effects of the gospel at work in your life. Work it out. Serve God. Obey God. Work out your salvation. Show it. Why? And notice the connector: “for” or “because.” Explanatory conjunction in verse 13. Work out your salvation. Why? Because God is at work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now, if you’re a hyper-Calvinist, you might say, “Well, if God wants it to happen, it’ll happen.” But what Paul reasons is: your responsibility is grounded in the fact that God is at work for you to do that. And in fact, that should be an encouragement to further work, that God will enable me to serve him. So work out your salvation because God is at work in you to do it.

Well, that’s what Paul is saying here in Colossians 1:11. Being strengthened. Notice the extent of power for which he prays. Being strengthened with all power. His complete power. All-sufficient power. According to his glorious might. What is God’s glorious might? We call it omnipotence, right? So Paul is saying that, praying that God’s omnipotence would be the resource for these people who are striving to serve him. And the purpose for it all, the goal of this power: for all endurance and patience, perseverance, continuance in the worthy walk—as I say, because it requires effort and we get tired. So he’s praying for endurance, but not just for endurance; he’s praying for God to give power for that endurance so that we will continue faithfully in serving him. So he’s praying for God’s enablement for this worthy walk. All right, any questions on these first three? Then we’ll get to the last. Okay, nothing. All right.

The fourth one then, finally, the fourth characteristic of this worthy walk, verse 12: giving thanks. Now actually I think, and the NIV does pick up on this, that the last prepositional phrase at the end of verse 11 in our version ought to go with this last participle with giving thanks. So it’s with joy, giving thanks. That seems to be the structure Paul has given to the other participles as well: in every good work bearing fruit, with all power being strengthened, and now with joy giving thanks to the Father. Or as the NIV puts it, giving joyful thanks to the Father. I think they have it right. So with joy, giving joyful thanks to the Father. For what? And this is fascinating: because he has qualified us to have the inheritance that all the saints receive.

Now let’s pick that apart. The inheritance of the saints. Now that language of inheritance, that’s reminiscent of Joshua going into the land and taking it. Here he’s saying all of that was prospective; it’s realized in Christ. And he’s saying that God has qualified us, made us worthy to have that inheritance. Ultimately, this is not only what we have in Christ today, but ultimately, it’s the inheritance that we will share with Christ in the end. Romans 8 talks about that. Since we are joined to Christ, we are sons. If we’re sons, we’re heirs. No, let’s take that deeper: we’re co-heirs with Christ. Whatever he inherits, we inherit. That’s what Paul is saying here. He’s qualified us to have this inheritance in light. Not in darkness—in light, this new domain of existence that we have. We’ve been taken out of the kingdom of darkness, brought into the kingdom of light. And he says that God has qualified us now to have that inheritance.

That’s just a fascinating, astonishing thing. He has qualified us, made us worthy of the inheritance. Our unworthiness, our lack of qualifications is precisely the problem, right? But here he says God has made us worthy, made us worthy to have this inheritance. We were characterized by darkness, but now we’re qualified to have the inheritance in light. Well, let’s take it further. Verse 13, how did he qualify us for all of this? He qualified us by means of this great rescue operation. Verse 13, he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Now in the New Testament, the world is often viewed—never to deny God’s sovereign rule over everything—but the world is viewed as the domain of Satan. He’s the god of this world. John’s language: the world lies in his lap. When Satan tried to make a deal with Jesus in the temptation, he said, “All these kingdoms of the world, I’ll give you.” It’s not an idle boast. They’re his. Yes, under the sovereign direction of God, but Satan runs things. And the New Testament views that in some graphic sometimes ways. This is what explains human inability: the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. Ephesians chapter two: the whole world outside of Christ walks in lockstep with Satan who dictates the course of this world. Satan in charge—this is his world. But what he’s saying here is that we’ve been delivered out of that. We’ve been transferred; there’s been a transference of citizenship. We no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness under Satan’s rule. We belong to the kingdom of light under the rule of Christ.

Well, how did he do that? Verse 14, in whom, that is in Christ, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Redemption, that’s the ransoming work of Christ. Christ paying the ransom price that bought us out of our slavery and into freedom. The metaphor is used with reference to indebtedness. It’s used in reference to slavery. It’s used in terms of POWs that were taken and being ransomed out and brought back home. Christ’s death is viewed as the ransom price that purchased our freedom out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of his dear Son. And notice here he equates redemption and forgiveness. The two terms are not entirely synonymous, but they do overlap. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. What’s the logic of the relation of those two? If redemption is the ransoming price being paid, then we are forgiven not by divine fiat, not by God just saying, “Okay, never mind, don’t pay it.” We’re forgiven because the price has been paid in our place by our ransomer, our redeemer. So we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins, because the debt that we owed has been paid in our place by Christ.

So Paul prays then that we’ll be characterized by joyful gratitude for our rescue in Christ. Now, why is thanksgiving essential to a worthy walk? He’s describing what a worthy walk would look like, a life that reflects our profession. And that is, as we’ve seen here, filled with the knowledge of His will in all part, that is to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened, and now giving thanks. I think that’s right. Some people have diminished a bit the incentive of gratitude in serving Christ, but I think that’s implicit here. So there’s a recognition that what we have, we have received as a gift. And that recognition ought to serve as incentive in living for Christ. By the way, that note of thanksgiving is also important here in Colossae because it emphasizes the notion of salvation by grace, and that’s going to be needed when he confronts the false teaching a little later on.

Okay, so verse 9 and 10, he prays that we would have an understanding of God’s will so that we can live for him. Then he gives the characteristics: bearing fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with power, and with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has saved us by the redeeming work of Christ. All right, before we get to the lessons on prayer itself, any questions about the passage?

Learning From Paul How To Pray

All right, anything come to mind—and I won’t flatter myself thinking that you spent all week slaving over the question. Anything here teaches us how can we pray better ourselves? Here’s how Paul prayed for Colossae. What lessons can we pull from this how we might pray and pray more effectively? Ian. Yeah, that’s just first and foremost, I think. Yes. Excellent. Excellent. That’s right. All right. Both of you have hit where I’m going too. Good. Anybody else? All right. I’ll give you my four points, five points.

Number one: Pray with gospel-informed thanksgiving. Pray with gospel-informed thanksgiving. That is, pray with a joyful appreciation of what God has done for us in Christ. That ought to mark our prayers continually. Don’t just jump into “give me this, do that.” Our prayers ought to be marked by gospel-informed thanksgiving. It ought to be on the tips of our tongues every time we pray. Give praise to God for what he has done for us in Christ.

Number two: This is what was already suggested. Pray with gospel-related concerns. Pray with gospel-related concerns. Notice what Paul prays for. He’s praying that the gospel will have transforming effects in the lives of his people so that they will live for him in these different kinds of ways. Pray with gospel-related concerns.

And that brings us to the next one, which is closely related to it. Number three: Pray in keeping with God’s provisions. “For this reason I do it, because God has done all of this, I’m praying for it.” You see what he’s doing? He’s praying for what God has already been doing in the lives of the Colossians. He asks God for the very things that he thanks God for. On the one hand, verses three to five, he thanks God for what he has done in transforming these people through the gospel. And now, verses nine and following, he’s praying that God would transform these people through the gospel. So he’s praying in keeping with God’s provision. He thanks God for what he has done, and now he asks for more of the same. He hears the good news from Epaphras of the progress of the people in Colossae and how they’ve grown in grace, and Paul takes that and asks for more.

Now, one lesson with that, it’s kind of a sub-point here, and that is we could learn to pray proactively, not just reactively. I have no doubt that when Paul heard of problems arising and obstacles that had been brought, he prays then too. But here he’s praying proactively, not in response to a crisis, but that God would continue to do what he has been doing. He’s not complacent with what God has done so far. He prays that God would continue that transforming work in his people.

Number four, and this is in keeping with what Travis pointed out, but it takes it a little bit further. Number four: Pray beyond your own little circle of friends. Pray beyond your own little circle of friends. Remember, Paul had not been to Colossae yet. They didn’t know him, they’d not seen him, and yet Paul prays for them. Now, it’s certainly good to pray for your own friends, and I’m not discouraging that at all. But think bigger. Think in terms of the work of the gospel elsewhere. Last Sunday evening, April mentioned her missionary friends. That should be in our prayers. Everywhere we know the gospel is, that should be on our prayer list as well. Now we can’t do that exhaustively, but yet we can pray beyond our own little circle of friends. I think too often we confuse our corner of the kingdom with the kingdom. And we need to be aware that God is at work big time around the globe and we should pray accordingly.

And then number five: Pray unceasingly. Verse nine, “from the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray.” There are some things that we should never stop praying for. And that is in keeping with what Paul has prayed here. And many of these blessings are the kinds of things we need continuously throughout Christian experience. And Paul says, and keep praying for it always.

Now, none of this is to say—I’ll say this up front—none of this is to say you can’t pray for that you’ll get a raise from work, or that God will keep you healthy, or God will give healing to a friend or a loved one. None of this is to say you can’t pray that way. I think we’re very welcome to pray in those ways. But notice the emphasis that we see in Paul. He prays with gospel concerns first and foremost. And I think that, in particular, would transform our prayer lives quite a bit.

All right, any questions? Comments? All right. We actually finished early. I could have had more discussion on God’s will. All right, let’s be dismissed in prayer. Pastor Greg, would you pray for us, please?