- Is affectionately recognised as a faithful minister of Christ (ver. 7).
- Attributes his success to the work of the Spirit (ver. 8).
- Regards the exercise of love in his hearers as a prominent feature of success (ver. 8).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 9–11.
A Comprehensive Apostolic Prayer.
I. It was a prayer expressive of deep spiritual interest.—1. It was suggested by the report of their active Christian virtues. “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray” (ver. 9). They had believed in Christ, they had shown a genuine love to the brethren, they hoped for the glory of the future, they brought forth the fruits of the Spirit. All this excites the grateful heart of the apostle to pray that they may enjoy yet higher spiritual blessings, may increase in knowledge and wisdom, and rise to the highest standard of moral perfection. We best show our love to others by praying for them. Prayer is always needed, since the most excellent Christian graces are imperfect, liable to decay, and may be abused.
2. It was constant and fervent.—“Do not cease to pray for you and to desire” (ver. 9). The apostle had unbounded faith in the efficacy of prayer. Many in these days limit the advantage of prayer to its reflex influence on the individual who prays—expanding the thoughts, spiritualising the mind, and sanctifying the heart; and maintain that it is powerless to affect God, whose purposes must advance by the irresistible operation of unchanging law, irrespective of human supplication. Above this partial philosophy of the modern scientist we have the authority and practice of an inspired apostle. If God did not hear and answer prayer—answer it, not in violation of, but in harmony with, the highest law—then the frequent intercessions of the apostle are reduced to a solemn mockery, are unjustifiable and inexplicable. The apostle prayed with the utmost assiduity—night and day, as opportunity permitted—and with the utmost ardency, desiring that the blessings sought might be liberally and at once bestowed. As Augustine puts it, our desires being prayers, these are continual when our desires are continual.
II. It was a prayer for amplest knowledge.—1. The main subject of the knowledge desired. “The knowledge of His will” (ver. 9). Man thirsts for knowledge. He is eager to become acquainted with himself and the wonders around him. In his unwearied search after knowledge he has conquered colossal difficulties; has penetrated the starry spaces with the telescope; revealed the smallest visual atom with the microscope; and, with the deep-sea dredge, has made us familiar with the long-hidden treasures of the ocean. But the highest knowledge is the knowledge of God—not simply of His nature, majesty, perfections, works, but the knowledge of His will. So far as we are concerned, that will comprehends all that God wishes us to be, believe, and do. We must know His will in order to salvation, and as the supreme rule and guide of every action. Man may be ignorant of many things; but he cannot be ignorant of God’s will and be saved. The knowledge of that will is the first great urgent duty of life.
2. The measure in which the knowledge may be possessed.—“Filled with knowledge.” The word “knowledge” is full and emphatic, indicating a living, comprehensive, complete knowledge of the Divine will. They already possessed some knowledge of that will; and the apostle prays that it may be deeper, clearer, and increasingly potent within them, that they may be filled. The soul is not only to possess this knowledge, but it is to possess the soul—informing, animating, and impelling it onwards to higher attainments in the things of God. Knowledge is a power for good only as it acquaints with the Divine will, and as it pervades and actuates the whole spiritual being. We may seek great things from God. He gives largely, according to His infinite bounty. There is no limit to our increase in Divine knowledge but our own capacity, diligence, and faith.
3. The practical form in which the knowledge should be exercised.—“In all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (ver. 9). The word “spiritual” applies to both wisdom and understanding. The false teachers offered a wisdom which they highly extolled, but it had only a show of wisdom; it was an empty counterfeit, calling itself philosophy; the offspring of vanity, nurtured by the flesh; it was unspiritual. The true Gospel is spiritual in its origin, characteristics, and effects. The wisdom and understanding it imparts are the work of the Holy Spirit. Without His presence and operation in the soul both the knowledge of the Divine will and advancement in it would be impossible. The two terms are similar in meaning, but there is a distinction. Wisdom refers to the God-given organ by which truth is selected and stored up; understanding to the faculty by which truth is practically and prudently used; the one is comprehensive and accumulative, the other discriminative and practical. True spiritual insight is the work of the Holy Spirit. No amount of mental or moral culture, of human wisdom and sagacity, can supply it. This was the power lacked by the Galatians when they were so soon seduced from the Gospel; and to prevent a similar result among the Colossians the apostle prays they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that they may discern between the false and the true, the carnal and spiritual, the human and the Divine.
III. It was a prayer for the loftiest Christian career.—1. The standard of Christian conduct. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord” (ver. 10). Life is a journey; death is the common goal and resting-place where all meet. Our conduct is the pathway on which we travel. The walk therefore describes the general course of life, the actions, habits, and deportment of the man in his relations to God and to the race. This walk is to “be worthy of the Lord”—worthy of His holy and dignified character; worthy of His law, of His kingdom, of His glory, of the high destiny He has designed for us. When a certain prince, on being captured, was asked how he should be treated, his prompt reply was, “As a king.” We should ever remember the high vocation wherewith we are called, and the exalted pattern after which our behaviour should be modelled (Eph. iv. 1; 1 Thess. ii. 12). Our life is to be worthy of the Lord—in its spirit, motive, active outgoing, development, scope, and aim. For this purpose, we are filled with the knowledge of His will. The end of knowledge is practice; its value consists in what it enables us to do. He is not an architect who simply theorises about buildings, but he who has the art to erect them. To speak eloquently of war does not constitute a general; he only deserves that distinction who can skilfully manage an army in the field, whether in attacking or defending.
2. The rule by which that standard is maintained.—“Unto all pleasing” (ver. 10). We are to please the Lord in all things; to attempt and sanction nothing that will not be acceptable to Him. We are not to please ourselves—we are not to please others—as the ultimate object of life. If our conduct please others—our parents, our friends, our country—it is well; but though all others are displeased and estranged, we must strive in all things to please God. This is the simplest as well as the highest and grandest rule of life. Attention to this will settle many perplexing questions concerning human duty. The will of God must be studied as our supreme rule, and to it all our throughs, words, and actions must be conformed. Thus, the life on earth becomes a preparation and discipline for heaven and blends the present with a future of immortal blessedness. It is well with us when we obey the Lord (Jer. xlii. 6).