In today’s message, only one verse will be dealt with but, there is such rich information in this verse that I had to do it on its own.
Colossians 1:9 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
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,
In the previous message, we dealt with verses 1-8 and in these verses, the message dealt with the hope that the Colossae had, which they developed after hearing the word of truth, which is the gospel that was preached to them by Epaphras. This hope which is laid for them in heaven, led them to have faith in Jesus and to love all the saints.
In today’s message in verse 9 above, Paul starts the verse with the words “And so,”, meaning that Paul is saying, now that you have this hope, now that you have faith in Jesus and now that you have love for all saints, since he heard that they had all these, Paul has not ceased to pray for them, asking God to fill them with the knowledge of His will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is what Paul has not ceased to ask God for them, since he heard of their faith in Jesus Christ and their love for all saints.
To understand this verse even deeper, to see the richness that is available in this verse, we need to study a little bit more deeper. Bear with me as in the end you will see how rich this verse is and how important Paul’s prayer is.
Let’s start with some word studies found in this verse:
Filled– the Greek word translated here in verse 9 as filled, it is the word “pleroo” from “pleres”, which means to make replete. The dictionary definition of replete is to be filled to satisfaction with food or drink. The word “pleroo” which is the word translated as “filled” also means to cram i.e. To crowd or pack to capacity. Therefore the word “filled” used here in verse 9 means “to be completely filled to capacity”.
Knowledge– the Greek word is “epignosis” from a noun “epignosko” meaning to recognise. The use of the prefix “epi”, signifies that this word has a deeper or a more intense meaning. The normal word for knowdge in Greek is “gnosis”. Therefore this word “epignosis” expresses a more deeper and clearer knowledge.
Wisdom– the Greek word is “sophia” from “sophos” which means wise. The word “sophia” means insight, intelligence, skill. The word can also mean enlightenment or deep knowledge. The word is defined as the insight into the true nature of things.
Understanding– the Greek word is “sunesis” which means to comprehend. It denotes the ability to understand concepts and see the relationships between them.
Let us now rewrite the verse with the new information. The verse will read as follows:
Colossians 1:9 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be completely filled to capacity with the more deeper and clearer knowledge of his will in all spiritual [wisdom] insight into the true nature of God and His principles, that is, His standards and His laws, and [understanding] the ability to understand these principles, how they relate to God and how to apply them.
The bolded words are the original while others are additional after the word study.
As you can clearly see form the reconstructed verse 9 above, the extra meat that has been added by doing the word study of the verse. It is not just any knowledge but a more deeper and clearer knowledge. It is not just wisdom but an insight into the true nature of God and His laws. Not just having insight but also the ability to understand these insights and apply them into one’s life. This is what Paul is praying for and asking God to give the Colossae and this is the same thing that Paul also prayed for, when he was praying for the Ephesians in Eph 1:17.
Ephesians 1:17 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
Infect, Eph 1:15-23 is a parallel passage to Col 1:1-14. This verse Eph 1:17, helps us to confirm that indeed the wisdom and the understanding that is refered to in verse 9, is the wisdom and understanding about God Himslef as I have indicated.
This verse helps us also to understand verse 9 above as not meaning “to be filled with the knowledge of his will that is of spiritual nature, meaning wisdom and understanding of a sprititual nature but rather, “to be filled with the knowledge of his will that is given through the Holy Spirit”. This understanding is supported by The New International Version Translation of the bible or NIV as is well known. Also in 1 Cor 12:8, Paul says that wisdom and knowledge is given by the Holy Spirit and James 1:5 says that if anyone lacks wisdom, they must ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to them.
So the final reconstruction of verse 9 will reads as follows:
Colossians 1:9 (After reconstruction)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be completely filled to capacity with the more deeper and clearer knowledge of his will by receiving from God, all insight into the true nature of God and His principles, that is, His standards and His laws, and also the ability to understand these principles, how they relate to God and how to apply them. All of which are given through the Holy Spirit.
Compare now this verse to the original one:
Colossians 1:9 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
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,
Clearly, a more deeper study of this verse reveals the richness of Paul’s prayer for those in Colossae and for all of us today. Paul wants us to be completely filled to capacity with the more deeper and clearer knowledge of God’s will, by receiving from God, all insight into the true nature of God and His principles, that is, His standards and His laws, and also the ability to understand these principles, how they relate to God and how to apply them in our lives. Paul also tells us that all this is given through the Holy Spirit.
Remember that Paul prayed this prayer after hearing of the faith in Jesus Christ that the Colossians had, and their love for all the saints that they had, both of which were brought about by the hope that they developed after hearing the word of truth, which is the gospel.
This is also my prayer for us today my brothers and sisters, that those of us that have faith in Jesus Christ and have love for all those who belong to God, that through the Holy Spirit, we may be completely filled to capacity with the more deeper and clearer knowledge of God’s will, by receiving from God, all insight into the true nature of God and His principles, that is, His standards and His laws, and also the ability to understand these principles, how they relate to God and how to apply them in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.