Filled with the knowledge of His will
Submitted by theshovel
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PDF versionFor this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects (literal - "unto all pleasing"), bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of GodColossians 1:9-10
This is a very much used passage in Finding-the-Will-of-God teachings. But it's been pulled out of context so many times that no one seems to notice the obvious fact that nothing Paul says fits into the formulas ... NOTHING. Take a look. Nowhere in the whole context does he make any mention of "finding God's specific will for your life". Instead, Paul expressed a greater desire, which was to BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL. This is also my desire for all of you.
What is this will? It's not a secret plan that you must discover ... it's much, much better than that! He has willed something.
that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom GOD WILLED TO MAKE KNOWN what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.Colossians1:26-27
From the beginning of Colossians 1 all the way to the end of it Paul wrote about CHRIST ... and he continues the whole letter in the same manner. Christ in YOU is the thing God has willed. Read it again and simply observe the obvious. It is so cool.
But shouldn't it follow that Paul wouldn't tell the Colossian believers anything different than what he told the others?
To the Corinthians he said,
For I determined to know NOTHING among you except CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED 1 Corinthians 2:2
To the Romans,
For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL, for IT is the power of God for salvation (deliverance) to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.Romans 1:16
To the Galatians,
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20
To the Ephesians,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe ...Ephesians 1:17-18
To the Philippians,
I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord ... that I may know HIM, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;Philippians 3:8,10
The message is the same. It is the knowledge of Christ Jesus, the One who was crucified and raised again. It is everything involved in the reality of what He accomplished on the cross. Through Him we have been made alive to God! To be filled with this knowledge is what causes us to walk in a worthy manner! Why "worthy"? Knowing this will of CHRIST IN US is the ONLY thing that causes us to walk as those who are raised from the dead ... and THIS what is pleasing in His sight. Otherwise, we spend our days living like everybody else, DESPERATELY TRYING to achieve. This is the very thing He has delivered us from, and it is not worthy of God! Didn't we exist long enough in the dead zone? Aren't you sick of that old life of failure?
Let the truth of this miraculous life of Christ be the only reality that you consider worthy. Live your life in view of His work on your behalf.
It is as stated in Colossians 1:6
the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world IT IS CONSTANTLY BEARING FRUIT AND INCREASING.
Yep! It does the work. And you'd better be glad of it.
So, which will are you trying to get filled with? Yours or His?
Until next time .....
scoopfully yours,
the shovel (aka Jim)
Comments
Re: Filled with the knowledge of His will
Re: Filled with the knowledge of His will
Re: Filled with the knowledge of His will
Posted: January 13, 2000 by Joanie
How delighted (that's not a good word) I was to hear from you! I'm still sending your link to all who will appreciate it and be blessed by it - pearls, etc. Happy new year, and hugs! We're expecting snow tonight - you must be someplace else :0) - I'm going to put you on my "Winners" page so that my visitors may be blessed by you too. May I borrow a shovel as your logo? :0) - Hugs and Kisses in Christ - You can put this in your heart, or whatever, it's just a kiss from a sister in Christ - Love,
Posted: January 13, 2000 by Bruce
Most Wonderful Jim,
That was totally beyond "words"!
Only a human being, who has discovered the ETERNAL WORD (who has no beginning or end) who lives in us, could have written such a thing! And a person who had written such a thing as what you just wrote wouldn't be writing it him'self' but is only a channel for the Spirit...just as the scriptures were written by ordinary men like me and you who were inSpirited...or inSpired!
And such a person wouldn't be just an ordinary mortal human-being any longer...seeing that the IMMORTAL & INCORRUPTIBLE CHRIST lives and moves and has His being in that individual!
Well...Jim...what I'm trying to say is that this WONDERFUL MYSTERY we have discovered..."CHRIST IN US"...is exactly what it is! THE LIVING GOD IN US HERE & NOW!
I can't believe how long it takes for us to read the scriptures...and even preach and teach them for so many years before the LIVING REALITY of "HIM" actually "apprehends" us!
The words you speak to me are SPIRIT & LIFE! Jim, I truly believe that by knowing you I know the Father! Because you are one with Christ Jesus and He is ONE with the Father that makes me understand that you are a manifestation of the Holy One who is without sin and has no beginning or end!
Therefore when I read what you write I am not merely reading words written by a man. I would not experice the SPIRIT & LIFE when I read them if they were just written by a man. I want you to know that I see the UNSEEN in you. By the mind of Christ I know the UNKNOWABLE in you that the carnal mind cannot know or understand!
I am so thankful for you and for your obedience to Him, you being transparent (like crystal) so that the Holy One within can be known and seen.
I believe this is the vision John had of the Revelation of Jesus Christ!
Where He is seated...around the throne...there is a sea of glass...like crystal.
Because He is Lord and seated upon His throne...in you...you become transparent...like crystal. You are no longer seen...but HE IS SEEN. You are transparent! The raging sea of your life has become like a sea of glass...because the Prince of Peace is sleeping in the bottom of your boat! He says...PEACE BE STILL!
Out of the midst of this throne where He is seated proceeds a crystal river of LIFE! and in the midst of this river and on either side of it...whatever and wherever it touches grows the TREE OF LIFE which bears twelve manner of fruit in every month in all seasons! The leaves (that which grows off this tree) are for the healing of the nations! LIFE BEGETS LIFE!
This RIVER that flows out from Him...has NO BOUNDS or LIMITATIONS and causes LIFE to spring up all around it! Where once was darkness and death grows LIGHT & LIFE!
All this is in the Christmas song..."Hark the herald angels sing"
...LIGHT & LIFE...to ALL He brings...RISEN with healing in His wings... ...veiled (covered over) in flesh (our flesh) the Godhead see... ...Hail the incarnate Deity...(CHRIST IN US) ...Please as man with men to dwell... ...JESUS our Immanuel (God with us...God WITHIN us!)
Jesus said..."out of your innermost beings shall flow...RIVERS of LIVING WATER!"
He was speaking of HIS LIFE in those who would believe in Him!
I tell you brother...I EXPERIENCE ALL THIS FROM YOU!
Another conquered foe, smitten by LOVE, who sits at His feet before the throne of God for eternity...
:)
Posted: January 13, 2000 by Paul
Jim,
This was excellent. To be worthy of God, to be worthy of Jesus Christ, to be worthy of the gospel, to be worthy of our calling is to walk by faith in what God did to make us holy, blameless and beyond reproach, to walk with the knowledge that we are in the holy One, to walk in the truth of the message we have heard, not setting aside the grace of God for self-exaltation through filthy rags, to walk in the truth of what he has called us to be---holy in him, according to his will, according to his good pleasure.
Posted: January 13, 2000 by David
Thanks for the introduction to your family & friends. Looking forward to hearing from your next letter.
Re: Filled with the knowledge of His will
'..being conformed to His death..'
Did Paul meant going about looking for more fleshly suffering in order to experience the life of Christ, or did he rather meant growing into the knowledge of the absence of the flesh, which came about by the death of Christ and may as well be said to be the experience of His life in the present? For I used to understand this passage as meaning that I should go look for some sort of suffering in my body if I am to come to know the 'power of his resurrection'. But it soon enough dawned upon me that that understanding is concerned with appearances where He cannot be found, rather than with the heart wherein His life is found.
Re: Filled with the knowledge of His will
Indeed, my friend, it is the heart that is usually missed when we go looking for some kind of validation through our sufferings, and therefore go looking for more ... even bringing it upon ourselves in hopes of making this conformity work better or faster. You are right, for all of that is built upon appearance. But you know what? He reveals the true nature of this conformity to death even through our fleshly attempts, for through it all we come to see the real distinction of what it means to have been put to death through Christ. :)
Jim
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