Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

2. Furthermore, Paul gave Epaphras the honored title of bond-servant (doulos - bond-slave) which was a reference for servants of God and leaders (servants) in ministry.

a. Moses - Psa 105:26

b. David - Psa 78:70

c. Apostles (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Jam 1:1; 2Pe 1:1)

d. Christ himself (Isa 49:3 cf. Mk 10:45; Php 2:7)

B. Faithful Servant

1. As to his character, Epaphras was a faithful servant of Christ.

2. “Faithful” comes from the Greek word pistos and besides faith, it can mean faithful, sure, reliable, and trustworthy.

a. It was used of God’s character (1Th 5:24; 2Ti 2:13; Heb 10:23; 1Jo 1:9).

b. It was used in reference to Christ (Heb 2:17; Rev 19:11).

c. It was used with trustworthy statements (1Ti 1:15; 2Ti 2:11).

d. It described Moses’ character (Heb 3:5).

e. It was used by Paul to describe the faithful service of servants (Eph 6:21; Col 4:7).

3. Being a servant of Christ on our behalf means that he was associated with Paul’s ministry and was Paul’s representative in Colossae.

4. Epaphras was faithful. He faithfully preached the gospel to the Colossians (Col 1:7), faithfully taught them, faithfully prayed for them (Col 4:12), and faithfully stood with Paul in persecution (Phm 23).

5. In God’s sovereignty, He ordained that the gospel of grace must be a gospel preached, of which Epaphras is an example (Rom 10:13-15).

V. THE GOSPEL PRODUCES LOVE IN THE SPIRIT (Col 1:8)

A. Love in the Spirit

1. It was Epaphras who reported to Paul the salvation and growth of the Colossians. He reported their love in the Spirit, which was an evidence of their salvation.

2. “Spirit” (pneuma) can refer to the human spirit or the Holy Spirit. Here the phrase “love in the Spirit” most likely refers to true believers who have the Holy Spirit, which He is producing the fruit of love in and through them (Rom 5:5).

VI. BELIEVER’S KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WILL (Col 1:9)

A. Context

1. The context of Colossians thus far is: Personal Salutation (Col 1:1-2), Prayer of Thanksgiving (Col 1:3-8), and our current section, Prayer for Spiritual Maturity (Col 1:9-14).

2. Because they have the hope of heaven and genuine faith that results in the fruit of love they are genuine believers. For [that] reason, Paul prays for them and prays for their maturity.

B. Ceaseless Prayer

1. Paul and those with him, realized that ministry was not dependent so much on their efforts as it was upon God. Therefore, their ministry had an emphasis on prayer.

2. It began when they heard of the Colossian’s faith and continued unceasingly for them.

C. Content of Prayer

1. Even though Paul prays unceasingly for all the churches, the most impressive aspect is the content of his prayer.

2. In this prayer, he will pray concerning the believer’s knowledge of God's will (9), worthy walk (10), strength in the Lord (11), qualification to share in the inheritance (12), transferal into the kingdom (13), and redemption in Christ (14).

D. Comprehension of God’s Will

1. First Paul prayed that the Colossians would be “filled” (pleroō) with the knowledge God’s will. This gives us some idea of Paul’s concept of how to know God’s will. It does not come mystically but through being saturated with the Word of God (cf. Col 3:16).

2. God’s will does not come by esoteric divine revelation but through knowledge. This “knowledge” is our Greek catchword epiginōsis. It means true or full knowledge and in is direct contrast to the Gnostics’ gnōsis.

3. The knowledge that a believer is to have is the knowledge of His (God’s) will. There are two main aspects of God’s will, they are His Decretive (Decree) Will and His Preceptive (Precepts) Will.

a. God’s Decretive Will is that which God has purposed or decreed to come to pass. It is sometimes called God’s sovereign or hidden will.

b. God’s Preceptive Will is that which God has been revealed and laid down as the rule of life. It is sometimes called God’s revealed will.

c. Deu 29:29 mentions both of these, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”

d. God’s Decretive Will is always accomplished (Eph 1:11) while God’s Preceptive Will is sometimes disobeyed.

e. The latter, especially involves what some call God’s Permissive Will. However, it does not mean that God willingly gives permission for man to sin. Rather, man is responsible before God even though God at times permits man’s free will. Nevertheless, if God has permitted something, including evil, it will always accomplish God’s ultimate purposes (Pro 16:4; Rom 8:28-29).

4. The believer does not know the hidden will of God, but he can know and is responsible to know the revealed will of God.

5. Paul was praying that the Colossian’s be filled with the knowledge of God’s Preceptive Will (i.e. God’s will revealed in His Word) so that they would walk in Christ (Col 1:10).

6. The believer is also to know God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This wisdom is not mystical, but “spiritual” (pneuatikos - pertaining to the spiritual things, things of the Lord).

7. “Wisdom” (sophia) does not refer to “street smarts” but refers to formulating the principles from the Scriptures in order to put them into practice in the aspects of beliefs, morality, ethics, conduct, and practice.

8. “Understanding” (sunesis - to put it all together) would refer to the practical discernment of how the principles in Scripture apply to a believer’s particular circumstance (cf. Pro 2:1-6).

9. So, the will of God is what God reveals in His Word for the believer to believe (credenda) and to do (agenda). God’s will is that the believer knows and obeys both.

10. If a believer is ignorant of the Word, or unable to rightly divide it, or is unable to apply principles of the Word in practical matters, then he will not be able to know God’s will.

11. In light of the mystical Gnosticism of Paul's day and the mystical Christianity of our day, we need to understand the "will of God."

12. God's will is not mystical (Eph 5:17), it is biblical principles in the mind (Rom 12:1-2), its goal is sanctification (1Th 4:3), it involves thanksgiving (1Th 5:18) but also suffering (1Pe 4:19), and it includes delighting in Christ (Psa 37:4).

VII. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. It is God’s will to know His Preceptive will (Col 1:9).

B. It is God’s will to know that His will is biblical (Rom 12:1-2) and not mystical (Eph 5:17).

C. It is God’s will to obey His revealed will. (Jam 1:22)

D. It is God’s will to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Pro 2:1-6)

E. It is God’s will to share the gospel (1Th 1:8; Mat 28:19-20)

F. It is God’s will to come to church (Heb 10:24-25).

G. It is God’s will to walk worthy (Col 2:6)

H. It is God’s will to please Him in all respects (Col 1:10)

I. It is God’s will to be sanctified and live holy and pure (1Th 4:3).

J. It is God’s will to suffer with Christ (1Pe 4:19).

K. It is God’s will to give thanks in every circumstance (1Th 5:18).

L. It is God’s will to delight in Christ (Psa 37:4; Joh 7:17).

M. God’s will has been revealed to mankind in His Word, and a thorough knowledge of it may be obtained through a careful and constant study of the Word as illuminated to the mind by the Holy Spirit. (Homer Kent).

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516