Colossians 1:9-10 (AMP)
For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking [specifically] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [with insight into His purposes], and in understanding [of spiritual things], so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];
In this text, the Apostle Paul is in a state of thanksgiving. He is presenting the saints with strong commendation on several levels. He commends the saints for leaning on God with absolute confidence and trust in His power and wisdom. He commends them for how steadfast their faith has made them. He commends them for their unwavering love as they anticipate the Lord’s return. He commends them for holding the line.
The question then becomes, what else could possibly be needed? As a Christian, what else should you be doing when you have been unwaveringly faithful? The following verse should say, “Keep doing what you’re doing.” Instead, Paul explains that there is a necessary next stage of spiritual maturation that comes into play. “We have not stopped praying for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom.”
No matter how long you’ve been saved or how active you are in the ministry, this is where your spirituality is taken next. At some point, you have to graduate from being poured into to practicing what has been poured into you. The church’s role was to pour into you to mature your faith and foster your hope, but once you’re matured, you’re far from done. Expectations have shifted. Now the church’s role is to challenge, encourage, motivate, push, and point to where the power for your living comes next. The pouring into your life will never stop, even though your role changes.
Paul prays that the saints be given all wisdom of the knowledge of God’s will. He prays for both knowledge and wisdom because wisdom is the practical side of knowledge. Knowledge without wisdom is like walking around with power without knowing how to use it. Wisdom gives us the capacity to apply the knowledge of God’s will. With this wisdom comes challenge. God matures you when He gives you knowledge, and then He puts you in the place where you can practice it. He doesn’t want you to get comfortable; He wants you to learn to appreciate the skills He pushes you to develop.
If you’ve ever wondered why God lets adversity get to you, this is why. In certain seasons, He might let bitterness get to you. He might turn serenity to stress and sunshine into storms. Without these difficult times, we have no place to exercise the skillset maturation we need. God doesn’t want you to go to battle if you haven’t learned how to use the weapons first. He wants you to be inspired, but He also wants you to practice the very things He has poured into you by proclamation. When He says He’s given you a gift, He’s going to bring a challenge to the gift so that you can practice and build confidence in the gift He has given you.
God has poured so much into you. He may not pour into you in the same ways at all times, but we need to begin to use the knowledge that He imparts to us to walk in the purpose that He has placed in our lives.
