My thoughts about the Book of Collosians ( LET OTHERS LEARNED FROM YOU)

  

^{EXPOSITION OF COLOSSIANS 1:7-9}

^{By: Bishop Albert Gran}

^{This is a continuation message of yesterday’s exposition in the 1st chapter of Colossians}

⁷ As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

Paul had set Epaphras a true ministerial pattern when he worked with the Colossians. He primarily set his life for the work of the ministry so that he could be learned by them. One thing they thought him about was his being a faithful minister of Christ. How interesting to consider you can be a faithful minister of Christ when believers learned from you about Christ. This is all believed that everything is in effect of the gospel. In this scenario wherein Paul is writing the epistle, Epaphras was with him and that Paul knew his affairs and the believers' spiritual establishment through him (Epaphras).   

    

⁸ Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

When Epaphras was with Paul he declared to Paul and Timothy about the Colossians love in the Spirit. It’s interesting to discuss “love in the Spirit” as many spiritualized and had sort of gimmicks in loving the Spirit. Many thought to love the Spirit connotes deep emotional and passionate feeling which characterized physical manners and action. Many thought it leads to speak tongues or utter words hard to understand. 

As the bottom line where Paul made sense the importance of the gospel which results fruit corresponding action in their respective service for Christ and through the commitments of God’s faithful minister Epaphras, Timothy and Paul, the Colossians' love in the Spirit can be made sense for their wholehearted acceptance of the truth of the gospel which they heard about by which it’s something made significant for them to obtain wisdom and enable them to be established in Christ for maturity.    

To love in the Spirit is to be affectionated by the things in the Spirit which is available in the tool of the Spirit which is the Word of God, and as fully equipped, it will produce fruits of the Spirit which make possible to a kind of sweet smelling service pleasing to God (Eph. 6:17; Eph.5:2,9)

⁹ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

This kind of godly edifying report from Epaphras caused much Paul’s affectionate response so we might know his intents for the saints at Colossae. First thing he did is that he mind them through his prayer.And, his prayer corresponds to an intent, petition or request what believers opted to have for themselves as supposed they have to continuously acted upon. This is not something what he asked God to do for them but something what they must do to have known God’s will in their lives.Let me quote:  

“…. and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding”.

The question is whose desire is to be filled with God’s will, wisdom, and spiritual understanding? Obviously, it’s in US (believers). God gave already knowledge of His will, wisdom, and understanding considering the fact that we had his WORD, THE WRITTEN WORD (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Tim. 2:15). But what man had lacked is the DESIRE TO KNOW HIS WORD AND HIS WILL.

To besought the Lord and ask for His will for HIS WORD without knowing the fact he already provided us His WORD is something ridiculous, senseless, and ignoring His will of giving us His complete WORD.

The written WORD IS ENOUGH for us to understand about the spiritual blessings of God and what condition the Body of believers had in this devastated society with the natural physical tendencies of the current worldly affairs brought by sin, and how we could live godly in it.

Many believers today besought the Lord to do something not in His mind or out of His will like PRAYING WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING (as the fact they supposed to pray IN THE SPIRIT in line with what it says in His word),and SINGING WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING.

More inspiring thoughts next….

Thanks for reading folks!