We’re continuing our look at the book of Colossians. Paul started this letter by commending the faith and love that they’re walking in. Now he talks about who they learned it from.
You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Colossians 1:7-8 NIV
What we need to know about this epistle, is that in all probability, Paul did not establish the Colossian church. While he was in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul won Epaphras to the Lord. With Paul as his mentor, Epaphras established churches in Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colossi – cities in Asia Minor.
At this point, Epaphras is the pastor of the Colossian church. It’s been a while since Paul was in this area and “wolves” were creeping into the churches with false doctrines. These doctrines eventually became known as Gnosticism.
To put it simply, Gnostics taught that everything in the material world is evil. God cannot touch it. But he can touch an angel a little lower than Himself. So, a large number of spiritual beings were created, a little lower than the one before. At the bottom of the spiritual ladder is Jesus.
This was a blatant denial of the Lord’s deity. They also taught that since the body is evil, it will be destroyed, so it doesn’t matter what your body does. You can fulfill all your fleshly desires with no consequences. Clearly this teaching was devastating the church.
Because of this, Epaphras goes to Rome to consult with Paul who then writes this letter. Because he’s dealing with this subject, Paul gives us one of the clearest pictures of Christ in this small letter.
Knowing all of this, helps us to understand Paul’s next statement.
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Colossians 1:9 NIV
The word, Gnostic, comes from the Greek word for knowledge. These heretics felt they had a knowledge that was above all other believers. Paul is letting the church know that there’s a knowledge even higher than what these wolves think they have.
Paul says that he’s praying for them. He’s expecting God to fill them up with the full knowledge of His will. This is a supernatural knowledge that goes beyond the normal human experience.
But, even more than that, God wants to give them all spiritual wisdom and understanding. These are two of the greatest gifts we can receive from God.
Wisdom is the ability to take the knowledge we have and use it to make right decisions. Understanding is the ability to take everything we see and put it together in order to understand the whole scope of what we’re experiencing.
What God has for us in Christ, is more powerful than anything these Gnostics were offering the church. So often, believers are looking for a shortcut to blessings. Unfortunately, these always lead to a dead end.
We need to keep to the path that the Lord has given us in His Word. That’s the true path to a blest and victorious life.
Question: What wisdom and understanding have you received from the Lord recently?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 