All Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:9-14 ESV).

Sadly, so many people in America professing faith in Jesus Christ seem to have little to no concept of what the Scriptures teach regarding what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. So many are lacking in true biblical understanding of the Christian faith and practice, for so many of them are listening to and relying upon other humans who are telling them what it means to be a Christian. And far too many of those giving out the “gospel” message are teaching lies (half-truths, distortions of truth) and not the truth of what the Scriptures literally teach, in full context.

So, we need to pray for those professing the name of Jesus that they will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in ALL spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, etc. For God does have requirements for us to follow if we are going to be his true disciples. And we cannot “believe” in Jesus and not be a disciple of Christ. For if we do not follow him in obedience, we have no part in him.

So, what does it mean to walk (in conduct, in practice) worthy (suitable, fitting) of the Lord? It means to live our lives in a manner that is consistent with and in line with the character and the divine will and purpose of God for our lives, as is expressed for us in the Scriptures. And Jesus said that if we want to come after him, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if sin is what we practice, and if obedience to our Lord and righteous living are not our practice, we will not have eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; 1 John 3:4-10; Galatians 5:16-21).

And we are to live our lives fully pleasing to the Lord. Yet so many preachers today are teaching that we don’t have to do anything at all to please the Lord, for they say he is already pleased with us. And they say that we don’t have to forsake our sins, and we don’t have to follow our Lord in obedience, and that no works at all are required of us. But that is the teaching of man, not of God, for the Scriptures teach the exact opposite of that. We do have to live in a way that is pleasing to God in obedience to his commands, in holy living, worthy of God, bearing fruit in every GOOD WORK. 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:9; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6; Gal 6:8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 5:10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 1 Thes 2:4; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:4,21; Tit 2:11-14; Tit 3:8; Heb 11:6; Heb 13:6; Jas 2:17; 1 Jn 3:22] 

So many people quote Ephesians 2:8-9 absent of verse 10 which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” And then it says this in Titus 2:14, that Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS. So, yes, we are not saved by our own works of our flesh, but we are saved to do the good works of God.

But we don’t do any of this in our own flesh or in our own strength or in our own wisdom. This all comes from God, and it is empowered by God when we surrender our lives to him, when we submit to Christ as Lord, and when we follow him in obedience to his commands. And this has nothing to do with trying to earn or to deserve our own salvation. This is our heart and obedient response to God’s salvation already provided for us, by his grace. And it is him working his will in our lives as we cooperate with him.

For Jesus Christ didn’t die that horrible death on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven instead of to hell, even though many are teaching our salvation in that manner. He died to deliver us out of our lives of slavery (addiction, bondage) to sin (to redeem us) so that we will now serve him with our lives in living holy lives, pleasing to him. For Jesus died to deliver us from the domain (control, power) of darkness (sin, evil, Satan) and to transfer us to the kingdom of God.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

Full Release  

An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior 

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus; 

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence, 

oh, what peace.

From my self-life 

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort, 

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully, 

oh, what love

That He gives me 

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above. 

Loving Father; precious Jesus, 

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit, 

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior 

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered 

So that we might be alive. 

https://vimeo.com/115169203