Colossians 1:9-14, Part 5

However, although Christians have been sanctified by faith, enlightened to grasp the truth, and have tasted the powers of the coming age (Hebrews 6:4), they are far from perfected. There is still much room for learning, correction, and development. Nevertheless, as our focus turns from the contrast between Christians and non-Christians to the matter of the Christian's spiritual growth, the issue is no longer one of conversion, or the extreme difference between light and darkness. Despite his shortcomings and imperfections, the Christian has been rescued from the dominion of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. So we are considering his development as a child of light, as one who can recognize and affirm the truth, and as one who can put off the old man and put on the new man, who can now love and obey God's commandments. A person who has been converted to Christianity is not different than before only in degree, but he is now in another spiritual, intellectual, and ethical realm altogether. He is now a child of the light, a son of the King of Heaven.

Paul's letters and prayers demonstrate that his priority is for Christians to increase in knowledge. Although it leads to other things that he also values, spiritual knowledge – or theology, which is just a formal term for the same thing – comes first with the apostle (1:28-29). Here he writes, "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" (1:9). Or, as he writes to the Ephesians, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (Ephesians 1:17). And to the Philippians he says, "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:9-10).

Wisdom, knowledge, insight, and the like, are necessary and foundational to spiritual development. Without them, it is impossible to grasp "his will," to "know him better," to "discern what is best," and to "be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." Therefore, it is self-contradictory to claim, "I may not know much about the Bible, but I know God," or even, "I may not know much theology, but I know a lot about God."

This biblical emphasis on wisdom and knowledge does not limit spiritual development to only a small number of Christians. Now, there are indeed those who practice a form of elitism – they would rule a person's theology or ministry illegitimate because he has not earned a certain degree from a certain seminary, or because he does not interact with a certain theologian, or because he does not write for a scholarly audience. These are people who would criticize a book not because it lacks truth or zeal, but because it does not cite the important scholars in its footnotes. In any case, elitists are usually not the spiritual elite at all, but they are incompetent cowards and hypocrites. And this is why they would not criticize the same point in another writer if he is famous or idolized enough so that their jealousy and cynicism would only backfire against them.

These elitists are the spiritual descendents of the Pharisees, and they are very widespread. They are fond of asking, "By what authority are you doing these things?" (Matthew 21:23), when in fact their own authority comes from one another. As with the Pharisees, their appeal is made not to Christ but to human idols and traditions. They would condemn someone for following the biblical practice of name-calling, but they do not hesitate to practice the idolatry of constant name-dropping. Their wisdom is not pure and spiritual, but demonic. By sheer clout rather than reason, they attempt to intimidate Christians into submission. They are not to be feared, but resisted, mocked, and despised.

Scripture does not condone elitism. It does not exclude anyone because of worldly standards or human traditions. Spiritual wisdom is available to every Christian who asks God for it. Here Paul prays for all the believers at Colosse, that all of them would receive "spiritual wisdom and understanding." James writes, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5), although he says this requires faith and patience. At any rate, this wisdom leads to humility and good deeds (James 3:13), whereas the demonic wisdom of the unbelievers and the elitists exhibits envy and selfish ambition (James 3:14), and often a lust for power, control, and admiration.

The good news is that the spiritual wisdom that is necessary to develop as a believer, and to grow in faith, love, and hope, is available to every Christian through the means God has provided, such as prayer and study. But this also removes any excuse from the believer for spiritual and theological ignorance. A lack of formal education is no excuse, since spiritual wisdom comes from God and not from man.

God's promise in Scripture, that he will pour out his wisdom upon those who ask, is more than sufficient to overcome any hindrance that seems to be present due to the lack of academic training. To deny this is also to deny the power and the promise of God. On the other hand, there are those who take pride in going without a formal education, and at the same time make no effort to pursue wisdom and knowledge through prayer and study. This is not spirituality, but self-righteous delusion. The point is, whether or not one has received a formal education or any training facilitated by man, true wisdom comes from God, through his appointed means, and it leads not to elitism, but humility and service with great boldness.

Then, Paul continues, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work" (1:10). The Bible teaches a strong connection between true wisdom and holy conduct. For example, the verses that we cited from Paul's letter to the Philippians say that we are to abound "in knowledge and depth of insight" so that we may be "pure and blameless." Our passage speaks of being filled with "the knowledge of his will." God's "will" in such a context denotes his precepts and not his decrees, that is, the morality that he has defined, and not the reality that he has determined. A strong and growing believer, therefore, is one who is learning and obeying God's will, or the teachings and precepts of the Bible.