3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, 10 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; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Comment: Yesterday I wrote a short essay about what the gospel of Jesus is. Paul then having talked about their believing in Jesus talks about the reality of their understanding of what the gospel is! He says, ‘since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth‘. One doesn’t become a Christian because of intellectual assent but let us remember that belief (faith in Jesus) isn’t a blind leap into the unknown. Christian belief is built on an historical factual series of events! At any rate this all causes Paul to pray. Some of the bases of his prayer are well worth noting. 1. Thanks – Here Paul is delighted that Jesus is being known in new places! Do we pray faithfully for people who are being converted. Often new believers come under attack by at least three agents – Satan, society, family. There are thousands of Christians martyred every year! 2. For effective evangelism – for ‘Epaphras ….. faithful minister of Christ‘. It is difficult to have effective evangelism these days. You can think of other things but in Australia there are at least three things which leap into my mind – affluence, media and anti-God education in our schools and Universities! 3. Wisdom – We need to remember that wisdom is highly valued in the scriptures and begins with the fear of the God. Paul prays ‘asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.’ 4. Results – ‘bearing fruit in every good work‘. We aren’t saved by our efforts but our new relationship with God is meant to bring about in us fruit bearing both in our character (becoming more godly) and in our actions in our families and surrounds! 5.Persistence – Belief is life changing and enduring – sometimes age makes for compromise, which is foolishness! Paul prays, ‘being strengthened ….for all endurance and patience with joy’ 6. Praise! – ‘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.‘ Praise God.
Proverbs 1: 20-22 – Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
Prayer: O Lord, please help me to be ‘pressing on the upward way’.
As I read it! 