For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:9–14).
In the previous Berean Post devotional, the emphasis was on Colossians 1:9-10 where Paul expressed his prayer for the Colossian church. Paul prayed that they would be filled with knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding, enabling them to live a life that pleases the Lord and produces good works. However, Paul's prayer did not end there. He further prayed that the Colossians would be strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power. The latter part of this passage will be the focus of today's discussion.
Paul goes on to pray that the Colossian church would be
The phrase or concept of being "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power " is not unique to Paul's letter to the Colossians. It is a recurring theme throughout the New Testament.
Jesus said, apart from me, you can do nothing. Paul understood that the process of being transformed into the full nature and the stature of Christ could not be accomplished by human strength, will, or ambition. We need Christ to strengthen us!
We need Christ to strengthen us in every aspect of our relationship with God! According to our natural natures, we do not love God! So, regarding loving God, we need Christ to strengthen us, following his command to love and esteem others better than ourselves - we need Christ to strengthen us! To persevere and consistently pursue the kingdom of God, we need Christ to strengthen us!
The strength that Paul prays for is not physical but spiritual. He desires the Colossians to be strengthened in their inner being, created after God. Jesus spoke about the need to be born again in John 3:5-6: "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." Jesus was referring to a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one. In Ephesians 3:16, Paul prays that the Ephesians would be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in their inner being. 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul writes, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."
Paul also talks about the new spiritual man in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." The new life Paul speaks of is the spiritual life made possible through Christ. Again, in Colossians 3, Paul uses the phrase having put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." The new self that Paul is referring to is the spiritual man that is strengthened through Christ's power.
We are reminded in this passage of the importance of being strengthened by Christ's power in every aspect of our relationship with God. We cannot love God or others, follow His commands, or persevere in pursuing His kingdom without His strength. As Paul prayed for the Colossians to be strengthened with all might, we too can ask for the same. Let us seek to be renewed in our inner being through the power of the Holy Spirit and put on the new self, created after God, through Christ's glorious power.
If these little devotionals have blessed you, we invite you to sign up for the Berean Post and continue receiving them straight to your inbox.
Comments