The Pulpit Commentary — Colossians — Section 57

Tiather a_rc our minds _like empty ~ssels that need to be filled. There is our capacity of kno,nng, o,·er agin_nst the_ Vl\.Stness of the knowable. 'l'his filling proce~s begine ~oon, nnd the prayer 1s that 1t may go on toward fulness. (b) It is a ,·equest for the tr°!'re~ive_ 1.-no_wledge of ~od's will. "OC his ·will." 'l'his is very wide as it stande. H 1s by his will that thmgs hllve been made as they are made. And, therefore, this !nay be t.nken ~ a prayer for the nd_vn.nce_ of_ sci?nco. It is not by his will that he 1s, or that be 1s love, or that there 1s 11, d1stmct1on between ri<>ht nnd wron"'. Dut it is his will thnt we should justly conceive of him, and that we should net in a bmnnner consi~tent ,vith his holy character. It is by his will that Christ became our Substituto and died for our sakation. And it is his will that we should believe on Christ and as we shall presently see, take after him in our characters. (c) It is a reg_uest for 'the 7,rogressive J."Mwl.edge of God's will within the spiritwil sphere. "In nil spiritual wisd~m. and ~n_dersta~ding." In Eph~ans "wisdom" is _c:mjoined with "prudence;" here 1t 1s conJomcd with "understandmg." We arc happily in the position of having exact definitions of these three words. Aristotle, in his • Nicomacbean Ethics,' treats of them at length. A.11 are characterized as intellectual virtues. "Wisdom" is conversant "·itb nniversals, or things eternal and immutable. "Prudence" and" understanding" are conver&nt with particulars, or dc:tails, or applications of principles or tbin"'s about which deliberation is needed. Prudence is :practi,caJ, (bas to do with lines of action, what is to be done or not to be done). Understanding is critical (has to do with processes of t,hought, how things are to be viewed or not to be viewed). 'l'his account of the three .vords is quit.e in accordance with Pauline usage. "Wisdom" has evidently with Paul to do with the everlasting verities-the character of God, the principles of his govern- ment, the mystery of redemption. And "understanding" has to do with subjects of thought which admit of doubt and which have to be presented in their relations to the great entities. .And his wisdom and understanding are of the spiritual kind, such as unspiritual men are stranger.. to. There must be a penetrating with the Spirit if we would rightly apprehend et.emal principles and understand their application to subjects that come up for consideration. .And it is this that is asked for the Colossians as necessary for the filling with the knowledge (the clenr, certain, experimental know- ledge) of God's will (2) For the Ohristian form of character. This is emphatically here the will of God., the knowledge of which is asked. (a) Generally. It is a request jar a worthy Ohristian walk. "To walk worthily of the Lord." Christ is Lord; we are his servants. And we are like those servants whose cars were bored, as bound to serve this Master for ever. He is no common Master; for (in connection with his doing of God's will) it is said that his ears were bored. Oonduct worthy of him, then, how shall we get the conception of it, and, when we have got the conception, put it into execution? "Unto all pleasing." It is implied in this language that be is unin- terruptedly observant of our conduct, and that he forms an estimate of it as we proceed-an estimate which must be according to truth. It is implied also that, if we wonld bring our conduct up to what is worthy of Christ-, we must seek his universal approval, we must seek to please him in every moment that we live, in every step that we take. (b) Under a spe,ewl, aspect. (a) It is a request for progressive fruitful- ness following "¥111- progressive knowl,ed,ge. "Bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." It it better to read, "by the knowledge of God." The advantage of this translation (which is grammatically correct) is that "knowledge" is used a.s before, viz. as that which leads to good conduct as its fruit-. There is a taking up here of language which has already been employed. It was said that the ~ospel-tree was bearing fruit and increasing in Colossre as in all the world. Now, Uhristians are trees, whose fruit is every good work. A. work is good which has Chris- tian principle in it. If for the sake of Christ we are industrious, eager to learn, con- tented, slow to anger, humble, ready to give up what is hurtful,-then we arc fruitful in good worb. Especially are we fruitful in good works if, after the example and for the sake of Christ, we live for the good of others, try to make all around us happy, are kind to the poor, pity the sinful. If a tree is in a healthy stal(,, it not only bears fruit, but increases (in wood) so that it bears more fruit another year. So, if we are in :, healthy spiritual state, we shall not only bear fruit, but as we go on in life we shall increase (in quality of being, in aptitude) so that we ever bring forth more fruit, This 1,ro;,,,,-essive fruitfulness is brought about by tlte knowledge of God, which has already CU, I, 1-29.] THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 51