Colossians 1:9-14 (NASB)
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 For He rescued 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.
While reading this section of scripture the other day, one word really jumped out at me from the page. That word was qualified. It seemed like an important word, and so I wrote it down in the notes I keep for future sermons. Qualified. What does that word mean in this context, and why is it important? Those are the questions we should keep in mind as we look closer at these verses here in Colossians.
Colossians is a letter written by Paul with Timothy, to the Christians at Colossae. According to Bibleplaces.com, Colossae was located 120 miles east of Ephesus in ancient Phrygia, which was part of the Roman territory. Phrygia was located in what is now Turkey. I like to point out who it was who wrote the verses we are studying and look up where these cities were located, for I think it’s important that we keep in mind that the Bible is not a work of fiction. It is a historical document. This was a real letter and Paul really existed and he wrote to real people in a real city. Even greater than that, the Spirit of God dictated it, and so it applies to us today, as well. I think it’s easy to forget that and wrongly approach the text as most people do, which is as a complicated work of literature.
In studying for this message, I began by looking at the Greek word for qualified. I came across different writers who did not agree that qualified was an accurate word to translate to. I disagree and think it is the perfect word choice.
The Greek word for qualified is hikanoó and according to Strong’s Concordance, it means “to make sufficient, render fit, qualify.” This word is used other times in scripture too. A lot of times it is translated as 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 which says, “Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ. Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Those three times, the word is translated as adequate.
In this passage in Colossians, I think qualified is much better of a word choice than adequate. Let’s read the verse again: “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” The Father has “made us adequate” doesn’t quite convey the same idea, does it? Adequate makes me think of barely just getting by. A synonym would be tolerable or passable. It makes me think of grades in school. If a teacher told me my paper was adequate, I would think the teacher wasn’t very impressed.
That’s why I think qualified is such a better word, and I think the connotations it brings along are very fitting. One person who disagreed about the appropriateness of qualified said he didn’t like it because he thought it implied that people were qualified but had to then take advantage of the grace God offers. He pointed out that it points to the idea that people can either reject or accept the Gospel message. I actually think people can either reject or accept the grace God offers, and so that writer actually confirmed to me that qualified is the best word for translation. Now, if someone doesn’t believe that people can lose their salvation, then, of course, that person wouldn’t like this word, but I obviously think people can choose to walk away from God. I see multiple places in scripture where we are told to be careful so that we do not lose our salvation. The first one that comes to mind is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air; but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
It is Jesus who qualifies people to have eternal inheritance, but it is up to the individual to repent and believe the Gospel. God helps us even in this endeavor, for His Holy Spirit works in our hearts and prompts us to be convicted of sin. Yet, as Paul and other writers make clear throughout Scripture, we cannot remain passive and apathetic in our roles of following Christ. I really appreciate how Paul writes that our lives are like a race. We must run the race.
When I was young, I ran track. In order to compete in different races, I had to qualify. First, I had to run against a timer and only those who finished within a certain time were qualified to compete in the final race. If I didn’t qualify, I couldn’t run in the race.
Here, Paul is saying that God has qualified us. We are qualified because Jesus has run the qualifying race for us. When He died on the cross, He gave us the ability to be qualified. Verses 13 and 14 say, “For He rescued 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.”
He has not only qualified us to run this race of life with Him, but He has rescued us from the kingdom of sin and darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of God. Keeping with the race analogy, you could say we’ve changed teams. We are no longer running under the banner of darkness, but we are under the banner of light. Because of that team change, we can partake of all the amazing benefits that come from being on God’s team.
Not only do we run under His banner, but as the Song of Solomon 2:4 tells us, we each can proclaim, “his banner over me is love.” He has qualified us because He loves us and wants us to “share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” He wants us to spend eternity with Him, but we can’t qualify ourselves. We can never be good enough or holy enough to stand before God because not one of us is perfect. The only way we can qualify to be with God is if we have been transferred to His team by receiving the grace of God through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the next chapter, Colossians 2:13-15,Paul goes on to say, “He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
If we have been born again, or qualified, then God no longer sees our imperfection, for He has forgiven our sin. Instead, He sees Jesus when He looks at us, and that qualifies us.
My favorite musician, Keith Green, had a lyric that perfectly expresses what I want to say. In his song, When I Hear the Praises Start, he sings from the perspective of the Father singing to us and he says:
I see no stain upon you
Because you are my child and you know me
To me you’re only holy
Nothing that you’ve done remains
Only what you do for me
This is what Paul is telling the Colossians. God has qualified them, through no effort or merit of their own. Does that mean we are finished then? Now that we are qualified by faith in Jesus, are we done? Is there nothing more to do? No, in response to this great gift of qualification, of transferring us to His team, we are to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father,”.
Paul started this section by saying that he is continually praying for the Colossians that they “may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. He wants them to know God’s will, so they will walk in a manner worthy of this team they are on. They are to look and act like they are in this new “kingdom of His beloved Son”. In other words, once qualified, we are just beginning. Now we run for Him.
Looking closer at Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, we see a wonderful model of prayer we should follow. He prays they will know God’s will and have spiritual wisdom and understanding. He is praying that they will have the mind of Christ. In another letter, in 1 Corinthians 2: 14-16 Paul writes, “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Once we can discern and accept the things of the Spirit of God, then we can live appropriately to His will. That leads us to living in a manner worthy of the Lord. He has given us this amazing gift. We must now live in a such a way that our outside reflects the change He has worked inside us.
Using the analogy of a running team again, imagine that you have been given a spot on an Olympic track team. Are you going to sit around, eating junk food, binge watching tv and then just hope for the best that you can limp through the finish line? Or would you train? Would you run every day, knowing that the whole world is going to be watching you? Wouldn’t you be proud that you qualified to run in the race? Would you hide that status from the world, or would you brag about it and tell your friends? I hope you are thinking that you would want to live and train your body to be worthy of this status. If you showed up on the big day and in no way reflected the image of a runner, would you really be surprised if they told you that you were disqualified?
Our lives have to reflect the change God has worked in us, or why would we think we are on His team? As Paul goes on to say in his prayer, we are “to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” This is a continual process and it should encompass all areas of our lives.
In that last verse I just quoted, did you notice Paul highlights three things? The first one is we are to please God in all respects. For the believer, while God’s love does not change toward us, we must work to please Him. That means we say yes to the things He asks us to do, for we please God when we obey Him and when we make moral decisions and abstain from evil. As Romans 8:8 says, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Second, we are to bear fruit in every good work. If we are following God, the Holy Spirit will produce good fruit in our lives. In Galatians 5:16-25, Paul explains what this looks like: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.” The way we know if we are following God, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, is if we are producing this good fruit or if we are living by the evil desires of our flesh. It is a simple measuring stick, really. But please notice, this is something that Paul is praying steadfastly for these Colossian Christians and something that we, too, must pray for each other and ourselves to do. It is an ongoing, daily effort, much like any training of the body.
Third, we are to increase in the knowledge of God. He is praying that they will understand God’s word and ways. Again, this is something that does not come naturally to us. We have to make this a goal and priority. Too many Christians outsource this responsibility to their pastor. We all must pursue knowledge of God. Is there anything that is more valuable than knowing what God’s word says? It applies to all of life. The Bible holds all the wisdom. Learning more about God should be a priority in our lives.
And then Paul adds that he prays they are, “11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience.” He wants them to be strengthened so they have perseverance and patience. Romans 5:3-5 says, “And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
If you remember, the other week we talked about persecution. One benefit of enduring persecution or other tribulation is it strengthens us. When having faced troubles, our faith grows stronger, for we learn to trust God and we see His provision and help. It strengthens our faith. Much the same way that the discipline of the Lord strengthens us. As Hebrews 12:11 tells us, “For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Once again, the race analogy is fitting. If you have ever trained for any sports event or even for personal fitness, you know that when first starting out, it’s difficult to get in shape. Even after a person is in good shape, the way to keep improving your fitness level is to keep pushing the limits of endurance or weights. I know my workout was worthwhile only if I reach that point where my muscles burn. That physical discomfort signals that we gave our body a workout. It indicates that it was effective. Then the next time we run in a race, our time should be a little better. We should have greater endurance. Things that were once difficult are now easier. Following the Lord is like that. As we run with Him, things that once distracted us should capture our attention no longer. Things that might have tripped us up in the past, we now can hurdle over. As Paul also said in Hebrew 12:1b-2, “let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
This joy that Jesus has, it is for us. He rejoices in our salvation. We are the joy set before Him. And He wants to extend that joy to us. Paul’s fourth thing he prays is that believers should respond with joy to all that God has done for us. He says believers should be “joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Our lives should be marked with joy and thanksgiving. For no matter what happens, we know the ultimate outcome. Just as Jesus has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, we too can be confident that we will one day be before the throne of God, kneeling in praise and honor to Him.
We will kneel with hearts full of joy and thanksgiving “for He rescued 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.”
Let us rejoice, for He has qualified us and transferred us to His team. And now, let us train with diligence and determination to finish the race. Rejoicing even in tribulation, knowing that it is producing in us endurance. Let us run in a manner worthy of the Lord’s great love for us.
Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your steadfast love for us. We thank You for sending Your Son to qualify us. Thank You for transferring us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Your infinite love. Help us to run our race in such a way that it brings glory to You for You alone are worthy of all praise. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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