In verse 10 Paul says, “To walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God.” Walking worthily of the Lord results from the full knowledge of God’s will. If we know that God’s will is for us to be saturated with Christ, to take Christ as our life and our person, and to live Christ, spontaneously our walk will be worthy of the Lord. Some think that to walk worthily of the Lord is to be humble, nice, and generous. However, a worthy walk is a walk in which we live Christ. We can be humble, nice and generous without living by Christ. Only by living out Christ can we walk worthily of the Lord. Christ is the will of God, and He should also be our walk.
A walk worthy of the Lord is “unto all pleasing”; it is pleasing to the Lord in all ways. God the Father is pleased with the Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). In Galatians 1:15 and 16 Paul says that it pleased God to reveal Christ, the Son, in him. Nothing is more pleasing to God the Father than for us to live Christ. Apart from Christ, nothing can please the Father.
The only time we are fully happy is when we are living Christ. If we are humble or kind in a natural way, we are not happy. But if we take Christ as our life and our person and live Him out, we shall be the happiest people on earth. To live Christ is pleasing not only to the Father, but also to us. The most pleasant thing is to live Christ, to enjoy Christ, and to experience Christ.
If we walk worthily of the Lord, we shall bear fruit unto every good work. Do not understand this according to the natural concept. Bearing fruit here refers to living Christ, growing Christ, expressing Christ, and producing Christ in every respect. This is the good work Paul has in mind.
This kind of work is related to “growing by the full knowledge of God.” This knowledge is not the knowledge in letters in the mind, but the living knowledge of God in spirit, by means of which we grow in life. We need such a knowledge in order to live, grow, and produce Christ.
Christ is not only the will of God and our walk, but He is also every good work and even the full knowledge of God. Once again we see that Christ is all-inclusive. The more we get into the book of Colossians, the more we see that Christ is hope, truth, grace, the will of God, and everything to us.
In verse 11 Paul goes on to say, “Empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy.” This power is not only the power of Christ’s resurrection (Phil. 3:10), but Christ Himself. Within us we have Christ as a dynamo that continually empowers us “according to the might of His glory.” This is the might that expresses God’s glory; it glorifies God in His might. With this might we are empowered.
By Christ we are empowered “unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy.” Because of this marvelous power, we can be joyful even in sufferings. By means of this power we can take with joy whatever may happen to us. We have reason to be joyful because we have the resurrected Christ as the power within us. If we are joyful during times of affliction, we shall not age so quickly. Instead, we shall look younger than our years.
The Apostle Paul did not pray that the Colossians would have the best husbands or wives, the best houses, and the best jobs. Furthermore, he did not pray that the Colossians would be kept from suffering. To the contrary, he prayed that they would be empowered to all endurance and longsuffering with joy; that is, he prayed that they would have the capacity to suffer long with joy. To suffer long in joy is to endure suffering in Christ. Suffering may actually help us to have an increased enjoyment of Christ. Christ is the joy, the endurance, and the longsuffering. Therefore, Paul’s prayer is altogether a prayer for the experience of Christ.