In this message we will base our fellowship on Colossians 1:9-13. These verses say, “Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God, being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light; who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
These verses speak of being filled with “the full knowledge of His will.” To be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will simply means to have the revelation of God’s plan, so that through this revelation we know what God plans to do in this universe. As believers we have to know God’s universal plan. What did God plan in eternity past to do in time throughout all the generations? We need such a revelation so that we can have the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
The revelation of God’s plan opens the way for us to have more experience of Christ. We all need to ask ourselves, “How much do I know concerning God’s plan? How much do I know concerning Christ in the plan of God?” The more we know concerning this, the better. Thus, we need to spend more time to learn about Christ in the plan of God. This is one of the most important reasons why we have to read the Scriptures. We read the Scriptures not to receive doctrine or teachings but to receive the revelation of Christ and the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
What is the difference between the doctrine of Christ and the revelation of Christ? Strictly speaking, the Bible is not a book of doctrine or teaching. The Bible is a book of revelation. The Bible opens the universal curtain, the universal veil, to show us what is in the mind of God and what it is that God plans to do in this universe. This plan is to make His Son everything. God’s desire, plan, and mind is to make Christ everything. This is the content of the entire Scriptures. Thus, we need to spend more time to read the Scriptures with such a view and expectation—not expecting to learn more doctrines and teachings but expecting to know Christ more and to receive more of the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
As we receive more spiritual understanding, we should also pray that the Lord would give us the spiritual language, the spiritual utterance. We need to have the logos—the word, the language, the utterance—within us. Not only do we need to have spiritual understanding in our mind and wisdom in our heart and spirit, but we also need to have the spiritual language and utterance in our mouth. Then we will be those who know the plan of God and are also able to explain it to others. We will not only love the things of God but will be able also to utter them and even give a message concerning them.
According to Colossians 1:9-13, first we receive the knowledge of God’s plan and then, based on that knowledge, we “walk worthily of the Lord.” To know is first; to walk is second. Knowing the will of God and the eternal plan of God enable us to walk worthily of the Lord. Our revelation directs our walking. Our walk is under the control of the revelation that we have.
We all need to spend time to read the Scriptures, to meditate on the Lord’s Word, and to pray concerning these matters until we are filled with the truth and with the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan. When this happens, we will have wisdom in our spirit and heart and spiritual understanding in our spiritually enlightened and renewed mind. We will have knowledge, not in our natural mind with its natural concepts but in our renewed mind that has been given understanding by the Holy Spirit through our spirit. Then this knowledge, this revelation, will direct and control our daily walk. Thus, first we need to know the will of God—to know that Christ is everything. Then we will walk according to what we know. This walk will be worthy of the Lord.