Colossians Study: The Will of God

[Colossians 1:9-14]

Prayed for:

• “Wise minds and spirits attuned to His will” [MSG]
• “All the wisdom & understanding that His Spirit gives” [CEV]
• “God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” [NLT]

Prayed for:

• Practical Obedience (1:10) – Knowledge & obedience go together

True spiritual wisdom must affect daily life

Wisdom / Walk / Work – Cannot work for God unless we walk with Him, cannot walk with Him if ignorant to His will

General will = clearly in Bible                Specific will = always agrees with Bible

Knowing general will makes it easier to know specific will for daily life

God wants us to:

• Know His Will (Acts 22:14)
• Understand His Will (Ephesians 5:17)

Paul prayed for ALL wisdom & understanding, COMPLETE knowledge…

Complete = Filled full                    Filled = Controlled by

• Filled with _______ (ex: anger, jealously)
• Filled with Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)

Controlled by full knowledge of God’s will

How? By all wisdom & spiritual insights. Understand will of God through Word of God. Holy Spirit teaches us to submit to Him (John 14:26, John 16:31)

THEN…

• You will live a life that honors the Lord
• You will always please Him by doing good deeds
• You will come to know God even better
• You will be patient & strong to endure everything because of His power
• You will be truly happy

Bible Study Questions:

1) Paul prayed for the Colossians to have ALL wisdom and understanding. He grasped that God wants us to know and understand His will – and to do this would bring us closer to Him. With our reading, the words patient and strong and happy appear. What does this mean for us?

2) What is the hardest thing about following God’s will?

 

3) When we have this completeness (fullness), we will be controlled by it. We will then be able to determine what God wants. How do we determine God’s Will—how do we determine what He wants?

 

4) Let us dig deeper into God’s Word.

Read each of these verses and decide what each verse says about God’s will for us.

• Read 2 Peter 3:9
• Read Ephesians 5:18
• Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3
• Read 1 Peter 2:15
• Read 1 Peter 5:10
• Read Psalm 37:4

This is one part of a 12-week Sermon Series and Bible Study focused on Colossians. The 12 weeks include:

Gospel Truth
Will of God
Lord of All
Ministry to Maturity
Foolish Philosophies
Men of Rules
Realities of Heaven
Taking Responsibility
Godly Living
Worship Work
Good Words
True Forgiveness