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". . . . . the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you; even as it is also
in all the world bearing fruit and increasing as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard
and knew the grace of God in truth" (1: 6 R.V.).
This was real evidence of the working of God in their midst, for the gospel was never
meant to be static but a tremendous impetus urging the believer on to a deeper knowledge
and love of the Lord, resulting in a more practical response in lip and life. The personal
link between these believers and the Apostle was Epaphras, whom Paul describes as a
`beloved fellow-slave' and a `faithful minister of Christ' on the Apostle's behalf.
Epaphras had therefore visited Paul in prison and given him up-to-date news of the
church at Colossae. Epaphras is a contracted form of Epaphroditus, but we cannot
identify him with the Epaphroditus of the Philippian letter with certainty. Nor do we
know the circumstances which enabled Paul to describe him as a `fellow-prisoner' in
Philemon 23.
He had possibly shared one of the Apostle's many imprisonments
(IICor.xi.23). What is certain is this man's sterling character as a leader and servant of
the church, and his highly effective and continuous intercession for them (Col. 4: 12), the
hall-mark of a true and faithful overseer.
The impaired news from Epaphras leads to the prayer of Paul for their spiritual
welfare and then on to one of the great Christ-exalting passages of the N.T.:
"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make
request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual
wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in
every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power,
according to the might of His glory, unto all patience and long-suffering with joy"
(Colossians 1: 9-11 R.V.).
This section is balanced by chapter 3: 16 - 4: 1 where the words `wisdom',
`spiritual', `work', `giving thanks', `pleasing' and `inheritance' are all repeated and light
and understanding can be gained by carefully comparing these contexts. The first thing
the Apostle mentions in his prayer is the `knowledge (epignosis) of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding'. We have seen in other studies that epignosis goes
deeper than gnosis, as knowledge that causes response by the recipient, hence it is
something more than mere intellectual grasp of facts. The Bible can be learned and
stored in the brain like any other subject, but this does not and cannot give spiritual
understanding or spiritual enlightenment which is absolutely essential if the truth lying
behind the words is to be received and appreciated. The `natural man' cannot receive the
things of the Spirit of God, `neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned' (I Cor. 2: 13, 14), and so he needs enlightenment, opened eyes, which only the
Holy Spirit can give (Eph. 1: 17, 18). It is absolutely essential to understand this. To go
through a theological course does not and cannot of itself give this enlightenment or
spiritual understanding. Natural understanding, as with ordinary earthly subjects, is
useless here.
It is possible, in the context we are considering, that Paul makes a subtle contrast with
the false knowledge of his opponents at Colossae, professedly more advanced than
ordinary knowledge. He shows that mere intellectualism or any occult experience is no