Let us turn to the chapter that
we read in the epistle of Paul to the Colossians chapter 1 and directing your attention
this morning to words that we find here in the 10th verse Colossians
1 10 that she might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge
of God. Colossians 1.10 that ye might
walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Taking up then the theme that's
so prominent in this particular scripture that of the believers
walk, walking worthy. And we see here that the verse
is really a part of the prayer of the Apostle. He says in the previous verse
for this cause we also since a day we heard it do not cease
to pray for you. As we've said before in these
epistles of Paul so many times as he addresses himself to these
various infant churches he turns from addressing them and will
address God on their account. He prays for them and that is
the case here. at the beginning of this epistle
to the Church of the Colossians, how he prays for them and expresses
his desire that they might be found walking in that narrow
way that leads to life, walking in a manner that is becoming
for those who are the professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. very practical matter then that
he is praying for, but now we have to observe that before the
practice of godliness, before that walking worthy, there must
be some experience of the grace of God. And doesn't he make mention
of that here in the context, in that 9th verse? He says how
he ceases not to pray for them, and to desire that he might be
filled, he says, with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding. The knowledge of his will is
to be understood then in terms of that renewal of the mind,
that spiritual understanding. They are those who have had an
experience of the grace of God and observe what he says here
at the beginning of verse 9, he says, for this cause. for
this cause also. Surely that particular clause
at the beginning of the 9th verse refers us back to things that
He has already said concerning them. What has He been speaking
of? Well, He heard of their faith
as He says there in verse 4 Verse 3 says, We give thanks to God
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love
which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the
truth of the Gospel. Now he can speak, you see, to
these Colossians as those who have known something of the grace
of God, the effectual working of the Spirit of God in their
souls. He can speak of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He can speak of their love for the brethren. He can speak also
of their hope of heaven. Is not all of this some evidence
that they have known that efficacious grace of God. They have had a
very real experience then of the work of the Spirit of God
in their souls. Now, it's evident that the Apostle
Paul had not seen these Colossians because he says as much in the
second chapter. or I would that you knew what
great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea and
for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." He had
not seen them personally. He had been bathed for a period
at Ephesus there in Asia Minor. Colossae also in that same region
that we would know today as the country of Turkey but we see
how Paul for a period of some two years during the course of
his third missionary journey for some two years he was based
at Ephesus there in Acts chapter 19 verse
9. We read, When divers were hardened
and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude,
he, that is Paul, departed from them and separated the disciples,
disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued
by the space of two years, This is at Ephesus. This continued
by the space of two years, so that all they which dwelt in
Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. So from Ephesus, which was his
base, Paul ensures that the ministry of the Word of God, the preaching
of the Gospel, will go out to every place. And so it was that
the word went to Colossae as he says in verse 6 which is come
unto you as it is in all the worlds and bringeth forth fruit
as it doth also in you since the day ye heard of it and knew
the grace of God in truth or how the gospel went forth. And
it seems that the particular individual who was involved in
the ministry there at Colossae was this man Epaphras that he
speaks of in the 7th verse. As you also learned he says of
Epaphras our dear fellow servants who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit."
Here is the context in Paul is aware of the ministry that's
been exercised here at Colossae and as they receive the words
there's been that effectual work of the Spirit of God in the souls
of these people and here at the beginning of the Epistle He is
praying for them and praying in particular for their walk,
the way in which they are conducting themselves as believers. And this is what I want us to
consider this morning that she might walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God. Now to walk worthy to walk worthy
as in the sight of God. Surely we must be those who would
know what the will of God is, how basic that is. And so Paul
says as much there at the end of that ninth verse. His desire
is that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will. If they're going to walk worthy,
they've got to know what it is that God wills for them. What
God requires of them. Well, what is this will of God?
It is something that God has revealed. It's that will that
God has made known. And so made known that men may
understand it. It has to do with the commandments
of God. Now where do we find the commandments
of God? Well when we come to scripture
we have to recognize that God's commandments are contained in
that holy law of God. Remember the language of the
psalmist. There in Psalm 40 and verse 8 he says, I delight to
do thy will, O my God, yea thy law is within my heart. There we have that parallelism,
that peculiarity to Hebrew poetry where the same truth is declared
twice. In that case there in verse 8
of Psalm 40 it's mentioned twice, the same truth in a slightly
different fashion. He speaks of delighting to do
the will of God. And then he repeats himself by
saying, Yea, thy law is within my heart. God's will and God's
law clearly there are one and the same thing. Now are we saying
therefore that believers are those who are under the law of
God? and that if they're going to
walk worthy they must seek to live their lives in accordance
with all those holy laws and commandments. But we have to
remember that that 40th Psalm is evidently a messianic psalm. It's that verse that we just
referred to, verse 8, that is also repeated by Paul when he
writes in Hebrews chapter 10 at verse 5 following. And there
in the epistle to the Hebrews, he is clearly speaking of the
coming of the Lord Jesus. And now that Psalm, Psalm 40,
is altogether fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, we remember
how it's the Lord Jesus Christ who was made of a woman and made
under the law. He came to stand in that Lord
place of His people. He came to answer all the demands
of the Holy Lord of God in their room and in their stead by both
His living and also by His dying in His life. We see Him as that
One who has fulfilled the Law of God, honoured and magnified
the Law of God by a life of perfect obedience to every commandment
And then when he comes to die, in respect to that selfsame law,
he honors and magnifies it now with regards to all its terrible
penalties. He bears the punishment that
is due to those who are the transgressors. And so the believer is no longer
under the law, but under grace. We're not saying then that to
walk worthily means that we have to recognize that the Lord of
God is the rule of our conduct in life. In fact, we must be
very much aware of the great danger of a legalistic spirit,
imagining in any sense that our supposed law-keeping can add
anything to our salvation. Nowhere to think of this walking
worthy, not so much in terms of the will of God as it is revealed
in the law, but that will of God as it is revealed in the
gospel. Because it is so obvious in this
chapter, and we read through the chapter. It is obvious here
how that Paul is very much speaking of the gospel. Now the whole
chapter centers in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, look at the various statements
that are made. Verse 19, he says, He pleased
the Father that in Him, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, should
all fullness dwell. and having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death. to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight, if ye continue,
here is the walking, were they, if ye continue in the faith,
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope
of the gospel which I have heard, and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven, whereof I pour and made a minister. or they are to continue in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That means they are to continue
in all His work, in all His words, in all His commandments, in all
His precepts. Here is that one, you see, who
must have the preeminence in all things. He says later in
chapter 2 and verse 3, in whom I hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. All they are to be filled with
these things. Remember the prayer that we have.
Here, in the previous ninth verse, His desire that she might be
filled with the knowledge of His will. That is the will of
the Lord Jesus Christ in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
that she might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. It is to continue in the ways
of Christ, in the grace of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For this is that life that God has granted to them. that God
has, by the gracious ministry of His Spirit, accomplished in
their very souls. This is life eternal, to know
thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. And what is Christ? He is all
and in all to the believer. Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us, Paul says. wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption that as it is written he that
glorieth let him glory in the Lord here is that law then of those who are walking
worthy It is the Lord of the Lord Jesus Christ. As many as
walk by this rule, upon them be peace and mercy
and on all the Israel of God, says the Apostle. They walk by
this rule. And what is this rule? It's the
rule of faith. It's the life of faith. We walk
by faith. and not by science. And what
does faith have to do with? It has as its object always the
Lord Jesus Christ. Or remember what is said to Abraham,
who is the father of all believers. There in Genesis 17.1, walk before
me, God says, and be ye perfect. Be ye mature. Walking before
God. We read previous to that of Enoch.
who walked with God and he was not for God's talking all there
are gospel precepts and then thank God there are also those
gospel motives how were to be moved to walk in all those holy
precepts of the Lord Jesus because of that grace of God
that we see demonstrated in his life, in his ministry. When Paul
is giving exhortations to the church of the Ephesians at the
end of Ephesians chapter 4 he says, let all bitterness and
wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away with
all malice and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted This
is walking worthy. No bitterness, no wrath, no anger,
no clamor, no evil speaking, no malice. Kindness. Be ye kind one to another, he
says, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ's sake has forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children and walk in love. as Christ also hath
loved us and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savour." Here is the motivation. Here
is that that should move us to walk worthy. It is because God,
for the sake of Christ, hath forgiven us. or we are to be
those who would be followers of God, walking in love as Christ
loved us, He says, and gave Himself for us. All the motivation is
to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be those who
would seek to walk in obedience into all His holy precincts.
Not lawless, but under that law of the Lord Jesus Christ. desiring
to do the things that are pleasing to him. And there are those things
in the gospel, those commandments that we do not have in the law
of the Old Testament. John in his epistle speaks of
a new commandment. The Lord says if you love me
keep my commandments. And amongst those commandments,
of course, is that His disciples are to be baptized, they are
to identify themselves with Christ as their Savior, by making that
public profession of faith in His name, in the ordinance of
baptism. There's nothing of these things
in the law of God. Here is the way in which the
believer then is to walk worthily. And it all springs from that
true knowledge, that saving knowledge, that experimental knowledge of
the Lord and His ways. As we see it here in that 9th
verse preceding our text. For this cause we also since
the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you and to desire
that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in
all wisdom. and spiritual understanding that
he might more walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Is walking worthy then? As we
have it said before us. It's not only mentioned here.
As Paul writes to the Colossians we see it also when he addresses
himself to that church of the Ephesians. in Ephesians 4.1,
I therefore the prisoner of the law, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, that to walk worthy
of their vocation. The word vocation is just a synonym
of the word calling, to walk worthy of their calling. What is that calling? It's their
effectual calling. It's their experience of that
sovereign grace of God. Now, when we look at the Ephesian
epistle in the opening three chapters of that epistle, we
have Paul setting forth the most glorious and profound of doctrines,
especially of all that he says in that opening chapter of the
Ephesian epistle. What emphasis he places upon
the grace of God in the Gospel, the eternal purpose of God the
Father, the great work of God the Son, and then the effectual
work in the soul of sinners that comes by the sealing of the Spirit
of God. Paul has said much then there
in those opening doctrinal chapters of the Ephesian epistles with
regards to the Gospel of the grace of God. And then when we
come to the fourth chapter he introduces what we might say
is the more practical part of the epistle. Chapters 4, 5 and
6 of Ephesians are the practical aspects of his instruction to
that church. And there at the beginning of
that fourth chapter we have those words that we just referred to
What does he say? I therefore the prisoner of the
Lord. It's one of the prison epistles.
Here is Paul under some sort of arrest in Rome, not at liberty
now to go and to visit these churches but writing to them.
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk
worthy. They are to walk worthy of that
vocation, that calling wherewith they were called, they were called
by the grace of God. How are they to walk worthy?
Well, they must walk by faith. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. Whatsoever is not of faith is
sin. Oh, it is the way of faith. Remember
what Paul has said previously there in the Ephesian Epistle
we're familiar with those words in the second chapter by grace
are you saved through faith and not of yourselves it is the gift
of God not of worth lest any man should boast for we are his
workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works that God
hath ordained that we should walk in them Nor there are those
works, but they are works that follow faith. There can be no
walking worthy before there is faith in the heart. It has been
well observed that good works are not the tree, nor the sap,
but the fruits by which the nature of the tree is known. And what is that tree? What is
the sap? It all has to do with God, with the grace of God. That
tree, that's the planting of the Lord, as we read in the book
of Isaiah. The planting of the Lord, that
He might be glorified. It is the fruit that is the evidence
of that grace of God that's coming to the soul of the sinner, by
their fruits Yishun knows them. And Paul, as he prays for these
various churches, how we see him praying that they might be
fruitful. This is what he desires for these
Colossians, but we see something very similar in the epistle to
the Philippians. There in Philippians 1.9, this
I pray, that your love may abound yet
more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may
approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without
offence till the day of Christ being filled with the fruits
of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and
praise of God." All his prayer for the Philippians in. that
they might be filled with all the fruits of righteousness and
whence do these fruits come? They are by Jesus Christ. They
are by Jesus Christ. Those fruits, those good works
then, they are the evidence of the work of the Spirit of Christ
in the heart of the sinner. All by their fruits ye shall
know them. What does the Prophet Hosea say
concerning this fruit? The Prophet, as is the case of
course with those Prophets, he is the mouth of God, he speaks
the words of God and there in Hosea 14.8 he says, from me is
thy fruit found. That's the word of God, in the
mouth of his servant the Prophet Hosea, from me. is thy fruit
found." And how the Lord Jesus himself utters words very similar
to that when he speaks in John 15 of the vine and the branches. And there we have one of those
great I am statements in which he is revealing himself as the
image of the invisible God, the great I am. I am the vine, he
says. Ye are the branches. And what
does he say without me? Ye can do nothing. All from me is thy fruit found. How the believer in his walk
is constantly proving his complete, his utter dependence upon the
Lord. Left to ourselves, what are we? We're nothing but barren.
We bear no fruits. There is no walking worthy. All
our walking worthy is only by the grace of God. We are those
who stand in need constantly of that gracious ministry of
the Spirit and to know Him as the Spirit of Christ. Again look
at Paul when he writes of that fruit of the Spirit at the end
of Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit he says. His love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let
us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain
glory, provoking one another, envying one another. All this
walking, well, here we have it again you see. It's walking in
the Spirit. Let us walk in the Spirit if
we're going to know anything of that blessed fruit of the
Spirit. All it is is life of complete and utter dependence
upon the Lord God for everything. For our sanctification. amongst
all the blessings that come in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Remember the words that we've
already made some reference to there at the end of 1 Corinthians
1. Who is the one who of God is
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption? Who is the one? It's the Lord
Jesus that is being spoken of, who of God. is made unto us all
these things. He is our righteousness in justification,
the Lord our righteousness. It is that righteousness that
was wrought by the obedience of his sinless life, his obedience
to every commandment of God when he stood in that law place of
his people that is imputed to them, and so they are accounted
righteous in God's sight. And he who clothes them is the
same who cleanses them. As we said, he has not only lived
in obedience to the commandments of God, but he has suffered the
penalty of the broken law in the room and stead of his people.
That great substitutionary atoning death that he offered up and it is that blood of Christ
that purges and cleanses them from every sin just as His righteousness
clothes them. Oh, He is the Lord our righteousness,
but He is also the Lord our sanctification. All our holiness comes from Him. All our holiness is in Him. Without Him we can do nothing. And there we see here that this
This knowledge, this knowledge of His will, is something that is linked to
good works. This knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ, it's not barren knowledge. Here is Paul's desire that he
might be filled with the knowledge of His will. in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding if we know him, if we have this experimental
knowledge of him it will be evidenced in the way in which we conduct
ourselves the lives that we are living that he might walk worthy walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God All the more we walk in this manner,
so the greater will be our spiritual understanding. How these things
are connected. If we have an experience of the
grace of God, we cannot be divorced from the manner in which we're
living our lives, if we're living on holy lines. What evidence
then that we know anything of the grace of God? By their fruits. ye shall know them but how is it that we are unable
to live such a life as this? well again we have to take account
of the context see how he continues in verse 11 strengthened with
all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering
with joyfulness Again we're reminded that we have no innate strength.
We can do nothing of ourselves. And what we have here, this verb
strengthened at the beginning of the 11th verse, it is in fact
the present participle. In other words, what is being
spoken of is that that is continuous. It's something that is taking
place moment by moment. It's something ongoing, being
strengthened continually, being constantly empowered by the power
of God. Oh, this is that walk. This is
that walk of faith. This is how the believer is to live his life, ever looking to
the Lord, feeling all his weakness. What does Paul say in 2nd Corinthians,
when I am weak then am I strong. Proving day by day that all his
strength, all his help, all his enabling must come from the Lord. But observe here how there is
an end in view. We see it here in this 11th verse.
It's strengthened with all might according to His glorious power.
It's on to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. Well this is
the end in view. There is to be patience or endurance. This is the life that we're to
live. We're to run with patience. the race that he set before us
looking on to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising
the shame that he set down on the right hand of the throne
of God this is how we are to we're to walk worthy then, or
are we to run the race? It's always that looking onto
Jesus, that patient waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in
this manner can believers walk in a fashion that is well-pleasing
and worthy in the sight of God. But then We don't only read here
of patience or endurance, but long suffering. Having to wait long. Having to wait upon the Lord.
That is the life of prayer, is it not? Looking to the Lord,
calling upon Him. Asking. waiting with expectation
for the answer to all our prayers that we have the encouragement
of the promises of God's Word that we will not wait in vain
or what a word is that at the end of Isaiah chapter 40 they
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength or they
do not wait in vain those that wait upon the Lord they wait
and they wait and they wait again They shall renew their strength,
is the promise. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. They shall walk and not be weary.
They shall run and not be faint. That's how we are to walk worthy
then, as those who would be weight upon the Lord. Again, the promise
is they shall not be ashamed, but wait for me. So often we
are impatient, Do we not have to learn something of long-suffering? Our God is a long-suffering God.
Or should we not be those who desire to be like unto God? We are to wait for the Lord.
And the Lord will come and the Lord will appear and the Lord
will answer and the Lord will show us the way. And then here we read of the
end not only in terms of patience or endurance and long-suffering
but also joyfulness or to endure joyfully beyond
our natural strength now the grace of God is so necessary
for us we have that word in Nehemiah and if you ever notice that word
in Nehemiah 8 10 the joy of the Lord it says is your strength
the joy of the Lord. And Paul exhorts the Philippians
to rejoice. And he says, and again I say
rejoice, to rejoice evermore. And what is that rejoicing? It's
rejoicing in the Lord God. It's looking to Him, it's trusting
in Him. This is the walk then of the
godly man, the godly woman. Those who would walk in a manner
that is worthy that she might walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God. Oh God grant that we might be
those who know something of these things in our souls experience
and say that there is a connection between the experience of the
grace of God and the manner of our living. We cannot separate,
divorce these things one from the other. If we're those who
would know the grace of God in our soul's experience, we must
be seeking that grace whereby we might walk in obedience to
every gospel precept, every gospel commandment, that she might walk
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Oh the Lord, own and bless his
word to us for his name's sake.