Revelation 2:23
To him who overcomes and does my will to the end,
I will give authority over the nations—
In the New Testament we have written instructions of what born-again believers in Christ need to do and or what needs to happen in our lives to decern and know what the will of God is. This is made very clear in;
Romans 12:2. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
There are two key words in this verse that Paul uses which will help us understand what is necessary to live a life in Christ that is submitted to the will of God. The first one is “conform”. The Spirit Filled Life Bible For Students gives us a great explanation concerning the word conform as it is used in this verse.
“12:2 conformed, God does not want us conformed to this present world system and its values and false belief systems. The word refers to conforming oneself to the outer fashion or outward appearance, accommodating oneself to a model or pattern. God does not want His people programmed by the world’s values or system of things. Our programming must come from the Word of God. Who we are as people should not be defined by music, film, television, or the society at large but by what God says about us in His Word. When we get our inner belief systems and identity from God’s Word, we live as free and powerful people.”
The second word or phrase is “renew”, which is applied to the “renewing of your mind”.
One major key factor of knowing and experiencing God’s will in our lives is when we are deliberately putting ourselves in a position to be transformed. This transformation Paul says is the “renewing of your mind”. The Greek word for “transformed” that Paul is using is metamorphoō, it is the word from which we get the metamorphous, which is used for the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
This transformation of a born-again believer is produced by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, prayer and relationships with other more spiritually mature Believers among other things.
Colossians 1:9 NIV
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The Apostle Paul, in his opening prayer to the congregation in the city of Colosse, states a very important point, which should be a strong personal desire of every Believer in Christ in their relationship with God. It Paul’s petition for “God to fill you with the knowledge of his will”. This also is an excellent point that teaches us how we should pray for other believers. What does God use to accomplish this in a Believer’s life? It is “through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” which is the experiential knowledge of God’s word and with prayer.
The Fire Bible gives us a deeper explanation of what “the “knowledge of his will” means in a born-again believer’s life.
“Knowing God’s will–his desires and plans based on his character and purposes–results from knowing God himself and developing a deep personal relationship with him. Such a relationship grows out of spending consistent time in prayer–listening to and speaking with God–and the study of his Word. Our ability to recognize and understand God’s will comes as we apply his Word to the decisions, attitudes and actions of daily life. Only this kind of knowledge results in true spiritual wisdom and understanding that guides and transforms our hearts and lives as God desires.”
Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Paul, concluding his letter to Colossian Church in 4:10-14, mentions six brothers in the Lord who were with him while writing this letter, all of which send their greetings to this congregation. Paul tells the church how “Aristarchus”, “Mark” and “Jesus, who is called Justus” are “…the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.” However, Paul tells the Colossian congregation something very important about Epaphras, one of their own members who is with him. Just like the other five, Epaphras also sends the Colossian church his greetings, but Paul goes on to mention four very significant aspects of Epaphras’ prayer concerning the will of God in the in the Colossian believer’s life.
First, Epaphras was not just passively and quietly praying for the church, but Paul describes Epaphras as “always wrestling in prayer for you”. Epaphras’ prayer for the Colossian congregation was not just once in a while, but it was all the time.
Second, Paul said that when Epaphras prayed for the Colossian Church he wrestled in prayer for them, which means, prayed with the endeavor to accomplish something. The Greek word Paul used to describe the way Epaphras prayed is agonizomai from which we get our English word agonize as to struggle or wrestle, to “fight, labor fervently, strive.” But what burdened Epaphras’ heart to pray this way for his church, the Colossian congregation? There was one main reason why, “that you (they) may stand firm in all the will of God”.
To “stand” is to abide and not waver or doubt. In addition, there is a little word that can be easily overlooked in this sentence it is the word “all”. Standing firm in the will of God is not standing firm when it is convenient or beneficial. When we are standing firm in God’s will it is not partially but it is completely, entirely or totally.
The way Epaphras prayed for the Colossian church to “stand firm in all the will of God” was “mature and fully assured.” First, that they would be spiritually “mature” in the way they understood and acted on God’s will and not in an ignorant and immature way. Maturity in knowing the will of God has to do with how well do we know the Word of God and how it applies to our situations, discissions, the way we live, and what we do.
The second way Epaphras prayed for those of his home church to “stand firm in all the will of God” was “fully assured”. It is good to be in God’s will, it is better yet to be in God’s will “fully assured”, or fully confident or certain that you are in the will of God.
Kenneth Wuest in his expanded translation of the New Testament translates this verse this way, “…and those who have been brought to the place of full assurance in everything willed by God…”.
The New Living Translation translates this part of verse twelve this way. “…fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.”
When we are in the will of God, we need to be totally confident and not doubting that we are in His will. How do we become “fully assured” or totally confident of the will of God in and for our lives and or in a situation we are confronting? The better we know God-who He is and His Word, the better we will know God’s will.
Pastor John
