“Walk in a Manner Worthy of the Lord--2”
What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord? Many things. But Paul in his prayer here gives us three specific descriptions: bearing fruit in every good work (v. 10); increasing in the knowledge of God (v. 10); and being strengthened with all power (v. 11). Last week we dealt with the first description: bearing fruit in every good work. This week we want to deal the remaining two.
The second description of a life worthy of the Lord is “increasing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10). Before we proceed further, we must note that the Greek here can be translated also as “increasing by the knowledge of God”. As you can see, that simple change of preposition from “in” to “by” can alter the meaning of the phrase quite significantly. Which is the more accurate translation must be determined by the context. And I would argue that the context seems to favor “by” rather than “in” as the proper translation.
I say that “by the knowledge of God” is to be preferred
because of what Paul said in the immediately preceding verse (v. 9): “And so,
from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may
be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding….” You see, Paul already prayed that Christians be filled with
the knowledge of God’s will. Of course, to know the will of God is to know God
Himself, for God’s will is perfectly consistent with God’s character. Why do we
need to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will? So that
we can walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (v. 10). Being filled with
the knowledge of God’s will is the cause, or the means; walking in a manner
worthy of the Lord is the outcome. And the phrase in question is an aspect of
the manner worthy of the Lord. So, if we opt for “increasing in the knowledge
of God”, Paul would be praying that we be filled with the knowledge of God’s
will so that we would increase in the knowledge of God. Do you see? That would
be a tautology, a circular statement, saying A = A. But if we opt for “by the
knowledge of God”, it would be consistent with what was said before: as we are
enabled to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord by being filled with the
knowledge of God’s will, so we will bear fruit and increase by the knowledge of
God.
But we must realize that the idea of “increasing in the knowledge of God” is not completely lost. How is the knowledge of God (or His will) described in v. 9? It is something that we ought to be filled with. It is something that ought to increase in us more and more until we are filled with it. Our knowledge of God is not to remain a static knowledge; it is a vital, vibrant knowledge that grows more and more in us!
Of course, what we are talking about is our personal, subjective
appropriation of the knowledge of God. The objective knowledge of God does not
grow, of course--especially now that the Canon is closed. God’s objective revelation
of Himself has ceased with the completion of the Bible. All that is necessary
for our faith and living has been sufficiently given to us in the Bible (2 Tim.
The knowledge of God, given to us in His Word, is simple enough even for little children to understand. But the knowledge of God is also too deep even for the most brilliant of scholars to fathom its full depth. Therefore, no one can say of God and His Word, “What I know is enough!” Many scientists confess that every answer they gain leads to more questions. If we should feel that way about nature, how should we feel about God the Creator? Nature is but a faint reflection of the infinite wisdom, power and majesty of God. As Cornelius Van Til said, our knowledge of God is like concentric circles. A small circle’s awareness of the infinity that surrounds it is only as big as its small circumference. The larger the circle gets, the larger its awareness of the vastness of infinity. So then, those who know more about God are more likely to confess their ignorance and have a greater urgency to increase in the knowledge of God. And it is those with a small knowledge of God, who think that they know enough of God and display no real desire to increase in the knowledge of God! Oh, how dangerous is the sophomoric confidence! “Sophomore”, of course, is a compound word made up of sophos (wise) and moros (moron). A sophomore is a moron who thinks he is sophisticated.
Is the knowledge of God increasing in us? How familiar are we
with the Bible, which is God’s self-revelation? Not just with the New Testament
but also with the Old Testament. Not just with the Gospels and the Epistles but
also with the Historical Books and Prophetic Books. And how familiar are we
with the doctrines of our religion? Do we know what we believe as
opposed to what other sects and heretical groups believe? Are we able to defend
our faith against the many questions and challenges the world brings against
us? How long have we been following Christ and are we still like babes in the
faith? Do we need to repent at the words of the Hebrews writer? “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone
to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need
milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word
of righteousness, since he is a child” (Heb.
And of course, increasing in the knowledge of God is more than having an extensive knowledge about the Bible. Being conversant with the doctrines of our religion is different from simply having a lot of trivia knowledge about the Bible. For it is quite perceivable that a genius with photographic memory can know all the known doctrines of Christianity. But we would not say that he knows everything there is to know about God. For our doctrines are not some cold formulations of Christian philosophy. Even if we have mastered all the doctrines of Christian religion, it would be no benefit to us unless it deepens our knowledge of God, leading to deeper communion with Him as our God, our Lord, our Redeemer, our Life and our All.
Yes, the extent of our biblical knowledge must be stretched.
For all of us, there are still so much more new things to learn about the Bible
and its doctrines. But in many ways, extending our knowledge is the easy part.
When we learn new things, their freshness grabs our attention and excites us.
But increasing in the knowledge of God is not just about extending our
knowledge with new things but also about deepening the knowledge we already
possess. Paul said in 1 Cor. 2:2, “I decided to know
nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Surely, Paul is not
saying that his Christian knowledge was limited to the fact that Jesus Christ
was crucified for us! He already knew that. He had been already preaching
Christ crucified (1 Cor.
There are ample opportunities for us to grow in our knowledge of God, especially because we live in this country, aren’t there? There is our Lord’s Day worship service and our Sunday school. We have our fellow saints to encourage one another. We all have more than a copy of the Bible in our homes. We have the freedom and the time to read the Bible. And there are many sections of the Bible that we are unfamiliar with. There are certainly plenty of new things to be learned there! What is more, God constantly gives us opportunities to add depth to our knowledge of Him that we already possess. As we falter and sin, in ways that freshly exposes the extent and depth of our sinfulness, we have the opportunity to grow deeper in our understanding and appreciation of God’s truly amazing grace. And our understanding of God’s grace has the opportunity to grow deeper as we are brought to deal with people who treat us unfairly and even hurt us. As we experience loss and grief in our life, we have the opportunity to know more deeply the true comfort that God alone can give us. As we go through the kind of trials and hardships that no one can help us except God, we have the opportunity to grow deeper in our faith. Do we need new insights to grow in this way? Do we need new insights to forgive the unforgivable, to bless those that curse us and pray for those who persecute us? Do we need any more new insight to rejoice even in most trying circumstances than the knowledge of God’s insuperable love demonstrated in the giving of His only Son while we were yet sinners? If we find it difficult, God is challenging us to add depth to our very basic knowledge of Him and His gospel.
Is there any depth to your knowledge of God?
It is because of this depth to the knowledge of God that Paul can say “increasing by the knowledge of God” in his prayer. The knowledge of God has the power to bring about increase and growth. But increase and growth of what? Many opt for translating the phrase “in the knowledge of God” because it readily answers the question: we are to increase in the knowledge of God. But we saw the problem with that option. And we can answer the question by looking at the grammatical structure.
We said that Paul gives us three descriptions of what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord in vv. 10 & 11 by the means of three participial phrases--bearing fruit, increasing (v. 10) and being strengthened (v. 11). From the grammatical point of view, the three descriptions are divided into two groups. We can see this point more clearly if we translate the Greek literally: “in every good work bearing fruit and increasing by the knowledge of God, in all might being strengthened….” As you can see (in the handout), the first two participial phrases, “bearing fruit” and “increasing” are enclosed by two prepositional phrases, “in every good work” and “in the knowledge of God”. The third participial phrase, “being strengthened”, is separated from the other two by another prepositional phrase, “in all might”.
So then, the first and the second go together as a pair: “in every good work bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God”. This is what we call a chiasm. A chiasm is a crisscross parallelism. Here we have the pattern of prepositional phrase and participial phrase crisscrossing. In the first, it is the prepositional phrase (“in every good work”) followed by the participial phrase (“bearing fruit”); in the second, it is the participial phrase (“increasing”) and then the prepositional phrase (“by the knowledge of God”). The two descriptions are a chiastic unit and go together.
When we see the two descriptions as one unit, this is what we have. Paul is praying that we bear fruit and increase in every good work and to bear fruit and increase in every work by the knowledge of God. So what are we to increase in by the knowledge of God? In every good work.
Thus Paul again emphasizes the power of the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God is not some trivial facts that give you more points in the game of Trivia Pursuit. It has the power to change us, to enable us to bear fruit in every good work. Even the conventional wisdom says, “Knowledge is power.” This is all the truer especially as we live in this so called “information society”. In this information society knowledge is indeed power. He who has greater knowledge of the laws, economic principles, history, statistics, data, etc., can easily gain the upper hand over others in business dealings, political process, in warfare, etc. If there is so much power in knowing these things, how about in knowing God? He is the sovereign Lord, who controls all creatures and all their actions, not only at the individual level but also at the national level, both at the subatomic level and at the comic level.
How can we know God and not change? How can we come into
union with Christ and not have a most thorough revolution in every aspect of
our life? To know Christ is to be created anew: “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has
come” (2 Cor.
Again, think about the whole idea behind Paul’s prayer. To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord is to bear fruit and increase in every good work. What is it about God that, if we are to walk worthily of Him, we must bear fruit and grow in every good work? Because God is the God of life, abundant in the power to give life, to enable us to produce fruit in every good work. And God wants to show the majesty of His power, the abundance of His life, by causing us to bear fruit in every good work and increase in our fruit-bearing.
This prayer presupposes the intimate relationship between God and His people, this idea of intimate identification and union between Him and us. We saw that the first and the second descriptions go together. But did you notice? We saw this pairing of fruit-bearing and increasing before in vv. 5, 6: “Of this [hope] you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing [or, increasing, the same Greek word]--as it also does among you….” This repetition of pairing is significant: it shows forth the idea, or the dynamic, of our union, our identification, with God. To talk in a manner worthy of the Lord is to have the worthiness of God reflected in us. And in this repetition of pairing, we see the qualities of the gospel reflected in God’s people. As the gospel is bearing fruit and increasing, so we are to bear fruit and increase in every good work!
To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord is to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. The parallel between the Lord and the gospel is easy to see. This parallel shows that the Lord deals with us through the gospel--not through the covenant of works but through the covenant of grace, through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And our relationship with the Lord, with the gospel, is to be that of complete identification. Again, as the gospel is bearing fruit and increasing (v. 6), so we are to bear fruit and increase in every good work (v. 10). We are not to pick and choose only what we like from the gospel. To receive the gospel is to fully identify ourselves with it, to wholly put it on, to completely immerse ourselves in it, so as to be like the gospel itself, to manifest the very qualities and characteristics of the gospel--bearing fruit and increasing all the more. To receive the gospel is to fully identify with, to fully engage in, the gospel, so as to reflect the very power and glory of the gospel in our lives. To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord is to be identified with Christ so as to reflect Him in our lives. What a glorious privilege. For us to speak the very words of Christ; for us sinners to have the mind of Christ and think after the thoughts of Christ; for us to conduct ourselves--to talk and to have our movements--in conformity to the very dignity and nobility of Christ; for us to have the wisdom of Christ so we can see the world and ourselves and others through the eyes of God so that, even when storms and the world turns chaotic, we may have the very tranquility and peace of Christ because we have the mind of Christ. That is the call that is extended to you. God wants you to be worthy to bear His name and He is able to make you worthy.
Do you see, this identification, this union, is not just between God and us! This covenant dynamic of identification and union permeates even into our relationship with one another. Take a look at v. 5: “Of this [hope] you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth…” (v. 5). And now look at v. 9: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you….” It is as though Paul wanted to be worthy of the Colossians. As the Colossians were bearing fruit and growing since the day they heard the gospel, so Paul had not ceased to pray for them since the day he heard of their faith and love. Their immediate response to the gospel was reciprocated by Paul through his immediate prayer for them. Thus Paul brought out the reality of their union with one another as they have been united with Christ. How encouraging this must have been to the Colossians! Their good works in the gospel were not being ignored. In fact, the manner of Paul’s prayer showed his participation in their walk: they were not left alone to do the good works. We all know how encouraging it is when someone is willing to come alongside of us and share the burden together. The manner of Paul’s prayer exemplifies the kind of relationship that exists among the saints of God. What a beautiful reflection of Jesus Christ, who came to bear our sorrows, to carry our burdens, to pay our penalty and to die our death! And He who died rose again from the dead so that we might be free from sin and live His resurrection life! So then, we are to suffer with one another; we are to rejoice with one another; we are to labor together to bear fruit and increase in every good work.
Do you know more about God now than before? How important is the knowledge of God to you? How important is it for you to grow in the knowledge of God, to be transformed by the knowledge of God? Do you realize that any knowledge of God is powerful enough to change our life radically, if we truly know it and believe it? Every passage of the Bible shines forth the matchless glory and majesty of God, His almighty power, His sovereign lordship over us, His unfailing faithfulness that is renewed every morning, His unbreakable love toward His people in Jesus Christ. If any passage of the Bible grabs a hold of you with what it declares about God and you in Christ, is it not able to transform your life in a most profound way, at the deepest core of your being, so that no other word than “new creation” is sufficient to describe the change? Do you realize what is happening every time you come to worship, every time you open the Bible, which is God’s self-revelation? Do you realize that any passage of the Bible that you read or hear preached comes to you with God’s omnipotent power of creation and redemption--to raise the dead to life, to transform even the worst of sinners into the holiest of saints? And do you realize how close that word is to you? It is right there in your hands, on your lap--the Holy Bible.
Let us take every opportunity to grow in the knowledge of God, for it is by the knowledge of God that we bear fruit and increase in every good work to the praise and glory of our God! Your life is destined to be filled with the knowledge of His will and we shall indeed be on that glorious day. Our mind will be completely cleared of all the clutter and worldly distractions and be filled with the knowledge of our most wonderful God. And we will go from fullness to fullness as we behold the infinite variation of God’s glory through all eternity to our everlasting, ever-increasing joy and delight! Amen.
© Copyright 2006 by Jeong Woo "James" Lee
All Rights Reserved.