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Scripture Reading: Col. 1:9-13; 2:6-7
In this chapter we will base our fellowship on Colossians 1:9-13. These verses say, “Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God, being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light; who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
These verses speak of being filled with “the full knowledge of His will.” To be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will simply means to have the revelation of God’s plan so that through this revelation we know what God plans to do in this universe. As believers, we have to know God’s universal plan. What did God plan in eternity past to do in time throughout all the generations? We need such a revelation so that we can have the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
The revelation of God’s plan opens the way for us to have more experience of Christ. We all need to ask ourselves, “How much do I know concerning God’s plan? How much do I know concerning Christ in the plan of God?” The more we know concerning this, the better. Thus, we need to spend more time to learn about Christ in the plan of God. This is one of the most important reasons why we have to read the Scriptures. We read the Scriptures not to receive doctrine or teachings but to receive the revelation of Christ and the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
What is the difference between the doctrine of Christ and the revelation of Christ? Strictly speaking, the Bible is not a book of doctrine or teaching. The Bible is a book of revelation. The Bible opens the universal curtain, the universal veil, to show what is in the mind of God and what it is that God plans to do in this universe. This plan is to make His Son everything. God’s desire, plan, and mind is to make Christ everything. This is the content of the entire Scriptures. Thus, we need to spend more time to read the Scriptures with such a view and expectation — not expecting to learn more doctrines and teachings but expecting to know Christ more and to receive more of the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan.
As we receive more spiritual understanding, we should also pray that the Lord would give us the spiritual language, the spiritual utterance. We need to have the logos — the word, the language, the utterance — within us. Not only do we need to have spiritual understanding in our mind and wisdom in our heart and spirit, but we also need to have the spiritual language and utterance in our mouth. Then we will be those who know the plan of God and are also able to explain it to others. We will not only love the things of God but will be able also to utter them and even give a message concerning them.
According to Colossians 1:9-13, first we receive the knowledge of God’s plan and then, based on that knowledge, we “walk worthily of the Lord.” To know is first; to walk is second. Knowing the will of God and the eternal plan of God enable us to walk worthily of the Lord. Our revelation directs our walking. Our walk is under the control of the revelation that we have.
We all need to spend time to read the Scriptures, to meditate on the Lord’s Word, and to pray concerning these matters until we are filled with the truth and with the full knowledge of God’s eternal plan. When this happens, we will have wisdom in our spirit and heart and spiritual understanding in our spiritually enlightened and renewed mind. We will have knowledge, not in our natural mind with its natural concepts but in our renewed mind that has been given understanding by the Holy Spirit through our spirit. Then this knowledge, this revelation, will direct and control our daily walk. Thus, first we need to know the will of God — to know that Christ is everything. Then we will walk according to what we know. This walk will be worthy of the Lord.
First we know, and then we walk, but in order to walk, we also need to be strengthened. Without the strength, we cannot walk. Colossians 1:11a says, “Strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory” (ASV). Notice the three words used in this verse: strengthened, power, and might. This is significant. In writing the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit was not loose. He chose every word. The three words in this verse point to three stages. Strength is the first stage, power is the second stage, and might is the third stage. Strength refers to an inner energy or a life power. There is a life within us that is a power to us. This life is Christ Himself. This can be likened to the gasoline in a car. The gasoline provides the power within a car. As our life, Christ is the life power within us, energizing us continually. This energizing is an inner strength that strengthens us all day long.
This inner strengthening brings us to the second stage — power. When we are strengthened by the life of Christ from within, we have the power. We have the power to love others, the power to be patient, and the power to do the Lord’s work. The strength becomes a power. The strength is the initiative, and the power is the strength in action.
This strength in action, this power, then produces a condition in which we shine out the glory of God. This is the third stage — the might of His glory. The strength is something that operates within our spirit and heart, the power is the strength in action, and the might is something that is manifested in the action that we are taking. When we contact the Lord Himself, we are strengthened by Him from within. By being strengthened, we receive power, and this power enables us to walk. The result of this is the might of glory.
This can be illustrated by a light bulb. When a light bulb is connected to an electrical outlet, it is “strengthened” by electricity. As a result, it has the power to shine out light. This can be considered the light of glory. In the same way, when we contact the Lord in prayer, meditation, reading the Scriptures, and fellowship with Him, we are strengthened in our spirit and heart. This gives us the power to live our daily life. As a result, people will see the glory of God in us. The glory of God is able to shine through us because we have the might, we are able to realize the might because we have the power, and we have the power because we have been strengthened by the Lord through our contact with Him.
I once knew a brother who exemplified this experience. This brother was very beloved, and he was truly spiritual in his condition before the Lord. Before he was saved, he worked for the customs office in China. At that time everyone who worked for the customs office received a very good salary. As a consequence, they all lived very wealthy and worldly lives. Day by day they went to parties, dances, and movies, and participated in all sorts of entertainment. When this brother received the Lord, he gave up all these worldly things. When his wife saw this, however, she was not happy, and she did not agree. It is often the case that the wives have problems with the world. Their love for the world is often a problem for their husbands and their families. Women often love the world more than men.
After this brother got saved, his wife’s attitude toward him changed. One day when this brother came home from work, the wife started taking pictures off the wall and throwing them at him as soon as he walked in the door. What did this brother do in this situation? He did not speak loudly but gently. He simply said, “Praise the Lord. Thank Jesus.” Then the wife began to pick up other things to throw at him. When the wife did this, the brother went into his room, knelt down, and began to pray. The wife began to shout at him, but the brother just knelt down and prayed and prayed. Eventually, the wife could not do anything further.
Whenever you saw this brother, you could realize that there was glory with him. The glory of God was upon this brother. You also realized that this brother was not weak. He was a man of might. He was able to endure with joy. He could suffer all these hardships with joy.
One day this brother invited some brothers to his home for a love feast and some fellowship. You can never imagine what his wife did. She did not cook anything new; instead, she brought out all the leftovers from the previous day. When we brothers sat down to eat, everyone saw that the wife had not cooked anything new but had put out leftovers from the day before. Brothers, do you think that you could bear this? What do you think that this brother did? With tears in his eyes, he said to the brothers, “Let us praise the Lord for the leftovers. I do believe that this is the best love feast.” All the brothers then said, “Amen! Hallelujah! This truly is the best feast.” This brother experienced Christ in the midst of his difficult situation.
What then was the outcome of this situation? The outcome was that one day the wife was brought to the Lord. She was convinced by her husband’s condition — by the might of glory that she saw in him.
Before the wife was saved, the news of this situation came to me. I heard about all these things that were happening. Then one day I went to the town where this husband and wife lived. The church there was having a series of gospel meetings, but the wife refused to come to any of the meetings. At that time nearly all the other wives of the men who worked in the Chinese customs were saved. They all lived together in dormitories for customs employees. Since all these other ladies were saved, I had some fellowship with them. I asked those sisters to try their best to bring the wife to the gospel meetings. Eventually, they did bring her, and after the message on the third day, I noticed a change in her face. When I saw her, my spirit realized that the Lord had done something within her. At the end of the meeting, a call was made for those in the congregation to make a decision. During this call for a decision we sang a hymn. While we were singing, I realized that she was the only one that the Lord was calling at that time, so we sang the hymn once, then twice, then three times. As I observed her, I noticed that she had brought her young daughter with her to the meeting. I noticed also that the little girl was speaking to her mother. The little girl spoke to her for some time, and then suddenly the young daughter stood up onto the bench upon which they had been sitting. She stood up and said, “Mother, I stand for you.” Then with tears the mother followed. As soon as she stood up, the whole meeting just burst; the whole meeting was immediately filled with praises and Hallelujahs. The wife had been brought to the Lord! The very next day after her salvation, the wife asked the brothers who had been to her home when she had served leftovers to come to their home again; this time to have a real love feast and time of fellowship. This story is a good example of what can happen when we are strengthened by the Lord with all power, according to the might of His strength.
First, we need to know the will of God, the mystery of God, which is Christ Himself. Then we need to walk according to what we know, to walk under the control of the revelation that we have seen. To do this, we must be strengthened so that we will obtain the power and have the might. After these three experiences — knowing, walking, and being strengthened — we should add a fourth — giving thanks to the Father (Col. 1:12). We should sing hymns, offer praise, and give thanks to the Father for qualifying us for a share of the allotted portion of the saints. These are the four steps of our experience — to know, to walk, to be strengthened, and to thank. I believe that this is what the apostle Paul meant when he prayed for the saints. He prayed that the saints would be filled with the knowledge of God’s eternal plan, that is, that they would have the revelation of the mystery of God, which is Christ Himself, so that they would walk according to this revelation by being strengthened. Those who are brought into this experience will thank God for His mercy and grace that qualified them for a share of the allotted portion of the saints, which is the all-inclusive Christ.
We also must realize that all these four steps are “in the light” (v. 12). Light is a sphere, a realm. There is a realm and sphere of light and a realm and sphere of darkness. These two realms are two kingdoms — a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light. Consider all the people of the world today. They are walking in a sphere and a realm that is actually the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan. Those who know God’s plan, who walk according to that plan, and who are strengthened with the power of Christ to share the portion of the saints, however, are walking in another realm. What realm is this? This is the realm of light, which is the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God.
The more we have the revelation of God’s plan and the more we experience Christ, the more we will feel that we are in the light. Our whole daily life and walk will be in the light. This realm of light is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. As you have more revelation of the mystery of God and have more experience of Christ in a practical way, your daily life and your whole being will be brought into a realm of light. This will cause you to be controlled and directed by the divine light.
What does it mean to be controlled, directed, and ruled by light? Let us consider the opposite of this. Suppose we were in a room where there was absolute darkness. The result would be total confusion. When the sun is shining and the lights in the room are turned on, however, we are all kept in a state of order. The light keeps us in order, and thus, the light controls, directs, and rules us. We eat in the light, speak in the light, and listen to messages in the light. This is what it means to have a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light. In the light means under the control, direction, and rule of light.
What then is the light that controls us? The answer is in John 1:4. This verse says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” When we experience Christ as our life, that very life at that very moment becomes our light. In John 8:12 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” This is true in our experience. The more we experience Christ, the more we have light, because light is nothing other than the life of Christ that we experience.
Immediately after Colossians 1:12 says that we are in the light, verse 13 says that we have been delivered out of the authority of darkness. The authority of darkness is the realm of darkness, the kingdom of darkness. This verse also says that we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We have been translated, transferred, from one realm into another.
Colossians 1:12 speaks of light; Colossians 1:13 speaks of love: “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” What is love? You may say that God is love. This is correct (1 John 4:8, 16). Love is God’s essence, element, and substance. The Scriptures also reveal that God is light (1:5). The two, love and light, are a pair. Love and light are also related to life, for God is life (cf. John 14:6). What then is the relationship between love, light, and life, and what is the difference between these three? Love is the substance, essence, and element of life; life is the energy and strength of love; and light is the shining forth of love. Love, life, and light are triune.
This matches our experience. The more we realize Christ as life, the more we are in the light and the more we have love. We are simply filled with love, and we love everyone and everything. As a result, people see that we are people who are full of love and full of light. When the life within us is lived out of us, it is lived out of us as love, and when this life is lived out of us as love, it shines. This shining is light.
Colossians 1:13 says that we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. God has delivered us from darkness and translated us into the kingdom of love. The kingdom of the Son of God’s love means that God’s kingdom is the kingdom of love. When we live in the light, we are in the kingdom of love. There is no hatred in light and no hatred in the life of Christ. There is also no jealousy or envy in the light or with the life of Christ. In the light and with the life of Christ, there is only love. How can we be humble? Only when we are filled with love. How can we endure? Only when we are filled with love. First Corinthians 13 reveals that love suffers long, love endures, and love is humble. We can express all the good things mentioned in this chapter because we are filled with love and are living in the kingdom of love. This kingdom of love is also the kingdom of light and of life. The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of love, light, and life. God has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness, which is full of hatred, envy, jealousy, and pride. We have been delivered out of this kingdom and translated, transferred, into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. This kingdom is full of humility, long-suffering, endurance, sympathy, and compassion.
This kingdom is called “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” What does the expression the Son of His love mean? It means that Christ as the Son of God is the embodiment and expression of God’s love. The word Son also conveys the thought of life. Thus, Christ is the embodiment, the expression, and the life of the love of God. In this kingdom of love, light, and life, Christ is the love, Christ is the light, and Christ is the life. Christ is also the kingdom — the sphere and realm. Christ is our love, our light, our life, and our kingdom. The kingdom of Christ is nothing other than Christ Himself as the love, light, and life.
Since Christ Himself is this kingdom, He is the sphere and realm in which we walk. Colossians 2:6 says, “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” We have received Christ as our life, but we must realize that this life, Christ Himself, is a sphere, a kingdom, for us to walk in. We must “walk in Him.”
Suppose a friend of yours, whether a believer or an unbeliever, came to you and told you that we must live our lives endeavoring to do many good things. Would you listen to him? If not, what would you say to him? If I were in this situation, I would say to my friend, “Friend, I am now in the kingdom of Christ. I only understand and take care of things related to the kingdom of Christ. I am not in the kingdom of goodness, and I am not in the kingdom of good works. I simply do not understand good things. Trying to do good is a foreign concept to me.” The affairs of China are foreign to a person living in America. With regard to the affairs of China, an American might say, “I am an American. I do not understand the things of China. Regardless of whether they are good or bad, they are not my business because I am living in the kingdom of America.” In the same way, everything related to good and evil are foreign to a man who is living in the kingdom of Christ. Good and evil do not belong to the kingdom of Christ. They belong to another kingdom — the kingdom of the knowledge of good and evil. Since we are living in the kingdom of the tree of life, which is Christ Himself (cf. John 15:1; 14:6), we do not understand the things that are outside of this domain. We are citizens of the kingdom of Christ, so we do not understand good or bad; we know only one thing — Christ as our life. Christ is our life, our love, our light, and our kingdom. Thus, we must walk in Him.
As we walk in Christ as our love, light, and life, we will be under the rule of these very items. As elements of the kingdom of Christ, love, light, and life are ruling elements. Communist nations are ruled by communism. Thus, they are nations of communism. We, however, are ruled by love, light and life. Thus, our kingdom is a kingdom of love, light and life.
In the book of Colossians, Christ is our portion, our life, our love, our light, and our kingdom. Christ is everything to us. This is God’s eternal plan — that we would experience Christ, who is the mystery of God, as our life and everything so that we would be brought under the rule of the divine love and light in order to live in the kingdom of God, which is Christ Himself.
