Abundance for Obedience

…that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
(Colossians 1:9-10 – ESV)

An incentive to prayer – Paul and his team pray for increase to those that are acting in accordance with what they already have, implying that there is no reason to even ask God for increase in those that won’t use what they have already. It is not how much you know it is how much you grow. Contrary to what we most often think, it isn’t that we need an increase to be obedient; it is that we need to be obedient to see an increase (Mark 4:24-29). Even though the ground does the work in a way he cannot fully understand (vs.27) if that farmer doesn’t water and till the soil, the harvest will not come. When it comes, he is ready to reap, and to continue the cycle. If you stay put where you are at you will run out of food, we should be stirring up instead of staying put. Stir up the hope and stay in the faith. Learn who He is and He’ll show you what He does.

Paul is talking about spirituality, not economics. Money is not what Paul is addressing here, and we cannot apply it as a principle either, for the most part. We are not guaranteed earthly wealth for doing spiritual good. Now God does give to the generous (2 Corinthians 9), but usually a financial increase is not about our standard of living, but our standard of giving. Here Paul prays for an increase so that they will be increasingly obedient. Obedience and abundance spiritually go together. Paul was talking of abundance so as to obey, abundance for obedience.

As in Colossians 1:6 the increasing knowledge leads to using it, they were growing in their knowing and by more knowing they would have more growing and vice versa. It is the spiritual seed and harvest, coming to a full knowledge of His will and a full knowledge of His way.

They had faith and love because of the hope of heaven, now Paul wants them to increase to a more fully mature understanding, not leaving the other behind but coming to a more full and more fruitful understanding of God’s will in all things. He is talking about learning to live, as Jesus would have them live, in all situations. God is pleased if we have faith in Him and we love one another, but He also wants us to get to know Him better and learn new ways to be fruitful, filled so full that we might be fully pleasing.

By looking at the rest of Colossians, we know that it is not that they didn’t or that you won’t have any challenges. We know we will have trials and persecutions, but also doctrinal confusion and contention, and outright heresy, and subtler deception. These Colossians were doing good, and Paul was praying for an increase, but they did have issues. The power he was praying for was not to iron out those issues it was to endure trials and have joy, and also for their walk and their wisdom. That wisdom walk would be informed by their increasing knowledge of God.

Paul was praying for an increase, but to sort out issues Paul uses teaching. Just because everyone is getting along doesn’t mean everything is right. Doctrine, not devotion or demonstration is and was the key to discernment, to weeding out error. Right doctrine rightly understood should lead to the others in right practice. "The believer's experience" is not universal truth in the same sense as objective doctrine.