Go to the source! Discover what the Bible says about …
These pages are designed to aid study or investigation for Christian discipleship through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or meeting one to one. The questions could be used alone allowing each person to use their own Bible.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17
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What we can be in life - Colossians
Introduction
People, like plants, flourish in their ideal environment.. People are designed to be in union with Christ. We will never really flourish without living in partnership with Him. On this page we look at Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12 which explores this partnership.
Bible Zone
- What we can be - Rooted, Fruitful, Growing, Joyful, Strong & Pleasing.
- Rooted - When we develop a passion for God, He becomes the source of our lives.
- Fruitful - When God is at work in our lives, He develops His fruit through us.
- Growing - We grow as we get to know God because we become like Him.
- Joyful - We experience joy as we see or anticipate God at work in lives.
- Strong - The Lord gives strength to enable us to live His way.
- Pleasing - The Lord’s attitude to us is influenced by our lifestyle.
Here we look at the prayer itself as a start point.
- What was it that Paul prayed for God to give the people? - This is the root or source.
- What outcomes was Paul expecting to flow from this prayer?
- How could you benefit from God bringing these into your life?
Colossians 1:9-12 We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. 11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,*12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
The start point of Paul’s prayers is that we receive something from God. Yet though the Lord is generous in His gifts, His intention is that we be rooted in Him and receptive to all He has to offer. 2 Peter 1:3-4
- What is God’s power able to do for us?
- How do we gain access to God’s power?
- What is God’s aim in providing His power?
2 Peter 1:3-4 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
More on being Rooted - (Impact of God - in new tab/window)
The fruit that God can bring into a person’s life comes when He is our source. So, the fruit of the Spirit is what can be seen as the outworking of the Spirit in a person’s life. Galatians 5:22-26 gives examples of this fruit of the Spirit.
- What examples are given to illustrate all that consists of the Spirit’s fruit?
- How could you see such fruit in a person’s life?
- What works against the work of the Spirit in a person’s life?
- What choices in our lives will influence the quality of fruit?
Galatians 5:22-26 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
More on Fruitful - (Spirit’s Fruit - in new tab/window)
We grow as we learn to know God better because as we come to understand Him we aspire to become like Him. This knowledge of God is gained both through finding out about Him in the Bible, and through experiencing life with Him and seeing what He is like. We can see this by the negative example given in Psalm 115.
- What are the attributes of idols? (Images of gods made for worship.)
- What spiritual and emotional consequences are there for those who make or trust in these idols?
- How, by implication, can we grow into all we were intended to be through knowing God?
Psalm 115:3-8 Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. 4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. 5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. 6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. 7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. 8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
Aspects of God to Grow in - (What is God like - in new tab/window)
The Bible describes Joy as the feeling we experience when a challenge has been overcome resulting in fruitfulness. When our joy is in the Lord it can either be because we see the fruit of His work, or in anticipation of such fruitfulness.
- What contributed to the people receiving joy in this passage?
- What was to be the result of being filled with joy?
Romans 15: 13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
More on Joyful - (Joy - in new tab/window)
Strength is something that comes from God. This is a strength that is beyond our own abilities and enables us to live more for Him.
- What does the Bible say here that we have received from God?
- What is the purpose of these gifts?
- How do these gifts contribute to our relationship with God?
1 Corinthians 1:7-9 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
More on Strong - (God gives grace - in new tab/window)
The life with God is worked out in the way we live. It is not merely some spiritual relationship divorced from the realities of life, but rather the relationship is the source of life through which we live in a way that pleases God.
- How is lifestyle linked to God’s attitude towards us?
- What encouragement are people given who have achieved a degree of this lifestyle?
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters,* we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
More on Pleasing in particular, this page explores what this lifestyle consists of - (Lifestyle - in new tab/window)
