In His Name Devotionals
BEARING FRUIT
In His Name Devotionals
BEARING FRUIT
Every farmer who enjoys a plentiful harvest does so only after diligent effort on his part. He must cultivate the soil, plant the seed, and then nurture it to maturity. Each step is thoughtful, disciplined, and orderly.
Similarly, bearing spiritual fruit is not an unthinking or haphazard process. It requires a Christian to be diligent in pursuing the knowledge of God’s will, revealed in His Holy Word. That is Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9, which he reiterates in verse 10.
The phrase “increasing in the knowledge of God” (v 10) can be translated “increasing by the knowledge of God.” Both renderings are acceptable. The first emphasizes the need to grow; the second emphasizes the role that knowledge plays in your spiritual growth.
As your knowledge of God’s Word increases, the Holy Spirit renews your mind and transforms your thinking. As you gaze into the glory of the Lord as revealed in Holy Scripture, you “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). You “have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One Who created him” (Colossians 3:10).
One of Satan’s ploys to retard spiritual productivity is to get Christians preoccupied with humanistic philosophy and other bankrupt substitutes for God’s truth. That is why Satan planted false teachers at Colossee to teach that knowing God’s will is inadequate for true spirituality. Paul refuted that claim by affirming that Christ is the fullness of Deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). In Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Christ is all you need!
Holy Scripture commands you to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Is that characteristic of your life? Are you looking forward to a bountiful spiritual harvest?
