9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
The author has received a report from Epaphras on the Colossians which leads to prayer on their behalf. This report will form the basis of the instructions he will give in the letter. The author gives thanksgiving for the Colossians, but he also intercedes with God for them. Indeed, this intercession is continual for he has “never stopped praying” for them. Later he will ask the Colossians to pray for him. Throughout his letters, Paul writes of praying for Christian communities. In this we see the pastor in Paul, who cares about his congregations and wants them to grow in faith and love.
Then the writer gives the content of his prayer: that the Colossians will be filled with knowledge of God’s will. Knowledge of God is a key idea in this letter and, in particular, how to get this knowledge. On this, the author differs from the false teachers. Here we see that they will get this knowledge from the Spirit. In Greek the usual word for knowledge was “gnosis”. In early Christianity (and Judaism as well) Gnosticism was a heresy that claimed its followers had special knowledge and therefore were more spiritual or pure than ordinary people. They also saw the material world as evil. Gnosticism really became important in the late first century, which, if one of Paul’s followers wrote this letter, would correspond to about the same time. But, even if Paul wrote the letter, Gnostic ideas circulated before a cohesive movement developed. The Gnostics, or a slightly early version of them, may well be the false teachers mentioned in the letter
Significantly, the author uses a slightly different word for knowledge “epignosis” which means a kind of superior knowledge. Knowledge of Christ is greater than any other knowledge that can be found. Furthermore, the knowledge mentioned here is about God’s will, notably with regard to our everyday life as he explains in verse ten. Gnostics or groups with Gnostic tendencies, were concerned purely with spiritual things. In Pauline thought, spirituality is never something isolated from our daily life but part of it. True understanding and wisdom are shown in how we live our lives. True spirituality is seeking to follow the Spirit’s guidance. In other words, Christianity sees knowledge of God in practical not abstract terms.
In verse ten, he writes about walking in the way of the Lord (living a worthy life is the usual translation). Christian standards are not those of the world, so it can be difficult to interact with it and maintain one’s values. But true spirituality means living according to the values of God’s kingdom. As Marcus Maxwell writes: “Christian life here and now aims to put into practice the way of life that is natural to the kingdom; to prepare oneself for it, and to model it before the world like a new designer dress”
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