With 218 words, Paul’s letter to the Colossians has the longest sentence in the New Testament, and perhaps in the Bible. This sentence is 16 words longer than the sentence in Ephesians 1:3-14, but they are very similar since he wrote them from prison at about the same time.
From verse 9 to verse 20 of chapter 1, Paul writes a prayer to the Christians in Colossians whom he has never met. All the believers are first generation, and the church is only a few years old.
The sentence skeleton is simply, “We do not stop.” What two things does the apostle do ceaselessly? 1:9
- Paul PRAYS,
- Paul ASKS,
What is he asking for in 1:9? He asks for 1 thing, but he uses 3 different words to restate and clarify it:
- These new Christians would be filled with the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WILL,
- These new Christians would be filled with ALL SPIRITUAL WISDOM,
- These new Christians would be filled with ALL SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING,
If this 1 request repeated with 3 synonyms were answered in your life, you would know it by 5 results. 1:10-12
- You will WALK WORTHY of the Lord,
- You will BE FRUITFUL in every good work,
- You will INCREASE in the knowledge of God,
- You will BE STRENGTHENED with all power,
- You will GIVE THANKS,
The last result is a grateful spirit, and there are 4 reasons to be grateful. 1:12-14
- Grateful to SHARE the inheritance,
- Grateful to BE RESCUED from darkness,
- Grateful to BE TRANSLATED into His Kingdom,
- Grateful to BE REDEEMED through His blood,
The last reason to be grateful is salvation in Christ, and there are 10 glories of the Son of God. 1:14-20
- Christ is glorious since He is the IMAGE OF GOD,
- Christ is glorious since He is the FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION,
- Christ is glorious since He CREATED OF ALL THINGS,
- Christ is glorious since He is BEFORE ALL THINGS,
- Christ is glorious since He HOLDS ALL THINGS together,
- Christ is glorious since He is the HEAD OF THE CHURCH,
- Christ is glorious since He is the FIRST FROM THE DEAD,
- Christ is glorious since He HOLDS FIRST PLACE in all things,
- Christ is glorious since He CARRIES ALL FULLNESS,
- Christ is glorious since He RECONCILES ALL THINGS.
As I reflect on this prayer, it challenges my devotion, proves the truth of Christianity, and sets a goal for spirituality.
- If you tried to summarize the whole Christian religion in one sentence could you do better?
- Does any other religion have such a stimulating, interesting, philosophical, universal, selfless, altruistic, model of prayer?
- If you had one prayer request to make, would this be your petition?
- If every Christian asked for this and were answered, what would our world look like?
