SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:9
¶ Por lo cual tambin nosotros, desde el día que lo oímos, no cesamos de orar por vosotros, y de pedir a Dios que seis llenos del conocimiento de su voluntad, en toda sabiduría y entendimiento espiritual;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Colossians 1:9
Verse 9. For this cause] See on Eph. i. 15, 16, where the same sentiment occurs. That ye might be filled] Nothing could satisfy the apostle, either for himself or his hearers, but the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace. The Colossians had knowledge, but they must have more; it is their privilege to be filled with it. As the bright shining of the sun in the firmament of heaven fills the whole world with light and heat, so the light of the Sun of righteousness is to illuminate their whole souls, and fill them with Divine splendour, so that they might know the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; in a word, that they might have such a knowledge of Divine things as the Spirit of truth can teach to the soul of man.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 9. For this cause we also , etc.] Not merely for their love to the apostle, and the rest that were with him; which sense is too much contracted, and carries some appearance of meanness and selfishness; but because of their faith in Christ, their love to all the saints, and the good hope they had of eternal happiness; and because they had heard the Gospel, and truly knew it, and sincerely professed it: therefore, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire ; which shows that the apostles prayed without ceasing; not that they were every moment praying, without intermission, but that they were frequent and constant every day at the throne of grace; and as often as they were there, they were mindful of these Colossians, even ever since they heard of their reception of the Gospel, of their profession of it, and of the fruit it brought forth in them; and in their petitions prayed and desired, earnestly and importunately entreated God on their behalf: that ye might he filled with the knowledge of his will ; the will of God, as the Syriac version reads it, by which is meant, not the secret will of God, according to the counsel of which he does all things in nature, providence, and grace, but his revealed will; and that either as it is signified in the law, which declares the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God, relating to what he would have done, or avoided by his creatures; or rather, as it is exhibited in the Gospel, which contains the will of God respecting the salvation of his chosen ones; as that it is his will that Christ should obtain eternal redemption for them, to do which he voluntarily substituted himself in their room, came into this world, and has accomplished it; and that all those that are redeemed by Christ should be regenerated by the Spirit; and that whoever sees the Son, and believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life; as also, that all those whom he has chosen in Christ, and given to him, and he has redeemed by his blood, and who are sanctified by his Spirit, none of them should be lost, but that they should be all saved with an everlasting salvation. Now the apostle does, not pray that they might have a knowledge of this will of God, for some knowledge of it they had already; they had heard of the hope laid up in heaven, in the truth of the word of the Gospel; they had not only had the external, revelation, and had heard the Gospel outwardly preached, but they had known truly the grace of God; and therefore what he asks for is, that they might be filled with the knowledge of it; which supposes that they had knowledge, but it was not full and complete; it was imperfect, as is the knowledge of the best of saints in this life; and that they might have a larger measure of it, and such a fulness of it as they were capable of in the present state, and not such an one as the saints will have in heaven, when they shall know even as they are known. He adds, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ; his meaning is, that they might be led into all the wisdom of God, which is so largely displayed in the revelation of his will concerning the salvation of his people, which is made in the Gospel; which is the manifold wisdom of God, wherein he has abounded in all wisdom and prudence; and contains such a scheme of things, so wisely contrived and formed, that angels desire to look into it; and that they might have a spiritual understanding of the mysteries of grace, without which they cannot be discerned to spiritual advantage, nor indeed without the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of them: and the Ethiopic version renders it, by the prudence of the Holy Ghost: who searches the deep things of God, and reveals them to the saints, and improves and increases their spiritual and experimental knowledge of them, which is what is here intended.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 9-14 - The apostle was constant in prayer, that the believers might be fille with the knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom. Good words will not d without good works. He who undertakes to give strength to his people is a God of power, and of glorious power. The blessed Spirit is the author of this. In praying for spiritual strength, we are no straitened, or confined in the promises, and should not be so in ou hopes and desires. The grace of God in the hearts of believers is the power of God; and there is glory in this power. The special use of thi strength was for sufferings. There is work to be done, even when we ar suffering. Amidst all their trials they gave thanks to the Father of our Lord Jesus, whose special grace fitted them to partake of the inheritance provided for the saints. To bring about this change, thos were made willing subjects of Christ, who were slaves of Satan. All wh are designed for heaven hereafter, are prepared for heaven now. Thos who have the inheritance of sons, have the education of sons, and the disposition of sons. By faith in Christ they enjoyed this redemption as the purchase of his atoning blood, whereby forgiveness of sins, an all other spiritual blessings were bestowed. Surely then we shall dee it a favour to be delivered from Satan's kingdom and brought into tha of Christ, knowing that all trials will soon end, and that ever believer will be found among those who come out of great tribulation.
Greek Textus Receptus
δια 1223 τουτο 5124 και 2532 ημεις 2249 αφ 575 ης 3739 ημερας 2250 ηκουσαμεν 191 5656 ου 3756 παυομεθα 3973 5731 υπερ 5228 υμων 5216 προσευχομενοι 4336 5740 και 2532 αιτουμενοι 154 5734 ινα 2443 πληρωθητε 4137 5686 την 3588 επιγνωσιν 1922 του 3588 θεληματος 2307 αυτου 846 εν 1722 παση 3956 σοφια 4678 και 2532 συνεσει 4907 πνευματικη 4152
Vincent's NT Word Studies
9. We also. Marking the reciprocal feeling of Paul and Timothy with that of the Colossians.
Pray - desire (proseucomenoi - aitoumenoi). The words occur together in Mark xi. 24. The former is general, the latter special. Rev. make request is better than desire. The A.V. renders indiscriminately ask and desire. Rev. alters desire to ask. Desire in the sense of ask occurs in Shakespeare and Spenser.
Knowledge (epignwsin). See on Rom. iii. 20; Philemon 6. Full knowledge. See Rom. i. 21, 28; 1 Cor. xiii. 12, where Paul contrasts ginwskein to know gnwsiv knowledge, with ejpiginwskein to know fully, ejpignwsiv full knowledge. Here appropriate to the knowledge of God in Christ as the perfection of knowledge.
Wisdom and spiritual understanding (sofia kai sunesei pneumatikh). Rev., better, applies spiritual to both - spiritual wisdom and understanding. The kindred adjectives sofov wise and sunetov prudent, occur together, Matt. xi. 25; Luke x. 21. For sofia wisdom, see on Rom. xi. 33, and on wise, Jas. iii. 13. For sunesiv understanding, see on Mark xii. 33, and prudent, Matt. xi. 25. The distinction is between general and special. Understanding is the critical apprehension of particulars growing out of wisdom, which apprehension is practically applied by fronhsiv prudence, see on Luke i. 17; Ephesians i. 8. Spiritual is emphatic, as contrasted with the vain philosophy of false teachers.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:9 {That ye may be filled with} (hina plerwqete). First aorist (effective) passive subjunctive of plerow, to fill full. {The knowledge of his will} (tn epign"sin tou thelmatos autou). The accusative case is retained with this passive verb. epignwsis is a _Koin_ word (Polybius, Plutarch, etc.) for additional (epi) or full knowledge. The word is the keynote of Paul's reply to the conceit of Gnosticism. The cure for these intellectual upstarts is not ignorance, not obscurantism, but more knowledge of the will of God. {In all spiritual wisdom and understanding} (en pasei sofiai kai sunesei pneumatikei). Both pasei (all) and pneumatikei (spiritual) are to be taken with both sofiai and sunesei. In #Eph 1:8 Paul uses fronesei (from fren, intellect) rather than sunesei (grasp, from suniemi, to send together). sunesis is the faculty of deciding in particular cases while sofia gives the general principles (Abbott). Paul faces Gnosticism with full front and wishes the freest use of all one's intellectual powers in interpreting Christianity. The preacher ought to be the greatest man in the world for he has to deal with the greatest problems of life and death.
