Suggestions for leading a study:

• Familiarize yourself with the passage in context, including the book itself.  Who wrote it to whom, and why?
• Read through the study guide a couple times to get the “big idea” as well as the flow of the argument
• Have the group read through the passage in it’s entirety before beginning the study.  One of the goals is to try to get your members to learn how to study Scripture methodically, and this is an important step.
• Be prayed up
• Have fun!
  

Knowing God's Will

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Discussion Questions

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-Which of the following phrases best represents how you feel about God’s will for your life?

          1.-“It’s my way or the highway, baby.  What does God’s will have to do with anything?”

          2.-“I didn’t know God cared about what happens to me, but I’m willing to find out what he wants.”

          3.-“I’m trying to find out God’s will for my life, but I’m not sure how.”

          4.-“I’ve got this thing down.  Every part of my life is always conformed to God’s will all the time.”

-The first half of verse 10 reveal two things that happen with our lives if we know God’s will.

          -What are they and what do you think they mean?

          -Are these the priorities most people have for their lives today?

-There are 4 things listed here that are God’s will for everyone.  How can each of these be more a part of your life?

          -Bearing fruit in every good work

          -Grow in the knowledge of God

          -Have the power of God to persevere in the Christian life

          -Joyfully give thanks to God for saving you

Leaders' Guide

This lesson explores key aspects of the will of God that Paul prayed the Colossian Christians would understand.  It is meant to help people think through how these general expectations that God has for every Christian can be worked out specifically in each of our lives. 

-Which of the following phrases best represents how you feel about God’s will for your life?

            1.-“It’s my way or the highway, baby.  What does God’s will have to do with anything?”

            2.-“I didn’t know God cared about what happens to me, but I’m willing to find out what he wants.”

            3.-“I’m trying to find out God’s will for my life, but I’m not sure how.”

            4.-“I’ve got this thing down.  Every part of my life is always conformed to God’s will all the time.”

            This is a discussion starter—a little tongue in cheek, but nevertheless it underscores where we have to start in a discussion of God’s will: that is, do we even care about it?  After going around the group to get everyone started talking, re-read verse 9.  The apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the church in Colosse, obviously thought it was of first importance for people to understand what God’s will is for them and so that was what he spent time praying for.

-The first half of verse 10 reveal two things that happen with our lives if we know God’s will.

            -What are they and what do you think they mean?

            -Are these the priorities most people have for their lives today?

            The two things are: 1. to live a life worthy of the Lord; and 2. please him in every way.  What these mean can be debated and you can let your group define them how they want.  The rest of this passage actually defines what it is that Paul thinks they mean, so don’t spend a lot of time here.  The real issue is the second one: does living a life pleasing to God and worthy of him even matter to people?  Without naming names, try to draw out of their specific situations whether this is what motivates the people they know.  Even people who go to church and appear to do the right things are often-times not truly motivated to life this kind of life every day.       

-There are 4 things listed here that are God’s will for everyone.  How can each of these be more a part of your life?

            Re-read verses 10b (starting with “bearing fruit…”) through 12, and then go through this paraphrased list of things that are included in God’s will for everyone.  This is known as God’s “general” will, or what he wants for every person.  God’s so-called “specific” will is how these things work themselves out in each individual’s life.  Underscore for your group that this is not a matter of waiting for God to reveal that to you, but just buckling down and doing them based on what opportunities he has given you and what capacity you have to accomplish them.

            -Bearing fruit in every good work

                        To understand what Paul means by bearing fruit, review verse 6 for yourself where it clearly refers to the growth of the gospel.  In other words, every Christian should be playing a role in doing God’s work to help people know the gospel.  Being a part of a functioning church is a first step, but you also have to be involved in ministry and witnessing.  The Bible speaks of other good works, such as helping the poor etc.  The bottom line is that God expects you to be busy for him.

            -Grow in the knowledge of God

                        We should never stop learning about God.  He has given us his Word and gifted teachers in the church to help us.  Encourage your group to be daily studying the Word of God and taking advantage of every opportunity they have to keep growing in their knowledge of God.

            -Have the power of God to persevere in the Christian life

                        The Devil will always be trying to discourage and distract Christians from living lives pleasing to God in these ways.  You have to draw on the power of God to have the “great patience and endurance” to run the race of faith.  One of the best ways to draw on God’s power is to develop a dynamic prayer life that helps you walk with God every day.  Encourage your group to find ways to do this.

            -Joyfully give thanks to God for saving you

                        God’s will for you is to live with a good attitude.  The way that we do this is to stay focused on the big picture—that God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  Remind your group that God never promises this life will be easy (that’s why we need great patience and endurance!), but if we know that we’ve been saved from this world for a better one to come we can live lives of thanksgiving and joy.  The next question underscores how we can know that and gives people a chance to be certain of that for themselves.

-Verse 13 tells us why we want to live according to God’s will.  Does this sound like it is describing the situation you are in spiritually? 

            This verse underscores what happens when we choose to follow God and live our lives for him: we are transferred into a new spiritual reality, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.  That happens because we are redeemed by Christ and have our sins forgiven.  Here is an opportunity to remind the group of how that happens: because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we can be “redeemed”, or “bought back” from the darkness and live in a new reality with God in his kingdom.