How Can I Tell I Am Worthy of God’s Life? (Colossians 1:9-10)Wednesday July 29, 2026
Main idea: A Christian is to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will for the purpose of conducting his life worthily of the Lord. How can he be worthy and how can he know he is?
The Christian life is practical in that it is lived out in all of life.
So that (or for the purpose that)…
Col 1:10-12 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father
1. For the purpose to walk (live) worthily of the Lord:
Walk: manner or conduct of life in all respects.
This picks up a common Jewish and biblical idiom, according to which a person’s lifestyle is pictured as a road that one travels along.
Frequently, especially in wisdom literature, two paths or ways are contrasted as a way of confronting the righteous with the decisive choice that they must make (Proverbs; walk to Lady Wisdom’s house or Lady Folly’s).
Worthily: The adverb carries the core idea of something that has equal weight or value—something that “balances the scales,” is commensurate with, befitting, or corresponding to a standard.
Here the standard is the Lord Himself.
The OT frequently uses the image of walking to depict ordering one’s life.
Deu 5:33 “You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.”
1a. Worthy means blessings - is this earning from God?
Unlike all other religions, the reward of God is not heaven (or annihilation). Heaven is given by grace.
With God reward is the fruit of His life.
God also intervenes or infuses blessing in the life of the one who walks worthily.
So then, in whatever God blesses, He does not reward based on a work plan, but through His natural pleasure.
Since walking is a person’s lifestyle, walking is a choice.
Pro 9:3-4 [Lady Wisdom] From the tops of the heights of the city: "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!"
Pro 9:15-16 [Lady Folly] Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,"
2. Judging worthiness.
The question of whether one is worthy enough for God has brought many people to despair.
Luk 15:21 I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
We are God’s sons and daughters by new birth through faith in Christ who died for us and was judged for all of our sins - all of them.
Tit 3:4-5 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy
How do I know that I belong to God - that He has made me worthy to be called His son or daughter?
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Therefore, we can see the root of the good tree in ourselves (not in others - though fruit gives great evidence). Our root is Christ and as believers we see it through faith and the witness of the Holy Spirit within us.
Rom 8:15-16 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
I truly believe that every believer will have good works. They are evidence of salvation but not proof. The surety of the security in Christ for the believer is faith which the Holy Spirit reveals to them is the sealed fact of adoption unto God as His eternal child.
God says I’m qualified. “He has now reconciled you,” (Col 1:22); Christ in you (Col 1:27); “in Him you have been made complete” (Col 2:10); “He made you alive together with Him” (Col 2:13); “If you have died Christ” (Col 2:20); “if you have been raised up with Christ” (Col 3:1).
Only faith can verify in your soul that these astounding truths are true about you.
Gal 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God,
2a. How can I know I’m living worthily of the Lord?
You have to humble before the Lord and His Word, be honest with yourself (judge yourself rightly; 1Co 11:29), and be obedient in the fear of the Lord.
Humble before His Word:
Eph 4:1-3 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
Phi 1:27-2:7 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Be honest with yourself:
1Co 11:27-32 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
Part of this is accepting the discipline of the Lord (vs. 32; Pro 9; Heb 12).
Be obedient in the fear of the Lord:
Eph 5:21 be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
Conclusion:
Nothing we did or do makes us worthy of God’s life.
The worthy life is not a formula, ritual, or something memorized. It is a daily awareness of our faith, love, and hope and our Lord Jesus’ example.
Like a new born trying to learn to walk, determined but often falling, the resolve to walk pleases the parents.
Put your faith in God and set your mind on all He wills for you.
Being made worthy must make us humble if we understand how we became worthy of Him.
Do not self-deceive. Don’t make excuses. Acknowledge your failures and claim them as your own - don’t blame, and boldly come before God, seek the right attitude, ask the right questions, and knock on the next door of opportunity - there is one standard that is called worthy and it is in God’s Word. |