If chapter one of Colossians reads like a mystery to be solved, then chapter two has the feel of a treasure hunt. Recalling that the Colossians faced an infiltration of ‘philosophies’ that threatened their faith in Christ, we remember Paul’s warning about “people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk… [who] want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything” (Colossians 2:8 MSG).
These interlopers brought with them designs of elevated spiritual status, full of unabashed pride in their belief of having achieved the secret of spirituality – knowledge.1 And, as we can imagine, the stress of trying to navigate such ideologies was costly to the Church. It’s why Paul established early in his letter that the only secret, the only mystery, is Christ in you (Colossians 1:27). It’s why he continued to hammer out the issue of ‘knowledge’ in the second chapter.
Together with the Colossians, we shall pursue the path Paul lays out as he calls attention to all that we gain from being in Christ. We’ll track the truths that lead to the ultimate treasure – the wisdom and knowledge of Christ.
Riches of God
When we think of hidden treasures, images of old chests full of gold and caves overflowing with precious jewels come to mind. Paul chooses his language carefully as he establishes Christ as the true treasure, describing all that we find in Him as ‘riches.’
Throughout his letters, Paul uses a Greek word, ploutos, to emphasize other ‘riches’ God has for us, including “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27), “God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7, 2:7), “His kindness, forbearance and patience” (Romans 2:4), “God’s glory” (Romans 9:23), and “understanding” (Colossians 2:2). And, they are ‘riches’ because these gifts of God are lavished upon us in “abundance …with a genitive of the excellence in which one abounds.”2
In other words, these ‘riches’ abound in us because of our relationship to the Father. So many times, Paul is quick to clarify this truth, lest we begin to think we have God’s grace, kindness, glory, and understanding because we’ve achieved them. The phrase “in Christ” is the consistent clarifier. These ‘riches’ are of God – given to those in Christ.
Any time we are tempted to believe we’ve found a ‘true way’ because of knowledge we’ve uncovered, we can recollect Paul’s exhortation:
“My goal is that their hearts would be encouraged and united together in love so that they might have all the riches of assurance that come with understanding, so that they might have the knowledge of the secret plan of God, namely Christ. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him.”
Colossians 2:2-3 CEB
Paul and God, they don’t want us spinning our wheels and spending our time hunting for knowledge that doesn’t help our faith, exhausting ourselves with wild-goose chases and other so-called mysteries (2:4 MSG). He offers us, instead, “the full riches of complete understanding” (2:2 NIV). He extends to us the “richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” which are “embedded in that mystery [Christ] and nowhere else” (v.2 MSG).
To the Ephesians, and every follower of Jesus since, Paul prays:
“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…”
Ephesians 1:17-18 NIV
Keeping the context in mind – that Paul writes to churches, to groups of believers – we can read the “you” in this prayer as collective. The Greek is plural. Paul’s concern is for the “health of the entire community” and not just the spirituality of individuals.3
Oh, I feel the need to pause here – because I feel the conviction of seeking after my own understanding. And as I sit in this revelation, this moment of repentance, I can look back at the divisive nature of such thinking and the pride of such belief. When we go after our individual ‘truths’ and ‘knowledge,’ we miss the ‘riches’ God has for us. Together, in Christ, we find unity in His love; as such, we can know the fullness of understanding that only comes when the Spirit of wisdom opens our spiritual eyes to see God more fully – to know Him better (Colossians 2:2-3, Ephesians 1:17-18). These are the riches, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge known only in Christ.
Fullness of Christ
The Greek word for ‘riches,’ ploutos, can also be used to describe “the fullness of the things pertaining to the salvation” that Christ alone offers.2 So, when Paul talks about the honor of preaching “the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus,” he’s leaning into a more robust and specific meaning of ‘riches’ (Ephesians 3:8). He desires the Church to grasp just how abundantly full Christ’s salvation is – how it needs nothing more.
Wrapped up in our Colossians 2 passage are two more Greek words for ‘fullness.’ See if you can spot them:
“See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.”
Colossians 2:8-10 CEB
Reading verses nine and ten in context – with the warning of the deceptive philosophies – we should be completely arrested by the power-packed description of Jesus: “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (v.9 NLT). Nothing could be more full.
I have a memory of Beth Moore repeating a more formal version of this verse over and over in one of her studies – as though she were in awe. She got it. “In [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (NKJV)! This man Jesus, who certainly was born and walked the earth in a human body, full of its needs and emotions and temptations, was also completely filled with the “sum total” of God the Father.4
Talk about being enough!
But that’s not where this “super abundance” ends.4 We are also included: “In Christ you have been brought to fullness” (v.10 NIV), “complete through your union with Christ” (v.10 NLT). Believers can know this fullness – and it’s not a partial portion, but full to capacity.
But, “entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve” (Colossians 2:11 MSG). It’s not attained by our goodness or exceptionality but with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit “by virtue of our intimate relationship” with Jesus.5
We’ve dug deep today, friends. So, let’s lighten this up just a bit and enjoy the way Eugene Peterson sums up these two ‘full’ verses:
“Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too.”
Colossians 2:9-10 MSG
There’s not a single thing we need in order to find ‘better,’ or to be ‘fuller,’ more than Jesus. When we choose to live in Him, we have everything He has. Truly, let that sink in. We can’t just read over that and move on. We are richly furnished and brought to fullness because He is in us and we are in Him!
Overflow With Thankfulness
The Gnostics, and people like them, believe they can discover methods of attaining ‘treasures’ no one else can. They strive for more. Always more. Jesus is never enough for them because there’s a deeply rooted belief in our humanity that thinks we know better.
Unless we surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ and trust that His fullness, found in us, is always enough, we’ll wear ourselves out always hunting for more treasures of glory and rightness and worthiness.
For the good of Christ’s Church, Paul devoted many words and much time contrasting the God-given treasures of wisdom and knowledge to that of the world – because he knew better than anyone that such seeking divides us and exhausts us, depleting the energy needed to seek after the actual riches God offers.
Maybe like Beth Moore, we can steep ourselves in the truth of who Jesus is and how the ‘fullness of the Godhead bodily’ overflows into us, the redeemed. A natural outflow of such unmerited grace is gratitude.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 NIV, emphasis mine
The power of thankfulness ties our hearts to Jesus’ heart; it connects us to Him.6 So, when we look to Him with thanks, we make Jesus our source. He becomes the pool of riches we draw from because of all He is and all He’s done. The love “He demonstrated for us on the cross [becomes] the soil…our lives grow out from.”6 This ‘living in Christ’ releases an overflow of gratitude!
With hearts full of thankfulness, let’s move into the world assured of our oneness with Christ and of the treasures we’ve been given because of that holy abiding. How grateful we are that for all days, the love of God unites His people to His heart, giving us “all the riches that assurance brings in [our] understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God” (2:2 NET). In Him we find fullness, unity with believers, and rest – because our connectedness to the Father makes a way for us and all believers to know the mysteries hidden in Christ are the most precious treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3).
No more hunting needed.
Father God, what a tapestry You weave with words. What a marvel it is to unravel a few threads and better understand what it looks like to live hidden in your Son. And we are so grateful that You invite us into such intimacy that we can know your love and your wisdom firsthand. We get to know the mystery that is Christ, and we can rest in such knowledge. Lord Jesus, it is too much for our feeble minds to grasp the enormity of the idea that in You exists the fullness of the Godhead bodily. But we do believe it as truth and receive the fullness in You for ourselves. We choose to root ourselves in You in order to draw from You all that we need to keep growing in You and living for You. Holy Spirit, thank You for gifting us with the ‘riches’ of God. We ask forgiveness for all the times we’ve tried to strive in our own strength and ‘knowing’ in order to access what looked like wisdom. Now we see that God’s ways truly are higher than ours. We recognize that our efforts to seek individual knowledge puts stress on the Body of Christ. We admit the futility of such hunting of treasures – because they simply don’t exist outside of Christ. We ask that You continue to help us maintain our connection to Christ so that we can remain in Him. Help us to receive the fullness of all that Christ is so that we can come together as the Church in a world that needs His form of knowledge and wisdom, righteousness and rest. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Inspired by Colossians 2:2-3,6-7,8-11; Ephesians 1:17-18,3:8)
This week, as we lean into the reflective rhythms of Lent, we can take with us the truth that Jesus is wisdom for those who are in Him. How might you apply this in your life throughout Lent and beyond? I’m thinking that just repeating the phrase, “Jesus is wisdom for me,” might be incredibly helpful in keeping my mind set on Him and not on my own plans, agendas, or my anxieties. Our friend, Paul, has a lovely way of saying all of this, enhancing our understanding or approach to wisdom:
“It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus. He became wisdom from God for us. This means that he made us righteous and holy, and he delivered us.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 CEB
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble with no expectations.
- 1 – This PBS article on Gnosticism elaborates about their hyper-focus on knowledge: “Gnosticism is a term that’s etymologically connected with the word “to know.” It has the same root in English, “kno” is related to “gno” the Greek word for gnosis. And Gnostics were people who claimed to know something special. This knowledge could be a knowledge of a person, the kind of personal acquaintance that a mystic would have with the divine. Or it could be a kind of propositional knowledge of certain key truths. Gnostics claim both of those kinds of knowledge.”
- 2 – Quoted from the Biblehub.com “poulos” page
- 3 – Quoted from The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary.
- 4 – Quoted from the Biblehub.com “pleroma” page
- 5 – Quoted from the Biblehub.com “pleroo” page
- 6 – Aimee Walker’s study on Colossians, Enough, p.40
- On our Hidden in Christ playlist is a song by VIVE Worship, called “Hidden.” It’s lyrics carry all that we’ve been learning into higher plains — not lofty but up. Up to Jesus, from our hearts. I hope you’ll feel the peace and restfulness that comes from seeking the treasures of Christ as you hear this song.
All my life I seek You, Lord
The more I find, the more I want
What’s been hidden is to be found
I’ll never get to the end of who You are
Jesus, You’re the only one my heart desires
Hidden in Your presence, for
It’s You alone who knows me
I really want to show
How much I need You, Lord
My heart is longing to see Your glory
You’re revealing all that’s hidden
Pull me in closer, Your Spirit drawing me in
Keep revealing all that’s hidden - The first of our Lenten “Teacup Videos” is live! It captures more of the ‘mystery’ from last week’s post. But, this Wednesday’s video will carry on this theme of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You can find all of them on my Facebook Author Page and Instagram.
- If you haven’t signed up for my monthly, The Abiding Life, Newsletter, please do! The first week of each month I pop into your inbox so we can talk a little more, go a little deeper on some thoughts, topics, and ideas — all with the heart of helping us abide in Christ. You can subscribe to it here!
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is what aids us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- WORSHIP is our spiritual rhythm through Lent. While singing is not the only form of worship, it’s often the most ‘known’ way to worship, so if that’s your comfort zone or preferred style, please continue singing to God! I do offer the quote (below) as inspiration. It’s from Christy Nockels, who is not only an author but a songwriter and worship leader, from her book, The Life You Long For.^ You’ll find tucked into this ‘call to worship’ much of the same language we found in Paul’s letters. And, you’ll see that Christy defines worship as a response to God — yes, with mouths, but also with hearts and lives. This week tap into your natural wiring. How can the overflow of gratitude lead you into the worship of God with your life or heart or voice?
“My friend Matt Redman, a worship leader, often says…that “seeing is singing.” As we grow in our knowledge and experience of who God is—His attributes, His love over us, His faithfulness to us—we can’t help but respond and sing with our mouths and our hearts and our lives. This is what worship is! It’s our response to God that says that we see Him for the treasure He is and we can’t help but sing! It’s that beautiful reconciliation of our hearts with His that sings out, “God, You are enough—You are the life I’ve been longing for.” We begin to teem with contentment in the inner places of our hearts, and we shake loose the old habit of trying to make a way for ourselves. We finally stop marching to the beat of our own puny little tunes, and we suddenly have space for the songs of others. In fact, the spillover of our trust in God to make a way for us is that our singing also becomes our seeing. We look outward and we truly see the people that God has so strategically and lovingly placed in our care (The Life You Long For, pp.94-95). - Finally, as a community, let us not neglect sharing God’s story with others! And, don’t be shy to tell your God-stories, too.
- Lent is a great time to invite a friend to walk through this series with us. Share this site. We don’t want anyone walking through this life alone, lost, or over-burdened and without hope. We can all get ‘hidden’ in Christ together!
Featured Photo by Ashin K Suresh on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash.
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