Treasures
Pondering Colossians Chapter Two
I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.—Colossians 2:1-5
I know Paul was an Apostle and had a special calling, but I still want to see more of his passion for the church among all of us. His agony for the church was for their good—their encouragement, love, and confidence.
I would like to see more of this in the preachers and teachers of the church. So much of what I see online can be categorized as eye-poking condemnation. I see promises of prosperity and material gain. I see preachers who tell others what to do while they ignore those teachings for themselves. This is our contemporary problem, and so it was in ancient days.
Paul is so concerned about them because he wants them to be focused on Christ, not on self, not on works of righteousness, not on sin, not on the world, not on the culture. He is begging them to put all their hope and trust in Christ. Why?
In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
This is crucial because there will always be those who may be of superior intelligence, but know not Christ. They can make their arguments sound so good, so right. They can make you feel so wrong because they are so smart.
We are beginning to see why Paul is writing to the Colossian Christians. He wants to warn them that the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are not to be found in the philosophers of the day, no matter how grand they may sound. Same to you, brothers and sisters. Many wonderful-sounding teachers have such a presence, a charisma, a message that reaches your heart, but within is no dependence on the only ONE who has the words of life.
Interestingly, Paul doesn’t say, “You’ve already fallen for it!” He is warning them not to fall into the trap. Their faith in Christ is strong.
When our faith in Christ is strong, anything that leads us away from that will not have an appeal to us. When I leave Christ behind, I leave behind my hope for glory and the treasures of wisdom and knowledge He desires to give me.
The warning is not over. He has more to say, but this is something that should ring in our ears today. Don’t be deceived by well-crafted arguments.
I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.—Colossians 2:4, ESV
It may seem plausible, intellectual, and even attractional, but if it leads you away from Christ, don’t sacrifice all he wants to give you to follow. Never let trash lead you away from treasure!
During our first 2 years of marriage, we moved twice for my Air Force pilot training. The second move was for only 4 months. The first weekend, we went to church and Sunday school, and the class was studying Colossians. The verse you have highlighted in this post was what we read and reflected on that morning. It became an anchor, a reminder over the next few years, to stay close to Christ, and not be distracted by worldly treasures. I’m reminded as I read this post, of God’s faithfulness to us these many years since the Colossians class, and grateful for his timing and purpose for our lives.
Truth, John.
Loving the series The Chosen. I am up to the final episode of season 5. I wish they would make more of these on the entire Bible, it’s a fabulous way of teaching the truth.