That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3)
In these two verses Paul expressed what he wanted for the Christians in Colosse and Laodicea. He had never met them yet, yet he still prayed for them and wanted specific things for their spiritual life. These things explain what God wants for each of us.
God wants your heart to be encouraged. God is concerned about your enthusiasm. God knows that discouraged, downcast Christians are easy prey for the world, the flesh, and the devil.
God wants your heart to be knit together in love with other people. God is concerned about our unity. The unity God wants doesn’t come from force, but love.
God wants you to receive real riches that are found in the believer’s full assurance. Many lack full assurance about the character of God and are unconvinced that He is really good and loving. Others lack full assurance of their salvation and wonder if their Christian life is for real. Great freedom and confidence comes when we come to this full assurance.
God wants you to have something of the knowledge of the mystery of God. The term mystery of God is used in a few different ways in the New Testament. Here, Paul used the term regarding the character and person of God – something we could not know unless He revealed it to us.
More than anything, God wants you to know Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It seems that the Christians in Colosse were influenced by teachers who told them to seek after treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but not to seek them in Jesus. Paul wrote, “You will only find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus. He has them all.”
Notice that Paul used words like riches and treasures to describe what we can find in Jesus Christ. Words like that remind us that God’s truth is precious and worth whatever price it may take us to seek after it. People will dedicate a lot of time and effort to find riches and treasures, and we should give our all to seek them. But remember, it doesn’t matter how sincere or hard working a treasure hunter is, if they don’t look in the right place. Jesus is the right place to find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Seek Him for those things today.
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David’s weekly devotional is also translated into German.
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