As Paul the apostle
continued his letter to the church in Colosse, he desired for the
church to know how compassionate he was for them and the church of
Laodocia because he had not seen them face to face yet. He knew there
were false teachers among them who were not only spreading their
heresies, but dividing the church as well. In chapter two and verse
two we continue to see Paul address the issues that were causing
those divisions. We read:
That their hearts might
be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the
full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery
of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
The verse begins, “That
their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love,...”
As Paul begins this verse, he
shares two desires that he has for the church. The first is, “that
their hearts” which are “the
center and seat of spiritual life” “might be comforted”
or “consoled, encouraged and strengthened by consolation”.
Secondly, he desires for them to be “knit together” which
means “to cause to coalesce, to join together, put together, to
unite in affection, to gather, conclude, consider and to cause a
person to unite with one in a conclusion or come to the same opinion”
“in love” which is the Greek word “agape” and means
“affection, good will, benevolence, brotherly love and
unconditional love”. Rather than be divided, the church members of
Colosse were encouraged to be unified in agape love.
The verse goes on to say, “and
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,...” In
addition to comfort and love, Paul desired for the Colossians to have
“all riches” which are
“wealth, abundance of external possessions, fullness, and
plenitude” “of the full assurance” which means “most
certain confidence” “of understanding” or “a running
together or flowing together with knowledge”. The church members
were not to be ignorant of spiritual things, but they were to be
fully confident in the riches that were available to them, and this
spiritual understanding would continue to unify them.
Finally
the verse says, “ to the acknowledgment of the mystery of
God, and of the Father, and of Christ;” The
rich, spiritual knowledge that was available to the church members
was “the acknowledgment”
or “precise and correct knowledge” “of the mystery of
God” which refers to “the hidden thing, purpose, counsel or
will; a secret, mystery, or that which is not obvious to the
understanding” “of God, and the Father, and of Christ”.
For full assurance and understanding, Paul concludes this sentence
identifying this “mystery”
with “God” who is
Creator of all things, “the Father” which
refers to God in a compassionate overseeing way, and “of
Christ” who is Jesus.
From
earlier teachings in this letter we remember the “Gnostics” who
denied the deity of Jesus and promoted “mysteries” as part of
their false doctrine. Paul uses their idea of “mystery”
as he shares with the Colossians concerning the full knowledge of
Jesus Christ. This true knowledge was not only to inform the church
members of Colosse, but was also to unify them and give them
“full assurance” of their
salvation. As we ponder these words, let us be reminded that there
are many who are not fully assured of their salvation, and there are
others who continue to believe heresies that divide. As we learn from
Paul the apostle, may the Lord bring us into unity, give us full
assurance of His salvation, and continue to reveal His great plan for
our spiritual and eternal lives with Him.
Next
time Paul writes about hidden treasure,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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