Colossians 2.3-All the Treasures Related to that Which is Truly Wisdom and Knowledge are Hidden in the Person of Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 6, 2015
Colossians: Colossians 2:3-All the Treasures Related to that which is Truly Wisdom and Knowledge are Hidden in the Person of Jesus Christ
Lesson # 40
Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (NASB95)
“In whom” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” is composed of the following: (1) adjective pas (πᾶς), “all” (2) noun thēsauros (θησαυρός), “the treasures” (6) noun sophia (σοφία), “of wisdom” (7) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (8) noun gnōsis (γνῶσις), “knowledge.”
The noun thēsauros is in the plural and means “treasures” since it pertains to that which is of exceptional value and kept safe and is modified by the nouns sophia, “of wisdom” and gnōsis, “knowledge.”
It is modified by the adjective pas which means “all” since it pertains to the totality of any object and here it is used of the totality of treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
The noun sophia means “wisdom” and speaks of God’s wisdom, which was revealed during the First Advent of Jesus Christ.
Specifically it was revealed through the person, work, life and teaching of God’s Son Jesus Christ and is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the gospel.
The noun gnosis is used in an objective sense for the content of what is known about the character and nature of God and His will and ways as revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures.
It means “knowledge” pertaining to an intellectual and spiritual grasp or comprehension of the will of the Father.
“Hidden” is the adjective apokruphos (ἀπόκρυφος), which pertains to not being able to be known and thus secret.
Colossians 2:1 In fact, I want each and every one of you to know for certain how great a struggle I am experiencing on behalf of each and every one of you as well as for those who are located in Laodicea, yes in fact, for all those who have never seen my face in the flesh. 2 The purpose of this struggle is that their hearts would be encouraged. Specifically by being united by means of divine-love. Also, for a wealth which is absolute which is produced by that which is conviction which produces that which is discernment. For the purpose of knowing experientially the mystery which originates from God (the Father), namely the Christ. 3 In whom, all the treasures related to that which is truly wisdom as well as related to that which is truly knowledge are hidden. (My translation)
In Colossians 2:1, the apostle Paul informs the faithful Christians in Colossae that he wanted each and every one of them to know for certain how great a struggle he was experiencing in prayer on behalf of each and every one of them as well as for those Christians in Laodicea and all who had never met him personally.
Then in verse 2 he presents a three-fold purpose of this intense struggle while interceding in prayer for these Christians.
The first is that they would be encouraged and specifically by being united by means of the love of God working in their lives.
Second that they would possess a wealth which is absolute which is produced by that which is conviction in the Word of God which produces discernment in their lives.
The third purpose was that they would know experientially the mystery which originates from God, which he identifies as being the Christ.
Now, here in verse 3, he continues to describe Jesus Christ but in relation to wisdom and knowledge.
In this verse he asserts that all the treasures related to that which is truly wisdom as well as related to that which is truly knowledge are in hidden in the person of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we can see that Paul’s assertion in this verse serves as justification for or the reason why he worked hard at communicating the gospel to the Christian community (cf. Colossians 1:28-29) and struggled intensely while interceding in prayer for the Christian community (cf. Colossians 2:1-2).
“That which is truly wisdom” is the noun sophia which speaks of God’s wisdom, which was revealed during the First Advent of Jesus Christ and specifically it was revealed through the person, work, life and teaching of God’s Son Jesus Christ and is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the gospel.
God’s wisdom is superior to the wisdom of men or angels since it is based upon His omniscience and is His unique ability to devise a perfect plan to accomplish His goal to glorify Himself.
The word denotes God’s ability to perfectly execute His plan of salvation and as a result glorify Himself.
The wisdom of God is expressed through the gospel of Jesus Christ, which presents God’s provision of eternal salvation for the entire human race through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, the apostle Paul condemns the wisdom of the cosmic system, teaching that the wisdom of God as revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ is superior and has made foolish the wisdom of the cosmic system.
In 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, Paul attacks the self-confidence of the Greeks, who boast of their human wisdom, which is cosmic viewpoint (1 Co. 1:29; cf. 1 Co. 3:21) and he rejects human wisdom and boasts in the wisdom he received from the Lord through the Spirit.
In Colossians 3:16, he teaches that the believer acquires the wisdom of God by letting the Word of Christ richly dwell in his soul, which gives him the capacity to glorify God in whatever circumstance or relationship in life.
James 3:17 describes wisdom as being pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
In Ephesians 3:1-12, the apostle Paul teaches that the multi-faceted wisdom of God is being made known through the church to the “rulers” and “authorities.”
In Ephesians 1:16-17, Paul informs the Ephesian believers that he prays that they would receive spiritual wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding their union and identification with Christ, which is by means of an experiential knowledge of the Father.
“That which is truly knowledge” is the noun gnosis which is used in an objective sense for the content of what is known about the character and nature of God and His will and ways as revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures.
It means “knowledge” pertaining to an intellectual and spiritual grasp or comprehension of the will of the Father.
Paul’s use of the word indicates the presence of an incipient form of Gnosticism in the Essence branch of the Judaizers whose teaching the Colossians were being exposed to.
One of the essentials of Gnosticism is that salvation is by knowledge and speculations about the soul and spiritual hierarchies.
“Knowledge” is the apprehension or comprehension of truth whereas “wisdom” is the application of truth.
The latter is the ability to know how to live one’s life and do things in life God’s way and the former provides this ability.
“Hidden” is the adjective apokruphos which pertains to not being able to be known and thus secret and speaks of something concealed.
Therefore, this indicates that in the person of Jesus Christ all the treasures related to that which is truly wisdom and truly knowledge are “hidden.”
That which is truly wisdom and knowledge are hidden in the person of Jesus Christ but are revealed by the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They are found in the written Word of God, both Old and New Testaments.
This word also harkens back to the musterion (μυστήριον), “mystery” which appears at the end of Colossians 2:2.
As we noted in our study of this verse, Jesus Christ is also “the mystery originating from God” in the sense that He is the content of the gospel who fully disclosed God’s plan of salvation through His death and resurrection, through His earthly life, His First Advent.
It speaks of the fact that He fully revealed what godly living is all about or in other words, He fully disclosed how a human being should live in order to honor God.
Therefore, to have an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ is to receive a godly wisdom and godly knowledge.
An experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ speaks of a Christian personally encountering through the process of experiential sanctification or fellowship Jesus Christ as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in a prayerful study of the gospel.
It also refers to being affected by this encounter with Jesus Christ which in turn will result in the gaining of practical spiritual wisdom and more of the character of Christ.
This term apokruphos in Colossians 2:3 was also another favorite term of the Essence branch of Judaism and specifically with regards to their incipient form of Gnosticism which they taught.
Paul uses this word as well as sophia and gnosis to refute their teaching.
This adjective apokruphos was used in particular with regards to their esoteric writings and doctrines and secret books.
Thus, once again Paul is reminding the Colossians of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and that the gospel which is about Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is superior to the wisdom and knowledge propagated by the Essence branch of the Judaizers whose teaching was being propagated in the Roman province of Asia.