My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. (Colossians 2:2-4)
I get nervous when door-to-door salesmen come to the door. Not just because it’s awkward, but also because I can be naïve. Gullible. Some people sure have a good sales pitch, don’t they? People can come up with fine-sounding arguments for even the most useless things. “You need… You need… You really need…” And you start to think, “Huh, maybe I do. Maybe I do need…”
There were salesmen tugging on the hearts of the Christians in Colossae with fine-sounding arguments: “Jesus is nice and all, but he’s just the start. You really need more. You need more of our wisdom. You need more of our knowledge. You need more of our rules and traditions and customs.” It was just like the devil in the Garden of Eden. “If you eat from the tree, you’ll have more knowledge. You need…”
And Paul said, “No!” His goal was to encourage God’s people to see that full riches and complete understanding are all found in Christ. True wisdom is faith in Jesus. True riches come from the peace of a forgiven heart. When you know the Bible’s message about our sin and God’s grace to us in Jesus, you don’t need any additional special knowledge. When you believe that Jesus is your Savior and trust in his promise of eternal life, you don’t ever need to move on to more special wisdom. You have true riches!
In fact, in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” It’s a sad truth that colleges and universities in our country, which are filled with the most intelligent people around, deny the existence of God and the salvation of Jesus and the reality of heaven. All the finest-sounding arguments in the world are nothing compared to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in Jesus.
So remind yourself of this: “I have full riches in Christ. I don’t need to buy more things. I have full riches in Christ! It’s always good to keep learning, but I already have full riches in Christ!”
Dear Holy Spirit, the world is full of fine-sounding arguments telling me what I need to be wise. Lead me to see the true riches found in Jesus and fill me with the treasures of God’s holy Word. Amen.
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