In Christ Alone

“In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” (Colossians 2:3)

Heresy, like the leeching process where minerals seep into organic matter over a long period of time creating petrified wood, is a tool Satan likes to use to disfigure and disable the power of truth. The process can be so gradual that many never notice it happening, though some do. Paul was one who did.

Paul saw this happening in the Colossian church and in other Asia Minor churches. The influence of cultic mystery religions and early forms of gnosticism were at work. These folks focused on “mystery,” on the cosmic puzzle of the universe. Their idea was that the understanding or resolution of such mystery comes from “wisdom and knowledge.” Wisdom and knowledge in their worldview was held by beings in the mysterious spirit world, and they impart it to those who seek them and discover their identity or name. Adherents would say such things as, “I know their names, and now I have this wisdom and knowledge. If you join me and follow me, I will give wisdom and knowledge to you so that you can understand the mysteries of the universe and thereby be saved.”

Paul saw through their subterfuge and countered them. He pointed them toward the love of God that would give them the understanding of God’s mystery, which is Christ. God has now revealed His “mystery” through Christ, and it is only in Christ that we find wisdom and knowledge. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ alone.

Truth is never about Christ plus something else. It always centers in Christ alone. That is the only truth that can set us free. All other forms of truth seek to bind us up. So the question is: do we prefer freedom or bondage?

Lord, We thank You for the freedom that comes from Your grace. Help us to live free in You today. Amen.