Man has acquired a great deal of knowledge over the past few decades, and the modern world reflects the tremendous changes that have come about as a result of that knowledge. Whether man has the wisdom to use that knowledge in the right way is another matter; many today feel that increased knowledge has caused the course of this world to be out of control. We now have a world of greater openness, more complex and interconnected than ever before. Advances in technology and the increased use of social media have brought with them an interplay of various forces — social, economic, political — with which the world seems unable to cope. The use of modern technology in medicine coupled with the giving up of the Bible in many Western countries as the final moral authority have raised moral and ethical issues that are hard to address. A recent article in Time Magazine summed it up by saying, “Technological progress and globalization are blurring boundaries and upending traditional assumptions. The rise of emerging markets and developing countries is reconfiguring balances of power, while the international order of the last half-century increasingly struggles to accommodate itself to the new reality.”
Amid all the confusion that results from these developments, it is refreshing to turn to the Word of God and to read Paul’s words to the Colossians:
“I would have you know what combat I have for you ... to the end that [your] hearts may be encouraged, being united together in love, and unto the full assurance of understanding, to the full knowledge of the mystery of God; in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:1-31For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:1‑3) JND).
Access to All Wisdom
What would men not give today, if they could have access to all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to meet the challenges they face! God has made this wisdom and knowledge available, but it is to those that belong to Christ and who have a desire to search it out.
First of all, this wisdom and knowledge is found in the “full knowledge” of the mystery of God. This is His world, and to understand its course, we must recognize what He is doing. Amid all the confusion in the purposes and movements of man, God is working out His purposes, and if we see what God’s purposes are, we can understand the secret of what is happening.
The Jewel in God’s Plan
The mystery of God is given to us in Ephesians 1:9-109Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:9‑10) JND: “The mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself for [the] administration of the fullness of times; to head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth.” The confusion we see all around us is working to this end, for God has before Him the exaltation of His beloved Son as Head over all things. Today man is disposing of this world as he sees fit, and there are numerous discussions and arguments over things like climate change, global warming, and pollution, and their effects on plant, animal and human life. But it is all from man’s point of view, as he seeks to preserve this world, as he supposes, for future generations. In addition, we are already beginning to see “the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:2525And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)) as nations compete with one another for dominance and influence in this world. God’s purposes in this world — the world He created — are not considered.
This mystery (or secret) was not made known in the Old Testament; it was hidden in God, but it is now a revelation made to the church, the jewel in God’s plan for His creature man. God not only has in His purposes the exaltation of His beloved Son; in this day of His grace He also is calling out a people from this world to form His church, as a bride for His Son. In understanding this mystery, our total outlook on this world is formed according to God’s thoughts and purposes — purposes that will surely be carried out.
A treasure is something on which we place a high value, and it is indeed of great value to be able to look out on this world and to find that in acknowledging the mystery of God, we can have the wisdom and knowledge to understand where everything is going and how to walk a godly path through it. But it is a hidden treasure — hidden wisdom. The natural man cannot find it, nor can it be obtained by human intelligence. It must be searched out, but the believer, indwelt by the Spirit of God, is equipped to do so. Also, in referring to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the Spirit of God uses the word “hid” for a purpose. It is not that God is unwilling to reveal His treasures, but He reveals them to those who value them. Even among believers, the precious truth of the mystery of God is not always well accepted. Satan has done an effective job of bringing Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion, and God does not reveal His treasures to worldly Christians. No, those treasures are for those who value them and who are willing to search them out.
Filled With Knowledge
Coupled with this thought is the fact that here wisdom is mentioned before knowledge. Normally knowledge must come first, and we find this order in Colossians 1:99For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (Colossians 1:9): “That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” But here, in chapter 2, the emphasis is on the accepting of Christ Himself as the wisdom of God, as we get in 1 Corinthians 1:2424But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24): “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” When we have been brought to the point of seeing Christ crucified in utter humility as bringing out the wisdom of God, we are ready to accept the wisdom and knowledge that is revealed in the understanding of the mystery of God.
To have this wisdom and knowledge was most valuable at any time in the church’s history, but it is a special treasure in the world of today. First of all, as we have already mentioned, we can look out on the turmoil and uncertainty around us and have God’s thoughts about it — why it is happening and, most important, where it will all end. This enables the believer to walk in peace, for while he is indeed burdened about what he sees around him and concerned for lost souls caught up in it, he himself is at peace in his Christian walk. “Through scenes of strife, and desert life, we tread in peace our way” (Little Flock Hymnbook #12).
The Application to Our Circumstances
Second, these treasures of wisdom and knowledge apply equally to our individual circumstances — our education, our work, our home and family life, our interaction with others, whether believers or unbelievers — all are governed by the wisdom and knowledge gained from the full knowledge of the mystery of God. It reaches into every aspect of the Christian life, and this is why Paul was so burdened for those believers in Colosse and Laodicea. There were those who would try to spoil them “through philosophy and vain deceit” and to bring them back to the “traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:88Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)). But Paul reminds us that “in Him [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:99For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)). In understanding what we see in this world and in ordering our own pathway through it, nothing more than Christ is needed.
Christ’s Honor and Glory
Finally, and perhaps most important, the “full knowledge of the mystery of God” honors and glorifies Christ, the One who is the subject of all God’s purposes. The “rudiments of the world” exalt man; the mystery of God exalts Christ. In the first chapter of Colossians, He is the Head both of creation and of the body, the church, “that in all things He might have the preeminence” (vs. 18). When we acknowledge and understand the mystery of God, we acknowledge also that “in Him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:1919For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (Colossians 1:19) JND). Our Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted and the mystery of God understood by all in a coming day. It is a privilege to understand that mystery and its hidden treasures and to exalt our Lord Jesus Christ now.
W. J. Prost