Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever been in a situation where you've just done something stupid, and then you did something stupid again, and then said to yourself, if I really had wisdom, I would not do that again?
Our Verse of the Day really talks about this. In Colossians chapter 2, verse 3, Paul writes: "In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
He's speaking of Jesus. He is the ultimate epitome of wisdom. As we look at this passage, Paul is writing to those in Colossae. The theme of Colossians is the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. What Paul is trying to do is paint a very big, clear, accurate picture of the Lord Jesus Christ so that any deviation from that will be clearly seen—like someone who works in the counterfeit industry and knows exactly what the original dollar bill looks like, so any deviation from that specific bill will be clearly spotted. That's what Paul is trying to do.
Protection Against Deception
As we look at our passage today, I want to give you a couple of thoughts. Number one—let's call it protection against deception. In Jesus Christ lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and this is first and foremost a protection against deception. The false teachers in Colossae were basically saying, yeah, Jesus Christ is here, but there is this series of emanating spirits and angels in between God and Jesus, and you have to somehow find the secret knowledge and worship these angels to finally get to God and get to Jesus. You and I both know that is an absolutely dangerous lie. And so Paul is saying: if you know Jesus clearly, if you understand that in Him is all the wisdom that we need, this is a protection against deception.
A Motivation That Points to Jesus
Secondly, let's call it a motivation that points to Jesus. Paul gives us this truth in Colossians so that we're protected against deception, but he also wants to motivate us to really look at the true wisdom—and that's in Jesus Christ. The verse says, "In Him, in Christ, are found all the treasures of wisdom." These are treasures of wisdom that are not found outside of Jesus Christ. Think about how many things in this world are very, very deceptive. One writer once said, "Satan paints deception in virtue's colors."
Reject Jesus-Plus Theology
As we look at application, here are a couple of quick thoughts. Very simply: reject Jesus-plus theology. I can't tell you how many times I'm on the phone and people say, yeah, I believe in Jesus, but I also believe in this book, or I believe in Jesus, but I also believe what this teaching says here. It's always this Jesus-plus theology—Jesus plus this special teaching, Jesus plus this special revelation.
I was talking to a gentleman one time who said, "Yeah, I believe in the Bible," and he believed that Jesus numbered things in Genesis through Revelation backwards and forwards in some specific way. Now, numbers are certainly important in the Bible, but we need to be careful that we don't attach some secret knowledge or special view that's somehow outside of Jesus Christ. We want to avoid Jesus-plus theology.
Secondly, we want to reach for Jesus theology. We want to reach for the Bible, which ultimately points us to the true wisdom—and that is in Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 30, Paul said, "Because of Him, because of God, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God." One of the heresies back in Colossae was that they thought matter was evil. When Paul comes along and writes in Colossians chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, just a few verses later: "For in Christ the whole fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." Jesus came in a body. He came in a body so that a crown could be put on His head, and He could be crucified and pierced for you and for me, so that you and I could be forgiven. That is amazing wisdom, because it's all about Jesus.
