What does Colossians 2:2 mean?
Paul follows his account of personal struggle with the goal of his efforts: spiritual encouragement. Encouragement is a primary goal of his letter. In Colossians 4:7–8 Paul adds that he is also sending Tychicus for that very reason.Paul includes an interesting word picture in his attempt to encourage the Christians of Colossae. The metaphor of sewing hearts together, in love, implies a unique unity among believers. The goal of this united encouragement was mutual knowledge, wisdom, and confidence in their Christian walk. As Paul repeats throughout this brief letter, his goal is to promote a focus on Christ, and Christ alone.
Mystery is noted four times in this letter (Colossians 1:26, 27; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 4:3). Paul refers to the idea nearly twenty times in his writings. In this context, Paul is referring to an aspect of previously unknown information. However, this "mystery" is no longer some special hidden knowledge. This truth has been revealed, in Christ. This revelation makes the mystery of Christ far superior to the mystical teachings which Paul will speak against later in this chapter.