Colossians 2:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,

NIV: 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,

NASB: that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

CSB: I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery--Christ.

NLT: I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.

KJV: That 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;

NKJV: that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

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.

Colossians 2:1–5 explains the entire purpose behind Paul's letter to the Christians in Colossae. Paul's desire is to fight—spiritually—for these fellow believers, but this is difficult from a distance, and from prison. While Paul is happy to hear that the Colossians are standing strong in their faith, he sees potential problems. Paul writes this letter to strengthen their faith against particular false teachings. These deceptions are mostly based in attractive, but untrue, arguments. This passage is Paul's springboard into a defense against the tricks being used against his readers.

In this passage, Paul warns Christians not to be taken in by deceptive arguments. These claims are attractive, but are merely tricks: they sound true, but they are not. Arguing for self-denial, legalism, visions, and other practices only looks good to observers. None of these are the real source of spiritual growth. Paul emphasizes the way Christ accomplished everything we need to be justified before God. As a result, there is no reason for believers to pursue these false, shallow ''shadows.'' We have the real substance: Jesus, so we should follow Him.

Chapter 1 introduced Christ as supreme over all of creation. Chapter 2 refines this argument by showing how the salvation offered through Jesus is superior to false, alternative systems. Paul specifically refutes several ideas, such as legalism, asceticism (self-denial), and mysticism. These are not how God intends us to grow, spiritually. Later chapters will contrast these false, external attempts with the true, inner spiritual growth which comes only by faith in Christ.

The book of Colossians describes Christ as superior to all other teachers, faiths, and philosophies. In this letter, written from prison, Paul once again tackles false teachings. Among these errors are claims that Christians need to give up all physical enjoyments, that they should worship angels, and that they need to rely on the wisdom of an elite few. These problems are consistent with an ancient heresy known as Gnosticism. In response, Paul explains that Christ is supreme, and sufficient for our salvation.