Colossians 2:1-5 “God’s Mystery Revealed”
“God’s Mystery Revealed” is a sermon preached from Colossians 2:1-5, by Michael Beatty, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin – a confessional Reformed Baptist church subscribing to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.
Scripture Reading and Prayer
I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Colossians, chapter 2.
We are going to consider the first five verses this morning. Colossians 2, beginning in verse 1:
Hear the word of the Lord.
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all those who have not seen me face to face, 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, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”
Thus far the reading of God’s holy Word.
Please join me as we ask His blessing upon it.
Father, we ask this morning that You would grant by Your Spirit that we might all the more behold Your mystery, which is Christ, and that in beholding Him we might be changed from one degree of glory to the next, into greater conformity to Your Son. In His name we pray. Amen.
Introduction: The Rich Young Ruler
This morning I want to begin considering this text by looking at the parable of the rich young ruler. I think it flows nicely with the text that is before us.
If you remember, especially Matthew’s account, the rich young ruler—there is much to commend in terms of the way he comes to Christ. He comes up to Christ, he knows the law of God and seeks to do it in his life. It’s commendable that he comes, that he is very zealous for it—even coming to this Teacher of the law that he sees in Christ.
He comes to Him saying, “What do I need to do to inherit eternal life?” There’s much to commend in the way he approaches it. He shows that he is wise—I mean, coming to the Author of the Law is always a good idea if you want to ask what you need to do to inherit eternal life.
And he asks Christ what it is he shall accomplish. But he is ultimately hostile to God, because he finds hope in his works of the law rather than in the hope of the gospel.
If you remember, there’s the poignant moment in their discourse where the young man says to Jesus, after Jesus has told him the summary of the law, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
And we see in this parable the disturbing reaction of the young man: when he heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
The man ultimately placed his hope in what he could do in order to be right with God. He wasn’t looking, as we might say, for a Savior. He was looking for something to do. He wasn’t looking for the mystery. Rather, he was looking for the way he could confirm his own righteousness so that he might stand before the Lord based on his own works.
The Knowledge of Christ and the Christian Life
We see something helpful here, because in Colossians 2:1–5, we see that ultimately it is the knowledge of Christ that informs the moral life of the believer.
In other words, we’re not focused primarily on our works and what it is that we do—although certainly we respond to the gospel in thanksgiving, seeking to do those things that Paul has outlined for us—but ultimately the knowledge of Christ is primary to the Christian life.
We’ve seen that already in our study. If you remember in verses 21–23, we saw that our natural state is ultimately a hostile mind. Verse 21 says, “You were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.”
The knowledge—or the mind—is ultimately what informs the deeds. If we are evil in our mind, we will be evil in our deeds. Our problem, then, we might say, is an internal one. It’s not something external that we can clean up by a variety of actions, or by dressing a certain way or talking a certain way, as though that were the gospel.
Rather, the gospel tells us that Christ has regenerated us and, as we even saw in Sunday school, given us His mind. That ultimately is the revelation that we have before us.
And in Colossians 1:24–29 we saw that it is the proclamation of Christ that is necessary for us to be brought to maturity in Him. As we heard in verse 28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
So the knowledge of Christ is primary to the Christian life.
Paul’s Exhortation in Colossians 2:1–5
Paul makes a sudden shift in verses 1–3, and then in verse 4, to begin talking about these false teachers or this false gospel that he is concerned the Colossians will encounter.
We may ask: why is he suddenly shifting to warning against false teachers?
I think, in part, verse 4 gives us the answer: because false teachers often make reasonable arguments that negate the proclamation of Christ. Reasonable arguments—it sounds good. There is a sense in which Paul is going to deal with that in the days ahead. But also because it is knowledge which leads to the moral life, not the other way around.
So we might say, in short, Paul desires the Colossians to believe the teaching of Christ for their edification and their comfort.
We might kind of meld these two things together in saying: there are no shortcuts to the Christian life. A firm faith is the bedrock of our lives. The good order that Paul desires, as we’ll see in verse 5, flows from faith. It’s not something that is merely external, but that which flows from the internal life grounded in Christ.
We see today in Colossians 2:1–5 Paul’s exhortation to us to look to the revelation of God’s mystery in Christ Jesus, that we might achieve maturity in Him.
And we’re going to see three things about this exhortation:
- The content of the exhortation.
- The goal of the exhortation.
- The outcome of the exhortation.
So: content, goal, and outcome.
The Content of Paul’s Exhortation
If you’re taking notes this morning, I want to look first at the content of that exhortation—what Paul desires the Colossians to know—that they might all the more have good order and a firm faith in Christ.
What’s the content of that? That’s the nuts and bolts.
We see that Paul desires them to know the mystery of Christ.
If you look again at verse 2, it says: “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.”
So Christ is that mystery.
You may say, “What’s so mysterious about Christ? We know a lot about Him, because the Scriptures tell us a lot.” So what exactly is mysterious about Him?
First, He makes known to us the Father. That in itself makes Him mysterious. If you remember, Jesus said in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
So how is it that we know the Father? But through the Son. That in itself makes Christ a mystery, because no one has ever seen the Father except the Son. So how do we come to know Him and have saving knowledge of Him? Through His Son.
In other words, we might say that Christ, in making known the Father, is part of revealing that mystery.
Secondly, we might say—as we looked at last week when we considered the Emmaus Road passage in Luke—that Christ makes known to us the redemptive activity of God. As it says elsewhere, these are “things into which angels long to look.”
There is something very mysterious going on in what Christ is doing and who He is. We might say, as Jesus suggested to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, that all the Law and the Prophets speak of Him. That’s a mystery! That’s quite the story—going back through such a big book and tracing it all out—that’s a mystery.
And furthermore, how is it that Gentiles like the Colossians have a part in that? Christ is a mystery, and He is the one who is the mystery revealed—the mystery of God that all of the Bible is really leading up to, now fully declared in the person of the Son, in the person of Christ.
Three Things Found in Christ
Paul tells us that three things are found in Him.
Look again at verse 2: “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.”
So we might say there are three sub-parts here:
- Knowledge.
- Understanding.
- Assurance.
These three things pick up the knowledge of the mystery that is found in Christ and what Christ is revealing concerning Himself.
Knowledge
First of all, there is knowledge.
That knowledge, as I’ve already referenced, is that the Father is made known by the Son. How do we know the Father but through the Son?
That’s knowledge exclusively revealed by Christ. You can’t find that knowledge in anyone else. We can’t find it through another mediator. We don’t find it through another “holy person.” We find it exclusively in the Son.
If you want to know the Father—know the Son. As it says elsewhere, “No one comes to the Father except through the Son.”
The mystery of the gospel is revealed in Christ.
We might think of it in an off-handed way like proprietary knowledge. You know how sometimes you’ll look at the ingredients list on the back of a product and it’ll say something like “proprietary blend.” It doesn’t tell you exactly what it is. There’s some knowledge that is mysterious, that makes up whatever it is. Usually it’s like: water, sugar, and then “proprietary blend.”
The thing that makes it unique is proprietary. It’s exclusive. If you want what’s in the bottle, you have to buy that blend.
More importantly, Christ is that proprietary knowledge. The knowledge of Christ is proprietary—exclusive. He’s the one that makes the Father known.
So knowledge of Christ is on His terms. We receive knowledge of Him through His appointed means—Word and sacrament, especially the Word, as Paul has already highlighted.
As Christ is being proclaimed in verse 2, the knowledge of God’s mystery is conveyed to us through the Word.
Understanding
Secondly, we might ask: “Well, if I have knowledge, how do I understand it?”
Because even with knowledge, as we’ve rehearsed, there’s still a level at which we need to understand. We can memorize words, even as children. We might know a bunch of words, but have no clue what they mean—and sometimes they come out in really odd places!
So how is it that we understand the knowledge of the mystery of Christ?
Ultimately, again, it’s in Christ. Notice with me in verse 2: “full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ.”
So understanding is something done in Him. Or as we hear elsewhere, the Spirit is the one who provides spiritual knowledge for us by the Word.
Great — here’s the continuation of your manuscript with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and reference corrections. This picks up right where we left off, moving through Understanding, Assurance, and Paul’s warning about false teachers.
Think of understanding another way. Oftentimes in English we use “knowledge” and “understanding” almost interchangeably. But biblically, understanding is more like a subset of wisdom.
It’s one thing to know the manual about how something works—it’s another thing to actually go and do it. You can read the manual, but being able to make the image in the manual come into real life is a whole other level. Understanding requires knowledge, but it also requires wisdom to put that knowledge into practice.
So Paul is informing the Colossians that Christ not only makes Himself known, but He is also the source for understanding that mystery.
And that’s important. We’re not going to a group of people who happen to know a lot of languages. We’re not gathering the greatest scholars in the world, even if they were all holy and godly, putting them in a room to produce understanding for us. That’s not what Paul is saying.
Rather, he says: it is in Christ.
And how does Christ bring that to us? Through His Word.
So when Paul proclaims Christ to the Colossians, he’s saying it is by the Word that these things are accomplished. Remember in verse 1 he says, “I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for all who have not seen me face to face.” He’s never seen them, yet he desires these things for them. And he accomplishes it by way of the Word.
Here’s another way to think about it. Consider cooking. You bring out the recipe—maybe grandma’s recipe—and you see all the steps. You do everything perfectly, it comes out looking great, you plate it, and you take a bite… but it doesn’t taste like grandma’s at all. Why? Because grandma has something she can’t write down. She has an understanding. She knows how to execute the steps with mastery and skill.
So also with Christ: not only do we need Him to provide us knowledge of the mystery, but also understanding. And He does this by His Spirit through His Word.
Assurance
Ultimately, the knowledge and understanding communicated through Christ provide us with assurance.
Verse 2 says: “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.”
So what do we look to for assurance? To Christ. We look to the promises He makes in His Word.
In other words, Christ is our assurance.
We’re not like the rich young ruler, who said, “I’ve done all these things all the days of my life. What else do I need to do?” He wanted more knowledge of what to do, but he had no real understanding and certainly no assurance in Christ.
In short: knowledge, understanding, and assurance are found in Christ alone. Apart from Christ, true spiritual knowledge, understanding, and assurance are impossible.
The Warning Against False Teachers
And if these things are so, then we can understand why Paul says in verse 4: “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
Brothers and sisters, the knowledge we find in the mystery revealed in Christ is necessary for us to understand, because ultimately the goal and outcome of the Christian life are grounded in that revelation.
We all want assurance, encouragement, and being knit together in love. But those things are grounded in knowledge.
So we pay attention to these things—even to the proclamation of the Word through weak ministers and ordinary means—because it is there that God works in us.
Paul’s exhortation to us is to cling to Christ. Because false teachers will come along, and they will make arguments that sound good. They often come dressed as angels of light, but their message is deadly.
Think of the very beginning, the first lie: “Did God really say…?” It was just a small difference, but it led to incalculable problems.
That’s how false teachers work. They come to draw us away from Christ. So we need to know Him, that we might cling to Him.
The Sufficiency of Christ
Secondly, Paul is promoting the sufficiency of Christ for all matters of godliness in the spiritual lives of the saints.
Every aspect of our life is grounded in Christ—whether it be lack of assurance, struggles, or difficulties. It is to Christ we must turn.
He has given us His Word, in which is contained everything necessary for life and godliness.
Do we believe that? Do we attend to it?
Brothers and sisters, Christ is enough. Let no one delude you into thinking you need someone besides Christ. Let no one delude you into thinking He has not already provided all that is needed in His Word to understand, to have assurance, and to be brought to maturity in Him (Colossians 1:28).
It is grounded in Christ. And it is to Him we look to find these things present and active in our lives.
Returning to the Rich Young Ruler
Let’s return to the rich young ruler again.
He wanted something he could do. He didn’t want a Savior. He didn’t come to Christ saying, as Peter did, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He wanted another command, another action to add to his list.
And what was Jesus’ response after the young man went away sorrowful?
“Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
In other words, those who look anywhere else for the mystery of Christ, or who depart from the good news, will not find salvation. But Christ, in His grace and kindness, by His Spirit works in us through the normal means of grace. He accomplishes the things He has promised in His Word.
And so we can have what Paul speaks of in verse 5: a firm faith and good order. Lives that are pleasing in His sight. Because we look first to a Savior, and only then does the internal life of the mind work itself out in the external matters of life.
The Goal of Paul’s Exhortation
Having seen the content of Paul’s exhortation, we now see his goal.
Look again at verses 4–5:
“I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”
Paul wants the Colossians to reach full assurance of understanding. He wants them encouraged, knit together in love, as we saw back in verse 2. He wants them to have unity and purpose of mind that come from the Word.
Now, there are many so-called practical helps on “how to build brotherly love.” You can go on Amazon, search “brotherly love,” and find endless books and guides. But if those are not grounded in Christ, they are not producing what Paul is speaking of here: Christian unity.
True knowledge of Christ produces the unity of the saints.
And what does that mean? It means we truly know what He has told us in His Word. If we want to be united—and I’m confident that all of us here at Covenant Baptist Church want that—how do we do it? By the true knowledge of Christ in His Word. That is how we are knit together.
But not only does the true knowledge of Christ produce unity, it also produces love for the saints.
Think about it: knowledge of calculus does not produce love. You can memorize a calculus textbook, but in the classroom there is little to no love for your neighbor. Knowledge of Christ, however, always produces love for the saints.
And that’s important. Because to the extent these things are not true in us, we must return to knowledge. Perhaps we “know” things, but only in our heads. We don’t yet understand them.
Think about when you memorized a Bible verse as a child. You could recite it perfectly, but years later you’re walking through life and suddenly—it clicks. That’s what it means. Now you can live it out. That’s understanding. And when you truly understand, it produces love.
So Paul desires the Colossians—and us—to grow in love because we know Christ.
How do we grow in love? By knowing Christ. And how do we know we’ve been loved? Through the declaration of the gospel in Christ Jesus. And because we have been loved, we love the brethren.
So Paul reminds us: knowledge is not for its own sake. It is for the good of our neighbor and the glory of God.
Assurance Cultivated
Paul also wants us to have full assurance of understanding.
Assurance is cultivated when knowledge and understanding come together. And assurance means we don’t just say, “Christ is true for others,” but, “Christ is true for me. I belong to Him.”
As a pastor, I’ve spoken with many people who have great assurance about their fellow church members. “Oh, yes, brother so-and-so is a true Christian. Sister so-and-so is definitely saved.” But when it comes to themselves, they’re unsure.
Why? Because we know our own sin more intimately than we know anyone else’s. That’s natural.
But assurance is grounded in the knowledge of Christ and in believing His promises—not only for others, but for ourselves.
Illustration: Buzz Saw
Here’s an illustration.
I know what a buzz saw does, but I’ve never used one. And I have no assurance about using one. If you gave me a buzz saw, I am fully assured of only one thing: I would hurt myself or someone else!
Why? Because I have some knowledge, but I don’t have understanding. And without knowledge and understanding, there’s no assurance.
So if we lack assurance, what do we do? We return to Christ.
That’s why Paul places this section here at the beginning of chapter 2. When false teachers come with plausible arguments that sound good, what do we do? We go back to Scripture. We seek Christ in His Word. We ask Him to give us assurance by His Spirit.
The Goal of Paul’s Exhortation (continued)
The goal of Paul in proclaiming Christ is nothing less than bringing Christians to full maturity. That means being knit together in love and having full assurance.
And the Colossians, in particular, needed this assurance based on understanding the things of Christ. It’s not enough simply to know what to do—we must know why and how to do it, with understanding by faith.
So what does this mean for us in a practical way?
Positively, three things:
- We must know what Christ teaches in His Word.
We must give ourselves to reading, hearing, and meditating on Scripture, keeping it before our eyes constantly. - We must understand what Christ teaches in His Word.
This understanding is wrought by the Holy Spirit, ordinarily through the ministry of the Word when Christ’s people gather together. - We must believe that these things are true not just for others, but for ourselves.
It is only when that becomes true for us that we are of real benefit to our neighbor.
If you are not assured that you belong to Christ, what can you really say to your neighbor? At best, “Make sure these things are true for you!” But assurance for yourself makes you useful to others.
And that’s the point: assurance is never just for me. It is always a blessing to the church.
That’s why Paul says in verse 2, “That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love…” The assurance of Christ always pushes us outward in love for the brethren.
Now, we know sin remains among us. In a room full of sinners, there will be conflict from time to time. But that is where we put the Word to work. That’s when the rubber meets the road, and our faith is tested—as James says, “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
So Paul’s goal is that we would have assurance and love, knit together as a community of believers here at Covenant Baptist Church.
Negatively
Negatively, Paul’s goal also includes warning us against false paths:
- We must reject teaching that differs from Christ’s instruction.
Even if it sounds plausible. You can find arguments online for almost anything, often with a Bible verse tacked on. But we reject every false doctrine, because it cuts against the mystery of Christ and robs Him of glory. - We must reject alternative theories for reaching understanding.
For example, grounding assurance in a favorite Bible teacher, in external forms like dress and behavior, or in withdrawing from the world into cloisters. None of these provide true assurance or maturity.
The Scriptures alone tell us what produces good order and firmness of faith: the knowledge of the mystery of Christ.
The Outcome of Paul’s Exhortation
Verse 5 brings us to the outcome:
“For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”
Although Paul had never seen the Colossians or Laodiceans face to face, he rejoiced at what Christ was accomplishing among them.
And notice the two outcomes he highlights:
- Firmness of faith in Christ.
- Good order in life.
That really summarizes the Christian life: what we believe and how we live. Not only talking the talk, but walking the walk.
Because knowledge always produces a well-ordered life. A steadfast faith fixed on Christ produces a life of good order.
Knowledge and Understanding Lead to Stability
Knowledge and understanding bring forth steadfast faith and well-ordered lives.
And that’s important, because we want a faith that weathers the storms of life. James reminds us that when we meet trials, we must remain steadfast. Think of Job, who endured and was upheld.
How do we withstand trials? By fixing our faith on Christ. By believing what He has revealed in His Word, and by receiving assurance from His Spirit. That inward reality sustains us no matter what storms rage around us.
And it flows outward into good order. We are able to build lives that glorify God and benefit our neighbor because of what Christ has worked in us.
House on the Rock
Think of Jesus’ parable about the house built on the rock. When the storms came, that house stood firm. But the house built on sand collapsed in utter ruin.
So it is with us. Either our lives are built on Christ the Rock, or they are built on sand. Works apart from Christ cannot withstand the judgment of God.
That’s why Paul rejoices to see both: firmness of faith and good order. The two belong together.
Faith and Works Belong Together
Knowledge and action reinforce one another. James says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” John says, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3).
So a life built only on knowledge without works reveals a dead faith. A life built only on works without knowledge reveals no faith at all.
We need both: vital faith in Christ, and the well-ordered life that flows from it.
Alright — here’s the final section of your manuscript, carrying through Paul’s outcome to your conclusion, application, and closing prayer. I’ve carefully edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and references, but kept all your words, asides, and flow intact.
The Outcome of Paul’s Exhortation (continued)
So then, what do we say?
The Christian life is based upon Christ. He informs both our knowledge and our practice. And that’s what matters, because at the end of the day we need a faith that will stand before the Judge.
For those who come to Christ pleading their works, He will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
But for those who look to Christ and are clothed in His righteousness, they can close their eyes in death knowing they will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The rich young ruler came to Christ with assurance: “I’ve done all these things.” But he left without assurance, because false assurance cannot withstand an encounter with Christ.
And friends, every one of us will one day encounter Him—either in His Word now, or in the fullest sense on the Last Day.
Building on the Rock
So, brothers and sisters, our choice is this: Will we build on the Rock, or on sand?
If we build on Christ, the Rock, our lives will be established in good order and our faith will be firm. At the last, He will present us blameless with great joy, as Jude says.
But if we build on sand—on our own works, or on false teaching—we will collapse in ruin.
Therefore we must reject every alternative. We must look to Christ alone.
Conclusion
So in this exhortation to us in Colossians 2:1–5, Paul presses the importance of the revelation of the mystery of Christ.
Christ is the content of our lives.
Christ is the goal of our lives.
Christ is the outcome of our lives.
Whatever place we may find ourselves in life, the answer is the same: look to Christ.
He has given us His mind, and by His Spirit He is teaching us, conforming us to Himself.
And unlike the rich young ruler, who went away sorrowful, may we come to Christ seeking not “something more to do,” but a Savior. For in Him we find the One who can save us to the uttermost.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray.
Father, we thank You for Your kindness toward us in Your Son.
We thank You that You have revealed the mystery which angels longed to look into, now made known in the face of Christ.
Grant us by Your Spirit that all here today would truly behold Christ and lay hold of Him by faith.
Cause us to be a benefit to our neighbor, loving them because we have been loved by Christ.
And work these things in us, that we would daily turn to Christ, seeking in Him alone the life that only He can provide—life, and life abundantly.
In His name we pray. Amen.
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