In 2:2 Paul speaks not only of the full assurance, but of all the riches of the full assurance of understanding. As we consider this, let us once again use the ground of the church as an example. Some saints may have the full assurance concerning the church ground, but they may not have the riches in their understanding. When they speak about the ground of the church, they have little to say. The reason for this is the lack of the riches in their understanding. If we have the riches of the full assurance of understanding with respect to the truth of the ground of oneness, we shall have much to say concerning it. Regarding the ground of the church, we need to be exercised until we have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding.
The principle is the same with knowing Christ as the mystery of God. We need to be exercised to such an extent that we always have something to say about Christ as the mystery of God. How inexhaustible Christ is! If we have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding concerning Him, we shall never be short of things to say about Him. The riches of understanding will give us rich utterance.
I wish to emphasize again and again that such riches only come through the exercise of our inner being. In particular, we need to exercise our understanding in studying the Bible. Do not study the Word in a superficial way, and do not take things for granted. Instead, exercise yourself over every phrase, sometimes even over every word. For example, in 1:12 Paul speaks of the portion of the saints in the light. We need to ask why he uses the phrase “in the light.” We need to inquire of the Lord and dig into the Word until we have the riches of the full assurance of understanding. To know Christ as the embodiment of God requires such an exercise of our being.
As we exercise over the Word, we shall receive light. For instance, we may exercise over the matter of the comforting of the hearts in 2:2. Eventually, we shall be enlightened. I repeat, our whole being—our spirit, heart, soul, mind, emotion, and will—must be exercised in the Word. Then we shall love the Lord with our whole being and have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding concerning Christ as the mystery of God.
Concerning Christ as the mystery of God, Paul says, “In Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden” (2:3). According to history, the influence of Gnostic teaching, implying Greek philosophy, invaded the Gentile churches in Paul’s time. Hence, Paul told the Colossians that all the treasures of real wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. This is the spiritual wisdom and knowledge of the divine economy concerning Christ and the church. Wisdom is related to our spirit, and knowledge is related to our mind (Eph. 1:8, 17).
God is the unique source of wisdom and knowledge. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in the very Christ who is the mystery of God. Because the church at Colosse had been invaded by pagan philosophy, Paul was helping the Colossians trace wisdom and knowledge to their true source in God. Christ is the mystery of God, who alone is the source of all wisdom and knowledge. It seems as if Paul wanted to say, “Colossians, since you have received the Christ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, why do you still need philosophy? Why do you accept the teaching of Gnosticism? You do this because you do not have the full assurance concerning what you believe. You have faith, but you don’t have certainty.” Paul knew that the hearts of the Colossians needed to be comforted and knit together in love so that they could have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding. If they had such an assurance, they would know all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in Christ.
The fact that wisdom and knowledge are embodied in Christ is proved by His spoken words, especially those recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and John. In these books, the Lord spoke about the kingdom and about life. The Lord’s words recorded in these books contain the highest philosophy. None of the teachings of the philosophers, including the ethical teachings of Confucius, compare to them. The concept in the Lord’s words is too deep and profound. Anyone who makes a thorough study of philosophy will have to admit that the highest philosophy is that found in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Truly all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him.
If we exercise our being to contact the Lord, Christ as the life-giving Spirit will saturate our spirit and our mind. Then we also shall have in our experience the wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in Christ. In this way we experience Him as the mystery of God. We should not be like the Colossians, who allowed pagan philosophy to defraud them of the wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ.
As the mystery of God, Christ is also the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead. In 1:19 Paul says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” Then in 2:9 he says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Fullness in these verses refers not to the riches of God, but to the expression of the riches of God. What dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead, but the expression of the riches of what God is. It is crucial for us to see that the fullness of the Godhead is the expression of the Godhead, that is, the expression of what God is. The Godhead is expressed both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. Notice that both in 1:19 and 2:9 Paul uses the word “all” to describe fullness. All the fullness, all the expression, is in the old creation and in the new creation.
The word Godhead in 2:9 refers to deity, which is different from divinity in Romans 1:20. This reference to deity strongly indicates the deity of Christ. Such a deity is with the fullness of the Godhead versus the tradition of man and the elements of the world.
In 1:19 and in 2:9 we see two aspects of all the fullness. According to 1:19, all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ. According to 2:9, all the fullness dwells in Christ bodily. This implies the physical body which Christ put on in His humanity. It indicates that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as the One who has a human body. Before His incarnation, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him as the eternal Word, but it did not dwell in Him bodily. After He became incarnate, clothed with a human body, the fullness of the Godhead began to dwell in a bodily way, and in His glorified body (Phil. 3:21) now and forever it dwells.