Seeds for 2/9/2023 - Colossians 2:4
Scripture: “I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”
Observation: Sometimes we can deduce the issues in a community and church to which Paul (or other authors) are writing by paying attention and reading between the lines. Behind certain specific assertions lay challenges that these Christians were dealing with. As always with the books of the bible, the letter to the Colossians was not written to us, but through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Paul’s writing and the early church’s process of canonizing it, Colossians was written very much for us, and all Christians. Overhearing the concerns addressed in their day, we find relevance for our day.
Why has Paul been going on about working to advance a deep, rich understanding of Christ and the wisdom of God among the Christians in Colossae (and Laodicea, and elsewhere)? He knows that there’s plenty of perspective in the world with an air of plausibility. This is how we change our minds, after all. We’re doubtful about something. We hear, see, or experience something that makes it seem more plausible, and we start to entertain belief. Or we’re absolutely convinced of something, but one day we hear, see, or experience something that brings its plausibility into question and we begin to reassess what we think.
This is true about how our beliefs work in life generally, and certainly our religious beliefs as well. There’s a place for being able to make arguments and defend what one believes. But Paul seems to place more value in this instance on shoring up our understanding in a way that goes beyond making sense of our belief in Christ with head-knowledge alone. Believe is reasonable, but does not rely solely on reason. There’s a knowledge of the wisdom of God, the “full riches of complete understanding” in Christ that is soul deep. It’s not fragile, in need of protecting from “fine-sounding arguments.” Rather, it’s an iceberg that goes deeper than arguments alone because it’s not just a philosophy for living but a whole life shaped by devotion to the One who devoted Himself to us.
Application: Do you feel pressure to defend why you believe? When? What “treasures of wisdom and knowledge” in Christ do you draw on, in addition to reason, for maintaining and strengthening your belief?
Prayer: Lord, strengthen my faith with soul-deep understanding that arises from a daily walk with you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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