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Hidden in Jesus

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2 (I struggle that they may) reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Jesus Christ is the key to all encouragement and love.  That, I find, is often where people stop in their pursuit of Christ.  He encourages them and loves them and they wonder if he has anything left to offer. He is safe there and does not seem to ask us for too much.  Consider this: Christ is also the key to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Everything you know and can know should be known through Christ. 

Paul is working hard for them, vs 1, so that they may reach all the riches of full assurance in their understanding and knowledge of this mystery that is the gospel.  When you start doubting, wondering if it is really true, wondering if you did the whole faith thing right, when so many other ways seem so appealing and Christianity gets lost in the background. Paul labors in his writing so that you might be brought back to the point where you realize that in Christ you can I have full assurance. 

All the other things in the world can change their mind on you. They like you one minute when you do what they say and then if you disappoint them or they change their mind, they leave you alone, destitute and used.  This is the story of every other religion of the world, every other false god of the world.  With Christ, however, you have the riches of full assurance.  The statement that Jesus made on the cross was that of eternal assurance. You are rescued forever. I’ll never leave you or forsake you.  I’ll never get tired of you. I’ll never stop loving you. I’ll never leave you for someone or something better. I’ll be absolutely true to my word because I am the definition of truth. I’ll never stop being the steady and firm anchor of your life, of truth, of all things. You can be fully assured of that.

Notice that this assurance of understanding and knowledge is hidden in Christ. It is hidden treasure.  The treasures are hidden in Christ, deposited in him for safe keeping.  Unlike the hidden or mystical knowledge that the false teachers said was only available to an enlightened, Jesus makes this available to all who humbly seek it.  All wisdom and knowledge are stored up in Jesus and they are therefore freely given and available to all who come to Christ by faith.  Christianity is not some secret club.  Access is given through something as simple and as right as faith in Christ himself.

Notice too that only in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge found. For you to truly know something, it must come from the author of all knowledge. For you to truly be wise, it must be through Him who is the beginning of wisdom. Only through Him does anything make any sense at all. It is only those who know Christ that have a firm and real grasp on reality, on how things really are. Remember if you know Christ, you are not the weird or strange one.  You are the only one who can actually see things the way they really are. People may obtain “facts” about the world, but they can never get all the way to the source of those facts without Jesus.  They are unstable in even what they think they know because what they know isn’t firmly rooted in Christ. There is something about knowing Jesus that opens up every bit of knowledge and wisdom to us.

This knowledge is also described as treasure. The hope is to say that knowing Christ is rich, full, satisfying and it is my delight.  Some of you may have the problem of looking in other treasure boxes.  You may look somewhere other than Jesus for something satisfying enough to live your life for.  Let me tell you in love, there is no such thing.  Jesus Christ is not only the key to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but is himself is the treasure I was looking for all along. He is both the key and the treasure itself.  We are way too easily satisfied with what is less than true wisdom, less than true knowledge, what is less than truly satisfying and ultimately less than Jesus. 

Here is the challenge. Do you see wisdom and knowledge of Christ as your greatest treasure?  Do you see it as sufficient for everything that you come up against in life?  Do you see Christ as truly the key to help you navigate all things well and righteously?  Does how you live really line up with what you believe? Knowing Christ brings stability and strength. Life is well sorted out because I know Christ and he is the source of all wisdom and knowledge.  Encouragement, knowledge, treasure, wisdom, security, assurance and stability can all be yours because they are found in Jesus Christ.

In Him, My Only Hope, Pastor Steven


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