Every once in a while, we hear about someone who stumbles across a hidden treasure that is worth a fortune. A quick Internet search reveals numbers of hidden treasures, some lost for centuries, that still await discovery. Surprisingly, some vast fortunes are hidden somewhere in the United States. One, located in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona is the Lost Dutchman Mine.
Reported to have millions of dollars in gold, the gold mine was allegedly found by a powerful Mexican family in the early nineteenth century. After extracting some of the gold, they kept the location of the mine a secret, and before revealing the location, the family died traveling back to the mine. A German immigrant, Jacob Walzer, claimed to have found the mine in the late 1800’s, but died in 1891, leaving only sketchy directions to the mine’s location. It is claimed that the gold is still there waiting to be found.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946, was an archaeological find of great significance and was itself a treasure of great value. Excavations uncovered nearly one thousand texts of parchment and papyrus, many of Old Testament books. Included among these were two unusual artifacts of copper known as the Copper Scroll. When translated, the writing on the Copper Scroll gave a detailed list of sixty-four places where large amounts of gold and silver are supposed to be hidden. Historians tell us that there is no evidence this treasure has ever been discovered.
Another famous hidden treasure may be much closer to home. With Union soldiers closing in on Richmond, Virginia at the end of the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered the Confederate treasury loaded on wagons and trains and sent south. With an estimated ten and a half million dollars in today’s value, the gold and silver was reported to have been put into banks in North Carolina for safe keeping. Others reported the gold was shipped to western Missouri for Confederate sympathizers to hide until the South could rise again. Many people suggest most of the Confederate treasury still remains hidden.
These are compelling stories and they do make us wonder what is in the ground beneath our feet. A couple of years ago, I discovered a man with a metal detector searching our back yard here at church. He told me he was looking for valuable old coins he thought might be buried just below the surface. After hours of searching, he did not find anything of value. The Lord Jesus talked to us about treasure. In the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew’s gospel, He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
What is our Lord’s point in His teaching? If we love material things, and put earthly gain above heavenly investments, then the result can only be tragic loss. The treasures of earth may be used for God. But if we gather material things for ourselves, we will lose them; and we will likely lose our hearts with them. Instead of spiritual enrichment, we will experience the greatest poverty. What does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven? It means to use all that we have for the glory of God. It also means measuring life by the true riches of God’s truth and wisdom and not by the false riches of this world.
In Colossians two verse three, we find that in the Lord Jesus Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In this passage, the Apostle Paul reveals a number of these hidden treasures that are found in the Lord. We will begin our treasure hunt with encouragement, love, and understanding.
ENCOURAGEMENT AND UNDERSTANDING. Colossians 2:1-3
Encouraged Hearts. Imagine for a moment that your church was in the process of hiring a new pastor or minister. In your opinion, what would be the most important qualifications for the new pastor to possess? You might argue for intelligence, education, leadership ability, boldness, personal holiness, or speaking ability. But perhaps the most important ingredients are love for the Lord and love for His church. The Lord Jesus loved the church so much that, as Ephesians 5:25 tells us, He “gave Himself up for her.” Paul loved the church so much that he was willing to “struggle” for it, even for two churches to which he had never been. Paul mentioned the church at Laodicea, which was located about eleven miles from the church of the Colossians.
The word “struggle” reveals Paul’s strong commitment to the local church and its people. Unlike many people, who only do what is required and little else, Paul gave everything for the sake of the ministry. This word is an athletic metaphor that shows contestants expending great energy in the contest in order to win the victory. Paul gave the church one hundred percent of himself. In verses two and three, Paul struggled for them to be encouraged, to be knit together in love, and to have the full assurance of understanding.
Being encouraged bears the idea of spiritual strength. Paul wanted the people of these two churches to be filled with the strength and courage that can cope with any situation. Strong courage like this comes only through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. To the Ephesians Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Knit Together in Love. The first treasure is that of spiritual strength and courage. The second is the unity of faith, indicated by Christians in the local church being knit together in love. By faith each believer is “in Christ,” and therefore our Lord desires for us to love one another. This treasure is the enablement through the Holy Spirit to develop loving Christian relationships within every local church. It is for these loving friendships Jesus prayed in John 17:20-23, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
The Full Assurance of Understanding. The third treasure given to us in Christ is full assurance of understanding. Every Christian is assured of our Lord’s unending love and grace, an assurance that lasts for eternity. Without the assurance of salvation, believers cannot enjoy all the blessings that are theirs in Christ. No one can look forward with hope to the blessings of heaven who doubts whether he or she is going to be there.
True understanding is the application of biblical principles to our lives each day. At the heart of understanding is the settle conviction about the full deity and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus. This understanding is a complete understanding and it is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. I think we all know of people who are profoundly self-centered but no one who is self-centered can enjoy the treasures God has granted to believers. In order to come to a full understanding, a Christian must be Christ-centered. He alone must occupy the first place in all things in his or her life. God’s mystery is Christ Himself. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He alone is sufficient for all we need. There is no hidden spiritual knowledge necessary for salvation and sanctification, no secret formula for success, no mysterious truth no one has discovered; all wisdom and knowledge are in Christ.
This wisdom and knowledge includes all the knowledge that has been discovered. We seek to know more about our world. We are compelled to remember that according to verse sixteen of the previous chapter, “by Him, [Jesus Christ], all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible, and invisible.” Jesus, the Creator, created all the natural laws that govern our universe, from the microscopic to the telescopic, and what we discover in nature is knowledge about Him and His creation. All the treasures of all wisdom and all knowledge are in Christ.
The book of Proverbs explains these hidden treasures, “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:2-6). Remember the object of our search is the Lord Jesus Christ. The hiding place for all of God’s treasures are in Him.
DEFENDED FROM DECEPTION AND ERROR. Colossians 2:4-5
No Deluded Saints. In this wonderful book, Paul has already told us that Christ is in every Christian (1:27) and in this chapter we have found that the Christ who is in us is also the One in whom are found all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. There is, therefore, no reason for any Christian to succumb to false and unbiblical arguments no matter how persuasive. Here Paul is speaking of specious discourse designed to lead others to biblical error. True truth is always in Christ. The Bible tells us that we should “no longer be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
When a Christian lives a life centered in Jesus which means living in obedience to the wisdom and knowledge revealed in God’s Word, he or she will find the Holy Spirit protecting them from Satan’s lies and deceptions. The wisdom and knowledge found only in the Lord Jesus is the antidote for human philosophy, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism, along with any other idea or thought that is foreign to God’s Word. This treasure hidden in Christ is the Holy Spirit’s protection from doctrinal error.
Good Spiritual Discipline. Paul uses two military terms to explain the next treasures given by the Lord. First, however, Paul made it clear that, although he was presently under arrest in a Roman prison and unable to be with the Colossians personally, that he was with them in spirit, deeply concerned with their spiritual growth and welfare. The term “good discipline” was used in the Roman army to describe soldiers properly lined up in their ranks and ready for action. We must remember that, as a prisoner, Paul was quite literally chained to a Roman soldier all day, every day. They obviously spoke of being soldiers, and Paul understood the discipline of being a soldier. When facing an enemy ready for combat, it is not easy to stand firm, but good spiritual discipline will keep the Christian victorious in Christ.
Saints with Stable Faith in Christ. The next treasure was also a military word. The power and effectiveness of the Roman army of the first century depended on each soldier being in his assigned place and not being frightened away from his place. The word, “stability” refers to the soldiers standing their ground and not giving place to the advancing enemy. Standing together and fighting together, as they had been trained, they were a formidable force. That these Christians showed good discipline and stability in the face of opposition caused the apostle to rejoice.
SPIRITUAL MATURITY AND GRATITUDE. Colossians 2:6-7
Walking In Jesus. In verse six, Paul has reached a turning point in the book of Colossians. The word “therefore” shows he has reached a conclusion. Since all that he has just written is true, it calls for a change in Christian conduct and so he speaks of our walk. “Walk” refers to our individual conduct each day and for every Christian it means that we are to walk in Christ each day. It is the idea that the Christian life is a continuous journey, not a series of random events. God has a continuous plan for each of our lives and He is working it out through the progression of events we encounter. Here, according to the Apostle Paul, we are to walk, that is to live each day, in the same way we received the Lord Jesus in the first place, by faith. We started with Christ and we must continue with Christ. This is the only way to make spiritual progress and that is simply to trust and obey the Lord.
Firmly Rooted and Established in Faith. Rooted is an agricultural word which refers to a plant being rooted securely in the ground. Christians have been rooted in Christ by faith, and are now firmly anchored in God’s rich soil. As roots draw up nourishment from the soil to grow, so Christians, planted in Christ will grow in their faith, love, and hope. This is a common theme in the Scriptures. In Psalm one we read, “How blessed is the man [who] delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2-3).
“Being built up” is an architectural term. When we trust Christ to save us, we are put on the solid foundation and from then on, we are built up in grace. We often find the word “edify” in Paul’s letters and that means to “build up.” It is the Holy Spirit’s great mission to constantly be building Christian believers to spiritual maturity.
Overflowing with Gratitude. Paul has told us that the Lord Jesus has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have the attribute of omniscience, they know everything. That means Jesus knows all about you and your circumstances. Through His omniscience, grace, and wisdom, He not only knows what is happening in our lives, but He is causing them all to work together for good. We may not be able to see this, but we know He certainly does.
So, because He is working out His good pleasure in our lives, we can overflow with gratitude, thanking Him for what He is doing in our lives. Paul pictures our river of gratitude overflowing its banks because of the treasures God has brought into our lives. He has graciously given us everlasting life in our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are rooted in Him by faith, built up in Him and established in faith. None of these treasures are deserved or can be earned. Our Lord gives them to us by His amazing grace.
I started this message with a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 and I’d like to finish it by returning to Matthew 13:44, which is the chapter on Kingdom Parables. There, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again, and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” What do you suppose that treasure was that the man found hidden in the field? Gold, perhaps? Precious gems? I suggest to you that, based on Colossians 2:1-7, that that treasure was Jesus Christ, and specifically, eternal salvation that is found only in Him. The Lord’s counsel is that when a person discovers that Jesus Christ will give them everlasting life, that they must put everything else aside and embrace that hidden treasure by faith. Over the centuries, the Lord Jesus has been offering this priceless treasure to anyone who would trust in Him by faith. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Right now, at this very moment, call on the Lord and receive His gift of forgiveness of sin and everlasting life. He is life’s greatest treasure.
