Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Week 7, October 19, 2025

LESSON 7

Love Gives Us Access to
Wisdom and Knowledge

Lesson Text:

Colossians 2:1-5

Memory Verse
"For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh"
Colossians 2:1

Key Terms
Entice • To attract or attempt by offering pleasure or advantage.
Reservoir • A large supply of something.

Vicarious • Felt or enjoyed through the imagined participation in the experience of others.

Suggested Emphasis

In a famous passage in 2 Corinthians, while Paul was describing the dangers and challenges he had faced in his ministry, he summed up his comment with the following observation: "Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28, NLT). Paul was a caretaker of the burgeoning Church, and from a distance offered counsel and guidance to the local churches he had founded, as well as to those who had never seen his face. His empathy was such that he vicariously suffered the pains and fears of saints all over the known world. "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?" he asked the Corinthians rhetorically (2 Cor. 11:29). The intimate attachment he felt toward all the churches explains the context of his comments to the Colossians in this lesson text.

Emphasis 1:
An Unction to Minister
Throughout Christendom

Paul begins chapter 2 by attesting to his own "great conflict" on behalf of the Colossians (Col. 2:1). This builds upon the mission he had just described, of his toil and struggle to share the gospel with everyone he meets. His goal is the edification of the universal Church, that he "may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28), and this contributes to his urgent need to converse with the Colossians, the Laodiceans, and every other local church that he had not yet visited. Remember how he had told the Roman Church that he wanted to visit in order to impart "some spiritual gift" to them (Rom. 1:11)? Paul had long labored under an unction to warn and teach people everywhere throughout Christendom.

Emphasis 2:

Hearts Knit Together in Love

So, the apostle attests to the Colossians how hard he has been working for them, and other churches in the region, like that in Laodicea. He seems to believe this assertion will be a comfort to them, and so their hearts shall be "knit together in love" (Col. 2:2). Presumably, when he tells these churches that he labors for them in prayer, and that he struggles to find ways to share teaching and exhortation with them, he expects they will perceive his love for them. That love will glue together all the Colossians and Paul himself in fellowship
(as he will write later in 3:14, love is "the bond of perfectness"). And a result of this encouragement and unity in love is "the full assurance of their understanding." That is to say, there is an intellectual effect of love: if you have a community that is knit together in love, that church is going to plumb depths of comprehension of the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. Conversely, a church torn by division and factions cannot tap this reservoir of understanding, Only a loving community will have access to the treasury of wisdom and
knowledge that is in Christ.

Emphasis 3:

Holding Tightly the Treasure

If you have a treasury before you, you are not likely to be lured away from it. Like in the parable Jesus told of a man who discovered a treasure buried in a field, and then sold everything he had to purchase the field (Mark 13:44). Paul trusts that the Colossians' awareness of the stakes will make them careful to keep tight hold of the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. He trusted that the "enticing words" of the false teachers could be neutralized if the Colossians kept their "eyes on the prize." If you cling to Christ's promises, you will not allow anything to jeopardize your hoped-for treasure.

Missions Application Questions:

Why did Paul want to visit many churches (like the Colossians and the La-odiceans) that he did not know personally?
How is love like a 'glue' for the people of God? How does love open up access to wisdom and knowledge?
What did Paul expect would help the Colossians fight off the false teachers and their "enticing words"?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray for means of helping local churches that we may not know personally.
Let us pray that the hearts of the saints be "knit together in love."
Let us pray to retain the riches of our assurance in Christ.

Mims Chapel Church