Christ the Key

Read Colossians 2:1-7

1. The key to God's treasure. Paul writes, here, about those false teachers who were leading the Colossians astray (v.4). They seem to have been saying that, between man and God, there exists a series of angelic beings, and that Jesus was only one of these. But Paul is firm in his opposition. Today's English Version translates verse 3 in this way: "He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge." In other words, there may be many treasures, but there is only one key. God's treasures - love, mercy, truth, and so on - are not scattered around carelessly. Remember how Jesus warned His disciples not to "cast pearls before swine"? But these same treasures are available to anyone who uses the key.

2. The secret of God's life. Then the word-pictures change. Instead of the Christian being seen as a person with the key, opening up the storehouse of God's bounty, the Christian is seen as a living plant or a sturdy house, "rooted and established" in Jesus Christ (v.7). These two pictures appear to contradict one another, but Paul is simply using different metaphors. Mixing metaphors never bothered Paul. He simply wants to emphasize one thing , that Christians have only one source of life, that they rest on only one basis, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. When we first come to Christ we do so with simple trust and confidence; we must keep that confidence and trust as we grow in Him (v.6).

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to abound in thanksgiving as I live my life in Your strength and build my life on Your truth. Amen.