Colossians 2:1
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; 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;
Paul's words express his great conflict of burden, labor and striving concern for the believers at Colosse and at Laodicea and for all who had never seen his face in the flesh. His striving was that their hearts might be comforted and knit together in love into all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to acknowledging the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He was burdened for their spiritual welfare because heathen influences and misleading doctrines threatened to draw them away from the simple gospel, beguiling them with enticing persuasive words and spoiling them through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition and worldly rudiments and not after Christ. His call is to order and steadfast faith, to walk in Christ as received, rooted and built up and established in faith with thanksgiving, complete in Him in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily as head of all principality and power. The same concern and conflict reaches believers now and is to be taken personally, calling them with God's help to lay hold on higher faith and higher power and grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ, knit in the unity in love on which success in the Lord's work depends.
Paul's Conflict and Desire
The verse expresses great conflict of concern, burden, labor and striving for the believers at Colosse and at Laodicea and for all who had never seen his face in the flesh. It is a deep struggle of concern and a deeply felt burden for those never met in person, face to face. His striving embraces those at Colosse, those at Laodicea, and as many elsewhere as had not seen him in the flesh.
His striving was that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love. It was to bring them unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and Paul longed to see them encouraged, united in love, and growing into complete, confident understanding and firm assurance of the gospel truth about God, the Father, and Christ.
He was concerned for their spiritual welfare because misleading doctrines were endangering them. Heathen influences were in danger of drawing them away from the simple gospel.
Warnings and Fullness in Christ
Paul's conflict for the believers carries a warning not to be beguiled and led away by enticing, persuasive words. It warns against being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition and the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. Against that danger it calls to behold their order and the steadfastness of faith in Christ, to walk in Him as received, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith with thanksgiving. That steadfast walk rests on completeness in Him in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, who is the head of all principality and power, so that believers need not remain with a dwarfed, weakly, babyish religious experience.
Higher education is Bible study, and full understanding of Scripture is attainable. This stands contrary to the false assertion that the Word contains dark, mysterious, incomprehensible things hard to be understood, for students are to be taught to understand the Book. His striving that hearts be comforted, knit together in love, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, makes unity in love a great need on which success in the Lord's work depends. Disregarding this scriptural call to unity transgresses the law of God as truly as transgressing the fourth commandment.
Call to Believers Today
The great conflict of concern and labor felt for Colosse and Laodicea and for all who had never seen Paul's face in the flesh is for believers now also. It is a striving that hearts might be comforted, knit together in love, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledging of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Its caution against being beguiled by enticing words and being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition and worldly rudiments and not after Christ is to be taken personally now and not given away to somebody else.
The desire is a full expression of what God wants for His people. With His help they are called to lay hold on higher faith and higher power, to put away foolishness long retained, to grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ, and to be strong in His strength. True service makes believers self-denying and self-sacrificing, keeping individual holiness and consecration in view. Through sanctification of the truth they abound in works of benevolence for the uplifting of others, with the thankful heart continually overflowing in blessing to others like a well of living water springing up into everlasting life.
As applied to the Laodicean message, the message must be received not as originating with men but as the word of God in truth which works effectually in those who believe. Unbelief bars it from the heart, and treating the message and the messenger with doubt and ridicule leaves souls in darkness. The verse begins teaching that students must read carefully and prayerfully in order to grow in knowledge and grace and ever advance. They are to keep the way of the Lord with refined understanding, system and order, self-examination of amusements and priorities, and persistent effort to perfect character for an education for eternity, rather than governing life by impulse or letting games absorb the mind and weaken study and service, for completeness in Him means they need not have a dwarfed, weakly, babyish religious experience.