Limitless Word
In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:3 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.
  • KJV In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • BSB in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • NKJV in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • NASB in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He alone is the source of true understanding.

Overview

All 'treasures of wisdom and knowledge' are found 'in whom'—in Christ. Against teachers promising hidden insight elsewhere, Paul says the real treasure is Christ and is openly available in Him. There is no wisdom worth having that bypasses the Son.

Cross-references & the web

Theme

  • Wisdom"In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom."

Cross-references · 16

  • 1 Cor 1:24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
  • 1 Cor 1:30Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
  • Rom 11:33Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
  • 1 Cor 2:6–8We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.
  • 2 Tim 3:15–17From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
  • Col 1:9For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
  • Eph 3:9–10and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;
  • Eph 1:8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
  • Matt 10:26Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known.
  • Prov 2:4If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:
  • Col 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
  • Job 28:21Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
  • Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
  • Col 3:3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
  • Col 1:19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;
  • Isa 11:2Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 2:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 2:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.