Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:2-14

A significant portion of the letter to the Colossians is written to deal with “the Colossian Heresy.” Exactly what that heresy was is not clear. There are, however, certain elements of heresy that were either in the church or were threatening the church at Colossae. One of those elements was the idea that there are “insider secrets” that only the “initiated” got to learn and experience. It is common in pagan religions to teach the necessity of a special breakthrough spiritual experience that opens one up to insights into the Divine that the “common” person cannot have. These were the folks who could “see the light.” The church at Colossae had this idea foisted upon it.

Note that Paul prays for all of the faithful believers that they “may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” He asks that they all will be “increasing in the knowledge of God.” This is not reserved just for the insiders or specially initiated. It is for all believers.

Pagans had to become “qualified” to really have spiritual insight. But look what Paul says to the Colossians (and to you and me who trust Jesus Christ and his completed work), “the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Unfortunately, the Colossian heresy didn’t die in the first century. It is still with us just morphed a little to look like something different. False teachers are teaching that to see the depths and heights of the truth; you have to achieve certain “spiritual” milestones. If you are under the impression from your spiritual leaders that you have to attain certain achievements to really have the revelation, I encourage you to take a very hard look at what you are being taught and compare it to Scriptures, particularly in Colossians.

Yes, we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, but we don’t have to meet some achievement standard to see the truth. We just have to continue in the truth of the gospel we were taught in Scripture. Paul referred to this as the “faithful brethren.” He also referred to Epaphras, the one who brought the gospel to Colossae, as a “faithful minister of Christ.” What he is referring to is that fact that Epaphras taught the same gospel of grace that Paul taught, he was faithful to the truth of the gospel. He didn’t add some other rituals or achievements to become a mature, insightful Christian.

Pagan religions and cults do require “special” experiences and revelations.

Christ is the Preeminent One. He has done the work for us all. God the Father has qualified you in Christ to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Nothing is needed to be added to the work of Christ. See him as the all-sufficient one for you. Rest in his love and his work on your behalf.