NOTES for Co2 1:12-24
In today’s reading we hear the Apostle Paul’s words, “We write nothing else to you than what you read or understand, and I hope that you will understand fully.” On the basis of the immutability of God’s Word (verse 20), the Apostle identifies a very important feature of our faith that distinguishes it from a vast number of religious movements. He is speaking about the absence of a secret teaching, which by the end of the first century had come to be called by the term “gnosis” (Greek γνώσις, knowledge). This designation does not mean knowledge of the truth that disciples receive from their Teacher, but secret, hidden knowledge that separates its possessors from the profane, the uninitiated. In general, the early period of Christian history was not characterized by the idea of initiation, except for the initiation of the whole people of God. The structure of the sacred hierarchy in the Church is defined not by some special secret gnosis, as Hellenized pagans thought, but by the duty to put into practice the special gifts of the Holy Spirit given to people.
Thus the Apostle writes: “as I hope you will understand fully.” Addressed to the entire community, these words imply precisely that there is nothing secret that would be inaccessible to people. The Savior Himself says in prayer to the Father, “I have made Your name known to them (people)” (John 17:26): what could be higher than this? And in Deuteronomy the Lord also says of the truth: “this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off” (Deut 30:11). If the truth is neither inaccessible nor far away, what excuse do we have when we do not want to seek it?