Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"

[Geremia]

Col. 2:3:

ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι

St. Thomas's commentary on Col. 2:3:

Sed numquid per cognitionem Christi impletur intellectus? Respondeo sic, quia in eo sunt omnes thesauri, et cetera. Deus habet omnium rerum notitiam, et haec notitia comparatur thesauro. Sap. VII, 14: infinitus enim est thesaurus hominibus, et cetera. Thesaurus est divitiae congregatae, sed effusae non dicuntur thesaurus, sed quae in uno sunt. Deus enim sapientiam suam sparsit super omnia opera sua, Eccli. I, 10. Et secundum hoc non habet rationem thesauri, sed secundum quod huiusmodi rationes uniuntur in uno, scilicet sapientia divina, et omnes huiusmodi thesauri sunt in Christo. Sapientia enim est cognitio divinorum, scientia vero est creaturarum cognitio. Quicquid autem de Deo potest sciri pertinens ad sapientiam, totum Deus abundanter in se cognoscit. Item, quicquid potest cognosci de creaturis, cognoscit in se supereminenter. Quicquid autem in sapientia Dei est, est in verbo suo uno, quia uno simplici actu intellectus cognoscit omnia, quia in eo non est scientia in potentia nec in habitu. Et ideo in isto verbo sunt omnes thesauri, et cetera.

81. – But is our intellect filled by knowing Christ? I say that it is because in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. God has a knowledge of all things, and this knowledge is called a treasure: "It is an unfailing treasure for men; those who get it obtain friendship with God" (Wis 7:14). Now a treasure is a collection of riches; they are not called a treasure when scattered about, but only when collected in one place. "God has poured out his wisdom upon all his works" (Sir 1:10) [Vulgate]; from this point of view his wisdom does not have the nature of a treasure. But his wisdom is a treasure when the ideas behind all his works are considered collected together, that is, in the divine wisdom. And all such treasures are in Christ. Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things, and science [scientia] is the knowledge of created things. Now whatever can be known about God, which pertains to wisdom, God knows in himself, and exhaustively. And likewise, whatever can be known about created things, God knows in himself, and in an super-eminent way. Now whatever is in the wisdom of God is in his single Word, because he knows all things by one simple act of his intellect, for in God knowledge is neither in potency nor in a habitual state. And thus in this Word are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [sapientia et scientia].