Colossians 2:2 That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ. Ephesians 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church,
In Colossians the heart is of crucial significance. Here Paul emphasizes the importance of the heart in receiving the revelation concerning Christ. Paul knew that if we would present others full-grown in Christ, we must be concerned about the condition of their hearts.
The church in Colossae had been invaded by Jewish ordinances and observances and by pagan philosophy, mysticism, and asceticism. These things caused the saints to become opinionated, dissenting, and dissatisfied. They also caused the hearts of the saints to be hurt and to become cold, divided, and separated from one another.
Therefore, Paul struggled on behalf of the saints that their hearts would be comforted and knit together in love. In this verse to be comforted means to be cherished, that is, to be lovingly warmed up. Ephesians 5:29 says that Christ nourishes and cherishes His church.
To nourish is to feed, and to cherish is to make warm. How the saints in Colossae needed the Lord's cherishing! Their hearts needed to be comforted, to be warmed.
Paul speaks of the hearts being knit together in love. The words “knit together in love” indicate that some kind of separation had taken place and that there had been a loss of love. The different observances, ordinances, and philosophies that had crept in had caused this loss of love.