Colossians: Everything You Could Ever Want Is in Christ.Sunday May 24, 2026
Open:
We’re about to begin an exciting and life-changing journey in a study of the letter to the Colossians. We’re going to deliberately go through its line-by-line content at least twice.
God communicated His new covenant thoughts to us in the form of letters.
Main idea of the book of Colossians:
Anything and everything that a human could desire has been given to them in Christ in abundance, therefore they must live out experientially what they have and reject the world’s false views of the meaning and purpose of human life.
1. Introduction: Step Into Colossae.
The people of Colossae are hard working, struggling, common people trying to survive and dealing with the disappointments that life brings to most people.
And then came a voice from Ephesus, exporting the gospel to them. The good news?
Anything and everything that a human could desire has been given to them in Christ to the nth degree.
New teachings began spreading through the city and the church: the old Jewish and pagan ways. Epaphras sought out the apostle Paul. He said he would return with help from Paul. And just now, two men arrived with a letter from the apostle Paul.
2. The Crisis: The Claim that Christ Is not Enough (The Reason Paul Wrote)
False teachers arrived claiming:
“Christ is good… but He’s not enough. You’re missing something.”
This is a common voice heard in the world for the last 2,000 years.
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
The truth is that: Anything and everything that a human could desire has been given to them in Christ, and exceedingly so. And Christ is everything (God / Man – Creator and preeminent creation).
Col 2:9-10 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Most people do not believe this to be true.
Paul writes to the Colossians concerning:
Jewish legalism and rituals (food laws, festivals, new moons, Sabbaths, circumcision).
Asceticism (strict rules about what you could eat, drink, or touch — “Don’t taste, don’t touch!”).
Mysticism (angel worship, visions, and “higher spiritual knowledge”).
Col 2:16-23 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
Paul saw that the Christians in the Lycus Valley needed a solid, foundational teaching on the fulness and sufficiency of Christ - essentially the glory of Christ.
3. Paul’s Answer: The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ
a. You Are Already Complete in Christ (You are not trying to attain something — you already possess it by faith.)
Col 1:13-14 – Rescued, transferred, redeemed, forgiven (not based on relation to material) Col 1:22 – Reconciled through Christ’s death (do not need a ritual to get close to God) Col 1:27 – “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (not the elite - all believers) Col 2:6 – You “received” Christ Jesus the Lord (false teachers, elite, have no authority) Col 2:9-10 – “In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells… and in Him you have been made complete” Col 2:12-14 – Buried, raised, forgiven, debt canceled (no more asceticism)
Already / Not Yet Tension (Col 3:3-4)
You have died with Christ. Your life is hidden with Him. One day it will be fully revealed. (no more working to hopefully secure a good future).
Key Truth: The common, ordinary believer is fully in Christ and possesses everything Christ provides.
b. Therefore, Live Out What You Already Are
Because you are in Christ, your daily life must be shaped by Christ’s authority.
Col 3:1-4 – Set your mind on things above Col 3:5 – Put to death the desires of the flesh (sexual immorality, greed, etc.) Col 3:12-17 – Put on compassion, kindness, humility… and let the peace of Christ rule
Core Principle: In every decision — thinking, speaking, acting — the question is no longer “What do the rules say?” but “What does it mean to live as someone who is already in Christ?”
c. Christ Is Gloriously Supreme (The best defense against error is a high view of Jesus as one who is in Him.)
The Christ Hymn (Col 1:15-20) Fullness (Col 2:9-10) Victory & Redemption (Col 2:11-15) Session & Future Return (Col 3:1-4)
4. Conclusion & Series Vision
What it truly means to be complete in Christ (our identity and resources).
How to recognize and combat modern teachings that subtly dethrone Christ (legalism, mysticism, performance-based Christianity, etc.).
How to live out that reality in our ordinary lives making them extraordinary (marriages, parenting, work, speech, evangelism, discipling, and all relationships).
How to love, worship, and treasure Jesus Christ more deeply than ever before. To love Him so deeply that your heart is full to bursting. |