SERIES: The Book of Colossians
TEXT: Colossians 1:1-14
MESSAGE: “Jesus Is Enough”

“You may never know that JESUS is all you need, until JESUS is all you have.” — Corrie ten Boom

“Colossians is thoroughly saturated with Christology…Paul refers to Jesus as Lord, Son, Head…all reinforcing the letter’s central focus on his supremacy and sufficiency.” — Douglas Moo

“Possibly it was early in this period that a man named Epaphras…was brought to faith in Christ…he seems quickly to have developed into a mature servant of Christ…It was this man whose privilege it was to become the evangelist to his own people…The immediate result was the planting of new churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis as well as at Colossae…some years later, he can report love as being characteristic of these believing communities.” — Dick Lucas

So how does Paul do that? We see him do this in three ways: (1) He reminds them of their Gospel Foundation, (2) He shows them how to Grow Deeper, (3) He points them to their Great Inheritance

1. Gospel Foundation (v. 3-8)

“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.”

“Despite postmodern assertions to the contrary, the message of Colossians asserts that there is absolute truth. The gospel claims to tell the true story of the whole world. Not all truth claims are equally valid. Paul was deeply concerned about a false worldview that threatened to cut the Colossians off from Christ…Love walks hand-in-hand with truth. We love neither God nor our neighbor when we bow the knee to the god of relativism.” — Christopher Beetham

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” — Ephesians 4:15

2. Grow Deeper (v. 9-10)

“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…”

“The churches of Christ can never be immune from the intellectual and spiritual pressures and fashions of their time. It is less easy for us to recognize this in our own times.” — Dick Lucas

3. Great Inheritance (v. 11-14)

“…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.”

“To be ‘in Christ’ is to belong to him…believers are now ‘located’ in a new ‘place’—the kingdom of God’s Son…a total reorientation of one’s existence.” — Douglas Moo

TAKEAWAYS: If Jesus Is Enough…

• I. Where Are You Placing Your Faith?
• II. Where Do You Find Your Strength to Keep Going?

“The Spirit’s message is always…‘Look at Jesus, and see his glory; listen to Jesus, and hear his word; go to Jesus, and have life; get to know Jesus, and taste his gift of joy and peace.’” — J.I. Packer

“When the Advocate comes…he will testify about me.” — John 15:26

• III. Where Is Your Ultimate Security?

“…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” — Colossians 1:12