Jesus is supreme over everything and is sufficient for everything we need.
- The Church lives under Jesus as the supreme Lord
- The Church worships Jesus as the supreme Lord
Colossians 3:11 (KNT) In this new humanity there is no question of “Greek and Jew,” or “circumcised and uncircumcised,” of “barbarian, Scythian,” or “slave and free.” The king is everything and in everything!
The church is the community that makes the Kingdom kind of life possible.
Colossians 3:12–14 (ESV) Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
The church is the community that makes the Kingdom visible.
Colossians 3:15 (ESV) And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Colossians 4:7-17 (ESV) Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions— if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
The Kind of Community the Church is Called to Be:
- The church is called to be a community of difference
Different Social Statuses: Doctor (Luke) and a runaway Slave (Onesimus)
Different Ethnicities/Nationalities: Jews (Aristarchus, Justus, Mark) and Gentiles (Epaphras, Luke, Demas)
Different Genders: Male and Female (Nympha)
Different Ministry Decisions: Paul and Mark
Colossians 4:18 (ESV) I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
2. The Church is called to be a community of remembrance
3. The Church is called to be a community of grace
Colossians 3:15-17 (MSG) Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.