Colossians 1:18b (ESV)
18bHe is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (“supreme”)
- The Church lives under Jesus as the supreme Lord
- The Church worships Jesus as the supreme Lord
Colossians 1:27-28 (ESV) To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Jesus is sufficient for everything we need.
Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV) Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6 (CEB) So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received him.
Jesus is sufficient for everything we need.
Colossians 2:8 (ESV) See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
“Let no one enslave you”
Colossians 2:16-17 (ESV) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
“Let no one enslave you”
“Let no one judge you”
Colossians 2:18 (ESV) Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
“Let no one enslave you”
“Let no one judge you”
“Let no one disqualify you”
Colossians 2:19 (ESV) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
All Christian growth and nourishment and unity come from God, not ourselves.
Christ-less philosophy, religion, and spirituality elevates and isolates the individual.
Christ-centered philosophy, religion, and spirituality connect us to the LIFE of Christ and to the BODY of Christ.
Colossians 2:20-23 (ESV) If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ( referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Nothing self-made will lead toward lasting growth and fulfillment.
John 15:4-5 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
What is Christ-less will be fruitless.
Fruitfulness flows from Jesus.