I sort of think of Colossians as being at the top of this staircase we've been walking up; Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. It's like each one of these letters, the way they're positioned in the Bible, are a stairstep up to this message. I would entitle Colossians, "Jesus at the Center."
The culmination of this gospel is this, that Jesus is the grace of God; that grace isn't a theology first, grace isn't a way of thinking, grace isn't just a plan. Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of the grace of God! No Jesus, no grace; no incarnation, no grace; no righteous life, no grace; no sacrifice, no grace; no resurrection, no grace. Jesus is the grace of God!
And more than any of the books we've just looked at, Colossians focuses on the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ Jesus. This is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, in every passage, every verse of Colossians. Paul has one thing that he wants you to know, that there is no gospel apart from His person and work. You take Jesus away and the gospel ceases to be the gospel; it's some weird religious message, but it is no longer the gospel.
You see, that really is the turning point. There are only two places of hope. Everybody who is at all honest will recognize that the world we live in just doesn't function the way it should. And they would recognize that people have problems; people are a bit of a mess. And so, you either give yourself, you put your hope in a system of redemption. All other psychologies, all other philosophies are systems of redemption. We don't believe in a system of redemption. Christianity is not a system of redemption. The entire hope of Christianity is in a Person, a Redeemer. And so, when you minister the gospel to people, you're not ministering the system; you're introducing a person to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Lord of creation. He is the one victorious on the cross. He is our source of all wisdom. He is now ruling in power. This Christology is our defense against all falsehood; because anything that says you can be okay, now and then, without Jesus is a lie! Everything the Bible describes about the sorry state of our world and our state as sinners argues for the intervention of a Redeemer! That's the message of Colossians. All fullness dwells where? In Christ! We are made full, how? Through Christ!
So, what does He then say? What's the life He then calls us to? So, seek the things that are above. So, put on Christ. So, love one another as He has loved you. So, do everything out of thanks for Him. So, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. So, teach and admonish one another with this gospel. Gospel living and gospel community.
If I have come to know Christ, I want you to know Christ. If I've come to know a life that's built on rest in Christ, I want you to know rest in Christ. Seek the things above, put on Christ; love one another as He has loved you. Do everything out of thanks for Him! Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another with this gospel. Christ is the center!
